Mirage in the Arctic

Danish explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen, intrigued by rumors of undiscovered islands north of Alaska, resolved to find them. An inveterate optimist in matters of this sort, he steadfastly believed that if these places existed, he would be the one to discover them. In Vancouver, he purchased an antique motorless schooner, the Duchess of Bedford, and set out for Alaska. The Anglo-American Expedition, as it was named, was plagued by one misfortune after another. By the time he reached Alaska, his crew was mutinous. They wintered with an Inuit colony and were obliged to shoot their own dogs when rabies broke out in the camp.

In October 1907 Mikkelsen set out alone on a 2,500-mile sledge journey to the South. On his way down the coast of Alaska--and later, Canada--he met and mixed with the rough prospectors who thronged to the gold towns in search of fortune. When he reached Seattle, Mikkelsen borrowed enough money to go home.

Mirage in the Arctic is his account of that epic trip. It is perhaps the last authentic record of exploration in the area during the days of the sledge and the Gold Rushes.