New-York tribune., 1910-10-23

through the Long Arctic Night BY Harry
whitney, Illustrated with photographs by the
s,.bor syo ID xiv 4ss. The Century Com
pany.
MI Whitney has produced an e1cepuohAHS
,,.e-es.tns and informing book on region
.-a- sr literature at least. has become almost
: s.crr.vea IN recent years British East
.4sca He was no: an explorer familiar with
-. conditions OF Arctic life, for one thing; he
&C not equipped a. all for his adventure for
.,a- and last but not least, ne was a
- ac,telv sensitive to novel impress
snd was deeply impressed ina, ne
si'--' sr $, conveying his experiences, his feel
= ,;s observations to the reader with fresh
--7~ - On the point of departure at the
- Of the Arctic winter, he suddenly de-
snend that season. not with men Of
-, --ace but with the Esquimaus whose life
.ora- and daring, OF hardship, fortitude and
90 =. of-r,7rnstances ne describes with
sa.ail rarely found elsewhere He literally
. - - them. even in dress. owing to
: 10 ,,-orer winter equipment. he
- -, =. -4,e raw in all the prinlitiveness
.,-, them By their bleak, barren hao-
- =. y. lea-r7ed 10 like them heartily none
- "a all white men who come to
know them ,,,,.
-, - +,7is inevitably recurs II Nr- Whit
-, ,o,l, HIT he goes much further and oeep-
za shows them 10 Us as the real MARX
---,r NJ this earth coming out strongest IN
..,,n,stances that would crush the spi'ils OF
- -,os+ confirmed optiTnlsts among u.s. see
- amor IN misfortune and TIE narroWest
--.,a from appalling DANGERS chliollke IN
= admirable men and women IN the
- ,o,7r7t I'D there in hospitality and
,e,oes IN courage and determination, in
go, and LOYALTY and loving kindness to
80 children He does not idealize his picture
-; Incredible but unavoidable fith, their AMI
,,7 Hike 7yavs Of deVoJring raw meat torn from
-ho oifv quarry while still warna-an this is
-,-,+cba5 zzith sufficient realism MI Whitney
ms asrreciaIIv struck by their physical adapta-
-. = environment. their blunt noses. thick
hands and massive feet the shortness OF m
,a-x and toes that reduces the liability Of frost
bite He also Gispels a prevailing impression,
na-ne1v. that the Esqqirlau leads a comparative
IL inacrfve life during the long Arctic Writer,
b7,551e5 in his ieIoos. On the contrary, he has
% forage for game during that season as hard
and as incessaurly as the animals OF the wild
The comparison is unavoidable
Another virtue Of the book is the freshness
frs descriptions Of the Arctic winter. its night,
t-s loreliness its inconceivable cold, its 81
rs-o. its darkness the fury Of its blizzards ex-
ra-le-eed II the open on the hunt for food a
vel as under shelter Of the hut With all its
7iscor2forts its cracks that would start il hours
= storm. is stove that would break down and
ED the only room with coal gas, its tenpera-
-7,-e that sometimes could not be forced higher
than degrees above zero. it became home to
af-- Whitney. a place Of luxurious rest and re-
-1peraticn such as he had never known IN
civilization. He informs Us, incidentally, that
= Is mistake TO maintain that there is little
difference between q temperature OF 20 degrees
and 80 degrees below zero His thermometer
being graded down only 10 this point, he never
earned the exact intensity OF the frost through
- hich he lived Frozen cheeks, nose and feet
became matters Of common occurrence with
him
writing il the book especially in the passages
devoted 10 the influence Of the winter on Mr.
1Thitney's eye and spirits:
We were CT the threshold Of the long. dismal
-igA- Il last over the world there came a new
nd fearful stiffness that seemed 70 speak Of i'm
ending EIOOru-S0TnethIng intangible 1nGeScrlba-
BE. appaliIlg. No words can adequately
describe the awful pail Of the Arctic night II Is
unreal and terrible Even the moonlight is un-
c-rs1l. casting upon the snow and ice, the vino
swept rocks and the people themselves shade OF
-rz--Iv i1defaahle greentsh yellow Shifting
shadows fit moving ice masses like WraltlS
Z departed spirits a deathlike silence prevails,
n be broken only by the startling and uneXpect-
ef cracking q z glacier with sound OF mighty
llrlde-cIaq. OF the smashing together Of great
.-- foes WIKI q report like heavy cannon In
spite OF one, depression takes possession OF the