On the edge : mapping North America's coasts

264 Pages·2012·2.524 MB·English

by  Roger M. McCoy

On the Edge: Mapping North America’s Coasts
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On the Edge: Mapping
North America’s Coasts
Roger M. McCoy

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McCoy, Roger M.
On the edge : mapping North America’s coasts / Roger M. McCoy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-974404-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Cartography—Atlantic Coast
(North America)—Early works to 1800. 2. Cartography—Pacifi c Coast (North America)—
Early works to 1800. 3. Atlantic Coast (North America)—Maps—Early works to 1800.
4. Pacifi c Coast (North America)—Maps—Early works to 1800. I. Title.
GA401.M43 2012
526.0970914’6—dc23 2012005798
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To the incredible courage and unwavering determination that impels adventurers
through the perils of unknown lands in pursuit of a dream.
To adventurers Sue, Michael, Sherry, Claire, Max, and Leah.
We were wanderers on a prehistoric earth, on an earth that wore the aspect of an
unknown planet. We could have fancied ourselves the fi rst of men taking posses-
sion of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and
of excessive toil . . .  . Th e dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of
empires.
—joseph conrad
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments IX
Part I | The Earliest Ventures to North America to
find a Northwest Passage, 1492–1543
1. Th e Urge to Discover New Lands and Make Maps 3
2. John Cabot Makes a Claim for England, 1497 1 5
3. Giovanni da Verrazzano Maps an Ocean of His Imagination, 1524 2 6
4. Jacques Cartier Gives France a Prize, 1534, 1535, 1541 3 4
Part II | England Reenters the Game, 1576–1632
5. S hips, Navigation, and Mapping in the Sixteenth Century 5 1
6. M artin Frobisher Succumbs to Gold Fever, 1576, 1577, 1578 7 0
7. John Davis Makes a Near Miss, 1585, 1586, 1587 8 9
8. Henry Hudson Has a Very Bad Day, 1607, 1608, 1609, 1610 9 5
Part III | West from the Pacific; Overland to the
Arctic Ocean, 1728–1789
9. B ering and Chirikov by Sea, 1741; Hearne, 1770 and Mackenzie,
1789 by Land 111
10. J ames Cook Maps a Huge Swath of the Northwest Coast, 1778 1 16
Part IV | T he British Surge to Find the Northwest Passage
also Makes Maps, 1818–1845
11. John Ross Sees a Mirage, 1818; John Franklin Makes His First
Expedition, 1819 1 25
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12. William E. Parry Has Beginner’s Luck, 1819, 1821, 1824 132
13. J ohn Franklin’s Second Overland Expedition Makes a Successful
Survey, 1825 141
14. J ohn Ross’s Second Voyage Lasts Four Hard Years, 1829–1833 147
15. Peter Dease and Th omas Simpson Extend the North Coast Map, 1837 1 56
16. John Franklin’s Last Expedition Becomes the Failure of the Century, 1845 1 64
Part V | The Franklin Searchers Almost Finish
the Map, 1847–1858
17. Th e First Searchers Look in the Wrong Places, 1847 1 71
18. John Rae Hears about Franklin fr om Eskimos, 1848 1 77
19. R obert McClure Completes the Passage; Richard Collinson Maps
Coastlines, 1850 1 81
20. E lisha K. Kane Barely Survives, but Maps New Land, 1853 190
21. F rancis L. M’Clintock Extends the Map and Learns What Happened, 1857 1 97
Part VI | S hifting the Focus to the North Pole Fills
in Vacant Spots on the Map, 1875–1920
22. George Nares Maps the North Coast of Ellesmere Island and Relearns
Lessons, 1875 2 11
23. Otto Sverdrup Maps an Immense Area, 1898 2 15
24. Vilhjalmur Stefansson Maps New Islands, 1913 219
25. A Few Final Th oughts 2 23
Glossary 227
Appendix A : A Chronology of Selected Expeditions
to North America 229
notes 233
Bibliography 241
Index 247
Acknowledgments
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A special mention of gratitude is owed to Professor Dennis Fitzsimons, Humboldt
State University, for his generous advice and eff ort toward improving the maps in
this book. His expertise has been invaluable. I also wish to acknowledge the help
given by Nancy Lemay, map librarian at the University of Ottawa, and Kristen Delo-
rey of Natural Resources Canada for their helpful information on Canadian maps
and aerial photos. Others that provided valuable help were Joan Fitzpatrick of the
U. S. Geological Survey, Tom Weingarten of the University of Alaska Institute of
Marine Science, and Humfrey Melling of the Canada Institute of Ocean Science.
Sue McCoy gave a huge piece of her time to reading and correcting draft s. Her in-
sightful questions, comments, and suggestions were always constructive and greatly
appreciated.
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