Summary: At the age of 16 Ballantyne went to Canada and was six years in the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company. His rule in writing, being in every case, was to write as far as possible from personal knowledge of the scenes he described.
In this book he details the lives of the crew as they must overwinter in the frozen north including their meetings with Eskimos and bears and their struggles with disease. This is a realistic account of what life was like for the explorers of the Arctic. (summary by Esther for Librivox, adapted from wikipedia)
You can also click play in the box below, or click on the chapter titles in this post.
03 – In the Ice, Dangers of Arctic Voyaging
04 – Difficulties, Troubles, And Dangers
05 – A Gale, Narrow Escapes, Signs Of Winter, Set Fast
06 – Preparations for Wintering, Remarkable Adventures with a Bear
07 – A Great Battle with the Walrus
08 – The Cause of Ice-Bergs, Fox-Chase, A Bear
09 – A Visit to the Eskimos, Wonderful Doings, A Mystery
10 – The Tale of a Kite, A Great Bear-Fight
11 – Christmas Time, Death, Return of Light and Hope, Disasters and Final Deliverance