Kalli, the Esquimaux Christian

An Arctic interpreter's arrival in England gives T. B. Murray the subject of this Christian memoir. Kallihirua, also called Kalli, joins the crew of the Assistance during the search for Sir John Franklin's missing expedition. He guides officers to a wintering place near Wolstenholme Sound, forms attachments aboard ship, and reaches England when ice prevents his return to his own shores. The account includes his distress when sailors disturb his father's grave, a scene that brings his family ties into focus.

Murray follows Kalli's education and religious instruction, including his training with a Canterbury tailor and his baptism at St. Martin's Church in 1853. Descriptive passages, verse and an eyewitness account of the service give the memoir several distinct voices. Readers interested in Arctic exploration and missionary history can consider both the practical details of Kalli's new surroundings and the strongly Christian perspective through which Murray presents his life.