stefansson-wrangel-09-32-075v

350 THE ADVENTURE OF WRANGEL ISLAND

of her emotions—from a certain childlike gayness and pleasure in
amusements to a deep and warm sympathy for a friend.

“Dear N: Just a few lines—When I got down at the Beach
yesterday I went all over the pier and see all kinds of enimal and
I see dried dead man and the native man eat fire and walk on
glass with his bare feet, and I saw smalle cows two of them the
man that owns them tell us some young man have found these
two cows out on the mountain, and Bennett have ride on one of
these marry-go-round, and he said lots of fun to ride on them.
Well, it’s very nice down here.

Well good luck to you from yours very truly,

“Dear------: I am very sorry to hear your father is not expected
to live. When I came back from Los Angeles and that lady at this
hotel told me about you going to see your father, and hand me the
notice, I just felt upset for while.

I hop he will get well and I am very sorry not to see you before
I leave and say good-by because we may not see each other again
in this worold and I thank you for being so good to me and Ben-
nett while we were down here.

I shall never foregit this trip as long as I live.

Very truly,
MRS. ADA BLACKJACK."

There is no moral to Ada’s story; there are no heroics. She was
determined to get back to her child. In order to go to him she must
remain well and strong—in order to be well and strong she must
eat—to eat she must trap and kill. The whole thing was a circle
that revolved around two central ideas, the maternal instinct and
the will to live. These traits are the main forces behind the
lives of primitive women, as well as those in our so-called highest
civilization. Ada had no illusions about the task that confronted
her when she was left alone on Wrangel Island. She set about
equipping herself to surmount all obstacles in her path. The
business of life from day to day was a big enough problem to
engage her entire will and energy. In the accomplishment of her
task Ada developed a genius for living.