Mush! Admiral Byrd's Dog Team Model: now on display at the Vermont History Museum

By Andrew Liptak 

Admiral Richard E. Byrd was a decorated American naval officer and explorer who earned fame for his expeditions to both the North and South Poles. Born in 1888, he joined the Navy in 1908 and trained as an aviator during the First World War. On May 9th, 1926, he was part of a crew that was the first to reach the North Pole by airplane and became a national hero upon his return. In the years that followed, he made an early transatlantic flight and led a trio of expeditions to Antarctica in 1928, 1933, and 1939. After being recalled to service during the Second World War, he led two additional missions to Antarctica in 1946 and 1955. He died in 1957.

Dressed in furs, with his dog "Igloo", outside a hut during his first Antarctic Expedition, 12 April 1930. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection. 

Vermonters were well aware of Byrd’s exploits through newspaper reports and films. Following his 1933 expedition, Byrd visited Vermont for a pair of speaking engagements. According to The Burlington Free Press, a 1935 stop in Burlington attracted 3,500 attendees during two lectures, in which he spoke about his exploits and showed off images. Byrd had become a national hero for his exploits, and at a time before the internet, television and modern popular culture, these types of talks and lectures served as a form of entertainment and education for the general public. 

In the early 20th century, numerous polar expeditions utilized dogsled teams to move people and supplies across the ice. These objects are a depiction of a such a team that Byrd used on one of multiple Antarctic expeditions. The sled itself is made of a wooden base with side rails, and rope secures a rectangular package covered in orange fabric to show how supplies would have been transported while in Antarctica.

Object #1960.26.10, a sled made of wood and orange fabric. 

Each of the nine cast iron dogs is molded to appear in motion and is equipped with a cotton harness. Completing the set is a cast-iron figure of a man dressed in a brown parka, green pants, and black boots. The set is accompanied by a sign that reads “Scale Model of Admiral Byrd's Dog Team in the Antarctic, Designed in Vermont.”

Items #1960.26.6, #1960.26.9, and #1960.26.1, made of cast iron. 

This team might have a Vermont connection: one member of Byrd’s 1933 expedition was Fred Dustin, of Morrisville, Vermont. He brought with him the People’s Academy Banner and flew it at the expedition’s headquarters, “Little America” in 1934. A litter of husky puppies were born during that expedition, and Dustin adopted one of them, Rickey.

You can see all of these items in our online museum catalog.