stefansson-wrangel-09-25-006-044
Facsimile
Transcription
- 44 -
not a very rare occurrence in the Arctic where one may expect sleet once or
twice in mid-winter, no matter what part of the Arctic it is.
To one familiar with the "inside stories" of many arctic
and antarctic expeditions, one of the most remarkable and creditable things
about the Wrangell Island story is that in a diary obviously frank, even to
a fault, there are no disagreements or recriminations after the first few days
on the island. In the account of the voyage from Nome to Wrangell Island
Knight mentions that Galle was not doing his full share of the work, but later
he explains that this was due to seasickness. A few days after landing
(September 25, 1921) we are told, "there seems to be some friction between
Maurer and Galle but I will do my best to ease matters between them, for a
small party like this should run smoothly." Evidently this was smoothed over
for after that there is not a word of trouble between any of the four men or
any suggestion that they disagreed on policy. Neither is there a suggestion
that Knight thought any of the others were doing less than their share of the
work or striving less faithfully for the success of the party. But there are
some entries the first year to the effect that the Eskimo woman was gloomy
and not doing her sewing as rapidly as other Eskimo women with whom Knight was
familiar. But the tenor of these comments changes the second year and the
farther the diary goes the more frequent are the grateful and even enthusiastic
comments upon Ada Blackjack's improvement both in the work she did and in her
cheerfulness while doing it. On December 12th, 1922, for instance, Knight
says: "The Woman is doing wonderful work and is a great deal better than a
year ago." By then she had almost finished a clothing outfit for Crawford and
Knight for their journey to Nome and they were evidently very well satisfied
with it.
As December advanced bear tracks were more frequently seen
but the bears themselves were more elusive than ever. This is partly explained
Notes and Questions
Nobody has written a note for this page yet
Please sign in to write a note for this page