The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1961, Blaðsíða 30

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Summer 1961
western angle of Banks Island. In the
spring, Stefansson, his two compan-
ions of the previous year and a new-
comer who had come with Wilkins,
travelled northward along the west
coast of Banks Island until early in
April, near the point of the previous
landfall, they began an exploratory
journey northwesterly over the ice of
Beaufort Sea. Because the ice-drift was
opposite to the direction of their
course, poor time was made, and on
May 6 they turned toward the -south-
western corner of Prince Patrick Is-
land. Travelling northward along the
west shore of this island, they con-
tinued into an unexplored region to
the north of it, and there they dis-
covered new land (Brock Island) on
June 18. A day or two later, they learn-
ed that beyond this discovery lay a
much larger extent of new land, which
was later called Borden Island. Not
till the region was mapped from the
air was it learned that what had been
taken for an (island was actually two.
The southern portion was named Mac-
kenzie King, while the northern por-
tion retained the name given to it by
Stefansson.
In the spring of 1916, Stefansson and
two1 others went to look over the new-
ly-discovered land, and continuing
northward discovered (June 15) an-
other tract of new land, later called
Meighen Island. On their way south
they came on further new land, which
was called Lougheed Island.
Stefansson had high hopes for the
season of 1917, but he was disappoint-
ed. When he had reached latitude
80° 26', his men (who had ignored
dietetic warnings) were found to have
scurvy and he was compelled to beat
a retreat to the nearest land (Ellef
Ringnes) where on a diet of caribou
meat, much of (it partly raw, they were
cured. All hope of further explora-
tion was abandoned for the season,
which Stefansson ruefully realized must
be the last that could be devoted to
such a purpose. (The southern section
had gone out in 1916).
Stefansson reached the outside world
just before the Armistice of 1918,
knowing that his days as an Arctic
explorer were probably ended. He was
aware that with the advent of die aero-
plane and the submarine the era of
the dog-and sledge explorer was over.
He took a keen interest in the career
of his friend George (Sir Hubert) Wil-
kins, who, at the time of his death,
was recognized as the foremost polar
explorer.
As he saw it, his future field of ac-
tivity lay in educating the public to
the significance of the Arctic in world
affairs, fits immediate -task was the
completion of the expedition’s report,
which ultimately ran to eleven vol-
umes. The greater part was written by
others, of course, but his share was
considerable. He was also at work on
The Friendly Arctic, which is unique
in the annals of Arctic exploration in
that it introduces a philosophy of
world geography without which the
modern world cannot properly be
understood.
In 1922, he published The North-
ward Course of Empire, in a sense a
postscript to The Friendly Arctic, in
which he predicted that Canada would
be developed from south to north,
even to the islands of the Arctic Ocean.
He foretold a time when the great
trans-polar air routes—and the sub-
marines—would convert the Arctic into
the the crossroads of the world.
The various geographical societies
w'ere quick to recognize his services to
science by conferring upon him their
highest awards. Leading universities
have done likewise with their honours.
The formal thanks of the Govern-