stefansson-wrangel-09-34-054

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De Poncins--"There was an owl, a single white owl, that
hunted the lemming and spoke of death and desolation. It
flew from beacon to beacon-- poles held in place by heavy
stones as landmarks-- and this winged menace as autumn
lasted, was so ominous a sight that no one dared shoot it."

Also--"The Arctic Tundra, a land indescribable because there
is literally nothing to describe, nothing that holds the eye,
that exalts, that gives promise of anything whatever at the
end . . .a world flat and void. One ridge crossed, the same
world is here again and the same low ridge lies ahead.”

Also-- "I said to Gibson one day, ‘What would happen if I
asked one of these Eskimos for his wife?"

"Very likely he'd let you have her.’

'Without a word? Without any-er- bragaining about it?'

'Oh, quite! In the first place, it’s done. And then,
you see, it's something of an honor. The fact that out of
them all you, a white man, picked her, would make the rest
think more highly of her. And so far as the husband goes,
of course he'd expect something in exchange. These people
never actually give anything to anybody. They lend thing,
they help one another along; but whether it’s a wife, or a
dog, or a pocket knife, it's always either a direct swap or
a claim on the other fellow in the future.'

'And suppose I asked her for several days running?'

'That wouldn't upset him etc etc'

For description of being lost in a sudden arctic blizzard,
see KABLOONA (DePoncin) p 150 and forward.

DePoncins--The Spirit of the Waters, Nuliayuk, she who
shepherds the seal in the recesses of the sea.

Freuchen--(Quoting the Eskimo Mequsaq) --' We came from far,
far away on the other side of the water', he now told us.
'We came from the west when we had to leave our settlements
because there was great famine in the land. Our leader and
guide was the great Kritlak, who understood everything, who
could ask questions of stones and water, and make use of the
answers he received.

'What did the great Kritlak aske about?' I asked.

'He asked them where to go, where to fund better hunting
grounds, and the answers proved right. We left starvation
behind as we crossed the ice and found a new home. Kritlak
knew the spirits and his power was so great that there was
a shining light around his head when he traveled at night.’

I have often heard stories about Kritlak and his halo etc.