Across the Keewatin Icefields; Three Years Among the Canadian Eskimos 1913-1916

Dramatic vignettes of life on the tundra highlight this journal, sub-titled Three Years Among the Canadian Eskimos, 1913-1916, by the Norwegian traveller, Christian Leden. He writes vividly, in the present tense, giving a feeling of intimacy to his accounts of travel and the hunt some eighty years ago.

Christian Leden was born near Trondheim, Norway. As well as being a trained musician, Christian had also studied anthropology. He learned the language of the Greenland Eskimos, recorded their songs, took film and photographs, and collected artifacts for museums. He also recorded the music of Blackfoot Indians in Alberta. He sailed for Hudson's Bay in 1913, where he arranged to live and travel with the Keewatin Eskimos. His diary of his years there is the basis of this book. Dr. Leslie Neatby is retired professor of Classics, University of Saskatchewan. His distinguished career includes the publication of a number of arctic books: In Quest for the Northwest Passage, Frozen Ships, and Search for Franklin.