Journey to the Arctic

The True Story of the Disastrous 1871 Mission to the North Pole

Euphemia Vale Blake

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9781620875797
• eBook ISBN:
  9781626364806
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

"While floating down on the ice-floe, in the midst of dirt and darkness, hungry and cold… I wondered at myself that I could have learned, in a few short months, to have eaten such things, and submitted to such practices, as but few civilized persons have ever been called to endure." In June of 1871, navigator George E. Tyson and the Polaris sailed forth from New York to pursue an American dream—to be the first expedition to explore the icy waters of the North Pole. Led by Captain Hall, veteran Arctic explorer, and funded with a $50, 000 grant from the U.S. Congress, it seemed the Polaris would not fail. But the voyage was doomed from the start: impassable ice-floes, a crew that couldn't get along, and eventually the poisoning and untimely death of Captain Hall. Finally, as winter approached, Tyson and half the crew found themselves stranded on the Arctic ice, incapable of reconnecting with their ship. They would not be rescued for six months. Through Tyson's detailed notes and a journal written upon the ice, Journey to the Arctic tells the harrowing tale of survival, slow starvation, and of men turned wild in frigid climes.This definitive edition includes original engravings of the explorers and their findings, charts and maps of their journey, and a new introduction by famed adventure essayist and Arctic exploration expert Peter Stark.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Editor’s Note
• Copyright
• Title Page
• Introduction.
• Preface
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Introductory Chapter.
• Chapter II. Captain Tyson’s Early Arctic Experience.
• Chapter III. The Polaris Expedition.
• Chapter IV.
• Chapter V. Biographical Sketch of Captain Hall.
• Chapter VI.
• Chapter VII. Notes By Captain Tyson on Board the Polaris.
• Chapter VIII.
• Chapter IX.
• Chapter X.
• Chapter XI.
• Chapter XII.
• Chapter XIII.
• Chapter XIV.
• Chapter XV.
• Chapter XVI. Journal Op George E. Tyson, Assistant Navigator on United States Steamer Polaris, Kept on the Ice-Ploe.
• Chapter XVII.
• Chapter XVIII.
• Chapter XIX.
• Chapter XX.
• Chapter XXI.
• Chapter XXII.
• Chapter XXIII.
• Chapter XXIV.
• Chapter XXV.
• Chapter XXVI.
• Chapter XXVII.
• Chapter XXVIII. The Search for the Polaris and the Survivors of the Expedition.
• Chapter XXIX.
• Chapter XXX. Captain Tyson’s Cruise in the Tigress.
• Chapter XXXI.
• Chapter XXXII.
• Chapter XXXIII.
• Chapter XXXIV. Theory of North Polar Currents.
• Chapter XXXV.
• Chapter XXXVI. The Fate of the Polaris.
• Chapter XXXVII. The Fortunes of the Polaris Survivors.
• Chapter XXXVIII. Scientific Notes.
• Appendix
• Index