Lieutenant Frederick G. Schwatka lived a short, but adventurous life filled with notable exploits largely forgotten today. He is best remembered, to the extent remembered at all, as leading an historic Arctic sledge journey while searching for the written records of the ill-fated expedition commanded by the British explorer Sir John Franklin. Schwatka accomplished one of the nineteenth century's most outstanding feats of northern travel by virtue of an open-minded willingness to place his personal trust and reliance in his Inuit companions, who proved instrumental to that success. But Schwatka's eventful life embodied far more than one noteworthy trek to the Far North. His was a remarkable career that merits wider recognition. The proud son of hardy Oregon pioneers, motivated by a spirit of Manifest Destiny, Frederick Schwatka was an enthusiastic participant and meaningful contributor to the country's western and northern expansion. During his lifetime, his restless nature led him to pursue his own course and a wide range of professional undertakings, first as a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army, and then as an intrepid explorer, travel writer and nineteenth-century media personality.
Though he could forge sound relationships in the field, he was a contentious figure whose headstrong individualism struggled within the confines of a strict military bureaucracy and with the scientific establishment. Nonetheless, he rose to become one of the most prominent explorers and well-known Americans during his lifetime and thus achieved a level of fame he so desired. As an explorer-for-hire, with his prolific pen and an engaging style, the tales of his adventures brought widespread publicity to the distant and unfamiliar lands of his travels, including the then newly acquired territory of Alaska. Drawing upon diaries, correspondence, and other archival and published sources from the time, Big Wolf brings to light the full story of this controversial man of such varied talents. As the first full-length biography of Schwatka, this book examines Schwatka's role in rolling back an untamed frontier and filling in its "blank" spaces, his rise to fame, and his role in shaping our understanding of those little-known regions and their peoples.