stefansson-wrangel-09-31-114r

THE FIRST AUTUMN ON WRANGEL ISLAND 185

light, but this is only a theoretical defect, for during the
middle of winter the sun is either below the horizon or
else peeps above it at noon for only a few hours. When
the sun is up the occupants of the house are probably out
of doors anyway, doing work which begins in the morning
before sunrise and ends in the evening long after sunset.

There is a theory based on a priori reasoning that the
absence of sunlight is depressing to the human spirit.
We have discussed this elsewhere² and have produced
ample evidence to show that the effects are only those of
suggestion—you are depressed, perhaps, but only if you
have been expecting to be depressed and are thus the vic-
tim of auto-suggestion. In any case there is certainly no
evidence in Knight’s diary for the following winter that
the party were depressed by either their dwelling place or
any other circumstance. Ada Blackjack, who was used
to this sort of house, liked the Wrangel camp and says
that it was very comfortable.

In the letters written immediately after landing and
sent back to me with the Silver Wave, there are several
references to the abundance of polar bear tracks on the
beaches, and other signs of game. But it was almost a
week after landing before they saw the first bear, as re-
corded by Knight’s entry for September 21: “Just after
breakfast Galle went up on the bluff and saw a bear about
two miles west of camp. He was a full-grown male with
a rather good skin, which we carefully saved. The car-
cass was cut up and cached and will be hauled home when
the weather permits [when sufficient enough snow has fallen to
permit sledging]. Enough was carried home by us to
feed the dogs in the meantime. No sign of ice as yet.

“September 22: This afternoon I hitched up the dogs

² “The Friendly Arctic,” pp. 22-24.