This publication, as the title page indicates, was written specifically for “Young Americans”, and is but one story of many produced by the Werner School Book Company. Other titles include stories of well-known American heroes such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John C. Fremont, and Lewis and Clark, etc.
The publication consists approximately 68 pages of text, and
approximately 11 black and white images, and an additional
46 images that are part not of the original book.
This is an ideal book for the first time exposure to the American explorer, Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, and the early explorations of the Arctic. If this publication piques your interest, and you’d like to read more about Dr. Kane, and the exploration of the Arctic, see our other offering, Arctic Explorations in the Years 1853, ‘54, ‘55.
Arctic Explorations
I’m a California kid, so I get cold when the temperature dips to 40 degrees. I can’t even image living in a place where it actually snows…. Brrrrrr…
So, it is astonishing to me, that Dr Kane volunteered for such duty. He actually wanted to explore the Arctic; to study it; to experience.
The early explorations of the Arctic, were like no other explorations. Not only were the explorers faced with the ‘usual’ constant hardships and dangers, such as drowning, or starving, or scurvy, or being lost, or being killed, or maimed, and, in some cases, even eaten (by animals and humans), they faced the very real prospect of freezing to death.
And how about isolation ? Could you imagine being on a tiny, crowded wooden ship, stuck in the ice for months at a time, and sometimes years at a time ? And it’s not like everyone took a bath every day; or that there was a huge variety of food; there was no cable TV, and no Internet. No mail, no email. And definitely, there were no women.
If the ship survived, you would eventually sail away, but, sometimes the ship was crushed by the ice, and you had to make your way to land, or perish, as many did. (Dr. Kane and his men hiked overland for 82 days when their ship was destroyed).
And it’s not like these explorations had the promise of
riches to those who returned. I mean, a trip to the Spice Islands with Captain Cook could enrich a sailor for life. And there were no prolonged visits to Fiji, or the Hawaiian Islands, etc, for rest and relaxation.
To me, the Arctic Explorers had to endure the worst hardships. Which, to me, makes it even more amazing that Dr. Kane had volunteered several times to participate in such expeditions.
He was an adventurer, at heart, before he ever explored the Arctic, so I guess several trips to the Arctic seemed to suit him just fine. And what is even more astonishing, is he had a somewhat fragile constitution, and he was often very ill, even near death, during these these trips.
He was obviously a valuable asset on these expeditions. As a doctor, he did care for the men, and did his best to to minister to their needs and wants. There is much affection toward him, to this end.
Even though he died at the ripe young age of 37, Dr. Kane was a much revered hero of his time; much more so than our modern society recognizes.
Table of Contents:
I. BOYHOOD
II. STUDIES MEDICINE
III. IN FOREIGN LANDS
IV. IN MEXICO
V. SENT TO THE ARCTIC SEAS
VI. IN THE POLAR REGIONS
VII. FAST IN THE ICE
VIII. BEARS AND WALRUSES
IX. TRACES OF FRANKLIN
X. WINTER IN THE ICE
XI. OFF FOR HOME
XII. PLANS FOR A NEW EXPEDITION
XIII. JOURNEYING BY LAND AND SEA
XIV. A VISIT FROM ESKIMOS
XV. ANOTHER ARCTIC WINTER
XVI. THE "ADVANCE" LEFT IN THE ICE
XVII. HOME AGAIN
