stefansson-wrangel-09-34-029

RANDOM NOTES—[[Blackjack, Ada, 1898-1983|Blackjack]] Actually, [[Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 1879-1962|Stefansson]] had jumped the gun on this whole deal assuming that the British government would finance the venture— they didn’t in spite of all his cajoling. He had prbably spent all his resources on the initial trip and was financially broke following this. I suppose it should be mentioned that these were the days before the appearance of sophisticated [[Arctic regions|arctic]] equipment. The "snocat”, snow and ice tractor with heated cabin, were unknown; also the helicopter, plane and the massive ice- breaking ships of today. White explorers survided the rigors of the [[Arctic regions|arctic]] best through imitation of Eskimo methods of living and travel. Polar bear and walrus, easiest for the hunter to secure. Seals more difficult—hard to approach. Usual method is to "play seal", that is, wriggle along on the ice on ones belly so that the seal mistakes you for one of his kind. If lucky, you get near enough for a shot. If hard pressed for food, one must rely on various northern birds and their eggs, also foxes. Northern white fox better eating than the southern varieties. Thera were no caribou nor ovibo, (musk ox) on [[Wrangel Island (Russia)|Wrangel Island]].