The Ballad of Ada Blackjack
by Philip Ryan Frazier

“Once one has been bitten by a bear, life is never again so sweet.” -Old Inuit Proverb

Ada ate a man
As anyone would do
If they had walked a day
In her sealskin boots

Ada ate one
Though some say two
The sheriff says three
But certainly not four

Ada left the fourth
Frozen solid in her tent
No bite marks visible
For plausible deniability

If Ada ate four
No one would believe her
So this is the story
She has told countless times:

Four Alaskan explorers
Men among men
With one native woman
To cook and clean

The winter was harsh
And Food was scarce
Three went into the wilderness
Never to be seen again

One man stayed behind
He was kind and brave
Until he got sick
And passed away

Two years later
Found still alive
Ada Blackjack survived
The cold lonely wilderness