Incloses sketches of arrowheads found on the Saluda River, South Carolina. Also historical notes relating to the above tribes, reference to the various tribes, of South Carolina, etc.
The collection documents Hall's Arctic exploration.
Scope and Contents:
Diaries, journals, notebooks, scrapbooks, business cards, correspondence, ships' logs, navigation charts and documents on Hall's Arctic exploration. The correspondence includes letters to and from Henry Grimmell, William Grimmell, J. Carson Brevoont, John Barrow, Cyrus Field, Edward Everett, Clement Markham, Joseph Henry, and the Royal Geographic Society.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
The Arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall was born about 1821, either Vermont or New Hampshire; there are very few details about his early life. He is most notable for spending over ten years in the Arctic among the Inuit, initially focused on locating evidence of the lost British Expedition under Sir John Franklin, and then, in two later expeditions, searching for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole.
Before becoming a polar explorer, Hall began as a blacksmith's apprentice at a young age in Rochester, NH. Sometime in the 1840's he married and moved westward eventually coming to Cincinnati, where Charles opened a business making engraving plates and seals, in 1849. Later he published a small newspaper in Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Occasional.
While publishing news stories of arctic expeditions related to the Franklin expedition, Hall became enamored with the idea of polar exploration. In 1857 he began collecting any material he could gather on the landscape and survival in the Arctic, previous expeditions, and John Franklin's expedition itself, while at the same time seeking financial support for his expedition.
After detailed preparation and a small amount of financial backing, Hall boarded a ship for Greenland, and then on to the "Terra Incognita" of the Arctic. Despite being an amateur explorer with very little support for his first expedition, Hall believed that by living amongst the indigenous Inuit people, a non-native could survive long periods living in the arctic. In May 1860, Hall arrived in Frobisher Bay, Canada and with not much more than a small boat and basic supplies, Hall met befriended local Inuit who took him in for the next two years.
Over those two years, Hall found little evidence of the Franklin expedition, but what he did find proved to be more valuable. While an avid and writer, Hall lived, learned and daily documented in his journals more about the Inuit people that any visitor before him. His journals describe Inuit society, traditions, oral histories, language and culture, as well as the skills necessary to survive in such an unforgiving climate. He also travelled and mapped much of the unknown Frobisher Bay area, correcting many previously incorrect maps that depicted area as an open strait, rather than a closed bay.
Once Hall returned to the United States, he began working on publishing his writings and preparing for a second expedition to Frobisher Bay. In 1864, he left for his second trip spending almost five years living amongst the Inuit, searching for the Franklin expedition and mapping unknown portions of the Arctic.
As soon as he arrived home in 1869, Hall began again planning his next and bigger expedition, but times had changed in the U.S. The Civil War was over and the United States government was now interested in polar exploration and the race to the North Pole. Gaining the attention of President Grant, Hall was appointed as joint commander of the Polaris Expedition.
Departing in 1871, the expedition began with critical problems. The "joint-command" of the expedition put Hall in direct conflict with the other two expedition commanders, each one believing they should have been appointed as sole commander. This eventually led to incredible disasters throughout the expedition, resulting in the total failure of the mission, loss of the ship, as well as the death of Charles Francis Hall. Hall died on the expedition in November 1871, possibly from poisoning by one of his co-commanders. His body was exhumed in 1969 and tested, revealing the presence of arsenic. While Hall claimed on his deathbed he had been poisoned by a crew member, many 19th century medicines contained arsenic.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Higgins to Joseph Henry. New York City, April 21, 1866. Ethnographic notes and vocabulary (pages 23-29) of Apache tribes of Arizona Territory ...collected from captives belonging to the Chiricahua, Sierra Blanca, Pinal and Coyotero tribes... (according to letter to Gibbs, May 2, 1866 -- see Manuscript No. 171). 30 pages.
Henry to Gibbs. April 24, 1866. Transmitting Higgins Manuscript for comment. 1 page.
Gibbs to Henry. April 25, 1866. Rough draft of letter commenting on Higgins Manuscript 2 pages.
Gibbs to Higgins. April 25, 1866. Rough draft of letter about Manuscript and Higginsʹ future work. 3 pages.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 180
Local Note:
See also Manuscript 171, Higginsʹ reply to Gibbs.
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 180, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Includes notes; abstracts from letters of Commodore Jesse D. Elliott to the National Institute; Admiral A. Harwood to Joseph Henry; andH. D. Gregory to William J. Rhees; and a letter probably from Casanowicz to William Henry Holmes, March 27, 1916.
Biographical / Historical:
The sarcophagus was obtained in 1839 at Beirut by Commander J. D. Elliott (whose flag ship was the Constitution). It was the container for the remains of the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus. It was intended for the remains of Andrew Jackson, but he declined its use.
Materials from various persons used by O. T. Mason in Smithsonian Annual Reports, 1874 - 1879 & 1881 - 1883.
1) Most have been published (although not necessarily verbatim). unpublished letters and maps include: Mitchell, Augustus to Joseph Henry, August 24, 1873. "Crude Thoughts on American Indians." Discusses visit of P. Pitchlynn to author at Portland, Me., 1846. 2) Bruff. J. Goldsborough to Joseph Henry, February 10, 1873. concerning human face carved on rock near Chain Bridge, Potomac River. 3) Trowbridge, David, December 14, 1876 "Ancient Fort and Burial Ground". with map (area of Waterburgh, New York).
