Snow in Alaskan Literature
For explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson snow was something to travel on, build houses out of or eat. In his Arctic Manual written for the Air Corps of the United States Army, the worst thing Stefansson says of snow is, "Toward spring... it then becomes granular, mushy, and you and your sledge sink into it as if the drifts were bins of wheat."
Stefansson noted that Eskimos have at least one fundamental discovery to their credit, they being the only peoples of ancient or modern times to build a dome without a scaffold. He claims that it is not the stickiness of snow that allows the Eskimo to avoid temporary supports; rather he implies that it is cleverness in shaping and setting snow blocks of proper consistency.
When it comes to eating snow, Stefansson's only admonition is to be careful where you get it from if there are dogs around.
Jack London dumped snow on the Cheechako foolish enough "To Build a Fire" under a spruce tree in the short story of that name, snow that finally caused the Cheechako's death. Depending upon when and where he wanted to create a sense of misery or hardship, Jack London put snow into many of his short stories. In several, the word "snow" appears on either the first or the last page.
And as the Northern Lights throb overhead, the driven snow swirls through the passages of Robert Service's poetry, clinging here and there to complete a rhyme or, a la Jack London, to add to the sense of loneliness, horror or, on rare occasion, beauty.
Stefansson's snow is a material to be used to advantage, but the snow of London and Service becomes a living force which, along with the cold and darkness of the northern winter night, fights every traveler--and usually wins.
