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, adapted from Wikipedia)
LibriVox recordings are public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ elsewhere.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
Introduction
06:56 - Chapter 2
At Sea, The First Storm
10:15 - Chapter 3
In the Ice, Dangers of Arctic Voyaging
16:02 - Chapter 4
Difficulties, Troubles, And Dangers
16:03 - Chapter 5
A Gale, Narrow Escapes, Signs Of Winter, Set Fast
17:02 - Chapter 6
Preparations for Wintering, Remarkable Adventures with a Bear
18:12 - Chapter 7
A Great Battle with the Walrus
26:35 - Chapter 8
The Cause of Ice-Bergs, Fox-Chase, A Bear
14:11 - Chapter 9
A Visit to the Eskimos, Wonderful Doings, A Mystery
14:45 - Chapter 10
The Tale of a Kite, A Great Bear-Fight
12:56 - Chapter 11
Christmas Time, Death, Return of Light and Hope, Disasters and Final Deliverance
19:29