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I AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPLORATION a SOCIAL and CULTURAL AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPLORATION A SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY, 1890-1930 A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Robert D. Lukens May 2011 Examining Committee Members: Kenneth L. Kusmer, Advisory Chair, Department of History Andrew C. Isenberg, Department of History Susan E. Klepp, Department of History Frederick E. Nelson, External Member, University of Delaware, Department of Geography i ABSTRACT The Arctic has long held power over the American imagination as a place of otherworldly beauty, life-threatening elements, and dangerous wildlife. Nearing the end of the nineteenth century, in a time of great anxiety about the direction of American society, the region took on new significance. As a new frontier, the Arctic was a place where explorers could establish a vigorous and aggressive type of American manhood through their exploits. Publications, lectures, newspaper accounts, and other media brought the stories of these explorers to those at home. Through such accounts, the stories of brave explorers counteracted the perceived softening of men and American society in general. Women played a crucial role in this process. They challenged the perceived male-only nature of the Arctic while their depiction in publications and the press contradictorily claimed that they retained their femininity. American perceptions of the Arctic were inextricably intertwined with their perceptions of the Inuit, the indigenous peoples that called the region home. In the late-nineteenth-century, Americans generally admired the Inuit as an exceptional race that embodied characteristics that were accepted in American Society as representing ideal manhood. Over time the image of the Arctic in American society shifted from a terrifying yet conquerable place to an accessible and open place by the 1920s. This “friendly Arctic” - a term coined by anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson – appeared to be a less threatening and intimidating place. Due to new technologies and geographical accomplishments, the Arctic appeared to become more accessible and useable. As the Arctic’s depiction in American society gradually shifted towards a more “friendly Arctic,” the role of women in the Arctic shifted as well. Women increasingly ii participated in this new friendly Arctic. While still claiming that their femininity remained, both fictional and non-fictional female explorers participated in a wide array of Arctic activities. The image of the Inuit, too, underwent a transformation. Americans viewed the Inuit with less respect than in prior decades. Open Arctic theories and rising technological advancements contributed to this change. The decline in respect also stemmed from beliefs that the indigenous northerners were set on a course of extinction or assimilation. Ultimately, the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century relationship between Americans and the Arctic laid the foundation for present-day views of the region and the Inuit. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the direction, assistance, and tolerance of many. I would like to acknowledge the invaluable guidance and assistance of my advisor at Temple University, Professor Kenneth L. Kusmer and additional members of my dissertation committee, Temple University Professors Andrew C. Isenberg, and Susan E. Klepp as well as University of Delaware Professor Frederick E. Nelson for their assistance with this dissertation. Additionally, I thank the Arctic Institute of North America for their Grant-in-Aid that contributed to this work, and the assistance of Pam Powell, Diane Rofini, and Ellen Endslow of the Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, PA. Anne Witty at the Peary MacMillan Arctic Museum was incredibly helpful with and knowledgeable about their vast resources. I must also express my gratitude to my wife, Rebecca, and two children, Abbie and Finley for tolerating all of the late nights and early mornings that I read, researched, and wrote to complete this work. Finally, I would like to thank my father William Francis Lukens (1944-1999), who taught me that hard, persistent work always pays off. He was right. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ iv LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE: SAMUEL J. ENTRIKIN AND THE PEARY GREENLAND EXPEDITION OF 1893-1895 .............................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO: GENDER IN THE ARCTIC ....................................................... 43 CHAPTER THREE: AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS OF THE INUIT ...................... 83 CHAPTER FOUR: SPORT, TOURISM, AND THE QUEST FOR ARCTIC RICHES ............................................................................. 123 CHAPTER FIVE: TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARCTIC IN THE 1920s ............ 159 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 209 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 213 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. “Arctic Regions” map, 1906 .................................................................................. 8 2. Samuel J. Entrikin on Board the Falcon .............................................................. 12 3. Man with Walrus.................................................................................................. 13 4. “I walked and hobbled from here” ....................................................................... 14 5. “Christmas Eve in the Arctic”............................................................................ 105 6. “’Pneumoslito’ or ‘Dogless Sled’ in Motion” ................................................... 126 vi INTRODUCTION As related in a 1905 children’s story, George Ricker was a quiet, introverted child. He was poor, fatherless and bookish. The boys in the neighborhood called him “Girlie” and he rarely played with them. One winter’s day, however, the boys decided to “have an Arctic expedition” and reluctantly invited George. They trooped out to the frozen river and built a bonfire on the ice. Without warning, the ice cracked and the boys were stranded. Only George, steeped in tales of the frozen north, kept his head. He grabbed a piece of wood and paddled everyone to shore. He was the hero of this Arctic adventure and was now declared “all-right” by his peers. Resourceful George was no longer a feminized “Girlie.” The message was clear. True men could practice self-mastery and become leaders by bravely conquering Mother Nature’s icy dangers far from civilization. 1 The story of Girlie and countless other fictional and non-fiction accounts demonstrate the intrinsic fascination Americans have had with Arctic exploration for more than two centuries. The extreme climate, vast open spaces, endless light and dark, dangerous polar bears, and intriguing indigenous populations have all created an otherworldly impression of this place in American minds. Tall tales of stalwart explorers braving the ice and cold have become part of the nation’s lore and popular culture. For the historian, however, Arctic exploration is both a rich and challenging episode in American history. The field of research has a strong appeal for the professional as well as the layperson, but its historical meaning is buried beneath many layers of myth. American fascination with the Arctic has roots centuries deep in European exploration. Most historians trace the history of western Arctic exploration back to vii Pytheas, the Greek sailor who ventured close to Iceland in the fourth century B.C.E. Fourteen centuries later, Vikings settled along the rocky coast of ice-covered “Greenland,” drawn by the famed settler Erik the Red who arrived on the island in approximately 982 C.E. As early as the sixteenth century, European mariners began searching for the fabled Northwest Passage, a seafarer’s shortcut to the East. Driven by the desire for new markets, such legendary figures as Henry Hudson and William Baffin accumulated a wealth of scientific and geographical knowledge during their voyages. Exploration efforts accelerated in the first half of the nineteenth century, dominated by British naval figures William Parry, James C. Ross, and others. Historians recognize Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated voyage of 1845 as a major turning point in the development of Arctic exploration. Spurred on by Lady Franklin, Sir John Franklin’s wife, over forty expeditions searched for him and his missing crew of one hundred thirty-four men only to find that all members perished. This tragedy produced feelings of awe and terror about the Arctic on both sides of the Atlantic. It also drew U.S.-led explorations into the field, both to find Franklin and discover new geographical features. Following Franklin’s disappearance, the sensationalistic press fed the public’s hunger for wild tales of the Arctic and encouraged further explorations. Among the explorers themselves, the desire for fame through geographical discovery replaced the principal earlier goal of mercantile wealth. Reaching the North Pole became a
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