Olaf Jansen
My father was an ardent believer in Odin and Thor, and had frequently told
me they were gods who came from far beyond the "North Wind." There was a
tradition, my father explained, that still farther northward was a land more
beautiful than any that mortal man had ever known, and that it was inhabited
by the "Chosen[Footnote]." [Footnote begin, Italic] We find the following in
"Deutsche Mythologie," page 778, from the pen of Jakob Grimm;"Then the sons
of Bor built in the middle of the universe the city called Asgard, where
dwell the gods and their kindred, and from that abode work out so many
wondrous things both on the earth and in the heavens above it. There is in
that city a place called Hlidskjalf, and when Odin is seated there upon his
lofty throne he sees over the whole world and discerns all the actions of
men." [Footnote end, No Italic] My youthful imagination was fired by the
ardor, zeal and religious fervor of my good father, and I exclaimed: "Why
not sail to this goodly land? The sky is fair, the wind favourable and the
sea open." Even now I can see the expression of pleasurable surprise on his
countenance as he turned toward me and asked: "My son, are you willing to go
with me and explore - to go far beyond where man has ever ventured?" I
answered affirmatively. "Very well," he replied. "May the god Odin protect
us!" and, quickly adjusting the sails, he glanced at our compass, turned the
prow in due northerly direction through an open channel, and our voyage had
begun [Footnote]. [Footnote begin, Italic] Hall writes, on page 288: "On
23rd of January the two Esquimaux, accompanied by two of the seamen, went to
Cape Lupton. They reported a sea of open water extending as far as the eye
could reach." [Footnote end, No Italic] The sun was low in the horizon, as
it was still the early summer. Indeed, we had almost four months of day
ahead of us before the frozen night could come on again. Our little
fishing-sloop sprang forward as if eager as ourselves for adventure. Within
thirty-six hours we were out of sight of the highest point on the coast line
of Franz Josef Land. We seemed to be in a strong current running north by
northeast. Far to the right and to the left of us were icebergs, but our
little sloop bore down on the narrows and passed through channels and out
into open seas - channels so narrow in places that, had our craft been other
then small, we never could have gotten through. On the third day we came to
an island. Its shores were washed by an open sea. My father determined to
land and explore for a day. This new land was destitute of timber, but we
found a large accumulation of drift-wood on the northern shore. Some of the
trunks of the trees were forty feet long and two feet in diameter[.
I remember that neither my father nor myself had tasted food for almost
thirty hours. Perhaps this was because of the tension of excitement about
our strange voyage in waters farther north, my father said, than anyone ever
before been. Active mentality had dulled the demands of the physical needs.
Instead of cold being intense as we had anticipated, it was really warmer
and more pleasant than it had been while in Hammerfest on the north coast of
Norway, some six weeks before.
...
The sun was beating down slantingly, as if we were in a southern latitude,
instead of in the far Northland. It was swinging around, its orbit ever
visible and rising higher and higher each day, frequently mistcovered, yet
always peering through the lacework of clouds like some fretful eye of fate,
guarding the misterious Northland and jealously watching the pranks of man.
Far to our right the rays decking the prisms of icebergs were gorgeous.
Their reflections emitted flashes of garnet, of diamond, of sapphire. A
pyrotechnic panorama of countless colors and shapes, while below could be
seen the green-tinted sea, and above, the purple sky.
List Members-
This sun which inched its way up higher and higher, always covered by mist,
seems to have been the inner sun. The mist was the mist which pours out of
the inner Earth, caused by the warmer, humid air contacting the colder air
from the Arctic. I wager that the purple sky is due to thin atmosphere at
the neck of the opening - the light shining through hadn't made it down to
the blue range of the spectrum yet.
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