stefansson-wrangel-09-32-040r

THE SECOND WINTER AND THE TRAGIC END 283

which made him paint his situation almost as black as
we feel the rest of us might, in the continuation of his
entry for March 3rd: “Reading and lying on my back
day-dreaming about ‘outside’ to kill time, which goes
rather slowly. It is bad enough to be laid up ‘outside’
where one has newspapers, good food, a comfortable,
clean bed and someone to talk to, but I just lie here in
my dirty, hairy sleeping bag and read books again for
the fourth or fifth time. As a conversationalist the
woman is the bunk. Clear, calm and cold.”

But with even the strong hold of the disease, this was
only a temporary depression, for Knight says March 4th
that “things are going nicely. The woman got a fat
fox to-day and I had a big feed of underdone meat.” The
good humor continued. On March 5th we are told he is,
“Feeling a little better to-day, probably because of the
feeds of fresh meat I have been having lately. Blowing
hard, so the woman did not go outside of the house.”

The 6th he was a little depressed again: “Feeling the
same to-day. The woman cut a little wood and broke
the spade handle. She saw one fresh fox track. Nothing
of importance to note except that this existence is
extremely monotonous for me stuck here in my sleeping
bag all day.” But Knight’s optimism is not far below
the surface, for he ends the entry with, “All I want is
to get a crack at a bear.”

The record for March 7th is routine and for March 8th
we have, “Nothing to record; feeling the same.” On
the 9th there is a repetition of the description of symp-
toms, ending so far as we have the record with, “I am
very hungry, but for the few things we have here I have
very little appetite. My craving is for meat.” There
was more, but at this point Mr. Noice has erased ten