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Johnnibo and Kimilu
also known to Qallunaat as John Bull, Johnny Bull, Chimoakjo, Shi-mer-ar-chu, the Mate and Annie and Kimmedloo
Johnnibo was born around 1840 at Akuliak in the Hudson Strait, but his family migrated into Cumberland Sound when he was a child. He learned enough English to work and trade with Qallunaat, who praised him as being intelligent, reliable, honest and loyal. Johnnibo acquired several whaleboats and hired Inuit to crew them. He traded their catches to Qallunaat, who wanted whales so badly that Johnnibo had considerable power to negotiate. In addition to whaling equipment, he is recorded as trading for tobacco, soap, fabric, knives, mittens, suspenders, men's clothing, cooking utensils, sewing equipment, guns and ammunition. On one occasion, he also specifically requested carpentry tools.
Johnnibo probably married Kimilu after his other wife, her sister Kokerzun, died. Kimilu was spirited, beautiful and noted for being attentive to sick people. She was born around 1845 to her mother, Nevechadloo. Her father, Kudlargo, visited the United States on a whaling ship. He died of tuberculosis on the voyage home in 1860 before he could deliver a red dress to Kimilu and tell her about the country she would later visit. As he lay homesick and dying, his last words were reported to have been "Taku siku?" (Do you see ice?)
In 1880, Johnnibo and Kimilu were living near Singaijaq (Cape Haven) at the mouth of Cumberland Sound. They were raising a young daughter, Kudlarjuk, whose father was probably a Scottish whaling captain. Another captain, John Orrin Spicer, made a deal with Johnnibo, his crew and their families. He took them to Johnnibo's birthplace, Akuliak, and supplied them with provisions, guns, ammunition and a whaleboat. He also offered to give them lumber for a house, but they declined, saying they would rather live in their tents. These trade goods served as a contract: Johnnibo agreed to save any whales they caught and trade the blubber and bone to Spicer for a mutually-agreeable price.
Spicer returned the following year to find that Johnnibo's crew had caught three whales but had traded them to other ships' captains. Johnnibo had consulted at length with his Inuit crew before eventually agreeing to sell to the other captains, who had lied and told him Spicer was not coming back. Kimilu had protested vehemently; she voiced concern that Spicer would cut their throats if he ever returned.
Spicer convinced Johnnibo and his family to come to the United States so that Johnnibo could testify in a Boston court. He provided the family with a house, some land, a boat and a dog. Mrs. Spicer helped Kimilu learn to cook the new American foods. According to James Akavak of Kimmirut, it must have been very difficult for Johnnibo and his family during the trial in 1882. Johnnibo and Kimilu were not allowed to sit together in the courtroom. Like so many other Inuit abroad, Johnnibo fell ill, but he recovered in time to appear in court and convince the jury that, contrary to the arguments of the defence, Inuit were most certainly intelligent enough to enter into contracts. The court ruled in favour of Spicer and awarded him $6,712 at a time when an American could live off a few hundred dollars a year. This sum gives some idea of the immense profits some Qallunaat made from Arctic whaling.
After the trial ended, Johnnibo and Kimilu said they felt crowded and enclosed in Connecticut. With Kudlarjuk and a three-day-old daughter they named American Girl, they sailed for home. Kudlarjuk relearned Inuktitut and grew up to tell her own daughter that her first impression of Connecticut was that there were so many lights.
In 1889, Johnnibo was murdered by a group of Inuit led by the expert hunter, Alainga, who then took Kimilu as his wife. Inuit today remain uncertain as to why Johnnibo was killed. Possibly others were angry, jealous or fearful of his influence with Qallunaat. Perhaps Alainga believed he was an evil shaman although Johnnibo denied this. Kudlarjuk told Captain Spicer that her father simply knew too much.
NOTES :
Hall, Arctic Researches, 41.
Akavak in Eber, When the Whalers Were Up North, 43.
Kudlarjuk in Eber, When the Whalers Were Up North, 59.