In 1899 Robert Peary, exploring northern Greenland in search of the North Pole, lost seven toes to frostbite but refused to cut his exploration short to seek treatment. When his wife learned of his condition, she and their seven-year-old daughter set off in July 1900 to find Peary and persuade him to come home. The 1901 expedition documented in this fascinating new book was organized to deliver supplies to Peary and to search for his wife and child. The book comprises the annotated diaries and photographs of two participants in the expedition, Clarence Wyckoff and Louis Bement, close friends from Ithaca, New York who paid $500 each to join the voyage.
Wyckoff and Bement embarked looking forward to what twenty-first century travelers would call adventure tourism. They envisioned themselves hunting wild game, admiring and photographing magnificent scenery, and escaping the stresses of their lives as businessmen. The scenery did not disappoint, as the photographs assembled here testify, but the stress of sailing in polar seas was worse than the travelers imagined. They endured maggoty food, head lice, and hives. The ice and the incompetence of the ship's crew threatened their lives on more than one occasion. In addition to the drama of the journey and the magnificent Arctic scenery, this travelogue is a valuable record of the American explorers' encounters with Inuit people, many of whom are identified by name.
"The photographs and journals provide insights into the personalities and values of individuals who would later become some of the most famous Arctic explorers or backers in the world. . . . Anyone interested in the history of Arctic photography and polar exploration will be excited by these materials."—Professor Susan A. Kaplan, Director, The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum
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