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Pioneer trapper

A few weeks ago I wrote about Edmund Cartwright of Marnham (1743 - 1823) and his invention of the power loom.

Following the appearance of that article several Advertiser readers drew my attention to the exploits of his older and no less remarkable brother, George, who in the 1770s, became a pioneer settler in Labrador in the far north east of Canada.

'Labrador' Cartwright, as he became known, spent nearly 16 years in these sub-arctic lands hunting and collecting animals and skins for export.

In 1792 he published an account of his experiences in his three-volume Journal of Transactions and Events .... on the coast of Labrador... which was published locally by Allin & Ridge in Newark.

Today, more than 200 years later, George Cartwright is still remembered in Canada.

Many of the names he gave to the islands and harbours around Labrador remain, while the township of Cartwright on the eastern side of Sandwich Bay is named after him. George Cartwright was born at the old manor house at Marnham in February 1739.

He was first educated at the Magnus Grammar School in Newark before starting a military career as a gentleman-cadet in the Cadet Company at Woolwich.

In 1754 he embarked for the East Indies gaining promotion (by 1758) to the rank of lieutenant. In 1760 he served as aide-de-camp to the Marquis of Granby, commander-in-chief during the wars in Germany.

After obtaining the brevet rank of captain, he exchanged to half pay and travelled to Newfoundland to try his hand at hunting bear and deer.

He was subsequently appointed to a military command in Jamaica but was forced to leave that island through ill-health.

He made a second voyage to Newfoundland and resolved to take up residence in Labrador which then became his home for the best part of 16 years.

He retired from the army in 1770 and entered partnership with a trading company to supply fur - mainly silver fox and beaver - to furriers and high class clothing establishments in Europe.

His journal records that he set sail for Labrador in May, 1770, taking with him his housekeeper, Charles Atkinson, a soldier, and Edward Watson who had been an under-keeper at Averham Park just outside Newark.

As they settled into their new surroundings in Canada, Cartwright's journal becomes a fascinating record not only of their daily routine (setting traps, forging relations with the indigenous peoples) but also a mine of information on the habits of the area's wildlife - polar bears, otters, beavers, caribou, wolves, wolverines and even the now long-extinct great auk.

Perhaps most interesting for general readers, however, is the episode which deals with Cartwright's brief return to the family home in Nottinghamshire accompanied by five Canadian Eskimos.

It was in October, 1772, having lived in Labrador for two years, that Cartwright first chose to return to England. In addition to the five Eskimos (or Innuit as they should properly be called), he also brought an eagle and an Eskimo dog.

They landed on the west coast of Ireland and stayed there a few days before proceeding to London, where Cartwright was at pains to record exactly what these visitors made of their first encounter with the developed world.

They were, he says, duly impressed by the amount of shipping in the Thames, but took little notice of magnificent buildings such as St Paul's or London Bridge.

Upon enquiry he found that they did not recognise them as man-made structures, but thought they were part of the natural landscape.

London Bridge, for instance, "they took for a natural rock which extended across the river: they laughed at me when I told them it was the work of men".

Everywhere they went in the capital the uncommon appearance of the Innuit, in their sealskin clothes, attracted great attention as did the eagle and Eskimo dog which many people mistook for a wolf.

They became local celebrities with London society beating a path to Cartwright's door: the five Innuit were even presented to the king (George III) during a royal inspection of troops in Hyde Park.

Cartwright wrote: "His Majesty rode slowly past them and condescended to salute them by taking off his hat, accompanied by a gracious smile."

Cartwright took them to the opera and to see some Shakespeare with which they were "greatly delighted", particularly when the audience applauded them as well as the actors.

In February, 1773, Cartwright brought the Innuit to his father's house at Marnham where they stayed six weeks.

"While we were there I amused them with all kinds of field diversions: we also made several visits in the neighbourhood; particularly one to Kelham, where Lord George Sutton politely invited our whole family, and entertained my friends with a fox-chase..." a sport to which the Innuit instantly took a liking, despite their never having ridden a horse before.

George Cartwright set out on his second voyage to Labrador in May 1773.

After only two days at sea, however, one of the Innuit was taken ill with smallpox. They returned to Plymouth, where despite obtaining the best medical advice, four of them died.

Cartwright and the remaining Innuit - a woman named Caubvick - returned to Labrador where they were met by hundreds of her country folk waiting to welcome them home.

Upon hearing the fate of four of their compatriots, Cartwright records: "They instantly set up such a yell, as I had never heard before.

"Many of them, but particularly the women, snatched up stones, and beat themselves on the head and face till they became shocking spectacles... the violent, frantic expressions of grief were such as far exceeded my imagination; and I could not help participating with them so far as to shed tears most plentifully."

George Cartwright remained in Labrador until 1786 after which he returned to England to take up the office of barrack-master at Nottingham.

He lived in the Broadmarsh area of the city and is remembered as an enthusiastic practitioner of the ancient art of falconry. In 1817 he retired to Mansfield where he died two years later, in his 81st year, in March 1819.

ABOVE: Captain George Cartwright - Labrador Cartwright - hunting in the wilds of Canada. This engraving, taken from a painting by William Hilton shows Cartwright checking his traps for silver fox, whose fur was highly prized. He has a trap slung on his back, while a black fox hangs at his waist. He has just got sight of some deer and has put his dog's hood on to keep him quiet.

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