Identifies a book which James Clark Ross had with him on both his Arctic and Antarctic voyages and which he inscribed twice to so indicate. The book is The Economy of Human Life, 1808, variously attributed to Lord Chesterfield, Robert Dodsley (Johnson’s publisher), John Hill, or even unascribed as a volume from the library of the Grand Lama of Tartary. It is a small book of homilies on the conduct of life, often published; this copy first belonged to Isabella Ross, sister of James Clark Ross. He had it with him as first lieutenant to Captain Edward Parry in H.M.S. Hecla in the high Arctic when he inscribed it: “Written on board the Endeavour [a sledge boat detailed from the Hecla] in Latitude 82 3/4˚ N. 27th July, 1827. Jas. C. Ross.” (p. 355)
A Relic of Ross.
- Arctic Reading: Great Britain
Danish Greenland: Its People and Its Products
- Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
p. 168: on training of indigenous boys: The author cannot omit adding one instance to illustrate this. Once he took such a boy with him to Denmark, where he stayed only one winter as apprentice in a printing-office, and acquired a skill in book-printing, lithography, and bookbinding, of which he has afterwards given proofs by managing, all by himself, without the least assistance, a small office in Greenland, the productions of which will be mentioned by and by. This young man is by no means a rare exception; perhaps one out of ten may be found to be equally highly gifted. It cannot be denied that the half-breeds seem to surpass the original race as regards such perfectibility.
Trip to Alaska. A Narrative of What was Seen and Heard During a Summer Cruise in Alaskan Waters.
- 1879 US Treasury Summer Cruise to Alaska (Captain Bailey aboard Richard Rush).
- Arctic Reading: United States
p. 79-80, on Russian church services in the 1880s: As you enter, the congregation stands facing the screen, but back from the rotunda. The men stand upon the right, the women on the left. The singers consist of men and boys led by the second priest. In Sitka the choir had a position behind a screen to the right of the rotunda. Here in Onalaska they occupy a narrow gallery, where there is also a bench for visitors.
The Terror, a Novel.
- 1848-59 The Franklin Search.
- Arctic Reading: Great Britain
A completely fanciful attempt to explain what might have happened to the Franklin expedition.
In the Days of the Red River Rebellion.
- Arctic Reading: Canada
p. 26-27, winter of 1868-69 near Edmondton: Most of our reading was done by the time tallow dip or chimney fire; our literature was limited, and of the ancient type; one thousand miles to the nearest post gave us very little trouble with our mail.
Vixere Fortes: A Family Archives.
- 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition (Mawson).
- Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
This family history of Australian Madigans includes a long chapter (p. 234-+387) on Cecil Madigan, a member of Mawson’s AAE team (1911-14). The latter is based on Cecil’s diaries which are very harsh on Mawson’s leadership and his ability to get the best out of his men. There are a good number of notes about reading:
Dr John Rae.
- Arctic Reading: General
p. 35: Rae happily spent the winter [1845] at York Factory. He built a ‘laboratory’ and occupied himself with meteorological observations and he taught some of his men to assist him. The company [HBC] maintained a small library at York and Rae used it to continue his study of natural history, botany, geology and other subjects.
Archives at Georgetown University
- 1881-84 International Physical Year US Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay (led by Adolphus Greely).
- Arctic Reading: United States
Green was ghostwriter for Byrd’s Skyward, participated in MacMillan’s Crocker Land Expedition, and was responsible for killing a native.
The Zoology of Captain Beechey’s Voyage, Compiled from the Collections and Notes made by Captain Beechey….1825-28.
- 1825-28 British Voyage to Pacific Northwest to Meet Captain Franklin at the Bering Straits.
- Arctic Reading: Great Britain
After three voyages as a subordinate officer Frederick Beechey was appointed commander of HMS Blossom in 1825 and assigned to the Bering Straits to await the arrival of John Franklin on his second overland expedition to the Mackenzie River Delta and on to the Alaska coast. Although Franklin never arrived (they missed each other by only 200 miles), Beechey and his men employed the time in scientific observation, especially of specimens of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, some from the South Seas but many from the Arctic waters of Kamchatka and Alaska.
The Barren Grounds of Northern Canada.
- 1889-91 Canadian Overland Journey to Barron Grounds by Warburton Pike.
- Arctic Reading: Canada
An 1889-91 trip from Edmonton to Athabasca and the barren grounds in search of caribou and musk-ox. Pike nearly starved on Peace River in 1891.
Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Laurence, Through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans; In the Years 1789 and 1793. With a Preliminary Account of the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the Fur Trade of that Country.
- 1789-93 Overland Voyages of Mackenzie Exploring the Far North.
- Arctic Reading: Canada
Mackenzie was the first white man to cross the Rockies, discover the river named for him, following it to the Arctic Ocean, and to write the early history of the fur trade.
On the “Polar Star” in the Arctic Sea.
- 1899-1900 Italian North Polar Expedition (aboard Polar Star commanded by the Duke of Abruzzi and Umberto Cagni).
- Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
Volume. I.
The Frigid Mistress: Life and Exploration in Antarctica.
- 1957- Operation Deep Freeze.
- Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
A personal account of five trips to the Antarctic, mainly to Byrd Station. Probably the worst book of Antarctic exploration I’ve encountered. To quote one review of this account of five visits to Antarctica: “He is no writer.” There is one paragraph about the library room at Byrd Station: if the publisher had remembered to provide pagination I would provide a citation—it’s near the beginning of the book.
Twelve Came Back.
- 1952-53 Australian Heard Island Expedition.
- Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
An account of an Australian expedition (1952-53) to Heard Island between Kerguélen Islands and the Antarctic continent, in which two of fourteen members died (one frozen, another drowned). A rather pedestrian account but there are a few interesting passages:
The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
- Antarctic Reading: General
A well-written and fairly balanced hagiography by a friend of both Shackleton and his widow. There are few passages on Shackleton’s early reading including the first Scott expedition aboard Discovery.