Arctic Mirage

In 1913, an expedition was sent to the Arctic, funded by the American Museum of Natural History, the American Geographical Society and the University of Illinois. Its purpose was twofold: to discover whether an archipelago called Crocker Land—reportedly spotted by an earlier explorer in 1906—actually existed; and to engage in scientific research in the Arctic.
When explorers discovered that Crocker Land did not exist, they instead pursued their research, made a number of important discoveries and documented the region’s indigenous inhabitants and natural habitat. Their return to America was delayed by the difficulty of engaging a relief ship, and by the danger of German submarines in Arctic waters during the World War I.

The late Winton U. Solberg was a retired Army officer. He served at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from 1951 to 1954. He then joined the faculty at Yale, going from there to an endowed chair at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and subsequently joining the history faculty at the University of Illinois in Urbana. On sabbaticals he taught at universities in Moscow and India among other foreign centers of learning.

Winton U. Solberg
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 263
Bibliographic Info: 20 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7995-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3809-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Prologue 1
Part I. The Expedition in the Polar North
1. In the Beginning 11
2. “Hail, the Conquering Hero Comes” 27
3. Searching for Crocker Land 40
4. The Murder of Peeahwahto 55
Part II. The Expedition and Scientific Research
5. The Expedition Party in the Arctic 71
6. More Research, More Adventures 98
7. MacMillan’s Arctic Research 119
8. Returning Home 129
9. MacMillan’s Geographical Report 151
10. Full Circle 168
11. Fitzhugh Green: After Crocker Land 183
Epilogue 210
Chapter Notes 213
Bibliography 230
Index 239

“Exemplary details on the principal researchers who participated in the expedition are included, adding depth to existing knowledge…. Most fascinating is the author’s account of arrangements among the sponsoring institutions, all vying for prestige and acclaim in various sciences…. recommended”—Choice