Great Heart: The History of a Labrador Adventure

by James West Davidson, John Rugge

In 1903 Leonidas Hubbard was commissioned by an outdoors magazine to explore Labrador by canoe. Joined by his best friend, Dillon Wallace, and a Scots-Cree guide, George Elson, Hubbard hoped to make a name for himself as an adventurer. But plagued by poor judgment and bad luck, his party
turned back and Hubbard died of starvation just thirty miles from camp. Two years later, Hubbard's widow, Mina, and Wallace returned to Labrador, leading rival expeditions to complete the original trek and fix blame for the earlier failure. Their race made headlines from New York to Nova
Scotia-and it makes fascinating reading today in this widely acclaimed reconstruction of the epic saga. The authors draw on contemporary accounts and their own journeys in Labrador to evoke the intense drama to men and women pushed beyond the limits of endurance in one of the great true adventures
of our century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Adventure, History, Canada, Biography

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

James West Davidson is a historian, writer, and wilderness paddler. He received his Ph.D. in American history from Yale University and writes full time. He is also co-editor, with Michael Stoff, of New Narratives in American History, a series published by Oxford University Press, as well as the coauthor of textbooks in American history. These include "Experience History," "After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection," and "US: A Narrative History" for the college level and "The American Nation" for the middle grades.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The next time you're in the field and you whine about how your MSR stove doesn't work or that there's a hole in your gortex, read this book. You'll see what a wuss you really are.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Lure of the Labrador Wild and found the story so fascinating that I decided to read this book. The research conducted to write this book must have taken years...they manage to add some rich details to an already intriguing story!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memorable and at times moving tale, which I read following a spur-of-the-moment visit to Schefferville, Quebec, on the Labrador border -- and a vivid account of the horrors of travel in an earlier era. Thank god for the train from Sept-Iles and hotel rooms with vending machines dispensing airline-size liquor bottles.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I would like this book very much, thinking that it might be a dry recounting of one of the many expeditions to the north that happened in the 1800s to early 1900s. But this story was told with great pacing and narrations, often from the point of view of different members of the various parties. You come to know the characters as real people, and realize that they would each in their own right be interesting folks to sit down and have a drink with while they tell you their tales. Leonidas Hubbard, who originally came up with the idea for the trek, ended up not taking up much of the tale. But he must have been a remarkable, if naively unprepared, man to have garnered so much devotion from so many people, to the point that his original voyage changed the course of so many lives. While he personally failed in his goal, he inspired others to gain greater achievements. The bulk of the book follows the mostly publicly-unvoiced rivalry that sprang up between his widow and his expedition partner, and that is arguably the most interesting outcome of his adventures. In all cases, we of course get to wonder at the hardships that these people endured, without the comforts and conveniences we take for granted today.

Mina Hubbard was quite an unusual woman for her day: adventurous, unafraid of danger, and willing to compete with the men, while maintaining her role as respectable gentlewoman that was important in that time. I found it sad but ultimately not surprising that even as free-spirited and independent as she was, she was unable to act on what might have been the second greatest love of her life, due to the social norms of the day. Though not a primary goal of the tale, the racist hierarchy that so defined the lives of people in that time makes its appearance throughout the stories, whether it be a quick comment about "white justice," or the lower place of the "half-breeds," or the boundaries of who is considered acceptable to love. We've come a long way in some respects, though in others it's just a reminder that we've hidden those tendencies and stains under a thin veneer of progress.

[Douglas Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Great Heart" is a dramatic, well-told story – especially once you get past the prologue, which ends on, um, page 169. That’s when the intrepid Mina Hubbard rouses herself from mourning and sets off into the barren, uncharted Canadian wilds to finish the expedition that had killed her husband. At the same time, Dillon Wallace, the man Mina blames for her husband’s death, takes up his own, rival expedition.

You can think of this intimate history as "The Lost City of Z" Lite. Exploring the Canadian interior at the beginning of the 20th century did not have the same difficulty factor as plunging into the Amazon, but it was still quite an undertaking. And the authors, James West Davidson and John Rugge, recreate the adventure with enthusiasm and grace.

Primary source material was so abundant that Davidson and Rugge felt compelled "to tell the story using techniques traditionally thought to belong to the province of fiction." That they do, and bully for them, as Mina’s doomed mate, Leonidas Hubbard, might have said. But this will lead you to wonder now and again about the origin of certain flourishes.

Before Leonidas began his wilderness trek in 1903, for example, he lands in tiny Rigolet and that night hears the town’s dogs go wild. "The yowling and snarling," the authors write, "was so ferocious it seemed as if the entire canine population had answered the summons." The result: The pack eats one of its own. "In the morning, only a few pieces of fur remained as evidence of the deed." But did this actually occur? In the notes, Davidson and Rugge say they "borrowed" from an episode that occurred in 1915, explaining this away by stating, "all these incidents were tragically similar to one another..." Hmmm. Having read that, I found myself wondering where the dialogue throughout the book came from. The source notes, again, are vague on the subject. Did the explorers write out extended conversations in their diaries? If so, we’re talking about some heroic diary writing that deserves a wide readership of its own.

[Unwisely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, while not strictly an arctic book, this story that traces three expeditions to the interior of Labrador in 1903 and 1905 had a lot of the same tropes - inexperience, mistakes, starvation. This book drew heavily on diaries of several participants, contemporary newspaper clippings, and other research to document the whole fascinating story. There's the interplay of racial politics at the time, a woman trekking over rough ground and unknown country with mixed-race male guides (scandal!), a possible love story, oh, and people going through stuff that was not mapped. Highly, highly recommended.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is there a category of literature that can be described as “adventure porn”? These are books that take you inside incredible feats of human endurance, tinged with some amount of tragic miscalculation or coincidental event that makes you - at the same time - wish you had the guts to do what they did but glad you had the brains not to.

Great Heart is surely one of these. Deeply researched, written like a novel, with an ending you know when you begin, it sucks you along on the absurdly difficult and seemingly pointless expeditions of its many protagonists. At the same time, it explores the emotional peaks and valleys (bad puns) of those on the journey, and the weird, hidebound, and constrictive mores of the society of the early 1900s.

Finishing the book brought me to Google to learn more about the fate of the main characters, and about some of the central mysteries necessarily left unanswered in this unique slice of the Hubbard Expedition onion. Some things, it seems, shall remain unknown!

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My book group voted to read this book, and so I reread it. I enjoyed it very much the second time as well. It is a classic adventure story and is a book worth reading again and again. The authors did much research and stay true to the real events by using diaries, and newspaper articles, as well as interviews of relatives. They also explored the region and it shows in their descriptions of the area. **stop here for spoilers** Mr. Hubbard goes off to Labrador to explore where white men have never gone. He idolizes Perry, and wants to make a name for himself as well. He doesn't have the experience and he doesn't have good maps. They make some wrong choices and run out of food. They starve- and he dies. The two that were with him make it out. Mrs. Hubbard blames one of the companions for her husband's death. She mounts a party to prove that what her husband set out to do can be done. Wallace, the other person on the trip- mounts his own group and also goes to finish the exploration. She gets to the destination one month before Wallace. He runs into many difficulties. Both of them write books about it. Also the guide George writes a book as well. The authors used these books and newspaper articles to get their facts. Great story- a good read.

I read this book long ago, but it remains one of my favorites. Adventure- explorations, trials- this book has it. If you liked "Into Thin Air," or "Endurance," then you would like this book.

[Alec Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is non-fiction, the story of Leonidas Hubbard, Dillon Wallace, George Elson, and Mina Hubbard. It's a story from the golden age of Arctic exploration, the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when Teddy Roosevelt encouraged tests of manhood. Leonidas Hubbard, a starry-eyed romantic wants to undertake a great adventure, wants to be the first to cross the interior of Labrador. His aspirations are not matched by his skills, however, and after he and his companions take the wrong fork of the river, they struggle haplessly for months. Finally, they turn back, but Hubbard dies of starvation. Like Shackleton's unsuccessful attempt to cross Antarctica, the interest in the story lies in how the actors in the drama react to dire and desperate circumstances.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story of survival, heartache and redemption. The book opens with the story of an ill fated journey through the Labradorean wilderness and is continued when the wife of one of the explorers and his former partner race to show that the journey could be completed. Taking place during the early 1900's, Great Heart is a book that will endure time as a classic survival of the fittest story. Identifying the complexities of human nature and society, Rugge and Davidson have written a compelling humanistic story sure to entertain any reader.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. In 1903 three men set out on an expedition in Labrador; only 2 came back. Two years later the dead explorer's widow decided to finish the task her husband started, taking one of the surviving expedition members with her. The other survivor launched a rival expedition. The authors used extensive research to recreate the stories of all three expeditions. Some readers might take issue with the way the book almost seems fictionalized, but I found it very readable.

[C.A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really sad and depressing. NOTE TO SELF: Once again, don't go out in to the arctic wilderness with no food and no way to catch more food.
***


I need to have another group: either a) books that Brandon has left behind at my house and I have read by default b) books that Brandon has so agonizingly slow been reading that I've picked it up just so someone has finished it.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a couple of years ago but wanted to add it to my list because I liked this history so much. It is about exploring Labrador and how the wife of the explorer, who starved to death in Labrador (he took a rifle instead of a shotgun and couldn't kill birds for food), went on the finish the exploration with a native guide.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was recommended to me by a prof about six or seven years ago. It was an amazing, heartbreaking read. Anyone who has ever been to Labrador will understand exactly what these people were up against, and anyone who hasn't been here will be amazed that there are still places in the world that are this remote (and even a century later, some places in this book are virtually unchanged).

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written account of a true exploration of Labrador, based on the diaries of those involved and retracing the routes they achieved. Highly recommended and makes you glad you were not enjoying the mosquitos and dinner caught (or not)!

[Christine Davis Mantai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping survival story and a touch of the mystical. Truly inspirational. An unknown gem.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

What of the best books I've read in a while. A true adventure....with a great love story at the center. Very touching. If you like expeditions this is the book for you....

[Noreen]

Adventure Library

[Erneilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tragic tale well told. Mrs. Hubbard was quite a lady!

[Cfleet · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good if not better than Lansing's title Endurance, about Shackelton. Takes you to a place on the globe still rugged and relatively unconquerable.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first half of the book. The second half started out strong but there was a romance that was intimated and it was too much of a focus and took away from the story.

[Steven Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished up GREAT HEART: THE HISTORY OF A LABRADOR ADVENTURE. It’s about three trips 1903/1905 into what is called “the last unexplored wilderness in the world.” This is a stupid description because of course/ naturally there’s Indians and Eskimoes living right there, just not printing up four color embossed tourist guides to Lake Michikamau.

The first expedition was organized by a pleasant man named Hubbard who made many poor choices like choosing the wrong route, eating too well outward bound (until most of their foodstuffs were exhausted), and not having proper ammo to shoot smaller local wildlife. The return trip as they retreat, quote poetry aloud, and starve are the hardest chapters to read. I was breakfasting on very good chicken Alfredo linguini as I read of men stumbling around in starved forced marches, and I felt VERY guilty. Hubbard dies in 3-sided tent found under feet of Labradorite snow but leaves behind a very eloquent, positive journal.

The subsequent expeditions are run by Wallace, the only white survivor of the Hubbard fiasco and Hubbard’s widow Mina, who takes great exception to some of the things Wallace writes about her husband. While both trips face memorable adversities, they both get through to the Hudson’s Bay outpost that is their target, eventually. Mina’s team does it eight weeks faster than her counterpart’s crew and in much better shape. In places her journey is a little like Katherine Hepburn on the AFRICAN QUEEN.

The book is well written, even if it sometimes puts specific words into the mouths of people when we can’t be sure of what they said.

[Joshua Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three expeditions themselves are very interesting, but I'm not a fan of the way they're told in this book. Some other reviewers have noted their dislike of the overly imaginative style throughout and I agree with them. That is, the authors use a narrative style belonging more to the realm of fiction, and this consistently turned me off throughout. Even with all of the primary and published sources they consulted, the authors enter too deeply into the realm of speculation to suit my tastes, presuming to know thoughts and feelings of these real people, and frequently reporting verbatim strings of dialogue that occurred 100 years ago. A final snobbish complaint: the authors also deliberately use a lot of colloquialisms in their descriptive passages, droppin' the letter 'g' from ends of words, etc.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tedious at times, but kept me coming back and turning pages. A slow starter until Hubbard's trip gets going, which was gripping. The retreat was harrowing but its tragic conclusion was inevitable and predictable. The return trips of Mina Hubbard & George versus Wallace was compelling in theme but I struggled to get through it. I ultimately skipped the Wallace sections and chapters. Throughout the book I found myself drawn to George the most. No doubt the authors were too, given they honored him with the book's title. There also seemed to be something more to the relationship between Leonidas Hubbard and Wallace as well as Mina Hubbard and George, that these characters never fully realized or captured explicitly in their journals. The author's acknowledge this in the end (mostly about Mina & George), marveling at what mystery remains of these interesting people.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is an adventure story! Really several adventure stories. Anyone who likes outdoor adventure or the boreal forest and tundra landscapes will enjoy this well organized and well researched account of three trips in Labrador by canoe and by foot that occurred in 1903 and 1905. There is language used based on that time frame that wouldn't be used today. It is based on the journals of several of the adventurers including but not limited to L. Hubbard, D. Wallace, G. Elson, and M. Wallace. Labrador is a spectacular landscape whether mountains, coast, or the rivers. Makes me want to go back and see and do more.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I mentioned Endurance by A. Lansing as one of my all-time favorite books, my brother-in-law gave me a copy of Great Heart and assured me that I would enjoy it. Well, I did!
Great Heart is another survival story that again shows what people will endure in order to survive. George Elson was by far the most experienced and bravest character. He was the "half breed" guide who led two expeditions into Labrador in 1903 and 1905.
A suspenseful and well-written account of these treks into the unknown.

[David Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I found the first 50 pages or so slow reading, it quickly caught my interest. It was first published in 1988, but reprinted in 2018. In 1903 three men set out to explore the interior of Labrador by canoe. A disaster. One died by starvation and his widow blamed one of the other two men for his death. Two years later the widow, accompanied by the other survivor, set out to accomplish what her late husband had failed to do. The other survivor who she had blamed set out on a rival expedition. The authors rely on the diaries of these adventurers. An excellent adventure book.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a masterwork of historical narrative. weaving this incredible story from sources that amounted mostly to diary entries is nothing short of amazing. the characters that are portrayed in this book are incredibly interesting and developed over the course of the tragic adventure that takes place in the first part of the book. but its the Second part that takes it to the Next level as a story. i wont spoil but it pays off the first part completely and totally and its All True!!
Highly Recommend!

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

In an age of great adventures for adventures sake, this is certainly one of the most compelling, even in (or perhaps because of) its failure. It’s two tales in one, as the first journey morphs into its complement, as the wife of an adventurer seeks to duplicate his path. There are some interesting historical windows into that era, as well as how women and Native guides were viewed. And there’s also an intriguing afterword about how the two writers stumbled upon the materials that allowed them to write the book.

[Joe Shoenfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful book. Resonated on multiple levels -- the wilderness story, the story of the dueling stories and the history of the trip and the stories. Very readable, a real pleasure.