"Geography Rides, Geology Walks": The Barrett-Huntington Expedition to Central Asia in 1905

Abstract

"Geography Rides, Geology Walks": The Barrett-Huntington Expedition to Central Asia in 1905 Gary S. Dunbar* In an organization that has already reached maturity, such as the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, there remains little of novelty that can be used in the annual presidential addresses. An attempt at making a methodological statement would be unseemly because I don't have a philosophical bent and also because I realize full well that the soporific value of my lectures, already high by 9 a.m., approaches its zenith by 9 p.m. Instead, I should like to recount the adventures of two American geographers who went to Central Asia on an ill-starred mission in 1905. One of them, Ellsworth Huntington, went on to enjoy perhaps the most widespread fame of all the founding members of the Association of American Geographers, and the other, Robert Barrett, was the least well known but longest lived of the charter members. Although Geoffrey Martin (1972, 1973) has treated both of these men biographically—with a book for Huntington, befitting his fecundity, and a short article for Barrett, in line with his comparative anonymity, I should like to review some personal material that Martin chose to omit. * Presidential address delivered at the annual banquet of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, Hyatt Long Beach Hotel, Long Beach, California, June 15, 1982. Dr. Dunbar is a professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles 90024. 8 ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS On the expedition that Huntington and Barrett made to Central Asia in 1905, the two men—particularly the latter—found the close association to be first stimulating, then annoying, and finally wholly discomfiting. Their letters chronicling their deteriorating relationship are very revealing of the characters of the two men. In particular, Barrett's biting characterizations of Huntington give a valuable insight into the latter's temperament and research methods. An observer who knows something about Huntington's later life can see that all the faults and virtues of the mature man were already present in his early years. Without taking sides in this clash of willful personalities, I should like to quote their original words, in the hope of not merely amusing the listener but of showing the importance of personal and idiosyncratic elements in the history of geography. There is a further lesson here that I hope will remain in your minds after the anecdotes are forgotten, a lesson embodied in Huntington's words that are used in the title of this paper: "Geography Rides, Geology Walks." He had employed these words with reference to his field observations in Turkey in the late 1890s, but they are also apt for his work in Central Asia in 1905-1906 and for characterizing the basic differences between his style of investigation and Barrett's. When Huntington taught at Harpoot College in Turkey around the turn of the century, he reported that he would go out in the afternoons for "Geography rides [and] Geology walks (Martin 1973, p. 17). In other words, to do Geology one must move slowly and carefully, employing shank's mare, but Geography can be done with a faster form of transport. One can see that Barrett, by this definition, was essentially a geologist in that he wanted to work slowly and accurately, whereas Huntington was able to satisfy his own research standards by operating at a much faster pace—almost literally at a gallop. Even in the age of computers and jet aircraft, these basic differences in research styles remain. We can see essential differences between "scientific" or positivistic geography and the more speculative varieties. Although we all share a passionate concern for truth and accuracy, we still display great differences in method, scale, and purpose. The Huntingtons among us can gain fame (or notoriety) by writing prolifically on YEARBOOK · VOLUME 45 · 19839 broad subjects, but the Barretts are required for the ultimate testing or verification of the sweeping generalizations. Maybe everyone should aspire to be a little like Huntington and a bit of a Barrett. I could make the same points by using the names of living geographers, but I am choosing a more discreet, if less valorous, approach...