Young Adventure

How far would you go for adventure? If you were asked to go to the North Pole, would you? What would you take with you?

Explorer is a factional (a fictional account of a factual event) story. In 1894 Walter Wellman, a newsman, was asked to organize and lead a party into the unexplored arctic and locate the yet to be discovered geographic North Pole.

Mr.Wellman took up the challenge, not once but five times. Read about his polar adventures, some interesting facts, a short list of arctic adventure books as well as a DVD.

What were conditions like then? Summers were short and Minnesota-like winters appeared to drag on forever. Massive glaciers, in some areas over a mile thick, covered large portions of the land. As ice sheets grew larger, sea levels dropped exposing land between Alaska and Siberia. At the same time, a corridor from Alaska down through central Canada remained almost ice-free. This path permitted humans and mammals to migrate between Asia and North America.

Other evidence suggests this wasn’t the only route. Some people may have migrated across the Atlantic, either along the edge of the Northern ice pack or by crossing open water. If this sounds farfetched, keep in mind that in the Pacific, Polynesians used little more than simple dugouts to spread out across even further distances.

On a daily basis, hunt or be hunted was the only method of survival for humans and animals. Most people followed nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyles, which required them to track and hunt animals. However, over time, it appears they moved to seasonal quarters in specific locations. As they began to cultivate crops and herd animals, at least on a limited basis, their settlements became permanent. Their ability to adapt not only enabled them to live through periods of extreme cold periods but also to survive periods of severe droughts. This varied climate would certainly be a factor that could lead to the extinction of certain animals and the decimation of tribes that failed to adapt.

Despite the harsh environment, a variety of animals existed: Elk, bison, musk oxen, mammoths, mastodons, horses, camels, giant beavers, ground sloths, and even saber-toothed cats. Throughout periods of such extremes, survival meant adapting or migrating to other parts of the world. In North America, some of these animals--mammoths, mastodons, horses and camels--died out.

We know little about these people and their way of life. Evidence shows that they used simple tools and weapons made of wood, stone, and bone. As the Stone Age dovetailed into the copper age, improvements in these items came about as people began to incorporate this new material into their lives.

The artifacts made of stone or copper were preserved through time, but articles made of organic materials (wood, hides, cloth) disappeared long ago. Recovery of stone and metal items demonstrated their tool-making abilities. Their language, written or spoken, or details of their daily lives and accomplishments remain unknown. As fortunes rose and fell, discoveries were made and lost.

While the location could be anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, this story is set in North America near the edge of a glacier. The tribes were probably the predecessors to current day Native Americans.

Did it happen this way? Who knows? Could it have happened this way? Yes, I believe so.

Join Bright Moon (The Shaman's Song), Red Deer (Sojourn), Crooked Foot and Little Fawn (Tales from the Narwikin) and their tribes in these action-adventure stories and see if you agree.