Martin Frobisher in GABRIEL in Frobisher Bay.
1576

Watercolor 14" x 21"


Martin Frobisher made three voyages to the Canadian Arctic. On the first, in 1576, he sailed into Frobisher Bay which he was convinced was the way to the long sought Northwest Passage. While there they anchored off a small Island where they found ore which they excitedly convinced themselves was gold. Here they also encountered their first Inuit who they traded with for a few pleasant days. The pleasantness ended when the natives enticed the ships boat with five men to follow them ashore, and they were never seen again. The English retaliated by luring a man in a kayak alongside and snatched him aboard, kayak and all. Frobisher returned to England with the captive as proof of having reached the arctic, and some heavy rocks to excite further interest in arctic exploration. The Inuit man soon died and the ore turned out to be fools gold.