In addition to the 25 officers, crew, and scientific staff, Hall brought along his native companions whose assistance he had relied on during his earlier expeditions; guide and hunter Ipirvik, interpreter and seamstress Taqulittuq, as well as their infant son. Later, at Upernavik, also joining their ranks would be Hans Hendrik, the esteemed Greenlandic Inuk hunter previously employed by Kane and Hayes on their respective expeditions, and whose expertise had been crucial to their survival, helping ward off starvation. Throwing his weight around, Hans, wrote Bessels, "refused to see that his and their children were extremely unwelcome extras on such an undertaking." Reluctant to increase their number with "four useless mouths," Hall aquiesced, so that now, besides Hans' wife, added to their complement were three young children.