Race to the Polar Sea, written by Ken McGoogan and published by Harper Collins Ltd. in 2008 is an amazing book produced after extensive research through long forgotten journals and records and written by a very skilled story teller.
In 1850 – 1855, about the time of the Cariboo gold rush and Darwin’s thesis on evolution, there was an intense curiosity about the earth’s poles and especially a northwest passage.
Sir John Franklin, in April 1845, sailed into the Arctic with two ships, in his final expedition, to find the elusive shorter route to the Orient. He disappeared and by 1850 many had tried to find Franklin – many paid the final price.
Elisha Kent Kane, a medical doctor and son of a wealthy Philadelphian, led two expeditions to the Arctic after an astonishing life of adventure in Brazil, China, Africa and Mexico, all while frequently in poor health. At one point he had been lowered into the core of a volcano in the Phillipines – barely escaping with his life.
Encountering the slave trade in Africa, he became an abolitionist and in 1861 the American Civil War started, while our gold rush exploded.
At that time, there was a popular belief in an open north polar sea which lasted for several years and many believed Franklin might be trapped there.
European and North American explorers were not adapted to ice conditions but the most successful, including Kane, learned to adopt the “Eskimo” lifestyle and survived – Kane with two years trapped in the ice. In 1850 he stood at the three graves of Franklin’s crew on Beechey Island and determined to find survivors and a passage.
He was a hero when he successfully returned after suffering starvation, scurvy and desertion. In 1856 he published a book about the expedition.
He died Feb. 16, 1857 in Havana, leaving a will but having a tangled love affair meant his wishes were not carried out.
He left an invaluable record of the Arctic in sketches and journals, “as it was” before global warming.
Our fascination with the poles continues and this book is a valuable source of new information.
Andy Motherwell is an amateur historian and regular Observer columnist.