
Polaris : The Chief Scientist's Recollections of the American North Pole Expedition, 1871-73
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Polaris : The Chief Scientist's Recollections of the American North Pole Expedition, 1871-73
About this book
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. Essential reading for researchers and students of arctic exploration history, this book is also a compelling read for the interested general reader.
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Information
Table of 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