Per Schei (1875-1905)

Abstract

Per Schei, Norwegian geologist and explorer, died a young man. From 1898 to 1902, as a member of Captain Otto Sverdrup's second expedition in the Fram, Schei made his mark on the geological understanding of a vast region of the eastern Canadian High Arctic. Schei died before he could write a detailed report for publication, but by the time of his death, his status as a talented scientist and outstanding expedition man was established. ... In collaboration with Nansen, Sverdrup had decided to explore northernmost Greenland, and possibly to circumnavigate the subcontinent. Using the so-called Smith Sound route, Sverdrup was to direct Fram up the narrow channels separating Greenland and Ellesmere Island and winter in Greenland as far north as possible. These channels, now known as Nares Strait, had been explored by British and American expeditions since the 1850s. Sledge parties from Fram were to delimit the northern part of Greenland and to reach as far south down the east coast as possible. ... However, the Norwegian thrust north in the summer of 1898 was stopped by unfavourable ice conditions in Kane Basin. ... Another attempt the following summer to negotiate Kane Basin was thwarted by ice, and following this Sverdrup sailed Fram southward and westward into Jones Sound to spend the next three winters in southern Ellesmere Island. This was a fortunate decision: it led to the discovery and charting of "New Land" west of Ellesmere Island. Up north, it was left to Peary to prove the insularity of Greenland, in 1900. ... Schei took to expedition life quickly but not without mishap. After an episode of frostbite during early sledging on Bache Peninsula, which necessitated amputation of several toes on each foot, Schei developed into one of the most skillful dogsledge handlers and hunters on the expedition. His courage and dedication could not be overwhelmed by such small disabilities as a stiff leg, lost toes, and short-sightedness. ... Sverdrup's well-organized and coordinated team work produced results unsurpassed in arctic exploration; the group of islands now named the Sverdrup Islands - Axel Heiberg, Ellef and Amund Ringes, King Christian, and smaller islands - were discovered and mapped, and the entire western coast of Ellesmere Island and much of northern Devon Island were charted. Schei participated in some of the longest and most arduous sledge journeys, for example a trip with Sverdrup, during the final sledging campaign of 1902, northward up Nansen Sound to reach the Arctic Ocean and the northwestern tip of Ellesmere Island. ... The geographic and scientific advances achieved by Sverdrup's expedition rank it as one of the most successful in the history of arctic exploration, and Schei returned with a rich geological and paleontological collection from a hitherto unknown region. ... Schei's preliminary accounts appeared in 1903 in several languages, and these papers, although only a few pages each, were regarded by his contemporaries as forming some of the most important contributions ever made to arctic geology. Aware of the mammoth task of dealing with the extensive collection, Schei induced a number of specialists in Europe to identify and systematically describe the fossil assemblages. Only one treatise appeared in Schei's lifetime, but by 1917 ten geological reports had been completed, and Professor Olav Holtedahl concluded the four-volume work with a summary report based on Schei's diaries. One can only wonder how much greater Schei's contribution to arctic geology would have been had he lived. Professor W.C. Brogger noted Schei's decline in health early in 1905. ... Schei died of dropsy, a result of kidney malfunction that was thought at the time to be related to the four strenuous years in the far North. ... Schei can be credited with making the most impressive contribution by a single person to the geological understanding of the Arctic Islands prior to the advent of aircraft.