by Val Ross
The Fokker crashed, the Red Baron slumped over his control panel. Some Canadians claim that Brown shot down the Red Baron; the Australians will tell you Buie did it. But no one disputes that the terrifying morning only intensified a passion for flying in May and Brown, who went on to become legends as bush pilot explorers and surveyors of the Canadian north.
In September 1929, Colonel C. MacAlpine of the Dominion Explorers Club and his crew set off from Winnipeg to survey and prospect in the Barrens. But clouds of smoke from distant forest fires obscured the explorers’ view, and strong winds blew them way off course. They touched down on a big lake that turned out to be near the Arctic Ocean. The Inuit family who found them said that the closest help was at the Hudson’s Bay Company post at Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island. Without enough fuel to fly out, the men realized that they would have to walk. As soon as the ice got more solid, the Inuit said they would guide them across the frozen sea to Cambridge Bay. The group set out in November. But the ice was still thin and, as they trudged forward, an Inuit mother carrying a baby stepped right through. To save herself and her child, she lay face-down, spreading her weight until the others could pull her and her child to safety and dry clothes. Finally the group spotted the Maude, a Hudson’s Bay Company ship. Between them and the ship lay 5 kilometers (3 miles) of bad ice. The Inuit said they would have to dash across to keep ahead of its cracks. And so they ran for their lives — men, women, dogs, and Dominion Club explorers.
Worried about the missing explorers, flying ace Roy Brown and other bush pilots spent the autumn searching for them. On November 4, the rescuers heard via ship’s radio that the explorers were safely aboard the Maude. They picked up the lost expedition and headed home. En route, at a refueling stop, the wing of Browns plane snapped off and he crash-landed in a snow bank. The others flew on, leaving him wounded and sheltering in his mangled plane. It was a week before the rescuer was rescued.
This NASA photograph shows city lights across the globe. You can see how bright the wealthy cities of Europe and America are. The interiors of Africa, Australia, and South America are darker. They are regions with few people — and few who can afford bright lights.
World War II halted the golden age of bush pilot mapping. After the war’s end, America and the Soviet Union faced each other across the ruins of Europe as new Cold War enemies. The race for technological and military superiority began. In 1955, the U.S. announced that it would soon have rockets capable of launching a satellite into orbit. The Soviets beat them to it with the launch, on October 4, 1957, of an 83-kilogram (184-pound) satellite called Sputnik.
Sputnik made the Western powers panic. U.S. Senate majority leader Lyndon Johnson, who later became president, warned, “The Roman Empire controlled the world because it could build roads…. The British Empire was dominant because it had ships. In the air age, we were powerful because we had airplanes. Now the Communists have established a foothold in outer space.”
Worse, foreign satellites could look down and see what the Americans were doing. In fact, they could look anywhere. In 1959, the Soviet satellite Luna sent back never-before-seen images of the far side of the Moon.
The space race was on. Through the 1960s, Americas Lunar Orbiter satellites surveyed 99 percent of the Moon, in order to scout out a landing site for the spaceship Apollo Eleven. Mapmaking was now officially off the Earth and into the rest of the Solar System.
Because the Apollo’s four-legged landing craft needed a level surface, the mission planners had to have detailed maps. Carefully made from satellite photographs, these maps were able to pinpoint the perfect landing place at Tranquility Base, lunar coordinates 0 degrees 41 minutes north, and 23 degrees 25 minutes east. That was where, on June 20, 1969, the first human beings touched down, and astronaut Neil Armstrong announced from another world, “The Eagle has landed.”
Since then there have been more spacecraft, whose names sound like a roll call of history’s greatest explorers, cartographers, and ships: Viking, Magellan, Galileo, Challenger, Cassini-Huygens.
While they have peered into space, other craft have stared down at the Earth. The U.S. government’s LANDSAT of the 1970s was a stubby-winged satellite that surveyed our home planet from 900 kilometers (560 miles) up. Using multi-spectrum scanners (blue, green, red, and near infra-red), it transmitted the images to the ground at a scale of 1:500,000.
LANDSAT created a revolution in mapmaking. It forced mapmakers to correct maps of Antarctica and to reposition remote islands. It showed images that let us diagnose our planet’s problems: urban sprawl, damaged crops, and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
MAPPING THE UNIVERSE
Ever since her father, a chemist, showed Margaret Geller a snowflake under a microscope, she wanted to be a scientist. She decided to devote her life to what she has called “the modest goal” of “mapping the visible universe.”
In the early 1980s, Geller and fellow astronomer John Huchra were working at the Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They started measuring the distances and positions of more than 10,000 galaxies — vast clusters of stars, like our own Milky Way — in the sky above Earth’s northern hemisphere. Then they asked one of their graduate students, Valerie de Lapparent, to feed all these positions into a computer and calculate their distribution.
Geller expected to find that galaxies were evenly distributed all over the universe, like falling snow. What she found instead was astonishing. “Galaxies appear on thin surfaces around vast dark regions, like soap bubbles 200 million light years across,” she later told a group of female university students. Scientists refer to the edge of these bubbles as a Great Wall. And great it is — the “thin” line where there is a concentration of galaxies is nearly 20 million light-years thick.
Astronomers peering into the southern sky have since found a Southern Wall of galaxies too. And beyond those walls? Almost nothing. Geller and her colleagues have made three-dimensional maps, and some people say these maps of the limitless universe remind them of something you see everyday — soap foam.
The latest generation of surveillance satellites — American, French, and Israeli, as well as private industry satellites — can now “map” objects as small as a human being lying lengthwise on a beach towel.
As aerial photographs change our perception of where we are, they change our consciousness of who we are — just as Stewart Brand, gazing at the sky that night in San Francisco, suspected would happen. One shift in consciousness came with the Apollo spacecraft images — the whole Earth, and Earthrise from the Moon. They let us see ourselves as others might see us … if there’s anyone else out there.
Nothing has ever driven home our planet’s uniqueness — and aloneness — as powerfully as these views of Earth from space. The images confirm what people have probably suspected ever since they looked around them — ever since they made the first attempts to map the difference between Here and There.
They confirm that Earth is marvelous, and that it is spinning through a vast and still-uncharted universe. Out there, there are billions of stories to tell.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank my publisher, Kathy Lowinger, for having the idea for this book, and for giving it her all-important commitment, humor, and good taste. Thanks, too, to Kat Mototsune, for her painstaking editorial work on many versions of the text, her sleuthing for images, and her patience with my computer-related illiteracy.
Ed Dahl, the former early cartography specialist at the National Archives of Canada, and a legend among cartographic historians, was kind enough to read the manuscript and warn me off grandiose and unqualified claims, as well as misplaced modifiers. Conrad Heidenreich, professor emeritus of geography, York University, offered crucial enthusiasm and encouragement; he was also generous with my queries and corrected many errors (those that remain are mine and no one else’s).
John Fraser and Anna Luengo at Massey College, University of Toronto, know how import
ant Massey has been to me, as well as to so many other writers. Thanks to Richard Landon at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library for showing me some of its treasures, and to Jacqueline Krikorian, a friend from Massey, for her hospitality in Washington when I visited the Library of Congress.
Thanks as well to Cliff Thornton of the Captain Cook Society (www.captaincooksociety.com), and to Dr. Anthony Rice of The Challenger Society (www.challenger-society.org.uk/) for their advice.
I should also acknowledge debts to John Noble Wilford’s superb book The Mapmaker’s, Daniel Boorstin’s The Discoverers, and The British Library Companion to Maps and Mapmaking.
FURTHER READING
Chapter 1
The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin; Vintage Books, New York, 1983.
This book has two chapters on the Norse voyages, and Freydis too.
“Turbulent Priest Forged Viking Map of America”; Times of London,08/04/02.
The story of the Vinland Map forgery.
Proceedings of the Vinland Map Conference, Washburn, ed.; University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1971.
For the worms and so on.
Chapter 2
The Kingdom in the Sun, by John Julius Norwich; Longmans, London, 1970.
For more on Roger II of Sicily.
The History of Cartography, Vol II, David Woodward, ed.; University of Chicago Press, 1992.
For more on al-Idrisi.
Chapter 3
When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, by Louise Levathes; Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1994.
Still the best book on Chinese exploration in Cheng Ho’s time.
Chapter 4
Prince Henry the Navigator, by John Ure; Constable, London, 1970.
For all ages.
Prince Henry ’The Navigator’: A Life, by Peter Russell; Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2001.
A more critical look at Henry, written for adult readers.
Chapter 5
Mercator, The Man Who Mapped the Planet, by Nicholas Crane; Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2002.
Chapter 6
La carte de Cassini: l’extraordinaire aventure de la carte de France, by Monique Pelletier; Presses de l’Ecole nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, 1990.
In French.
The Mapmaker’s, by John Noble Wilford; Vintage Books, New York, 1981, revised 2001.
Chapter 7
Captain James Cook, by Richard Hough; WW Norton & Co., New York and London, 1994.
Longitude, The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time, by Dava Sobel; Walker & Co., New York, 1995.
Highly recommended.
Chapter 8
Lewis and Clark, by Dayton Duncan; Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1997.
For more on the Corps of Discovery.
Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America, by Jack Nisbet; Sasquatch Books, Seattle, 1994.
For more on David Thompson.
Where is Here? Canada’s Maps and the Stories They Tell, by Alan Marantz;
Penguin Canada, Toronto, 2002.
For more on First Nations maps.
Chapter 9
South America Called Them, by Victor Wolfgang von Hagen; Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1945.
Chapter 10
The Edge of an Unfamiliar World, by Susan Schlee; E.P. Dutton, New York, 1973.
General oceanography.
Chapter 11
Trespassers on the Roof of the World, by Peter Hopkirk; John Murray, London, 1982.
The Forbidden Frontiers, The Survey of India from 1765-1949, by Showell Styles; Hamish Hamilton, London, 1970.
Chapter 12
Mrs. P’s Journey, by Sarah Hartley; Simon & Schuster, London, 2001.
Fleet Street, Tite Street, Queer Street, by Phyllis Pearsall; self-published, London, 1983.
Phyllis’s autobiography.
King Cholera: The Biography of Disease, by Norman Longmate; Hamish Hamilton, London, 1966.
For more on Dr. John Snow.
Chapter 13
Aerial Photography, by Grover Heiman; The Macmillan Co., Collier Macmillan, New York, 1972.
Skyview Canada, by Don W. Thomson; Dept. of Energy Mines and Resources, Ottawa, 1975.
The Bush Pilots: a pictorial history of a Canadian phenomenon, by J. A. Foster; McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1990.
The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe; Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York, 1979.
For space exploration.
Pale Blue Dot: A vision of the human future in space, by Carl Sagan; Random House, New York, 1994.
PHOTO CREDITS
Cover: Africa, from the Catalan Atlas: John Webb/The Art Archive
Page
2 Hondius world map: Courtesy of Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division
4 Vinland Map: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
9 Babylonian world map: © The British Museum
13 Illuminated manuscript: Burgerbibliothek Bern, Cod. 120. II f.96r
16 Map from Claudius Ptolemy, Cosmographia: Courtesy of Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division
18 Al-Idrisi world map: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Bodleian Image: MS. Pococke 375 folios 3V-4r
23 Huang He Wan Li Tu (Pictorial Map of Yellow River): Courtesy of Library of Congress, Asian Division
26 Stamps: Courtesy of Dan’s Topical Stamps, sio.midco.net/danstopicalstamps
39 Africa, from the Catalan Atlas: John Webb/The Art Archive
41 Statue of Henry the Navigator: © Dave G. Houser/CORBIS/MAGMA
47 Mercator polar map: Library and Archives of Canada, NMC-16097 (photo by Conrad Heidenreich)
51 Portrait of Mercator and Hondius: Stewart Museum at the Fort, Montreal (photo by Conrad Heidenreich)
53 Carte de France: Cliché Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
56 The Landing of Jacques Cartier/Vallard Chart: Mary Evans Picture Library
61 Portrait of Cassini I: Cliché Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
63 Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii: Dr. James P. McVey/NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
67 Cook’s map of Dusky Bay, New Zealand: By permission of The British Library, 52415.25
73 Woodcut, The Death of Captain James Cook: Courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); archival photography by Mr. Sean Linehan, NOS, NGS
77 Signs of the Days in the Mexican Almanac: Courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
80 Humboldt’s map of Mount Chimborazo: Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin
81 Weather map: Courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
89 U.S. one-dollar coin: Courtesy of the United States Mint
93 Map by Lewis and Clark: Courtesy of Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division
99 Bathymetric map: Courtesy of NOAA Central Library
100 H.M.S. Challenger: Courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); archival photography by Steve Nicklas, NOS, NGS
101 Sea worms: Courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
102 Sifting deposits on H.M.S. Challenger; and Challenger specimens: Courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); archival photography by Steve Nicklas, NOS, NGS
103 John Murray: Courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
105 Prince Albert and crew: Courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); archival photography by by Mr. Sean Linehan, NOS, NGS
109 Map of the Vale of Kashmir: By permission of The British Library, Maps, c. 1836
111 Map of Nepal and Tibet: published in Geographical Journal 1868, Royal Geographical Society, London
117 Phyllis Pearsall as a child: Photo courtesy of Simon & Schuster Ltd., UK. Reproduced by permission of Mary West.
120 Map from London A-Z: Reproduced by permission of Geographers’ A-Z Map Co. Ltd. © Crown Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. Licence number 100017302.
122 London A-Z covers: Reproduced by permission of Geographers’ A-Z Map Company
125 Earth from space: Courtesy of NASA
132 City lights from space: Courtesy of NASA/JPL/Caltech
Copyright © 2003 by Val Ross
Published in Canada by Tundra Books,
75 Sherbourne Street, Toronto, Ontario M5A 2P9
Published in the United States by Tundra Books of Northern New York,
P.O. Box 1030, Plattsburgh, New York 12901
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003103802
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher — or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency — is an infringement of the copyright law.
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Ross, Val
The road to there: mapmakers and their stories / Val Ross.
eISBN: 978-1-77049-062-8
1. Cartography — History — Juvenile literature. 2. Cartographers — Biography — Juvenile literature. I. Title.
GA105.6.R68 2003 J912′.09 C2003-901713-3
