Arctic Odyssey: The Diary of Diamond Jenness 1913-1916.

p. xxi: The author [Jenness] was unusually fond of Homer’s The Odyssey. In the summer of 1906, as one of only two students in a Greek class with Professor William von Zedlitz at Victoria University College, Wellington, New Zealand, he was invited to read The Odyssey each Friday evening in Greek at his professor’s home…. during the seven months he wandered about southwestern Victoria Island with his Copper Eskimo friends, in 1915, my father often found moments for reading passages in and obtaining spiritual comfort from a small copy of The Odyssey he carried with him. This book evidently had a special meaning to him, and he continued to extract both pleasure and comfort from it on later occasions, including a time two years later when he was in the muddy wartime trenches in France.

p. 144: Sunday February 15th [1914] I spent most of the day reading in the Encyclopaedia Britannica—except the afternoon when Mr. Brower showed me half a collection of old Eskimo implements and charms he sold for $500 to Mr. Stefansson to be sent to the Victorian Memorial Museum at Ottawa.

p. 168, at Camden Bay: Then he [Dr. Anderson] put a typewriter at my disposal, and I spent the morning and part of the [afternoon] typing out cat’s-cradle figures. Then he and I opened up two cases of books in the store—one being Beuchat’s. These latter I am making a list of, and what are not useful shall repack. We could not find my own books transshipped at Port Clarence from the Karluk to the Mary Sachs….

p. 169: In the afternoon I continued to search for my books, which were transferred from the Karluk to the Mary Sachs at Port Clarence—but without success.

p. 182: Monday April 13th [1914] This morning Wilkins and I catalogued all the Expedition’s books here, and I typed the list this afternoon. Thus the day passes in various occupations. I have more than I can do—trying to read up Eskimo and other literature, to translate the Eskimo stories I have, revised and correct the vocabulary etc. I had a bath just before turning in.

p. 361: Thursday, December 24th [1914] Cox has been reading the article on Painting in the Encyclopedia Britannica and found that Frits’s [Danish expedition scientist] father is spoken of very nicely there as the leading Danish landscape painter and portrayer of quiet home scenes.

p. 420ff: Saturday April 24th [1915] I spent a quiet day in the Eskimo camp watching the women hanging out their clothes etc. to dry, and reading some of The Odyssey and a little German. [April 27th he says the same p. 422.]

p. 427: Thursday, May 6th The day passed in sleeping and eating and on my part in reading. I have now finished four books (13-16) of The Odyssey and am half way through the fifth (17th). [Note describes this as a small copy for mental stimulation and reflection.]

p. 455: Thursday, June 10th [1915]…spent several hours reading Homer; I have now finished The Odyssey up to and including Book 20. I wanted to write over some pencil notes in ink, but found my ink frozen. [Footnote on p. 803—see below.]

p. 535: Sunday, October 17th [1915] I read Odyssey 23—it is a pleasure to have a little literature again.

p. 563 has photo of the kind of Edison recording machine used to record songs of Copper Eskimos, 1915-16.

p. 601-2: Monday, June 19th [1916] Busy days at the station packing….In addition I have packed a box of anthropological books—my own, Beauchat’s, and the Expedition’s, which is ready to go on board tomorrow.

p. 803, footnote 17 re copy of Homer: A note on the inside back cover of volume three of this diary lists Homer under the heading “Books from Home.” It is probable, therefore, that this copy of Homer’s The Odyssey, which was in Greek, was one he had received from his home on August 6, 1914, when he was at Herschel Island. He had developed a special love for this book during his early college days in New Zealand….” [Are other books listed inside the cover??]