From Woody's Couch

This blog post is part of the Frozen Friday Series, an A-Z journey of the Polar Archives.  Each week, we will feature some aspect of the history of polar exploration with a blog post written by our student authors

“Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.”[1] And so read an advertisement supposedly printed in the London newspaper The Times[2], submitted by the famed polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton sometime in the early twentieth century. The ad might also have read something like “men needed for mission to boldly go where no man has gone before,” and would retain no less accuracy or meaning. Simply, the advertisement is a call to arms, asking young men to set aside their lives at home for the exotic, the dangerous, and the unknown in the name of personal glory and adventure. Although this advertisement likely never existed as it has been presented,[3]it does capture something of the mentality required by the explorer: a willingness to endure harsh conditions for great amounts of time, courage in face of possible injury and death, and extended time apart from loved ones, all for the sake of a chance for personal heroism. These real-life Captain Kirks existed well into the modern era.

By 1900, the world had shrunk significantly. Europeans had mapped the ‘darkest’ parts of the world; plunging into the heart of Africa and the mountains and deserts of Asia seeking to expand the breadth of Western knowledge.[4] Those blank spaces on the map had all but been filled in, apart from the cold, harsh Antarctic. In the toilsome and disheartening years of the Great Depression, the words “Dicky’ Bird is going south again” inspired in the hearts of many Americans, “tired of the deadly squabbles between Europe’s dictators and democrats and ground down by the daily effort to make or find a living in the midst of constant privation”, a feeling of romantic wonder and national pride[5]. The collections of the Polar Archives at the Ohio State University has the papers of many such polar explorers, including Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Sir George Hubert Wilkins, men who could be considered the embodiment of polar heroism and held the deep adoration and fascination of the American public.

Not only were Byrd and Wilkins considered heroic in the eyes of the public, the men with whom they served also saw them as heroes. One man serving under Wilkins described him in 1933 as “a wonderful leader” and wrote that Wilkins “never made decisions without giving us the opportunity either of making suggestions or of declining to undertake tasks if we felt unable to carry them out. But I think that most of us trusted Sir Hubert so implicitly that we gladly followed his ideas.”[6] Another member of that same expedition claimed that he “looked up to Sir Hubert as a dog does to his master. It was a tremendous honour to serve under such a great explorer.”[7] Wilkins always put the needs of the crew in their proper place of importance. When his plane, the Polar Star, was ruined before it could be flown over the Antarctic, Wilkins worked diligently with young men half his age to transport, by hand, heavy sledges of supplies for ten hours each day in thirty degrees Fahrenheit below zero against heavy winds for the purpose of another flight attempt the next spring[8].

Admiral Richard Byrd held those characteristics one would find common amongst the greatest of leaders and explorers of any generation. Claude Swanson, a lifelong friend of the Admiral, found that Byrd’s “father’s indignant denunciations of foolhardiness were more than justified”[9]. A childhood friend of Byrd who accompanied a young Byrd on his travels across the globe, “attributes some of his gray hair to the anxiety accompanying his efforts to locate the young daredevil who had managed to slip away on his Filipino pony and join a sheriff’s posse…who were…rounding up a group of desperate bandits.”[10] Along with this proclivity towards adventure imbued in Byrd seemingly at birth was a profound sense of duty to others. This manifested itself best in relation to the men of Byrd’s First Antarctic expedition, 1933-1935. When a party of geologists left Little America I on a mission, their plane and only method of transport was swept away and destroyed in a storm with winds of over hundred miles per hour[11]. The men were stranded for several days before they heard Byrd, flying above on a mission of rescue[12]. Upon returning to the United States and the lands of warmth (or at least not eternal cold) after his expedition, Byrd was likely to be voted a special medal of honor by Congress[13]. Byrd then asked that medals be awarded to his men instead, to which Congress agreed[14].

Wilkins and Byrd were the explorers of their time. To their men and to the public, they were reincarnations of the mythical explorers of old. Their actions spoke louder than their words, but that is not to say that their words were not already heard and appreciated.

One can learn more about Byrd and Wilkins and their incredible lives of exploration and adventure at the Polar Archives at the Ohio State University.

 

[1] Colin Schultz, “Shackleton Probably Never Took Out an Ad Seeking Men for a Hazardous Journey”, Smart News, September 10, 2013, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shackleton-probably-never-took-out-an-ad-seeking-men-for-a-hazardous-journey-5552379/?no-ist.

[2] Shultz, Shackleton “Probably Never Took Out an Ad”.

[3] Shultz, Shackleton “Probably Never Took Out an Ad”.

[4] Lisle A. Rose, Explorer (Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press, 2008), 2.

[5] Rose, Explorer 1.

[6] Simon Nasht, The Last Explorer (Sydney: Hodder Australia, 2005), 260

[7] Nasht, The Last Explorer 261

[8] Nasht, The Last Explorer 260-261

[9] Claude A. Swanson, introduction to Discovery, by Richard E. Byrd (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1953), vii.

[10] Swanson, introduction vii.

[11] Antarctica, 2nd ed., s.v. “Conquest by Air.” (Surry Hills: Reader’s Digest, 1990)

[12] Antarctica, “Conquest by Air”

[13] Swanson, introduction xiii

[14] Swanson, introduction xiii

Works Cited

“Conquest by Air.” In Antarctica, 2nd ed. Surry Hills: Reader’s Digest, 1990.

Nasht, Simon. The Last Explorer. Sydney: Hodder Australia, 2005.

Rose, Lisle A. Explorer. Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press, 2008.

Schultz, Colin. Shackleton Probably Never Took Out an Ad Seeking Men for a Hazardous Journey. Smart News, September 10, 2013. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shackleton-probably-never-took-out-an-ad-seeking-men-for-a-hazardous-journey-5552379/?no-ist.

Swanson, Claude A. Introduction to Discovery, by Richard E. Byrd, vii-xv. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1953.

Written by John Hooton.

This blog post is part of the Frozen Friday Series, an A-Z journey of the Polar Archives.  Each week, we will feature some aspect of the history of polar exploration with a blog post written by our student authors

Mount Denali, located in central Alaska, is the highest mountain in North America. First sighted in 1794,
the mountain is in such a remote area that it would not appear on any maps of the area until 1830, and it would not be summited until 1913.

In 1897, gold prospector William Dickey called it Mount McKinley after Ohioan William McKinley, who had just been named the Republican presidential candidate. This officially became the name after McKinley was assassinated a few years later. The mountain was officially called McKinley until 2015, when President Barrack Obama officially returned the mountain to its Athabascan name, Denali, which means “the great one.”

The mountain has two distinct peaks: a shorter northern peak which reaches 19,470 feet and a southern peak which tops out at 20,320 feet. At such a height, Mt. Denali is one of the highest mountains in the world based on the traditional measurement, which is the mountain’s height above sea level. Measured from base to peak, however, and Denali becomes the tallest land-based mountain at eighteen thousand feet—much taller than Mt. Everest’s twelve thousand feet.

Denali’s height and location play a monumental role in the mountain’s weather and shape. Because the Earth’s atmosphere curves around the planet unevenly, Denali nearly reaches the edge of the troposphere and comes very close to the jet stream. Under certain conditions, the jet stream can unleash winds of over one hundred miles per hour at the peaks. These winds can triple in velocity while traveling down the mountain. Anything unfortunate enough to be in the wind’s path—climbers, loose rocks, snow—is stripped off the mountain.

In addition, because the summit is so close to the lower atmosphere, oxygen levels only reach about sixty percent of the oxygen available at sea level. Added to the perpetual snowfall, frequent avalanches, hidden fissures under the ice, endlessly steep terrain, and a reputation for sudden storms, this makes Denali one of the world’s most difficult mountains to climb.

The first attempt to climb the mountain came in 1903. Five men, led by James Wickersham and aided by numerous locals, tried to scale the Northern Peak but had the misfortune to pick the most challenging route. They turned back after eight thousand feet.

Just a few months later, experienced polar explorer Dr. Frederick Cook decided to make his own attempt at the summit. Cook believed that his knowledge of polar regions—which are remarkably similar to the conditions on the mountain—would give him an edge. This first attempt failed, however, due to Cook’s poorly chosen route, bad planning and an amateur crew. Cook and his party did manage to circumnavigate the mountain, which was a major accomplishment, and would not be repeated for fifty years.

Cook opted to try again three years later. This attempt did not fare much better than his 1903 expedition. Cook had extensive trouble ferrying his men and horses across the streams, passes and swamps of the lower mountain. Realizing in late July that further climbing would be futile, Cook instead prepared for a scheduled big game hunt with a sponsor. When this sponsor did not appear as planned, Cook took the opportunity to return with two men to further explore the mountain. That September, Cook returned claiming to have reached the summit and return in mere twelve days (eight to ascend and four to return). It would not be long before Cook’s claim was contested by those who had attempted to climb the mountain themselves, including members of Cook’s own expeditions.  Yet, at the time, there was no hard evidence to prove otherwise.  Cook returned to the continental U.S. a hero, and quickly turned his attention to the North Pole.  On July 7, 1907, he and a wealthy benefactor set off for Greenland, and a subsequent attempt to reach the North Pole.  Cook would not return to civilization until 1909 – and thus, he was unavailable to answer any questions or respond to any scrutiny about his Mt. McKinley claim.

Meanwhile, doubters tried to repeat Dr. Cook’s route to prove that he had not summited McKinley as he had claimed.  It wasn’t until June 7, 1913, that Walter Harper, Harry Karstens, Hudson Stuck and Robert Tatum achieved the summit.

 

To learn more about this amazing and beautiful place, visit the National Park Service’s website here.

And to learn more about Dr. Cook and his role in the history of Mt. McKinley, visit our online exhibit about Dr. Cook here.

Finally, for a book that lays out the controversy, including photographic evidence, we recommend The Dishonorable Dr. Cook, by Bradford Washburn.

Written by  Autumn Snellgrove and edited by John Hooton.

This blog post is part of the Frozen Friday Series, an A-Z journey of the Polar Archives.  Each week, we will feature some aspect of the history of polar exploration with a blog post written by our student authors.

During the Antarctic winter of 1898, Dr. Frederick A. Cook found himself trapped on the ship Belgica in the Antarctic with eighteen other men. The dark and damp conditions drove some men insane and brought each man to a state of depression and irritability. Later, his shipmates would recall Cook as “most popular man on the expedition…Upright, honorable, capable and conscientious in the extreme.”[i] History, however, was much harsher. Frederick Cook is typically remembered as the con man that tricked the world into believing that he had scaled Mount McKinley in 1906, and reached the North Pole in 1909.  Both claims would be contested.  As the Reader’s Digest explains, “the enigmatic Dr. Frederick Cook is either one of the greatest explorers of all time or a confidence man of exceptional talent.”[ii]

As a young man, Cook was a doctor with a small medical practice. Business was slow for the new doctor, and in his spare time, Cook began studying the Arctic. This interest led Cook to join Robert Peary’s 1891 expedition to Greenland. With the stated goal of defining the northern limit of Greenland, the expedition, with Cook as a star member, was a resounding success. It was on this trip that Cook demonstrated the resourcefulness and the adaptability that would prove his worth. Besides dealing with general medical problems. Cook set about studying everything he could about the Arctic including how to ski, speak the native language, and finding a solution to scurvy.

Like many polar explorers, though, one adventure was not enough. In 1897, Cook joined the crew of the Belgica at the request of Commander de Gerlache. Due to travel delays, the Belgica did not reach Antarctica until January—very late in the exploring season. At the end of February, the ship entered the pack ice and was trapped. The crew found themselves stranded on an unprepared and under-equipped ship for the entirety of an Antarctic winter. Cook kept the crew healthy and in positive spirits, earning their praise. Based on his experience in the Arctic, Cook convinced his companions to eat fresh meat, warding off a plague of debilitating scurvy. Cook also found a solution for the “form of anemia peculiar to the polar regions,”[iii] which could cause insomnia, digestive concerns, and an erratic pulse that attacked the crew as the months without sight of the sun progressed. Deciding that this was due to lack of sunlight, Cook proscribed a “baking treatment”[iv] where the afflicted would lay nude in front of an open fire for several hours. This treatment raised spirits, cured symptoms. and gave the men more energy.

Cook also gave full expression to his improvising talents. He designed and built a light polar sled and a tent which one men could set up in five minutes. Cook’s ingenuity also freed the Belgica from its icy prison. As the polar summer approached, and the ice began to think about thawing, Cook proposed cutting two trenches stretching from the ship to the water. After several fits and starts, the plan worked and the Belgica broke free, making the crew the first to successfully winter in Antarctica.

In 1903, Cook set out to scale North America’s highest mountain—Mount McKinley (now known as Denali and will be featured in our next post). Along with several others, Cook became the first to circumnavigate the mountain, but failed to reach the peak. Cook tried again in 1906 when he was initially thwarted by the weather and mislaid plans. After his original plans fell through, Cook and his companion Edward Barrill lingered on the mountain, looking for another route. Then, according to Cook, the weather changed and he and Barrill found a line of paths right up to the summit. They then, in only four days, descended from the mountain. When Cook returned from Alaska he received multiple awards and an overflow of praise for this accomplishment.

Cook’s claim to have reached the summit was questioned almost immediately.  But Cook was off again on another adventure.  In 1907, he set off with sleds and dog harnesses of his own design, to reach the North Pole, something his old friend Peary had been trying and failing to do for years. Cook reached the Pole in late April with two Eskimos, but it took him over a year to return to his base camp and journey home.  In September of 1909, when Cook finally returned, he announced his success to the world. Several days later, Peary contested Cook with his own claim of success. Both men traveled to the pole with only a few companions, none of whom could take the necessary navigational readings to back up either Cook or Peary. Ultimately, neither could provide the necessary positive proof of their achievement. Nevertheless, Peary set out to thoroughly discredit Cook. Cook’s reputation never recovered.

In 1917, Dr. Cook was hired by New York Oil to prospect for oil based on his knowledge of geology.  He would eventually form the Petroleum Producer’s Association, which became one of the largest employers in Fort Worth.   This success was short-lived.  Cook was indicted on mail fraud charges in 1923 in relation to his oil business, and served time in Leavenworth.  Upon his release in 1930, he lived a relatively quiet life, until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1940.  Cook received a death bed pardon from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Cook’s daughter, Helene Cook Vetter, would go on to start the Frederick A. Cook Society to defend her father’s claimed achievements.

The Polar Archives holds the records of the Frederick A. Cook Society.  To learn more about Dr. Cook’s life and achievements, as well as the controversy surrounding him, visit our virtual exhibit : https://library.osu.edu/projects/frederick-cook/.

Text written by Autumn Snellgrove and edited by John Hooton.

[i] Reader’s Digest Antarctica, page 133

[ii] Exploring Polar Frontiers, page 153

[iii] True North, page 125

[iv] True North, page 125