Alaska ~ In Alaska
"Dad says if we are . . . carried north . . . our boat would be crushed. . . . We are headed back, running like a scared jackrabbit, according to Dad."
~ Beth Curtis Magnuson in her log, 1927

In June 1927, Edward S. Curtis, two assistants, and his daughter Beth sailed for Alaska to obtain material for the final volume of The North American Indian. Now 59 years old, Curtis found himself involved in his most perilous and exhausting season.

Edward S. Curtis and Beth Curtis Magnuson en route to Alaska, by unknown photographer, 1927. Courtesy James Graybill, Edward S. Curtis' grandson.
Edward S. Curtis and Beth Curtis Magnuson en route to Alaska, by unknown photographer, 1927.
A lifelong staunch supporter of her father, Beth wanted to be with him on his field trip to Alaska in 1927. She could not have anticipated that this would be her father's most perilous season.


[The Jewel Guard] was an ideal craft for muskrat hunting in the swamps but certainly never designed for storms in the Arctic Ocean.
~ Edward S. Curtis, 1927

The Jewel Guard, Curtis' boat, by Edward S. Curtis, 1927. Courtesy James Graybill, Edward S. Curtis' grandson
The Jewel Guard, Curtis' boat, by Edward S. Curtis, 1927.
Bad weather conditions, a faulty boat, and a hip injury caused by a baleen whale on a previous trip interfered with Curtis' plans to finish by summer's end.

One nice thing about such a situation is that the suspense is short-lived. You either make it or you don't.
~ Edward S. Curtis in his log, 1927

Iceberg stranded at low tide, near Muir Glacier, Alaska, by Edward S. Curtis, 1899. Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
Iceberg stranded at low tide, near Muir Glacier, Alaska, by Edward S. Curtis, 1898.

~ Continue
~ The Curtis Family ~ Working on the Frontier ~ Gaining Support ~ A Life's Work ~ Early Books ~ Family Sacrifices
~ "The Man Who Never Took Time to Play" ~ Curtis' Technique ~ Alaska ~
~ Timeline ~ Suggested Readings ~ Credits ~ Credits ~

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