Beneath My Feet: The Memoirs of George Mercer Dawson

by Phil Jenkins

George Mercer Dawson is a towering figure in Canadian history — and science — as the man who led the Geological Survey during its exploration of the Canadian West, mostly from horseback or from a canoe. A tough job for anyone, it was an extraordinary achievement for Dawson. Born in 1849, Dawson was crippled by a childhood illness that left him hunchbacked and in constant pain. He never grew taller than a young boy, and he never let his disabilities stop him. An avid photographer, amateur painter, professional geologist and botanist, and by necessity an ethnographer, Dawson wrote poetry, journals, reports, notes, and more than five thousand letters, his first at the age of six and his last just two days before he died in 1901.

But Dawson never wrote his memoirs. So, a century after his death, Phil Jenkins has lent him a hand. Using Dawson’s own words, and filling in the gaps in Dawson’s voice, Jenkins presents the man who left his heart in western Canada. Their countless stories — from witnessing the last great buffalo stampede to encountering the timeless customs of the Haida — evoke the real excitement of the age of exploration. Dawson knew the pain of unrequited love, suffered the bite of a million mosquitoes, and yet he travelled on, over mountainous physical odds, to become one of the most respected and enjoyed of Victorian Canadians, in the thought-provoking times of Dickens and Darwin.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

368 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2007

Reviews

[Derrick Grose · Rating 4 out of 5]

In ghost-writing this memoir of the Victorian gentleman, scholar, adventurer and head of the Geological Survey of Canada, Phil Jenkins has given us an engaging piece of social history providing glimpses of a Canadian watching the nation grow as the CPR opens the prairies and as gold nuggets drew attention to the Yukon whose capital was named as tribute to Dawson.

[Gail Amendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this one at the library and it grabbed my attention as I am always a sucker for Canadian history, especially western Canadian history. I had heard of George Mercer Dawson, after whom Dawson Creek, BC and Dawson City, Yukon are named, but knew nothing about him and his career with the Canadian Geological Survey.

George Mercer Dawson did not write his own memoirs, as he died very suddenly at the age of 51, and thus did not have the opportunity. That he intended to someday write them I have no doubt, as he had encouraged and assisted his father in the writing of his own memoirs. George left extensive journals and letters which the author used to write these 'memoirs', which are essentially told in Dawson's own words, with Jenkins just filling in some gaps here and there. The result is a work with the style and tone of 19th century writing, which I think allows us to know Dawson more intimately, but also makes the work somewhat awkward and cumbersome by today's standard. Small inconsistencies in the writing are left there, just as they were likely written in Dawson's journals, which can be both charming and frustrating. I'm glad the author wrote it this way as I feel it helped me to know Dawson better.

Much of the book describes Dawson's very extensive travels through western Canada through his work with the North American Boundary Commission and the Canadian Geological Survey. He had the privilege of being part of the last days of the age of exploration, exploring and mapping some of the last parts of Canada to be explored. I found the long descriptions of these travels fascinating, as I have traveled many of the places that he went, but I can see that someone unfamiliar with western Canada might find these sections tedious. He obviously loved his travels, in spite of the huge hardships of travel by horseback, boat and canoe; long portages; mosquitoes and horse flies; cold, damp weather; sleeping outside and frequent hunger. In fact, after his promotion to director of the Geological Survey, he often lamented the fact that administrative duties kept him out of the field.

That Dawson had this career is amazing given that fact that he was physically handicapped with a severe curvature of the spine caused by a childhood bought with Pott's disease (tuberculosis of the spine). While certain accommodations due to his condition are mentioned in the writings about his school days at the Royal School of Mines, it is never mentioned in the writings about his explorations, and does not seem to have hindered him in his career, although I am certain that he must have spent much of that time in considerable pain.

I really enjoyed this book and came to love and respect George Mercer Dawson immensely. He is my new Canadian historical hero, along with often overlooked explorer David Thompson, who interestingly was also Dawson's hero. But this is definitely a book for history buffs, which probably explains why this is only the second review of this book on Goodreads, and it was published five years ago!

[Ronald Kelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

To begin with I would like to say I can only wish to be half as cool as George M. Dawson. I am a toponymist, so I deal with place names and depend on the writings of people like Dawson for much of my work. Dawson fascinates me. The devoted son of John William Dawson (renowned geologist, principal of McGill University and critic of Charles Darwin), George Dawson rose to become one of the most renowned geologists of his day, pretty much against all odds. George Dawson contracted a rare illness as a child, which stunted his growth, gave him hunch back and caused him to spend a good part of his life in constant pain. Yet, he rose to become the head of the Geological Survey of Canada and one of the most respected civil servants and scientists of his day. George Dawson was no desk-bound bureaucrat or lab-bound researcher. He travelled throughout the country in conditions that would make most mountain-men and survivalists pause for second thought. Dawson saw more of this country on foot, horseback and canoe than most of us will ever see from the comfort of our own cars. Plus, the man could write. His geological reports (written for the Government of Canada) read like a cross between a research paper, a travelogue and an adventure novel. Again I repeat, at some point in my life, if I really work at it and extremely lucky, I hope that I can be half as cool as George Freakin' Dawson. Okay, all that aside, onto the book. This book attempts to apply an "auto"biographical narrative to Dawson's writings by combining his letters, personal papers and reports, with some bridging materiel and extrapolation provided by the author/editor. For the most part it works. The book is an accessible and entertaining read that finally sheds some light on this figure who should be hailed as one of the greatest explorers of North America. My only faults with the book are that it is difficult to tell where Dawson's own writing ends and Jenkins bridging or extrapolation begins. Also, it would have been nice to have a more detailed reference list or notations about the source material (what material was from which reports, letters, etc., who to letters were sent to, etc.). Despite these faults, I recommend the book for anyone interested in geography, geology, exploration literature or simply Canadian History.

[Huguette Larochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book, about a the life of a professional geologist in the 1880
A Canadian age of exploration.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent biography of a noted figure in Canadian geology and the namesake of Dawson City, YK, and Dawson Creek, BC. The story is told almost entirely with Dawson's own journals and letters, which are extensive. (The author, Phil Jenkins, merely filled in a few blanks in Dawson's voice.) He was a prolific writer and faithfully chronicled his many expeditions, which included trips along the 49th parallel with the Boundary Commission, explorations of the BC interior, and a trip to the Yukon where he named Mount Logan. (Somebody else named Dawson City after him later on; he didn't do it himself.) The book covers Dawson's entire life and is interspersed with excerpts from his poetry, newspaper clippings and even a few early photos in black and white.

The sheer amount of detail in these books is impressive, and it's not all geology (although there's plenty of that, naturally). Dawson was extremely interested in Native culture and the book features a section about a dance he attends in BC, and his attempts to learn the Chinook language. His poetry also provides a more emotional description of the scenes he witnesses. It's a pity there aren't a few more photos, though, because while the written descriptions sound beautiful, a picture would really sell how utterly spectacular the scenery is, especially because at that time it was mostly untouched by white men and untainted by large settlements.

History marches on as the book progresses. Dawson makes note of the invention of the telephone, the Empress ships that would eventually provide fast steamship services across the Atlantic, Confederation, and the death of Queen Victoria. McGill University was also a new institution in Dawson's lifetime, with his father eventually serving as its principal. But even in history we find things that have not changed, such as not enough government funding for the sciences -- Dawson mentions that they don't have enough money to keep the best staff, and they desperately need a bigger museum to store all their artifacts. And of course the accounts of government bureaucracy would definitely ring true to public servants with the Government of Canada today.

One thing I would like to mention is that it is important to keep a map of Canada handy, if you are a visual person and/or are not familiar with the Canadian West. At times I found it difficult to figure out where they were, even with the one or two maps that were provided at various points. So the lesson is, bookmark those maps and look at them carefully! And while there were several major breaks in the book, a few smaller breaks within each section would have been appreciated, just to make the text more manageable.

But overall, this was a very good book and I enjoyed reading about how Canada was mapped and surveyed. Dawson's voice was engaging and filled with enthusiasm for his subject matter. He even makes a geology pun! (It involves the word "gneiss".) But he also had very poignant turns of phrase toward the end, with his father's death and his own impending demise. Especially the poem he (presumably) wrote about his father, which would definitely put a lump in anyone's throat:

Throughout the land the maples flame
The time has come, the leaf must fall
Though still the day is blue, serene
No storm nor wintry blast at all
The time is ripe, and leaf by leaf
The garb of life is shed away
Not by the tempest's stress, but in
The dreaming azure eye of day
So, ripe in knowledge, ripe in years,
The pulse beats low, the eye grows dim,
And we, though blinded still with tears,
We know the time has come for him.

If you have an interest in the Canadian West, memoirs or geology, pick up this book. It's an expedition worth making.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading the Memoirs of George Mercer Dawson. I think it is remarkable that he overcame a disease and managed to achieve a good life.