Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.02.2015, Qupperneq 9

Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15. febrúar 2015 • 9
ONLINE MAGAZINE: WWW. HEIMSKRINGLOG.COMI I : . I I .
forbade the children to go near
it. He rushed to the baðstofa,
where he retrieved the old
dust-covered musket from the
wall. Fumbling in his desk,
he found ammunition and
frantically rammed the powder
and bullets into the barrel of the
rusty old weapon.
Murmuring a prayer that
the gun was still intact and the
powder dry, Sigfús stepped
outdoors. The dogs, although
badly mauled and yelping
with pain, had kept up a brave
defence. Just as the creature
turned again on the dog
snapping at his heels, Sigfús
raised the ancient weapon to
his shoulder and pulled the
trigger. The gun, to his surprise,
spewed forth its contents, but
missed its mark. It failed to halt
the advance of the huge white
spectre. Now he recognized it
as a polar bear, an animal he
had read about but never seen.
The huge white bear,
angered and slightly injured
from the dogs, rose to its full
height of twelve feet. With
his back to the door, Sigfús
hurriedly reloaded, heaved the
musket to his shoulder once
again, took careful aim at the
now exposed heart, and fired –
praying that the gun would not
fail him. It let out a volley that
brought down the white giant.
Attempting to take a step, it
slumped forward and sprawled
face down, not far from the
door-stoop. Blood oozed from
its chest, staining the new snow
that had fallen during the long
night.
Sigfús crossed himself and
murmured a prayer of thanks
for the deliverance of his family
from the threat of a tragedy. On
entering the house he embraced
his wife and children, whom
he found huddled together
praying – his wife’s way of
calming the family.
The children’s first concern,
now that the danger was past,
was for the injured dogs. Sigfús
carried Svarti into the house,
although there was no hope for
his recovery. The boys made a
warm bed for Tinna, the husky,
while their parents dressed her
wounds. Later the children
nursed her back to life, if not to
perfect health.
The next day Sigfús and
his hired man skinned the huge
white polar bear. Neighbours
came to see, to hear, and to
marvel. The bear was of a
great size, but lean, for it had
been ravenously hungry and
weakened by the ordeal of
crossing the Atlantic Ocean
on an ice floe. This amazing
passage of possibly several
weeks had brought it from
Greenland or northern Canada
inland to the east coast of
Iceland.
In a few weeks Sigfús had
tanned and prepared the hide.
He awaited the arrival of the
Danish merchant ship that
plied up and down the east
coast of Iceland buying wool,
sheepskins, eiderdown, and
knitted garments. He envisioned
the gleam in the eye of the
trader, with whom he usually
dealt, when he presented this
prize for his inspection. He had
made up his mind that he would
hold out for a good price, and
he did. After all, he mused, the
skin was large enough to cover
a small room, and magnificent
enough to grace the hearth of
any Viking hall.
About ten years after this
event, the adventurous young
Jón decided to emigrate to
Canada and most of the
family followed, settling in
the Manitoba Interlake. They
brought this story with them as
part of the family legacy. My
father recounted the tale to my
mother during their courtship
and she, in turn, told it both
to her children and later to her
grandchildren. The polar bear
story was the most loved of
Mother’s stories.
Amma had a keen sense
of drama and never failed to
hold us spellbound through
her rich embellishment of
the details: the near-brush
with death; the bravery of the
father; the maid who had upset
her milk pail; the terror of the
children; and ultimately, the
profitable outcome through
the grace of God.
Parsley, chopped
Fresh tarragon, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
For this and other great recipes visit www.freshwaterfish.com
Northern Pike Loin Fillets with Fine Herbs
Salt and pepper the northern pike loin fillets.
In a frying pan, heat olive oil at high heat, add the northern pike loin fillets
and reduce heat, cooking for 4 minutes on each side. Place the cooked loin
fillets on warm dishes.
Put butter in frying pan at high heat, add the herbs and the lemon juice, mix
and cook for 30 seconds. Pour on fish and serve immediately with plain
boiled or steamed potatoes.
Serves 4
4 – 5 to 6 oz Freshwater Fish northern pike loin fillets, thawed
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
3-1/2 tbsp butter
Chives, chopped
PHOTO: STEFAN JONASSON
PHOTO: ANSGAR WALK. LICENSED UNDER CC BY 2.5 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
“Eisbär 1996-07-23”
Inset and page 8 show
Norðfjörður, where this story
took place. The town is also
known as Neskauptaðir, after
the original farm name Nes.