THE POLARIS EXPEDITION - WITH DEDICATION FROM COMMANDER C. F. HALL, GIVEN DURING THE EXPEDITION

ROBESON, GEO. M. (+) (C. F. HALL).

Instructions for the Expedition Toward the North Pole from Hon. Geo. M. Robeson, Secretary of the Navy. With an Appendix from the National Academy of Sciences.

Washington, Government Printing Office, 1871.

8vo. In contemporary half cloth with the original front wrapper pasted on to front board. With dedication inscription from C. F. Hall to front board: "To M. Schonheyder / Govenor of Fiskeneest / July : 27:1871 / C. F. Hall / Commander", and with Hall signature to title-page: "C. F. Hall / Commander". Two stamps to front board and one stamp to title-page. Three holes in inner marigin, presumably from the original sown wrappers. Title-page with a 5 cm long tear to inner margin. 36 pp.

First edition, presentation copy from C. F. Hall to Guvernor Schønheyder, given during the Polaris Expedition, of the instruction to Charles Francis Hall to command an expedition to the North Pole on the USS Polaris. The present copy was aboard the USS Polaris and was given on July 27th 1871, when the USS Polaris arrived at Fiskenæsset in South East Greenland.
The Polaris Expedition, which constitutes one of the first serious American attempts to reach the North Pole, ended in failure with the death, very possibly murder, of Hall. 19 members of the expedition became separated from the ship and drifted on an ice floe for six months and 1,800 miles (2,900 km), before being rescued. The damaged Polaris was run aground and wrecked near Etah in October 1872. The remaining men were able to survive the winter and were rescued the following summer. All crewmembers, except C. F. Hall, survived.

The Chief Scientist on the expedition Emil Bessel, presumably the person who poisoned Hall, noted when arriving at Fiskenæsset: "A boat rowed toward us from the headland, and a few moments later the colony's administrator [Schønheyder] stood on deck, en route to the saloon. After we had exchanged the usual civilities [Where the present copy very well can have been presented as a gift], Hall and I accompanied the obliging official ashore and to his home. Although he was badly asthmatic, the Greenland climate seemed to suit him; when he lay stretched out he was of impressive height and hence very good-natured. But he had not been very fortunate in the choice of his name, which did not match his appearance at all well. Herr Schönheyter did not have a loving wife to sweeten his life, but mindful of the well-devised saying, he was not ill-disposed toward the other accessories. Draped in a blue ribbon, a guitar hung on the wall; on a small side-table stood various bottles filled with strong liquor." (POLARIS: The Chief Scientist's Recollections of the American North Pole Expedition, 1871-73 by Emil Bessels, p. 56)

Charles Francis Hall, who had previously lived among the Inuit in the Arctic region while on his obsessive quest to determine the fate of Franklin's lost expedition of 1845, was appointed Commander of the Expedition. Hall, who had the necessary survival skills lacked academic background and had no experience in leading men or commanding a ship.
The Polaris Expedition consisting of 25 men also included Hall's old friend Budington as sailing master, George Tyson as navigator, and Emil Bessels as physician and chief of scientific staff. The expedition immediately ran into problems as the party split into rival factions. Hall's authority over the expedition was resented by a large portion of the party, and discipline broke down.

Hall, having left the USS Polaris on October 10 and returned on October 24, suddenly fell ill after drinking a cup of coffee. His symptoms allegedly started with an upset stomach, then progressed to vomiting and delirium the following day. Hall accused several of the ship's company, including Bessels, of having poisoned him. Following these accusations, he refused medical treatment from Bessels, and drank only liquids delivered directly by his friend Taqulittuq.
He seemed to improve for a few days and was even able to go up on deck. Bessels had prevailed upon Bryan, the ship's chaplain, to convince Hall to allow the doctor to see him. By November 4, Hall relented and Bessels resumed treatment. Shortly thereafter, Hall's condition began to deteriorate; he suffered vomiting and delirium and collapsed. Bessels diagnosed apoplexy before Hall finally died on November 8. He was taken ashore and given a formal burial.

Order-nr.: 57819