Schwatka's Search - Sledging in the Arctic in Quest of the Franklin Records (eBook)

A correspondent of the New York Herald, Gilder chronicled his death-defying experiences in a journey of almost 2,000 miles across Siberia.

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In 1845, British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) embarked on his third and final expedition into the Canadian Arctic to force the Northwest Passage. After two years with no word, a GBP20,000 reward was offered to anyone who could find the expedition, leading to many rescue attempts. One such attempt was the De Long expedition on the "e;Rodgers"e; under Captain Berry, for which William Henry Gilder (1838-1900) was second in command between 1878 to 1880. After a disaster in which the vessel was burned on the western shore of Bering Strait, Gilder embarked on a journey of almost 2,000 miles across Siberia to relay the news of the disaster via telegram. A correspondent of the New York Herald, Gilder chronicled his death-defying experiences in "e;Schwatka's Search: Sledging in the Arctic in Quest of the Franklin Records"e;. Contents include: "e;Northward"e;, "e;The Winter Camp"e;, "e;Our Dogs"e;, "e;In the Sledges"e;, "e;Native Witnesses"e;, "e;The Midnight Sun"e;, "e;Relics"e;, "e;Irving's Grave"e;, "e;Arctic Costumes"e;, "e;Over Melting Snows"e;, "e;Amateur Esquimaux"e;, "e;Walrus Diet"e;, etc. Read & Co. History is republishing this classic memoir now in a brand new edition complete with an introductory biography by John Knox Laughton.