Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Ancient Mariner, Part II - Maud returning to Norway

Wow, what a difference three weeks has made. In my last blog, March 2nd, the ground was covered with snow; now in the last 4-5 days, it's been 22-25 C. Of course it won't last - and it shouldn't; much too early for summer.

Before I discuss the above subject, thought I would post a couple of pictures from early last week when we took our 7-year old grandkids to the Log Farm during their March break. They really enjoyed the animals they have there.

I finished reading the Ancient Mariner and now I so much more appreciate Northern explorer, Samuel Hearne. He came to Prince of Wales Fort, a Hudson Bay fur-trading post, in 1766, age 21, determined to make a name for himself. He learned how to live in the North from the natives, set about mapping his way West to a lucrative copper mine - later referred to as Copper River (or metal river). His adventures on his 3rd trip with a large group of natives, led by Matonablee, a peerless Dene leader,were almost unbeleiveble, but succeeded in his quest to reach the Copper River, near the Arctic Ocean. He later opened a fort further inland called Cumberland House, making it easier for natives to trade their furs without traveling so far. And finally he became Governor of Prince of Wales Fort. All this while he kept a very detailed log of his activities, the native culture, plants and animals of the North, and much more. When two French ships came to conquer Prince of Wales Fort, he surrendered since his small band of folks was no match for the French entourage. He set about bargaining for the lives of his people, and making a deal with La Perouse the French captain. Heane pleaded for the return of his journal, La Perouse agreed only if he would publish it when he returned to England. The French captain realized they had something to gain from this publication. Returning to England, Hearne set about organizing his book, A Journey to the Northern Ocean, which took years; there was much controversy about some of the details in his manuscript. The unfortunate part is that Hearne died before his book became public; and the controversy continued for many decades after. The book is definitely worth reading if you are interested in the exploration of the North.

Now this past weekend, the news was great for Norway; they finally received permission from the Canadian Cultural Property Review Board, to raise the ship, Maud, and take her home to Norway.The story is that between 1918-1924, the  polar explorer, Roald Amundsen of Norway, was taking Maud through the Northwest Passage, not as quickly or as successfully as he had hoped. He became bankrupt in 1925 and was forced to sell Maud to the Hudson's Bay Company, who used the ship as a supply vessel. In 1930, the Maud sank in the harbor of Cambridge Bay, where it still sits. So, hooray, the Norwegians can finally take their ship home.

No comments:

Post a Comment