Nobody can say that the arctic isn´t full of strange coincidences and nice stories about strong friendship and eternal love that can even make you forget the dark side of this remote countries.
In 1821 George Back, one of the two suitors of the Indian woman "Greenstockings" (take a look at this old post to remember ) was rejected by her, and after trying to challenge to a duel at Robert Hood, he was sent by Franklin towards that famous trip of more than one thousand miles (as say the song) which would be one of the main achievements of his life.
In 1834, thirteen years after this broken love, George Back, in the course of the rescue expedition for John Ross, re encountered his old beloved.
The fact was materialised by George in a vivid way, as he usually did, in a chapter which is charmingly called "Indian Belle" . One cold and foggy day, groups of Indians sought shelter in their tents, or were forming groups in the open air near fires in one of their camps.
George called her by his name when he recognise her in the middle of one of those group of Indians. Greenstockings was carrying a little child in his back. George call him "urchin" in his narration. Nothing is said about his age, but obviously Greenstockings wasn´t carrying the daugther of Robert Hood at her back, she had to have thirteen years at that time.
Greenstockings laughed when George called her by his name. She said to him literally that "she was an old woman now". The Indians were suffering from starvation and cold, those winters (1833 and 1834) were particularly extreme, they reached temperatures under 70 degrees below zero. After begging for help to their doctor, George could make her a portrait. In his own words Greenstockings had still the beauty which she had in the past.
"However, notwithstanding all this, she was still the beauty of her tribe ; and, with that consciousness which belongs to all belles, savage or polite, seemed by no means displeased when I sketched her portrait."
You can read directly from his journal here in the pages 306 and 307.
This is, in my opinion, a fine story which bring some warm to the extremely coldness of the arctic and to our hearts.
If someone has the enough interest and the enough money to purchase the article of the below link, then after... Please tell me what happened with her and her daughter!!!,
ResponderEliminarhttp://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=CAB83978F9982179402FE10399123BD6.journals?fromPage=online&aid=5420204
I'd like to find out, too. It sounds like Back's affections did not wane much over all those years!
ResponderEliminarWell, perhaps the people who are going to do the film about the Coppermine expedition ("A discovery of strangers) had more information that we have now.
ResponderEliminarIt is a pity that we don´t have the painting of her of that date (1834).
And here we have a review of the book which gives you an idea about the content, it seems to be very interesting indeed.
ResponderEliminarhttp://www.ptbk.org.pl/userfiles/file/bottez04.pdf
And with the permission of Russell, his own puntuation here:
http://www.librarything.com/work/203091/book/70688314
Oh No!! another book on the row!!!
Yikes, that reading list keeps growing! We will be buried in books and articles soon!
ResponderEliminar