When considering the specific mode of adaptation the Inuit used regarding my pocket watch fragments, I wondered what kind of general observations I could make. In my previous blog post,  The Afterlife of the Pocket Watches , I already mentioned that wearing these played a crucial role in adapting some objects. In-nook-poo-the-jook, who will become one of the most crucial witnesses for Western explorers searching for Franklin and his men, wore an  officer's hatband  around his head. Thanks to Logan Zachary, there is a high-resolution photograph of this hat band on his  blog . However, he was not the only one who wore an object, formerly belonging to one of Franklin's men. Also, Captain McClintock writes in his  travel report  about four Inuit hunters, of which one must have worn a naval button on his clothing. Additionally, "my" pocket watch fragments were worn around  the neck . In these cases, the Inuit found the objects in a camp, where some party me...

Two members of the Schwatka expedition, the American journalist Henry Gilder and the german speaking cartographer and drawer Heinrich Klutschak, published their reports and experiences in the 1880ies. Being able to read the reports in their original language, I started to wonder about the differences. In my opinion, Gilder's interpretation is more audacious, and therefore his views and values become apparent in the text itself. As an example, I chose a  "ceremony of opening communication" , as he puts it. In an Inlet of Richardson point or Nu-oo-tar-ro, how he transcribed the Inuit name for the place, the party met some Netsilingmiut for the first time:  The ceremony of opening communication was similar to that with the Ooquee-sik-silliks a few days before, with the exception that instead of remaining in their igloos the men were drawn up in line of battle in front of them, and sent out an old woman to find out who we were and what we wanted. If our designs had be...