Research Catalog
Hunters on the track : William Penny and the search for Franklin
- Title
- Hunters on the track : William Penny and the search for Franklin / W. Gillies Ross.
- Author
- Ross, W. Gillies (William Gillies), 1931-
- Publication
- Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2019]
- ©2019
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | JFE 19-11315 | Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315 |
Details
- Description
- viii, 519 pages : illustrations, maps; 25 cm
- Summary
- "Captains of whaling vessels were experienced navigators of northern waters, and William Penny was in the vanguard of the whaling fraternity. Leading the first maritime expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, he stood out not just for his skill as a sailor but for his curiosity about northern geography and his willingness to seek out Inuit testimony to map uncharted territory. Hunters on the Track describes and analyzes the efforts made by the Scottish whaling master to locate Franklin's missing expedition. Bookended by an account of Penny's whaling career, including the rediscovery of Cumberland Sound, which would play a vital role in British whaling a decade later, W. Gillies Ross provides an in-depth history of the first Franklin searches. He reconstructs the brief but frenetic period when the English-speaking world was preoccupied with locating Franklin, but when the means of that search--the ships chosen, the route taken, the evidence of Franklin's traces--were contested and uncertain. Ross details the particularities of each search at a time when no fewer than eight ships comprising four search expeditions were attempting to find Franklin's tracks. Reconstructing events, relationships, and decisions, he focuses on the work of Penny as commander of HMS Lady Franklin and Sophia, while also outlining the events of other expeditions and interactions among the officers and crews. William Penny is respected as one of the most influential and innovative figures in British Arctic whaling history, but his brief role in the Franklin expedition is less known. Using primary sources, notably private journals from each of the expeditions, Hunters on the Track places him at the forefront of a critical chapter of maritime history and the geographical exploration that began after Franklin disappeared."--
- Subjects
- Whaling
- Whalers (Persons)
- Penny, William, 1809-1892
- Arctic regions > Discovery and exploration
- Whalers (Persons) > Scotland > Biography
- Northwest Passage
- Biographies
- Arctic Regions
- Scotland
- Franklin, John, 1786-1847
- 1800-1899
- History
- John Franklin Arctic Expedition (1845-1851)
- Arctic Ocean > Northwest Passage
- Whaling > Arctic regions > History > 19th century
- Discoveries in geography
- Genre/Form
- Biographies.
- History.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 493-504) and indexes.
- Additional Formats (note)
- Issued also in electronic format.
- Contents
- Franklin Departs -- William Penny and Arctic Whaling -- The Summer of 1845 -- Whaling Interlude -- Concern Mounts -- A Silver Penny -- Under Way -- More Hunters on the Track -- North from Disko -- Sail versus Steam -- A Massacre Reported -- To the West Land -- Into Lancaster Sound -- Wellington Channel -- West to Cornwallis Island -- Beset in the Drifting Pack -- Into Winter Quarters -- Preparations for Winter -- The Festive Season -- The Sledging Season: A False Start -- Second Attempt -- Penny's Boat Voyage -- A Thousand-Mile Drift Among the Ice Floes -- Homeward Voyage -- Penny's Arrival -- The Inquiry -- An Open Polar Sea? -- Dispute over Place Names -- Penny's Portrait -- A Gratifying Ackowledgement -- Persistence -- Postscript.
- Call Number
- JFE 19-11315
- ISBN
- 9780773552838
- 0773552839
- OCLC
- 1066044122
- Author
- Ross, W. Gillies (William Gillies), 1931- author.
- Title
- Hunters on the track : William Penny and the search for Franklin / W. Gillies Ross.
- Publisher
- Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2019]
- Copyright Date
- ©2019
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 493-504) and indexes.
- Additional Formats
- Issued also in electronic format.
- Chronological Term
- 1800-1899
- Other Form:
- Online version: Ross, W. Gillies (William Gillies), 1931- Hunters on the track. Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2019 0773558322 9780773558328 (OCoLC)1089832846
- Research Call Number
- JFE 19-11315