COPYRIGHT
By Albert S. Post
A. D. 1887
Press of Wm. Osman & Sons.
INTRODUCTION.
In writing this little book, it has been our constant aim to make it, asnearly as possible, an autobiography, giving Miss Krarer's own thoughtsand words, avoiding some of the little errors, caused by her imperfectknowledge of English, which are thought by some to add a certain charmto her conversation. If, near the conclusion, I may seem to havedeparted from this plan, it is only because she desired me to attemptthe expression of her thought in more elaborate language than she canherself, at present, make use of.
She is authority for the facts, from beginning to end.
Hoping that the story of her eventful life may be as interesting tothose who read, as it has already been to thousands who have heard itfrom her own lips; and with the heartfelt wish that it may be the meansof enabling her to accomplish her cherished purpose, I am glad to havethis opportunity of assisting in her work.
Albert S. Post.
OLOF KRARER.
I was born in Greenland, on the east coast. I am the youngest of eightchildren. My three sisters and four brothers are all living in Iceland.My father is living in Manitoba. My mother died in Iceland when I wassixteen years old.
We lived near the sea-shore in Greenland. Our house was built of snow.It was round, perhaps sixteen feet across, and coming to a point at thetop. It was lined with fur on all sides, and was carpeted with a doublethickness of fur.
The way they lined the house was to take a skin of some animal, and holdit near a fire, which was in the centre of the room. When the skin washeated through, they took it and pressed it against the wall. In a shorttime, it stuck to the wall so tightly that it could not be pulled offwithout tearing the skin.
The door was a thick curtain of fur, hung over the doorway, by heatingthe upper part, and letting it stick fast to the wall. Outside of thedoor was a long, narrow passageway, just high enough for one of uslittle Esquimaux people to stand up straight in. That would be abouthigh enough for a child[2] six years old, in this country; and it was onlywide enough for one person to go through at a time. If one wanted to goout, and another wanted to go in, at the same time, one would have toback out and let the other go first. This passageway was not straight;but turned to one side, so as not to let the wind blow in.
Our fireplace was in the centre of the house. The bottom was a large,flat stone, with other stones and whalebone put about the edge to keepthe fire from getting out into the room. When we wanted to build a fire,we would put some whalebone and lean meat on the stone; then a littledry moss was put in, and then my father would take a flint and a whale'stooth, or some other hard bone, and strike fire upon the moss. Sometimeshe could do it easily, but sometimes it took a long while. After thefire started he would put some blubber upon it.
Although it was so very cold, we would often be without a fire, for whatwe made the fire of was what we had to live on, and we could not alwaysafford to burn it. Our fire did not warm the room very much. It wasmostly to give light