Where to Next, Professor?

U of I Professor of Zoology, Maurice C Tanquary, born and raised in Lawrence County, was a member of the American Arctic Crocker Land expedition that sailed from New York July 2, 1913, with the main object of reaching and mapping the northern land which Rear Admiral Robert E Peary reported sighting in 1906 and which he named Crocker Land. Led by ethnologist Donald B MacMillan the 1913 expedition was funded by the Natural History Museum in New York, the American (National) Geographical Society and the University of Illinois.

At the end of three years, several failed attempts were made to bring the team home. Professor Tanquary was the first to return.  When he arrived in Urbana, Illinois on June 21, 1916, having left his cold -weather beard in Copenhagen to the great disappointment of his friends, he was reportedly little changed after three strenuous years in a hostile environment.  His return trip was quite an adventure in itself.

In August 1915 the expedition was stationed at Etah anxiously awaiting the arrival of the relief ship which had been sent to bring the expedition home.  The fearful ice conditions in Melville Bay made it impossible for the ship to reach them but the captain of that ship, finding further progress was impossible, came the 120 miles by motorboat arriving September 17.

To start south at once was imperative but several members of the party were out on two hunting expeditions seeking to provide food for the months of winter. After a vain effort to reach the parties, notes were left and Tanquary and the commander with three others headed South overland. The relief ship was only a motor schooner, having no steam power, and after the first week in October they were frozen in at Parker Snow Bay. But the love of home is strong, and the hearts of men built up with the thought of reaching home were not to be denied, so a sled expedition was organized to proceed again southward over snow covered land.

But this meant new delays because they must wait till the winter was on in earnest with no danger of a possible thaw to cross the ice- encrusted bays. In the meantime, one of the men sledded back to Etaw to secure skins, clothing, and other supplies necessary for the overland trip.  

The little group made 50 miles on the first day but here the ship captain, who was unused to the Arctic climate, had to give up and return to the ship, realizing that he could not stand the intense cold and exposure. Another man also turned back at this time. Sledding across Melville Bay was a 10-day trip sleeping on the ice, then on to Cape Seddon where the dogs rested before the dash to Hpernivik which they reached February 11.

Southward again on February 15 to reach Umanak on March 3. They met a Danish priest who guided them on to his home where they were guests from March 21 to April 10. It was the intention of the party that the men with their sleds and dogs would cross the ocean on the mail ship but when the day arrived, ice conditions were so bad that realizing the possibility of a small party getting through was more likely than a large one with extra weight, it was decided to send one man who should carry the dispatches from the Commander telling of the failure of the relief ship and arranging for a new one. That man was Professor Tanquary.

By ship to Copenhagen was a 20-day journey and when four days out from that port, the ship stopped at Faroe Islands, Professor Tanquary sent telegrams bringing to New York City and the World, the status of the expedition.

At Copenhagen replies awaited him asking that he make inquiries regarding a steamer to be sent as a relief ship. This was hard to do, as chartering a steamer then was equivalent to buying one before World War I began. But he was fortunate in finding a ship which left June 1 on the relief voyage. The day after the ship's departure Professor Tanquary received word telling him to go back with the relief party but it was too late.  That ship had already sailed as they say.

The expedition was a success in demonstrating beyond the possibility of a doubt that Crocker Land was a mirage; no land mass existed. But much valuable data, historical and otherwise, was reported to the world. After hearing Professor Tanquary's report, various members of the Commission expressed that they were well satisfied with the result of the expedition. Professor Tanquary was very modest as to his part in the work.  (A true Lawrence County resident….)

So Readers, where did this intrepid explorer go next?  Disneyworld?   NO! From Urbana after filing the necessary reports, Professor Tanquary left for Manhattan Kansas where he claimed Miss Josephine Perry as his promised bride. It had after all, been a very long and cold three years …….

The Bowdoin Library collection in Maine includes 10 journals from the Crocker Land Expedition, 1913-1917, by Maurice Tanquary available on-line. These  Include almost daily entries during various months in his personal journal, measurements and notes on geographical position, interactions with Inughuit team members, lists of supplies and materials, hand sketched maps, as well as natural and animal observations. https://archivesspace.bowdoin.edu/repositories/2/resources/470