George Washington Sears (December 2, 1821 – May 1, 1890) was a

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

for ''

Forest and Stream ''Forest and Stream'' was a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities in the United States. The journal was founded in August 1873 by Charles Hallock. At the time of its 1930 cancellation it was the ninth oldest magazine s ...

'' magazine in the 1880s and an early conservationist. His stories, appearing under the pen name "Nessmuk", popularized self-guided canoe camping tours of the Adirondack lakes in open, lightweight solo canoes and what is today called ultralight camping or

ultralight backpacking Ultralight backpacking is a subset of lightweight backpacking, a style of backpacking which emphasizes carrying the lightest and least amount of gear. While no technical standards exist, some United States hikers consider "ultralight" to mean an ...

. Canoeing had been popularized by Scottish lawyer John MacGregor in the 1860s, but the typical canoe trip of the day employed expert guides and heavy canoes. Sears, who was tall and had a , solo canoe built by J. Henry Rushton of

Canton, New York Canton is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, St. Lawrence County, New York (state), New York. The population was 11,638 at the time of the 2020 census. The town contains two Administr ...

. He named it the
Sairy Gamp
' (the name of a

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

character) and in it he completed a journey through the central Adirondacks. He was 62 years old and in frail health (

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

and

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

) at the time.

William Henry Harrison Murray William Henry Harrison Murray (1840–1904), also known as Adirondack Murray, was an American clergyman and author of an influential series of articles and books which popularized the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. He became known as th ...

's ''Adventures in the Wilderness'', published in 1869, had praised the Adirondacks as having a healthy atmosphere for consumptives and

Verplanck Colvin Verplanck Colvin (January 4, 1847 – May 28, 1920) was a lawyer, author, illustrator and topographical engineer whose understanding and appreciation for the environment of the Adirondack Mountains led to the creation of New York's Forest Preser ...

's enthusiastic writing about the Adirondack wilderness had further inspired the trip. The ''Sairy Gamp'' was acquired by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

and is now on loan to the

Adirondack Museum Adirondack Experience (formerly Adirondack Museum), located on NY-30 in the hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake in Hamilton County, New York, is a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the Adirondacks. The museum is located on the site of an hi ...

. He grew up the eldest of ten children in South Oxford (now Webster), Massachusetts. He took his pen name from a Native American who had befriended him in early childhood. He was fascinated by the few books about Native Americans his family possessed, which left him with an abiding interest in forest life and adventure. A period of factory labor while still a child left him with a fondness for the writing of Charles Dickens. At age twelve he started working in a commercial fishing fleet based on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

and at nineteen he signed on for a three-year voyage on a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

headed for the South Pacific; it was the same year (1841) that

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

shipped out of the same port bound for the same whaling grounds. On his return, his family moved to

Wellsboro, Pennsylvania Wellsboro is a borough in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The borough was founded by Benjamin Wistar Morris. It is located northwest of Williamsport. The population was 3,472 at the 2020 census. Early in the 20th century, Wellsboro was the shipp ...

where he was to live for the rest of his life. However, he continued traveling for adventure, from the upper Midwest and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

to an

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

tributary in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(in 1867 and again in 1870). Nessmuk Historical Marker

Sears wrote ''Woodcraft'', a book about

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

, published in 1884, that has remained in print ever since. A book of poems, ''Forest Runes'', appeared in 1887. He died at his home in Pennsylvania seven years later. Mount Nessmuk, in northern Pennsylvania, is named after him.

Sources

External links

* * *
Biographical information, photos, and full text of two ''Forest and Stream'' articles.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, George W. 1821 births 1890 deaths American environmentalists American hunters American male non-fiction writers American non-fiction outdoors writers American sportswriters