By Carla Charter
Exploration of the colder regions of our world were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Residents of the North Quabbin region were also involved in these expeditions.
Among the items cared for by the Phillipston Historical Society is a winter suit made of Caribou fur by Inuits that tells the story of one of these expeditions. The suit was owned by summer resident Robert D. Perry, who first came to Phillipston in the 1880s and is known in town for organizing the Village Improvement Society in the 1890s, according to “The Spirit of Phillipston,” by Carole J. Gariepy and M. Jane French. Perry, a big game hunter, traveled several times with the Peary-Cook expedition according to the history.
Among the Peary-Cook expeditions, Perry was included in one in 1893. After returning from a hunting trip in the Rocky Mountains, Perry happened across an advertisement in 1893 looking to take passengers to Greenland for $1,000 a passenger.
“Peary often brought big game hunters along as paying passengers,” according to Genevieve LeMoine, Curator/Registrar of the Peary-Macmillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine. Perry who was hoping to acquire a polar bear trophy soon joined the expedition.
The idea behind the expedition came from a Mrs. Hoppin who was concerned about her son’s mental health, according to a 1937 article in the Worcester Telegram. The son was a young professor at Yale and according to the article, had deluded himself into believing he was an arctic explorer. Mrs. Hoppin therefore hired a schooner named the Zeta for her son to travel to Greenland, the same vessel Perry would sail on, the article explained.
In 1897, Perry sailed on another Peary-Cook expedition to the arctic. The purpose of the trip was to retrieve meteorites, which the explorers had learned existed during an earlier voyage to the Arctic. The expedition was successful and the meteorites were brought back and sold to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, according to the Phillipston History. The meteorites are still on display today with the largest Ahnighot weighing 34 tons, the Phillipston history states.
Perry also returned from that trip with an arctic suit made by Inuits for members of the crew. The outfit had extra-large armholes, according to the Phillipston history, so a person could pull their arms in for extra warmth. Eventually, Perry gave the suit to his good friend, the late Arline Casavant, who donated it to the society, according to the Phillipston history.
In 1925, one-time Orange resident Martin Vorce also found himself on his way to Greenland. Vorce grew up in Orange according to a Nov. 13, 1925. Orange Enterprise and Journal article and recounted his previous summer voyage with Donald MacMillan, another arctic explorer, in the article. During the expedition Vorce served as a cook on the ship Bowdoin.
A year prior to the 1925 expedition Vorce had sold his business in Somerville, according to the article. He was then encouraged to join the expedition by his brother-in-law John Jaynes, a native of Warwick who had served as engineer on previous trips with Macmillan.
“The 1925 expedition went north in the summer of 1925 to test radio and flight in the Arctic for the U.S. Navy. The Navy sponsored the expedition to test flight in the far North,” said LeMoine.
Vorce recalled several memorable expedition moments in his interview with the Enterprise and Journal, including when on July 22, he had his first sight of a night without darkness. “At 3 o’clock in the morning the sun shone just as brightly as it did at 3 in the afternoon and this condition obtained during their stay.”
Vorce recounted some moments with the crew as well. “The temperature ranged from 30 to 40 degrees above zero. The water was icy cold but not withstanding this fact one member of the crew aroused the wonder of the Eskimos by daily plunges into the water and a swim around the boat.” Vorce continued that the chief recreation of the Inuits was dancing in two step time, using an accordion for music.
“Vorce was inveigled into one of those dances one night and admitted he had never moved so fast in his life.”
“Eskimos depend on the hunting for food and clothing,” he stated in the article, explaining “Eskimos hunt Walrus from 400 to 3,000 pounds a piece by sailing small boats in the midst of the herd and harpooning them.”
Vorce was also impressed with the unusual but beautiful scenery in many sections,” according to the article. “Mountains of solid rock shoot out of water at 45 degree angles, the water is very deep and in many places it is impossible to hook an anchor because of the rock formation. The icebergs are always impressive in size and coloring.”
The ships, the Bowdoin and Peary, had a difficult trip home arriving in Wiscassett on October 12. “En route the Bowdoin was grounded about a mile from shore and the situation looked serious for a time. Twenty-five gallons of gasoline were thrown overboard to lighten the boat so it could be floated off but to no avail. The craft was listing badly when a strange thing occurred. A report like thunder was heard in the distance caused by the breaking up of an iceberg and the waves which were created as a result lifted the boat off the rocks to safety.”
“Vorce was also the cook on a 1926-27 expedition to Labrodor which overwintered in Anetalak Bay as well,” according to LeMoine.
More information on the Peary-Macmillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center can be found at www.bowdoin.edu/arctic-museum. The Ecotarium in Worcester has a Walrus trophy donated to the museum by Perry in 1937 in its collections. More information on the Ecotarium can be found at www.ecotarium.org.
Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.