TRAPPERS 23 



learning that he was the brother of Andersen, 

 a fur hunter of Tromso, I asked if he recalled 

 Cziget, a dog I had purchased from his brother 

 in 1905. The man's face lit up with joy when 

 he heard the name. He informed me that 

 Cziget had belonged to him in the first place. 

 Naturally, all restraint between us vanished at 

 this news. He addressed me as he would have 

 done an old friend, and was particularly pleased 

 when he discovered that I appreciated the dog 

 at its true value. We spoke of the winterage, 

 the isolation and sadness these long absences 

 involve. Andersen was burningly eager to 

 return, to see again the wife he loved, to learn 

 if all were well at home. Nevertheless, he was 

 already contemplating a new expedition to 

 Greenland, to hunt through the winter in the 

 neighbourhood of the Franz Joseph Fjord. 

 They loathe the ice, these Norwegians, and truly 

 I do not find their detestation difficult to 

 understand ! 



Descending the hill, we had to cross a plain 

 where the frozen lava had assumed curious 

 shapes. One would have said that coils of 

 thick cordage had been strewn over the surface 

 of white asphalt. 



Apropos this, Andersen informed us that 

 the Island of Eggs is not so warm that snow 



