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The Lure of the Labrador Wild

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A best-selling Arctic classic set against the unforgiving Labrador landscape.

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

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Dillon Wallace

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5 stars
169 (41%)
4 stars
136 (33%)
3 stars
77 (18%)
2 stars
17 (4%)
1 star
11 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Profile Image for Cori.
894 reviews178 followers
August 27, 2023
It's always the way, Wallace, when a fellow starts on a long trail, he's never willing to quit...you'll say each trip will be the last, but when you come home you'll hear the voice of the wilderness calling you to return, and it will lure you away again and again.

Well, I did not see that twist coming. As much as a true story can have a twist.

I went into this knowing little, to nothing, about it which both added to the experience and made it bittersweet. My first thought was what an excellent writer Dillon Wallace was.

...the land of bared boughs and grieving winds.

He kept careful notes of their adventure and later expounded on them, as well as the journal entries of Leonidas Hubbard.

The smoke of the campfire is in my blood. The fragrance of the forest is in my nostrils.

A book that paints both an alluring and enticing portrait of the beautiful North and one terrifying in revealing its power.

I'd rate this a PG.

Original review posted 8/27/23.
232 reviews2 followers
Read
April 16, 2018
In 1903 Leonidas Hubbard and Dillon Wallace set out with their Indian guide, George Elson to explore an area of Labrador that had not been fully explored by Europeans yet. In their attempt to explore Lake Michikamau they took a wrong route and instead of following the Naskapi River they instead followed the Susan River, which sent them into the heart of Labrador and on a path that they were not prepared for. With the cold winter winds coming in and the last scraps of food gone the three men found their adventure quickly turning into a fight for their lives.
This was a completely engrossing read that left me wondering how anyone could have survived this experience. The strength and courage that Dillon writes of is inspiring. Being forced to carry hundred pound loads of gear and a canoe on little to no food and wading through snow with only moccasins on their feet yet hardly complaining and bolstering each others spirits with talk of home and bible stories is truly amazing.
I read this as an ebook and while it is a great story I would have loved to be able to see the maps and photos that went along with this story. I will be keeping an eye out for a used copy of this book with the photos and maps included as it would truly add to the story
Profile Image for Tynan Watson.
68 reviews
August 4, 2020
First book I’ve read in months, I absolutely devoured It.
What a harrowing tale, I loved the story
Profile Image for Stefano Vitucci.
18 reviews
February 13, 2024
A dear friend of mine gave me this book a few years ago and I finally got around to reading it. And I should have gotten to it sooner!

The story of these three men in the early 1900’s enduring the hardships of the Labrador backcountry, facing adverse weather conditions and ethical dilemmas made for an epic!

These b’ys were hardcore. Thrilling read. Excellent.
159 reviews4 followers
October 16, 2022
This was exactly the type of book I have been searching for these last few months. It's a true account of three explorers in a canoe travelling and getting very lost in northern Labrador. All in 1903. Very good book and would recommend.
Profile Image for Bettie.
9,989 reviews10 followers
Want to read
March 6, 2014


Opening: The Jug, as Thomas Angus often remarked, was as snug and handy a place to live as ever a man could wish. Ten miles up the Bay was the trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and at Wolf Bight, twelve miles directly across the Bay from the Jug, the trading post of Trowbridge & Gray, and then only five miles to the eastward, at Break Cove, lived Doctor Joe.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42396
Profile Image for Jon Walgren.
95 reviews
April 4, 2022
Wonderful book. A true-life story of fear and death while at the same time efficiently bringing the reader into the joys of nature, high adventure and traveling and living in the wild. This is really a story of Leonidas Hubbard who died before he could return to the Labrador coast.

[Leonidas Hubbard Jr. (1872–1903) was an American journalist and adventurer.
Leonidas Hubbard on the shore of Grand Lake at Northwest River, Labrador, July 1903, prior to embarking on his ill-fated expedition.
He was born in Michigan and studied at the University of Michigan (1893–97), choosing journalism as a career. In 1901 he married Mina Adelaine Benson, a woman two years senior and at the time an assistant superintendent of a Staten Island hospital. They met at the hospital when Hubbard was ill with typhoid fever. He became an assistant editor of Outing magazine and in 1903 led an expedition to canoe the system Naskaupi River–Michikamau Lake in Labrador and George River in Quebec. His companions on this journey were his friend, New York lawyer Dillon Wallace and an Indian guide from Missanabie, George Elson.]
754 reviews5 followers
January 4, 2019
My brother turned me on to this book. His son, who lives in Sept Iles, Quebec, says that most families up there have two books in their house at least—the Bible, and The Lure of the Labrador Wild.

Just when I thought I've read all the books on suffering and misery in exploration, I discover another one, and this book is a sufferfest that lasts from mid-July, 1903 to November 1903, as three men, all devout Christians, embark on an exploration of a land that was little known at the time and to their knowledge never explored by Europeans or white Americans: the interior of Labrador.

I read this book in four days, which is a sign that I really liked it, which I did. Here are some of my takeaways as I pondered the outcome of their journey. Leonidas Hubbard, the expedition leader, starved to death, about 30 miles from safety. The other pair: George, a half-breed who was most responsible for their survival, and Dillon Wallace, the book's author, managed to survive, but only just barely.

1. The trio, but especially the leader of the expedition, made mistakes in planning. Almost from the literal start of the journey, the men took the wrong river which made all the difference in the outcome of the journey. Had they taken the correct river, the journey to the interior would have been much quicker and they wouldn't have had to discard so many supplies on the way. They manage to make only 80 miles in 15 days because of this mistake. They needed some local guide to at least get them started correctly, but they did not have a local guide. This was a fatal mistake.

2. They should have turned back earlier. It's pretty obvious that the expedition is a disaster—the men are very soon literally in rags as their clothes get torn (Leonidas ended up tying up his trousers because they were shredded and he had no adequate replacement), their moccasins were a wreck, and their supplies were low, yet they press on, hoping to live off the land. This sort of works, they are able to live off the land somewhat, but they slowly begin starving to death. It isn't until way past the time to turn back, that Mr. Hubbard finally decides to do so. This was a fatal mistake on his part. Mr. Wallace writes:

"ragged and almost barefooted though we were, not a man thought of turning back, and on Monday morning, August 17th, we prepared to leave Camp Caribou and solve the problem as to where lay the trail of Michikamau."

So they've been out for a month and should have turned back, but do not turn back for at least another month! Amazing.

3. God does not always intervene when men make poor decisions. The men press on into the wilderness, rapidly running out of supplies, and living off mostly fish they catch. I believe in the whole expedition, they only shot one caribou. Mr. Hubbard comments when they find food just when they need it:

""You see," said Hubbard reverently, "God always gives us food when we are really in great need, and He'll carry us through that way; in the wilderness He'll send us manna."

This is true, God does supply food for them, many times just when they are desperate. However, they seem to have a sort of blind belief in this and press on into the wilderness even though game is scarce and they are out of supplies. It's not until very, very late, that they even seem to recognize that, hey, God isn't just going to send food whenever we need it when we make unwise decisions. When they finally decide to turn around, they have 16 pounds of pea meal and some tea for the journey back which is going to take almost six weeks. So, yeah, some not very wise choices.

4. The journey back is as much of a sufferfest as I've read. They begin to eat anything and everything, the hooves of caribou that they find, bones of animals, the caribou hide, etc. They find game from time to time, but it's never adequate and they are all slowly starving, cold, and literally using blankets as shoes! The expedition leader, Leonidas Hubbard, who is the naturally skinniest of all of them, eventually insists on being left behind 33 miles from safety. He dies of starvation the next day. The other pair go for help. The author, Dillon Wallace, finds some moldy flour and turns back to take it to Mr. Hubbard in a snowstorm that will last ten days! Mr. Wallace never reaches Mr. Hubbard—who is dead by then anyway. His description of his ten days fighting down the Susan Valley is amazing. His dead wife keeps speaking to him , urging him to get up and keep moving and he is eventually found by a team of rescuers sent out by George, the half-breed, who managed to make it back to civilization.

This was a fascinating book and this disaster could certainly have been prevented, as so many disasters are not, if the participants had turned back when it became obvious that they were in difficulty.

292 reviews1 follower
June 12, 2022
One can easily imagine a young boy, born near the end of the great age of exploration that opened up the world, dreaming of being and explorer, perhaps as a we who grew in the early days of space exploration dreamt of being astronauts.

Leonodis Hubbard, born and raised in the woods of the northern United States, was such a dreamer and set his sights on the exploration of inner Labrador, a vast, empty and unknown region in northeast Canada. As a young man in his 30s, he convinced a friend, DIllon Wallace to accompany him. Hubbard, faced with a choice of a larger company who could move faster but use more resources, and a smaller party with greater risk but fewer resources, chose the latter. They added only a single traveling companion, Elson George and set out to find Lake Michikamau.

Their journey was beset by difficulty, primarily because they passed the main river that would lead them to Michikamau, instead canoeing up the Susan River, a much smaller river, full of rapids requiring constant postering of canoes and supplies over long distances. Dillon Wallace, the author of the book pulls no punches in describing these difficulties and the deprivation and hardship they caused.

They found the lake though Hubbard only viewed it from a high mountain somewhat like Moses seeing the promised land from a distance. The Susan River’s difficulties had put them far behind schedule, making it necessary to retrace their steps before the Labrador winter set in. The party disagreed on the return route—Wallace and George wanting to follow the main river and Hubbard thinking it better to return over a known route. The two finally acquiesced to Hubbard’s decision—he being the leader. It cost Hubbard his life. He died of starvation before reaching the coast.

The book describes the suffering all three endured and how close the world came to losing the entire party, and perhaps never knowing why. It’s a fascinating read of courage, determination, poor preparation, some poor decision making, but above all the strength of the human spirit in desperate circumstances.
Profile Image for Carl Williams.
527 reviews4 followers
May 21, 2022
Like many kids who were children growing up in the ‘50s and early ‘60s I had this yearning for adventure—and it was all around—up into space, and down into the oceans. Discovering ancient civilizations and even more ancient animals. And, even as a fellah of a certain age I often chat with a neighbor about traipsing around Vermont and reading the landscape of both natural growth and human exploitation.

He’s a nice guy, this neighbor so when he foisted 2 books by Dillion Wallace on me I set about to read them, and prepared for both late a Victorian writing style and a world understanding that, in the 21st century, is very different than ours—mine.

And that was more than a bit of a challenge, I will say. I waded through _The Lure of the Labrador Wild_ pushing aside assumptions of white man’s natural superiority even in the face of foolishness and potential death and a dismissive view (at best) of native peoples for the descriptions of the Labrador peninsula geography. It was hard work, but I did it.

And I started T_he Long Labrador Trail_ with the same determination. I did, really. Then on page 3 I read “It was desirable to have at least oe Indian in the party as woodsman, hunter, and general servant.” I could not go on. Nor should you. Argh.
Profile Image for Cassi.
16 reviews
October 6, 2022
I wasn’t sure about reading this book. Set in a remote region of Canada and written over 100 years ago, just wasn’t sure the language and narrative would really grab me. Was I wrong! I think it may be my favorite book read in 2022, to be honest. Three young(!) men in their early twenties, strong, fit and capable - yet they are no match for the brutality of the Labrador wilderness. Some will say it was foolhardy; I found it to be inspiring even if it was hard to read at times. It defines perseverance for me. I found the narrative and writing to be so compelling, and put me in this place with the descriptions. An excellent book; my favorite survival story ever.
Profile Image for Karen M Gorten.
25 reviews
June 22, 2022
Wow!

Such an interesting read! To read about how people mounted expeditions into the wilderness in 1903 was interesting. The weight of the packs they carried was monstrous! Today we have detailed topo maps and GPS. They had word of mouth....and bad maps. It's a wonder any of them lived at all. I LOVED reading about the beauty of the Labrador wilderness. Also interesting was reading about the racism. They referred to people as "Breeds." Yes.... oh my God!! While we still have a long way to go in that department, camping gear has come a long way baby!






Profile Image for maddi1134.
115 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2021
Quite an incredible story really. Told by a total racist who saw land as something to be conquered. Caution for brutal language including referring to Indigenous people as "breeds" and "half-breeds", referring to women as "a good wife who keeps the house clean", and referring to the beauty of Labrador as "desolate waste".
Profile Image for Tyler Brannon.
22 reviews
February 13, 2022
A compelling exploration/disaster narrative of an amateur-led quest to map the least known portion of the North American mainland in remote Labrador.

This public domain tale is available from a variety of sources. I listened to the 11th edition downloaded from Librivox.org and read by Tom Weiss of tomsaudiobooks.com. Tom provides a crisp, emotionally-true narrative.
222 reviews5 followers
August 29, 2020
A rare opportunity to observe and perceive how to exist under

Conditions of hardship almost beyond belief, and just in case, also how to face death. The lesson; keep on keeping on!
48 reviews2 followers
January 9, 2022
Exploring Labrador

I wish you would have included a map of your travels so we could better follow your path,otherwise an excellent book.

Profile Image for Katie.
1 review
March 25, 2022
I listened to the audio version and the narrator did an amazing job!
Profile Image for Tam G.
471 reviews1 follower
August 27, 2019
An "explorer" memoir from the early 20th (pre WWI) century. Two guys with Teddy Roosevelt enthusiasm decide to tackle NE Canada/subarctic Canada with little more than a romantic age love of camping and a fascination with the blankness of the Labrador map. Bad things happen. They tell you from chapter one that bad things are going to happen as only an older model memoir can ("If only we'd known...").

Considering how soon you know it will all go terribly wrong, it still manages to pull you along, and time with the doomed explorer is particularly poignant. Poignant enough that I sometimes wondered how sanitized the story was (but that is an issue with my own cynical age).

I'm glad I finished it, and it wasn't awful, but sometimes it's hard to read something when you know the entire purpose of the story is bad decisions and bad luck. I probably would not go into it knowing what I know now.
5 reviews1 follower
March 27, 2011
This was a very well-written and engrossing account of determination and the will to survive in the northern Canadian wilderness. Written in 1905, the adventure is an enjoyable and lighthearted to read in the beginning, and turns gripping right around the middle of the chronicle as the weather slowly turns Wallace, Hubbard, and Elson's expedition into a race against the oncoming snow and impending starvation.

Wallace's writing style is very easy to follow, and he had a keen eye for small details, which I found enjoyable. The story gets slow and drags on a bit at times, but never for very long, and it is always at necessary intervals when detailed explanations are aptly called for. I loved reading this novel, and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the outdoors, exploration, camping or just plain adventure. This is as real as it gets. It all actually happened, and the emotion found in Wallace's penmanship is honest and heartfelt.

I am very grateful to have stumbled across my copy in a used bookshop in Ottawa over spring break, and purchased it on an impulse. That was a great decision.
377 reviews4 followers
October 1, 2019
This is a powerful story of 3 men's adventure through hell and back. Months of living off a few hundred calories a day and a march through unforgiving terrain. Told directly by one of those unfortunate members of the expedition, through day by day accounts of the struggles endured.

I read this book in high school as part of literature class, and while I saw the importance of it, I didn't find it all that compelling.

I found a copy of an audio recording and thought I'd see how well it held up, as an adult.

I can say I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than as a teen. The human struggle was more important, the dream of adventure, the hard ship, it all carries more weight now, then it did back then.

It is a very detailed, tedious at times, read that should please anyone interested in exploration and history.
Profile Image for John Huth.
3 reviews9 followers
April 8, 2013

This is the classic tale of the Hubbard/Wallace/Elson expedition to find Lake Michikamau. Leonidas Hubbard, the leader of the expedition, had an amazingly romantic notion of exploration, and never really came to grips with the realities. He took a turn up the wrong river, and carried on, ultimately starving to death. Dillon Wallace, the author, made it out alive. He co-wrote this with a professional writer. It's an excellent read, and although Wallace seems to canonize Hubbard, if you read it closely, you can see all the missteps that are made.

There is some great fore-shadowing in this - the prose is tight.
Profile Image for Sarah.
28 reviews
February 1, 2016
I read this book in high school, more than 15 years ago. Last year, I decided to take it out as an audio book, and actually, I took it to the cabin during a weekend I spend there with my husband. During the cold evenings when we stayed inside, we laid back on the sofa in front of the fire and listened to the story of Wallace and Hubbard, and their adventure into the isolation of the Labrador Wild. The story is so very interesting, and I enjoyed it even more so, now that I am older. A tragic tale of determination and will, and an epic description of the unforgiving Labrador.
Profile Image for Harry.
171 reviews
July 25, 2009
This is an engrossing diary of an expedition into the interior of Labrador at the turn of the last century. Two Victorian gentlemen who bit off far more than they could chew. While the language is a bit stilted (Victorian ?) the account of their slow starvation as summer turns to winter and the physical challenges of the journey make it a unique and interesting read.

I downloaded this from Project Gutenberg and read on my smartphone.
Profile Image for Heather.
38 reviews
November 9, 2007
Very interesting true adventure -- It's written by one of the adventurers and is full of tragedy, excitement and all the things that make such books good reads. The writing is lacking here and there, but you have to consider when it was written and the fact that the author was new to writing. If you've ever been to Labrador, you'll truly appreciate this story.
8 reviews
November 8, 2008
Another totally enthralling account of exploring some place where no one with any sense would want to go - a litany of bad decisions from start to finish, beginning with the decision to go in the first place.
Profile Image for Daniel.
4 reviews
October 11, 2012
Great book! Fascinating tale and very moving. Easy to read considering it was written in 1905 by someone who wasn't a writer. I've been reading archived issues of Outing magazine for additional related stories. Good stuff.
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