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The career and disappearance of Hans K.E. Krüger, Arctic geologist, 1886–1930

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

William Barr
William Barr
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0W0, Canada
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Abstract

On 19 March 1930 the German geologist, Hans K.E. Krüger, accompanied by a Dane, Åge Rose Bjare, and an Inughuk, Akqioq (the latter driving their dog sledge) set off westwards from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police post at Bache Peninsula, Ellesmere Island; two support sledges, driven by Inughuit, escorted them. It appears to have been Krüger's intention to study the geology of the coasts of the outer islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago and to carry out soundings of the continental shelf and slope. The two support sledges turned back at Depot Point, Eureka Sound. Krüger, Bjare, and Akqioq were never seen again. This article reviews Krüger's background, his preparations for the expedition (which included two summers of field work in West Greenland and a wintering in northwest Greenland), and the extensive searches mounted by the RCMP in 1931 and 1932. Finally, it analyzes the evidence provided by three messages left by Krüger and subsequently recovered, with a view to making an educated guess as to the fate of the expedition.

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Polar Record , Volume 29 , Issue 171 , October 1993 , pp. 277 - 304
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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