TRUE TALESOF ARCTIC HEROISM
TRUE TALESOF ARCTIC HEROISM
IN THE NEW WORLD
BY
MAJOR-GENERAL A. W. GREELY, U. S. ARMY
GOLD-MEDALLIST ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY AND OF SOCIÉTÉ DE GÉOGRAPHIE
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
Copyright, 1912, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
Printed in the United States of America
PREFACE
From the dawn of history great deeds and heroicactions have ever fed the flame of noble thought.Horace tells us that
In epic strains of heroes, wars and kings.
The peace-aspiring twentieth century tends towardphases of heroism apart from either wars or kings,and so the heroic strains of the "True Tales" appearin the unwarlike environment of uncommercial explorations.
One object of this volume is to recall in part thegeographic evolution of North America and of itsadjacent isles. The heroic-loving American youth isnot always familiar with the deeds of daring, the devotionto duty, and the self-abnegation which haveso often illumined the stirring annals of explorationin arctic America.
Notable exemplars of heroic conduct have alreadybeen inscribed on the polar scroll of immortals, amongwhom are Franklin and McClintock, of England; Kane,of America; Rae, of Scotland; and Mylius-Erichsen, ofDenmark. Less known to the world are the namesBrönlund, Egerton and Rawson, Holm, Hegemann,Jarvis and Bertholf, Kalutunah, Parr, Petitot, Pim,Richardson, Ross, Schwatka and Gilder, Sonntag,Staffe, Tyson and Woon, whose deeds appear herein.As to the representative women, Lady Jane Franklinis faintly associated in men's minds with arctic heroism,while Merkut, the Inuit, has been only mentionedincidentally. Yet all these minor actors have displayedsimilar qualities of courage and of self-sacrificewhich are scarcely less striking than those shown in thelives of others who are recognized as arctic heroes.
The "True Tales" are neither figments of the fancynor embellished exaggerations of ordinary occurrences.They are exact accounts of unusual episodes of arcticservice, drawn from official relations and other absolutelyaccurate sources. Some of these heroic actionsinvolve dramatic situations, which offer strong temptationsfor thrilling and picturesque enlargements.The writer has sedulously avoided such methods, preferringto follow the course quaintly and delightfullyset forth by the unsurpassed French essayist of thesixteenth century.
Montaigne