Josiah Edward Spurr

Who was Josiah Edward Spurr?

Josiah Edward Spurr was an American geologist, explorer, and author. Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he was considered something of a failure as a youth, unsuited for the family fishing business, since on a voyage he invariably became seasick. Since he could not be a productive fisherman like his brothers, his parents decided he might as well go to college. After working his way through Harvard, he began his career with the Minnesota Geological Survey, making the first-ever geological map of the great Mesabi iron range in Minnesota.

J. E. Spurr led two expeditions of historic importance in Alaska for the United States Geological Survey in 1896 and 1898, made without the benefit of telephones, airplanes, the internal combustion engine, or electrical appliances. In 1896 he led the first expedition to map and chart the interior of Alaska, exploring the Yukon Territory, where gold had been discovered. In 1898 Spurr went down the length of the Kuskokwim River, naming as he traveled previously undiscovered mountains, mountain ranges, creeks, rivers, lakes and glaciers. At the end of the Kuskokwim expedition he made the first scientific observations of the Mount Katmai volcano, and the valley that later became known as the "Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes." During these expeditions he encountered Native Americans, Aleuts, traders, missionaries, prospectors, whiskey smugglers and various con artists. His books were seen as the definitive work on Alaskan minerals during the Alaska Gold Rush. They read like an adventure including the expedition's experiences with ice dams bearing down on them and lost provisions, as well as interactions with native Indians and missionaries.