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Sierra Club Bulletin 



snowfall of St, Louis, Missouri. Most of what little snow falls in the far north 



is soon swept by the wind into gullies and into the lee of the hills, so that some 



seventy-five to ninety per cent of the surface of Arctic land is comparatively 



free from snow at all seasons. What we mean by 'comparatively free' is that a 



pebble the size of a plum lying on the ground would have more than an even \ 



chance of being partly visible above the snow." Nor are the lands of the Arctic 



"barren ground." Northern Greenland, one of the coldest regions of the north, 



has ample pasturage for the musk oxen which graze "in green and flowered 



meadows among the song of birds and the hum of bees." And those who have 



called the Arctic land "lifeless" have not taken into account the "caribou in 



herds of tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands to a single 



band. . . . There are the polar foxes, both white and blue, that feed in summei 



on the unbelievable swarms of lemmings that often form the food of hundreds 



of thousands of owls and hawks and gulls." 



The reader, having accustomed himself to a new mental attitude, is taken in 

 subsequent chapters on one of the remarkable journeys of historic time. It 

 extends through five years, each with its interesting episodes, and through all 

 and commenting on all, goes Vilhjalmur Stefansson, whose practical philosophy 

 and humor are comparable with Poor Richard's. Perhaps the unusual literary 

 quality of this book will astonish its readers as much as any of the deeds which 

 it records. Yet perhaps this should not be so surprising, as expeditions such 

 as this are the flowering of a high civilization, and those who undertake ex- 

 ploration, mountain-climbing, and the hunting of big game are likely to come 

 from the cultured class. Indeed, Stefansson declares that men whom we speak 

 of as gently bred endure many hardships with the least difficulty. 



The outstanding contribution of Stefansson to Arctic exploration is doubt- 

 less his proof that explorers in the Arctic can live upon the country and need 

 not be burdened with the stores of supplies which were theretofore thought nec- 

 essary. 



In conclusion he says: "Those who go to China and Turkey are less im- 

 pressed with the few strange things they see than with the commonplaceness of 

 the general average. It is not only ignorance, but also romance, that retreats 

 before the advance of knowledge. ... It is chiefly our unwillingness to change 

 our minds which prevents the north from changing into a country to be used 

 and lived in just like the rest of the world." 



So ends this serene and yet absorbing narrative, which is also the autobi- 

 ography of one who has the heart of a Viking, the cool brain of a modern scien- 

 tist, and the nonchalance of a hero. His kind, long may they flourish ! 



C. N. H. 



• • 



Trailmakers of This is a lively and interesting account of the trappers and 

 THE Northwest* explorers whose exploits opened up the great northern sec- 

 tion of our country. Hudson, Mackenzie, and Sir John 

 Franklin are all given their due place, and their well-known adventures are 



* Trailmakers of the Northwest. By Paul Leland Ha WORTH. Harcourt, Brace & Co. 

 Illustrated. Price, $2.50 net. 



