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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
My brother turned me on to this book. His son, who lives in Sept Iles, Quebec, says that most families up there have two books in their house at least—the Bible, and The Lure of the Labrador Wild.
Just when I thought I've read all the books on suffering and misery in exploration, I discover another one, and this book is a sufferfest that lasts from mid-July, 1903 to November 1903, as three men, all devout Christians, embark on an exploration of a land that was little known at the time and to their knowledge never explored by Europeans or white Americans: the interior of Labrador.
I read this book in four days, which is a sign that I really liked it, which I did. Here are some of my takeaways as I pondered the outcome of their journey. Leonidas Hubbard, the expedition leader, starved to death, about 30 miles from safety. The other pair: George, a half-breed who was most responsible for their survival, and Dillon Wallace, the book's author, managed to survive, but only just barely.
1. The trio, but especially the leader of the expedition, made mistakes in planning. Almost from the literal start of the journey, the men took the wrong river which made all the difference in the outcome of the journey. Had they taken the correct river, the journey to the interior would have been much quicker and they wouldn't have had to discard so many supplies on the way. They manage to make only 80 miles in 15 days because of this mistake. They needed some local guide to at least get them started correctly, but they did not have a local guide. This was a fatal mistake.
2. They should have turned back earlier. It's pretty obvious that the expedition is a disaster—the men are very soon literally in rags as their clothes get torn (Leonidas ended up tying up his trousers because they were shredded and he had no adequate replacement), their moccasins were a wreck, and their supplies were low, yet they press on, hoping to live off the land. This sort of works, they are able to live off the land somewhat, but they slowly begin starving to death. It isn't until way past the time to turn back, that Mr. Hubbard finally decides to do so. This was a fatal mistake on his part. Mr. Wallace writes:
"ragged and almost barefooted though we were, not a man thought of turning back, and on Monday morning, August 17th, we prepared to leave Camp Caribou and solve the problem as to where lay the trail of Michikamau."
So they've been out for a month and should have turned back, but do not turn back for at least another month! Amazing.
3. God does not always intervene when men make poor decisions. The men press on into the wilderness, rapidly running out of supplies, and living off mostly fish they catch. I believe in the whole expedition, they only shot one caribou. Mr. Hubbard comments when they find food just when they need it:
""You see," said Hubbard reverently, "God always gives us food when we are really in great need, and He'll carry us through that way; in the wilderness He'll send us manna."
This is true, God does supply food for them, many times just when they are desperate. However, they seem to have a sort of blind belief in this and press on into the wilderness even though game is scarce and they are out of supplies. It's not until very, very late, that they even seem to recognize that, hey, God isn't just going to send food whenever we need it when we make unwise decisions. When they finally decide to turn around, they have 16 pounds of pea meal and some tea for the journey back which is going to take almost six weeks. So, yeah, some not very wise choices.
4. The journey back is as much of a sufferfest as I've read. They begin to eat anything and everything, the hooves of caribou that they find, bones of animals, the caribou hide, etc. They find game from time to time, but it's never adequate and they are all slowly starving, cold, and literally using blankets as shoes! The expedition leader, Leonidas Hubbard, who is the naturally skinniest of all of them, eventually insists on being left behind 33 miles from safety. He dies of starvation the next day. The other pair go for help. The author, Dillon Wallace, finds some moldy flour and turns back to take it to Mr. Hubbard in a snowstorm that will last ten days! Mr. Wallace never reaches Mr. Hubbard—who is dead by then anyway. His description of his ten days fighting down the Susan Valley is amazing. His dead wife keeps speaking to him , urging him to get up and keep moving and he is eventually found by a team of rescuers sent out by George, the half-breed, who managed to make it back to civilization.
This was a fascinating book and this disaster could certainly have been prevented, as so many disasters are not, if the participants had turned back when it became obvious that they were in difficulty.
Just when I thought I've read all the books on suffering and misery in exploration, I discover another one, and this book is a sufferfest that lasts from mid-July, 1903 to November 1903, as three men, all devout Christians, embark on an exploration of a land that was little known at the time and to their knowledge never explored by Europeans or white Americans: the interior of Labrador.
I read this book in four days, which is a sign that I really liked it, which I did. Here are some of my takeaways as I pondered the outcome of their journey. Leonidas Hubbard, the expedition leader, starved to death, about 30 miles from safety. The other pair: George, a half-breed who was most responsible for their survival, and Dillon Wallace, the book's author, managed to survive, but only just barely.
1. The trio, but especially the leader of the expedition, made mistakes in planning. Almost from the literal start of the journey, the men took the wrong river which made all the difference in the outcome of the journey. Had they taken the correct river, the journey to the interior would have been much quicker and they wouldn't have had to discard so many supplies on the way. They manage to make only 80 miles in 15 days because of this mistake. They needed some local guide to at least get them started correctly, but they did not have a local guide. This was a fatal mistake.
2. They should have turned back earlier. It's pretty obvious that the expedition is a disaster—the men are very soon literally in rags as their clothes get torn (Leonidas ended up tying up his trousers because they were shredded and he had no adequate replacement), their moccasins were a wreck, and their supplies were low, yet they press on, hoping to live off the land. This sort of works, they are able to live off the land somewhat, but they slowly begin starving to death. It isn't until way past the time to turn back, that Mr. Hubbard finally decides to do so. This was a fatal mistake on his part. Mr. Wallace writes:
"ragged and almost barefooted though we were, not a man thought of turning back, and on Monday morning, August 17th, we prepared to leave Camp Caribou and solve the problem as to where lay the trail of Michikamau."
So they've been out for a month and should have turned back, but do not turn back for at least another month! Amazing.
3. God does not always intervene when men make poor decisions. The men press on into the wilderness, rapidly running out of supplies, and living off mostly fish they catch. I believe in the whole expedition, they only shot one caribou. Mr. Hubbard comments when they find food just when they need it:
""You see," said Hubbard reverently, "God always gives us food when we are really in great need, and He'll carry us through that way; in the wilderness He'll send us manna."
This is true, God does supply food for them, many times just when they are desperate. However, they seem to have a sort of blind belief in this and press on into the wilderness even though game is scarce and they are out of supplies. It's not until very, very late, that they even seem to recognize that, hey, God isn't just going to send food whenever we need it when we make unwise decisions. When they finally decide to turn around, they have 16 pounds of pea meal and some tea for the journey back which is going to take almost six weeks. So, yeah, some not very wise choices.
4. The journey back is as much of a sufferfest as I've read. They begin to eat anything and everything, the hooves of caribou that they find, bones of animals, the caribou hide, etc. They find game from time to time, but it's never adequate and they are all slowly starving, cold, and literally using blankets as shoes! The expedition leader, Leonidas Hubbard, who is the naturally skinniest of all of them, eventually insists on being left behind 33 miles from safety. He dies of starvation the next day. The other pair go for help. The author, Dillon Wallace, finds some moldy flour and turns back to take it to Mr. Hubbard in a snowstorm that will last ten days! Mr. Wallace never reaches Mr. Hubbard—who is dead by then anyway. His description of his ten days fighting down the Susan Valley is amazing. His dead wife keeps speaking to him , urging him to get up and keep moving and he is eventually found by a team of rescuers sent out by George, the half-breed, who managed to make it back to civilization.
This was a fascinating book and this disaster could certainly have been prevented, as so many disasters are not, if the participants had turned back when it became obvious that they were in difficulty.
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
This book opens a window into remote Labrador in the early 1900s, and also into the dreams and hopes of would-be explorer Leonidas Hubbards. Written in a matter-of-fact style, it conveys the wilderness experienced and hardships endured by three men trying to find a route across Labrador from North West River to Ungava Bay in the north.