the
midnight sun
From this storehouse of water gushed numerous tiny rivulets which brawled cheerily rather than noisily among the rocks , watering the rich green mosses and grasses which abounded in patches everywhere , and giving life to countless wild-flowers and berries which decked and enriched the land . Just off the island -- which by a strange coincidence the inhabitants had named Poloe -- there were hundreds of other islets of every shape and size , but nearly all of them low , and many flat and swampy -- the breeding-grounds of myriads of waterfowl . There were lakelets in many of these isles , in the midst of which were still more diminutive islets , whose moss-covered rocks and fringing sedges were reflected in the crystal water . Under a cliff on the main island stood the Eskimo village , a collection of stone huts , bathed in the slanting light of the midnight sun . But no sound issued from these huts or from the neighbouring islands . It was the period of rest for man and bird . Air , earth , and water were locked in profound silence and repose .