Hunters on the Track
eBook - ePub

Hunters on the Track

William Penny and the Search for Franklin

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Hunters on the Track

William Penny and the Search for Franklin

About this book

Captains of whaling vessels were experienced navigators of northern waters, and William Penny was in the vanguard of the whaling fraternity. Leading the first maritime expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, he stood out not just for his skill as a sailor but for his curiosity about northern geography and his willingness to seek out Inuit testimony to map uncharted territory. Hunters on the Track describes and analyzes the efforts made by the Scottish whaling master to locate Franklin's missing expedition. Bookended by an account of Penny's whaling career, including the rediscovery of Cumberland Sound, which would play a vital role in British whaling a decade later, W. Gillies Ross provides an in-depth history of the first Franklin searches. He reconstructs the brief but frenetic period when the English-speaking world was preoccupied with locating Franklin, but when the means of that search – the ships chosen, the route taken, the evidence of Franklin's traces – were contested and uncertain. Ross details the particularities of each search at a time when no fewer than eight ships comprising four search expeditions were attempting to find Franklin's tracks. Reconstructing events, relationships, and decisions, he focuses on the work of Penny as commander of HMS Lady Franklin and Sophia, while also outlining the events of other expeditions and interactions among the officers and crews. William Penny is respected as one of the most influential and innovative figures in British Arctic whaling history, but his brief role in the Franklin expedition is less known. Using primary sources, notably private journals from each of the expeditions, Hunters on the Track places him at the forefront of a critical chapter of maritime history and the geographical exploration that began after Franklin disappeared.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Hunters on the Track by W. Gillies Ross in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Military & Maritime History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Illustrations
  7. Prologue
  8. 1 Franklin Departs
  9. 2 William Penny and Arctic Whaling
  10. 3 The Summer of 1845
  11. 4 Whaling Interlude
  12. 5 Concern Mounts
  13. 6 A Silver Penny
  14. 7 Under Way
  15. 8 More Hunters on the Track
  16. 9 North from Disko
  17. 10 Sail versus Steam
  18. 11 A Massacre Reported
  19. 12 To the West Land
  20. 13 Into Lancaster Sound
  21. 14 Wellington Channel
  22. 15 West to Cornwallis Island
  23. 16 Beset in the Drifting Pack
  24. 17 Into Winter Quarters
  25. 18 Preparations for Winter
  26. 19 The Festive Season
  27. 20 The Sledging Season: A False Start
  28. 21 Second Attempt
  29. 22 Penny’s Boat Voyage
  30. 23 A Thousand-Mile Drift among Ice Floes
  31. 24 Homeward Voyage
  32. 25 Penny’s Arrival
  33. 26 The Inquiry
  34. 27 An Open Polar Sea?
  35. 28 A Dispute over Place Names
  36. 29 Penny’s Portrait
  37. 30 A Gratifying Acknowledgment
  38. 31 Persistence
  39. Postscript
  40. Unit Conversion Table
  41. Notes
  42. Bibliography
  43. Index of Names
  44. Index of Places
  45. Index of Ships