Description
In 1577, the English explorer Martin Frobisher captured three Inuit , a woman and her infant and an unrelated man , from what is currently known in English as Baffin Island in the far north of Canada. After being forcibly brought to Bristol with much fanfare, the three Inuits were celebrated at a reception hosted by the Lord Mayor on October 9th, 1577. Kalicho demonstrated the use of his kayak and his spear to hunt ducks in the river. As Seyer’s Annals of Bristol note, “he rode in a little bote made of skinne in the water at the backe, where he killed two duckes with a dart, and when he had done carried his bote through the marsh upon his back. The like he did at the weare and other places, where many beheld him. He would hit a duck a good distance of and not miss.” What is particularly noteworthy here is that it would eventually be discovered that his captors had broken at least one of Kalicho’s ribs during his capture. Not only did he carry his boat “through the marsh” but he also did it while suffering from a broken rib. Within three weeks of arrival, both Kalicho and Arnaq had died. The baby, Nutaaq, was rushed to London.
Bibliographic sources
Various. Image by John White – http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=753476&partId=1&people=103070&peoA=103070-2-9&page=1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64407087