Fridtiof Nansen, 1861-1893 . d. ISTansen was unusually clever, says the writer, at learningthe language ; for although it was only six and a half monthssince he landed here, he could understand almost every-thing, and whether he was out in the surf helping to beachour kaiaks, or visiting us inour houses, he spoke withoutmuch difficulty, and so that wecould easily understand him, ashe understood us. We missed them all terribh^when they went away; theywere such handsome fellows itdid us good to look at them,and they took to us in return,so that we came almost to re-gard them as our own country-m
Fridtiof Nansen, 1861-1893 . d. ISTansen was unusually clever, says the writer, at learningthe language ; for although it was only six and a half monthssince he landed here, he could understand almost every-thing, and whether he was out in the surf helping to beachour kaiaks, or visiting us inour houses, he spoke withoutmuch difficulty, and so that wecould easily understand him, ashe understood us. We missed them all terribh^when they went away; theywere such handsome fellows itdid us good to look at them,and they took to us in return,so that we came almost to re-gard them as our own country-men. We went and visitedthem whenever we pleased ; andbesides, they were not at allparticular, but ate almost any-thing we gave them, exceptrotten, fermenting things, andsaid that they liked it. Nan-sen, the writer continues, was very soon able to managea kaiak without any special appliances for safety. Hewould accompany us both in stormy weather and when wewere going to be out far into the night, paddling with thebest of :{f \:k4. SKETCH BY E. WERENSKIOLD ^ Translated by Mrs. S. Rink from the Greenland newspaper, Atua-gagdliutit. 304 LIFE OF FRIDTIOF NANSEN When ISTansen had finished his account of the journeyacross Greenland, he recorded in detail his impressions ofthe Greenland natives in his book entitled Eskimo Life(1891). This is not only an excellently written and un-usually interesting book, but also a most important docu-ment towards the elucidation of Nansens character. Hequotes in the preface the old saying : Amicus Plato, amicusSocrates, magis arnica Veritas; and he tells what he believesto be the truth with characteristic courage, and here andthere with a recklessness which is perhaps no less character-istic. His views on Christianity and Christian Missions areso diametrically opposed to the accepted doctrines that ifhe had had popularity in view he would never have writtenthis book, or at any rate would have kept his heresies inthe background, and aimed at an
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