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William Robertson's account of Benjamin Leigh Smith's second expedition to Franz Josef Land in Eira

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Tim Cromack  and
Beau Riffenburgh
Tim Cromack
Affiliation:
20 Munster Road, Parsons Green, London SW6 4EN
Beau Riffenburgh
Affiliation:
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER
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Abstract

Following his return from participating in Benjamin Leigh Smith's expedition that wintered at Cape Flora, Northbrook Island, Franz Josef Land, in 1881–82, William Robertson, the chief engineer on the barque Eira, wrote a brief account of the expedition. Robertson's manuscript emphasises the hunting of walrus prior to reaching Franz Josef Land, the sinking of the ship, the enforced wintering, and the successful retreat of the party by open boat to Novaya Zemlya. The original of the manuscript reproduced here, which is one of only a few first-person accounts known to exist, is held by Robertson's descendants. It has not previously been published.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 36 , Issue 199 , October 2000 , pp. 305 - 316
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

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