Presents the history of the early US Coast Guard, with special focus on its former whalers-turned-cutters, the Bear and the Northland, and their voyages along the coast of Alaska, Hawaii and Greenland.

Table of Contents Preface Introduction—The Bear and the Northland: The “911s” of the North  1—Semper Paratus, Bert Rankin  2—Captain, My Captain  3—Reindeer Rustlers  4—Do Bears Have Tales?  5—The Bizarre ­Court-Martial of Captain Healey  6—The Bear May Have Been a Ship, but There Was Railroading Afloat  7—Impeach Hamlin and Convict Healey  8—The Fallout Hurts More than Healey  9—Ellsworth P. Bertholf, the Santa Claus of the Coast Guard 10—A Unique Partnership 11—Providing Provisions 12—Relief at Point Barrow 13—1900—A Year of Death, Disease, and Devotion 14—The Bear Takes a Hawaiian Vacation 15—The Bear Rides the Waves to Bust a Crime Wave 16—The Only Ship the Bering Patrol Lost 17—Judge Not, Lest Ye Be “Thurbered” 18—A Lieutenant Makes a Major Discovery 19—Healey and His Counterparts Share a Conundrum 20—Sailing on the “Inconsistent Sea” 21—Five Killed, a Dozen Captured 22—A Seemingly Hopeless Task 23—The Bear and the Karluk 24—The Bear and the Explorers 25—The Bear Goes into Hibernation 26—The Great Walrus Hunt 27—Routine, but Challenging 28—Sailing Toward War 29—World War II’s Weirdest Battle Epilogue: The Bear Goes to the Bottom; the Northland Ends Life on the Scrap Heap Appendix A—Technical Specifications/Features (the Northland) Appendix B—How The Call Has Outfitted the Bear Chapter Notes Bibliography Index