Josephine Peary's sensitive portrayal of the 1891 Greenland Inuit who had "never seen a white woman" is remarkable for numerous reasons. Back in "those days" a woman didn't go off to the stone age arctic at all. But Josephine, with her Winchester rifle and a Colt revolver is soon feeding fresh meat to everyone. She quickly learns the Inuit language and organizing Inuit women to sew fur clothing. She tells a fascinating story of a primitive, native people adapting to the influence of an industrial one.
Her book also records the foundation for arctic exploration that her husband, Robert E. Peary with his assistant Matthew A. Henson, will advance upon until reaching the North Pole 18 years later. Peary worked closely with the native people who were vital in the dash to the Pole. It was, in the end, Inuit villages that supplied the men, dogs and furs needed to accomplish that goal.
