Eric W. Morse was a writer, wilderness canoe traveler and historian. He was born December 29, 1904, in India and died in Ottawa March 1986.
[''Eric W. Morse Fonds'' (collections) R8288 Canadian National Archives
R8288 Prepared in 2002 by R. Fisher for the Social and Cultural Archives Retrieved 10/28/20/13 http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000000794.pdf]
Life
In 1951, while at an Ottawa dinner party, Eric Morse challenged the diplomats and businessmen to learn about the real Canada and get out on the land. The next year, he and a small group began taking treks in the wilderness of Canada.
[Bio and Publishers Weekly book review info. Retrieved 10/28/13 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/freshwater-saga-eric-w-morse/1114477701?ean=9780802026101] Several of his wilderness trips were with
Sigurd Olson
Sigurd Ferdinand Olson (April 4, 1899 – January 13, 1982) was an American writer, environmentalist, and advocate for the protection of wilderness. For more than thirty years, he served as a wilderness guide in the lakes and forests of the Que ...
. Morse was national director of Canadian Clubs from 1949 until 1971.
[ In 1984, he was one of four persons that year (the others including ]Chuck Yeager
Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the ...
and Sally Ride
Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts ...
) conferred Honorary Memberships in the Explorer's Club
The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...
.[Listing of honorary members of the Explorer's Club Retrieved 10/28/13 http://www.explorers.org/index.php/about/history/honorary_members] In 1977, Canadian Geographic
''Canadian Geographic'' is a magazine published by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, (RCGS) based in Ottawa, Ontario.
History and profile
After the Society was founded in 1929, the magazine was established the next year in May 1930 unde ...
magazine published an eight-page article by Morse titled ''Recreational canoeing in Canada; its history and its hazards. In that article he significantly noted that "wilderness, instead of being hated and feared had come to have a new escape value; and the canoe remained the best way to penetrate it."''[Canadian Geographic magazine web site Retrieved 10/28/13 "From the archives" box gives 1977 date for Canadian Geographic article. "In 1977, canoeing pioneer Eric W. Morse described in the Canadian Geographical Journal the history of utilitarian and recreational canoeing in Canada. After the First World War, writes Morse, two-thirds of Canadians lived in cities, giving the wilderness—and canoeing—a new purpose. “ e wilderness instead of being hated and feared had come to have a new, escape value,” he writes, “and the canoe remained the best way to penetrate it.”" ][Canadian Geographic magazine article: ''Recreational canoeing in Canada; its history and its hazards.'' By Eric W. Morse Retrieved 10/28/13 http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/ja12/pdf/recreational_canoeing_web.pdf ]
In 1955, Morse, Sigurd Olson and four others took a 500 mile canoe trip on the Churchill River from Île-à-la-Crosse
Île-à-la-Crosse, or ''Sakitawak'' ( Cree name: sâkitawâhk ᓵᑭᑕᐚᕽ), is a northern village in Division No. 18, northwestern Saskatchewan, and was the site of historic trading posts first established in 1778. Île-à-la-Crosse is th ...
to Cumberland House
Cumberland House was a mansion on the south side of Pall Mall in London, England. It was built in the 1760s by Matthew Brettingham for Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany and was originally called York House. The Duke of York died in 1767 ...
. An account of this trip was enshrined in Sigurd Olson's book ''The Lonely Land''.[Che-mun journal Summer 2005 ''The Journal of Canadian Wilderness Canoeing'' Pages 5 & 8 Retrieved 10/29/13 http://www.ottertooth.com/che-mun/121/chemun121.pdf] This group took several trips together before and after that journey and became known as The Voyageurs. In the 1960s, Eric and a younger group of paddlers traveled long stretches of Canada's far north including Eric's favorite river, the Coppermine (1966) and the Thelon (1962). In 1965, Eric's party traveled up the Rat River, N.W.T. and over the continental divide through McDougall Pass, the lowest point on the western cordillera, into Yukon Territory and down the Porcupine River.[''Sigurd F. Olson: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society'' Minnesota Historical Society archive inventory, summarization and overview Sig Olson materials Retrieved 10/29/13 http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00316.xml]
In 1985, the Morse River was named (Topo Map 66F) by a group of Canadian paddlers from the Hide-Away Canoe Club. The name change was passed on August 1, 1985, while the group was still on the trip. The Morse River drains into the south side of Garry Lake on the Back River system. Pierre Trudeau supported the naming application.
Books
Books written by Morse include:[Barnes & Noble listing of his books Retrieved 10/28/13 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/eric-w.-morse][Open directory project listing of his books. Retrieved 10/28/13 https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL971948A/Eric_W._Morse][Amazon.com listing and image of ''Fur trade canoe routes of Canada / Then and now'' Retrieved 10/29/13https://www.amazon.com/Fur-Trade-Canoe-Routes-Canada/dp/0802063845]
*''Fur trade canoe routes of Canada'' First published in 1971
*''Canoe routes of the voyageurs'' First published in 1962
*''Freshwater Saga Memoirs of a Lifetime of Wilderness Canoeing'' First published in 1987 [Amazon listing, description and image of book ''Freshwater Saga Memoirs of a Lifetime of Wilderness Canoeing'' Retrieved 10/29/13 https://www.amazon.com/Freshwater-Saga-Lifetime-Wilderness-Canoeing/dp/0942802551]
*''The exploration of Canada'' First published in 1971
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, Eric W.
1904 births
1986 deaths
British people in colonial India
British emigrants to Canada
Canadian non-fiction writers
20th-century non-fiction writers