May 08 - Monument to (controversial) arctic explorer and local son Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Arnes, Manitoba
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhjalmur_Stefansson
Stefansson was born here at tiny Arnes in 1879 to Icelandic parents, who moved to North Dakota after losing 2 of his siblings in a period of devastating flooding.
- "Stefansson's discoveries included new land (such as Brock, Mackenzie-King, Borden, Meighen, and Lougheed Islands) and the edge of the continental shelf. His journeys and successes are among the marvels of Arctic exploration. ... In 1921, he was awarded the Founder's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for his explorations of the Arctic. ... [And] on May 28, 1986, the United States Postal Service issued a 22 cent postage stamp in his honour." postalmuseum.si.edu/object/npm_2008.2007.82?destination=t...
- But his history is controversial as it includes leaving the main ship (the Karluk) of 3 in an expedition that he'd organized to explore the Canadian high arctic west of Parry Archipelago when it became stuck in the ice in August/Sept. 1913. He later explained that he and 5 other expedition members left to go hunting to provide fresh meat for the crew, however members of the remaining crew suspected that he left a 'sinking ship' so to speak, anticipating that the Karluk would be carried off by moving ice, which it was. The ship drifted westward and was eventually crushed and sank on Jan. 11, 1914. Many members of the remaining crew died at different times and locations in the course of an amazing sojourn which involved what's likely the longest trek across sea-ice in history. While Stefansson knew that the crew he'd recruited and led were stuck out on the ice somewhere, rather than heading south as fast as he could to seek help, he spent 6 years exploring the high arctic and confirming the nonexistence of a frozen landmass under the ice near the north pole (which is of course very impressive) before returning to civilization. (Asshole!)
- To boot, in 1921 he organized an expedition for 4 young men, 3 Americans and 1 Canadian, to colonise Wrangel island north of Siberia, the same island that the surviving members of the crew of the Karluk had reached miraculously and where they came close to death by starvation before their rescue through the astonishing efforts of the Karluk's captain (from Nfld.) who managed to make it to the Russian mainland for help. However Stefansson's recruits in 1921 "were inexperienced and ill-equipped" and all "perished on the island or in an attempt to get help from Siberia across the frozen Chukchi sea. The only survivors were an Inuk woman, Ada Blackjack, whom the men had recruited as a seamstress in Nome, and the expedition's cat, Vic. Ada Blackjack had taught herself survival skills and cared for the last man on the island ... until he died of scurvy. She was rescued in 1923 after having spent 2 years on Wrangel island [!!]... [Stefansson's] reputation was severely tainted by this disaster and that of the Karluk." (Wikipedia)
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmEYBrlOVL8
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW-N2l4VSkM
May 08 - Monument to (controversial) arctic explorer and local son Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Arnes, Manitoba
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhjalmur_Stefansson
Stefansson was born here at tiny Arnes in 1879 to Icelandic parents, who moved to North Dakota after losing 2 of his siblings in a period of devastating flooding.
- "Stefansson's discoveries included new land (such as Brock, Mackenzie-King, Borden, Meighen, and Lougheed Islands) and the edge of the continental shelf. His journeys and successes are among the marvels of Arctic exploration. ... In 1921, he was awarded the Founder's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for his explorations of the Arctic. ... [And] on May 28, 1986, the United States Postal Service issued a 22 cent postage stamp in his honour." postalmuseum.si.edu/object/npm_2008.2007.82?destination=t...
- But his history is controversial as it includes leaving the main ship (the Karluk) of 3 in an expedition that he'd organized to explore the Canadian high arctic west of Parry Archipelago when it became stuck in the ice in August/Sept. 1913. He later explained that he and 5 other expedition members left to go hunting to provide fresh meat for the crew, however members of the remaining crew suspected that he left a 'sinking ship' so to speak, anticipating that the Karluk would be carried off by moving ice, which it was. The ship drifted westward and was eventually crushed and sank on Jan. 11, 1914. Many members of the remaining crew died at different times and locations in the course of an amazing sojourn which involved what's likely the longest trek across sea-ice in history. While Stefansson knew that the crew he'd recruited and led were stuck out on the ice somewhere, rather than heading south as fast as he could to seek help, he spent 6 years exploring the high arctic and confirming the nonexistence of a frozen landmass under the ice near the north pole (which is of course very impressive) before returning to civilization. (Asshole!)
- To boot, in 1921 he organized an expedition for 4 young men, 3 Americans and 1 Canadian, to colonise Wrangel island north of Siberia, the same island that the surviving members of the crew of the Karluk had reached miraculously and where they came close to death by starvation before their rescue through the astonishing efforts of the Karluk's captain (from Nfld.) who managed to make it to the Russian mainland for help. However Stefansson's recruits in 1921 "were inexperienced and ill-equipped" and all "perished on the island or in an attempt to get help from Siberia across the frozen Chukchi sea. The only survivors were an Inuk woman, Ada Blackjack, whom the men had recruited as a seamstress in Nome, and the expedition's cat, Vic. Ada Blackjack had taught herself survival skills and cared for the last man on the island ... until he died of scurvy. She was rescued in 1923 after having spent 2 years on Wrangel island [!!]... [Stefansson's] reputation was severely tainted by this disaster and that of the Karluk." (Wikipedia)
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmEYBrlOVL8
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW-N2l4VSkM