Mina Benson Hubbard – författare

In 1903 Hubbard''s husband, Leonidas, starved to death on his cartographic and ethnographic expedition to Labrador. Hubbard decided to complete her husband''s work, becoming a skilled explorer and cartographer in her own right. She set out in July 1905 and with the help of George Elson, a Métis guide who had been employed by her husband on the original trip, and three other guides completed her expedition in record time with significant results, including completing the first accurate map of the Labrador river system, thus correcting the earlier map that had led to her husband''s death. Her original photographs and the map are reproduced in this volume.

In 1905 Mina Benson Hubbard became the first white woman to cross Labrador, completing the expedition that had led to her husband''s death. The Woman Who Mapped Labrador makes available for the first time the unguarded and personal diary that was the basis for her famous book, A Woman''s Way Through Unknown Labrador. Three specialists have combined their expertise to enhance the richness of this original source. Roberta Buchanan''s annotation of Hubbard''s expedition diary makes it accessible to contemporary readers. Anne Hart''s biography illuminates an Edwardian woman''s transformation from teacher, nurse, and devoted wife to courageous explorer and social activist. Bryan Greene''s discussion of Hubbard''s navigational, cartographic, and topographical techniques shows her to have been a serious explorer. His nineteen newly drawn maps make it possible to follow her journey in detail. In her diary Hubbard''s full enthusiasm for the Labrador wilderness shines through her descriptions of the great caribou migration, the Montagnais/Naskapi Indians (Innu), and life at a Hudson''s Bay post. She also reveals in frank detail the difficulties of asserting her authority as a female expedition leader and her satisfaction at beating out her male rival, Dillon Wallace.