Michael Leo Manning


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Manning was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1904 and joined the HBC 01-06-1918 at age 14. He served in Labrador and the eastern Arctic until 1931 and rejoined the company between 1934 and 1952. He arrived at Lake Harbour on the Nascopie in August 1920 at age 16.

Manning was a gifted linguist and was called "he who understands" by Inuit people. Apparently his linguistic gifts weren't developed sufficiently in 1920 to 1921 (he was only 16 years old) at Lake Harbour as the Palliser brothers were doing Stewart's translations. The Post journal mentions Manning 230 times engaged in all general activities including rationing servants, office work, costruction activities, and hunting and trapping. Manning is often noted as "typeing" or "typing" all day, the only person noted as doing so. Later Post journals at Wolstenholme and Cape Dorset are all typed so it seems this young man may have introduced the "new" technology to the Arctic Posts.

Manning was an active hunter and trapper among the Post workers and spent several trips into the "deer country" with Inuit. On 11-12-20 the following entry, " One fact worthy of mention was that M.L. Manning shot his first deer, the only one he got during the week."

He died suddenly at Frobisher Bay in 1958 while on Government of Canada business.