Polaris : the chief scientist's recollections of the American North Pole expedition, 1871-73 / Emil Bessels ; translated from the German: Die amerikanische Nordpol-Expedition (Leipzig: Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, 1879) [and edited] by William Barr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bessels, Emil, author.

Contributor:

Engelmann, Wilhelm, 1879, translator.

Barr, William, editor.

Series:

Northern lights series (Calgary, Alta.) ; Number 19.

Northern Lights, ; Number 19

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bessels, Emil, 1847-1888--Travel--Arctic regions.

Bessels, Emil.

Hall, Charles Francis, 1821-1871--Travel--Arctic regions.

Hall, Charles Francis.

Polaris (Ship).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (674 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Calgary, Alberta : University of Calgary Press, 2016.

Summary:

Emil Bessels was chief scientist and medical officer on George Francis Hall's ill-fated American North Pole Expedition of 1871-73 on board the ship Polaris. Bessels' book, translated from the German in its entirety for the first time, is one of only two first-hand accounts of the voyage, and it is the only first-hand account of the experiences of the group which stayed with the ship after it ran afoul of arctic ice, leaving some of its crew stranded on an ice floe. Bessels and the others spent a second winter on shore in Northwest Greenland, where the drifting, disabled ship ran aground. Hall died suspiciously during the first winter, and Bessels is widely suspected of having poisoned him. Bill Barr has uncovered new evidence of a possible motive. Polaris includes considerable detail which does not appear elsewhere. It is the only account of the expedition which includes rich scientific information about anthropology, geology, flora and fauna. It provides much more information than other accounts on the Greenland settlements Polaris visited on her way north. Bessels' is the only published first-hand account of the second wintering of part of the ship's complement on shore at Polaris House, near Littleton Island, and of that party's attempt at travelling south by boat until picked up by the Scottish whaler Ravenscraig. The same applies to the cruise aboard the whaler, Arctic, after Bessels and his companions transferred to that ship.Essential reading for researchers and students of arctic exploration history, this book is also a compelling read for the interested general reader.

Contents:

Front Cover

Series Page

Full Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

List of Figures

Expedition Members

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Dedication

Preface

1 | Origin of the expedition and its outfitting

2 | From New York to Newfoundland

3 | From Newfoundland to Greenland

4 | From Holsteinsborg to the northernmost settlement on Earth

5 | Historical review

6 | Into unknown territory

7 | The first days in Polaris Bay

8 | The first sledge journey

9 | Hall's sledge trip

10 | In the realm of darkness

11 | The New Year

12 | Through darkness to the light

13 | The southern sledge trip

14 | Early summer

15 | The boat voyage north

16 | The summer

17 | Southward

18 | On terra firma

19 | An ethnographic sketch

20 | Further progress

21 | The start of the ice floe drift

22 | Between hopelessness and optimism

23 | Spring on the floe

24 | The seals

25 | Salvation

26 | The boat voyage in arctic waters

27 | Whaling

28 | The search

29 | Homeward bound

Epilogue: Motive for Murder

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed December 23, 2016).

ISBN:

1-55238-877-8

OCLC:

962129505