Military.com Content

The Coast Guard cutter Bear. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

SOUND OFF!

Join our discussion here.

Have a suggestion for a Military Legend? Write to militarylegends@military.com.

Capt. David H. Jarvis

Undertaking A Daring Rescue At The Top Of The World

By Bethanne Kelly Patrick
Military.com Columnist

One of the Coast Guard's most prestigious honors is the Capt. David H. Jarvis Award for "inspirational leadership." In late 1897, Jarvis set out into unknown Arctic ways not to plant a flag or to discover a new waterway; he and his crew braved the cold to save the lives of several hundred men.

The whaling trade remained strong in the late 19th century, especially in the icy waters of the Bering Strait off of Alaska's coast. While the whaling was good, the hazards were many. In 1897, eight ships full of whalers become stranded at Point Barrow, Alaska's northernmost point. Trapped by ice, wind, and weakness, the men were slowly starving to death. No relief was near.

One possible food source were the herds of reindeer in Alaska that had been brought over from Siberia. The U.S. government had transplanted the reindeer in an experiment to help the North American Inuits sustain an income. While the experiment failed to turn hunters into herders, the reindeer remained in Alaska. The whaling companies, knowing that their employees would die without intervention, appealed to President William McKinley.

In November, the Coast Guard cutter Bear sailed north with a crew of volunteers willing to brave the frigid conditions and uncertain results of a rescue. Their goal was to round up a herd of reindeer, then make their way over ice and snow to the stranded whalers. The ship made it to Cape Vancouver, and then sent a party ashore to travel along the coast.

That party was made up of Lt. David Jarvis; his second-in-command, Lt. Ellsworth Berthold; and surgeon J.S. Call. They were assisted by F. Koltchuff, an enlisted Coast Guardsman, for part of the journey, and also received help from W. T. Lopp, the supervisor of Teller Reindeer Station, and Charlie Ariserlook, a native reindeer herder.

The men set out on Dec. 16, 1897, using a combination of dog sleds, reindeer sleds, snowshoes, and skis to travel the 1,500 miles between Cape Vancouver and Point Barrow. Jarvis and his party arrived to save the stranded whalers on March 29, 1898, bringing 382 reindeer with them (they lost only 66 on the journey).