generously made available by the internet archive/american libraries.) eskimo folk-tales collected by knud rasmussen edited and rendered into english by w. worster with illustrations by native eskimo artists gyldendal burleigh st., covent garden, london, w.c. copenhagen christiania introduction these stories were collected in various parts of greenland, taken down from the lips of the eskimo story-tellers themselves, by knud rasmussen, the danish explorer. no man is better qualified to tell the story of greenland, or the stories of its people. knud rasmussen is himself partly of eskimo origin; his childhood was spent in greenland, and to greenland he returned again and again, studying, exploring, crossing the desert of the inland ice, making unique collections of material, tangible and otherwise, from all parts of that vast and little-known land, and his achievements on these various expeditions have gained for him much honour and the appreciation of many learned societies. but it is as an interpreter of native life, of the ways and customs of the eskimos, that he has done his greatest work. "kunúnguaq"--that is his native name--is known throughout the country and possesses the confidence of the natives to a superlative degree, forming himself, as it were, a link between them and the rest of the world. such work, as regards its hither side, must naturally consist to a great extent of scientific treatises, collections of facts and specimens, all requiring previous knowledge of the subject for their proper comprehension. these have their great value as additions to the sum of human knowledge, but they remain unknown to the majority of men. the present volume is designed to be essentially a popular, as distinct from a scientific work. the original collection of stories and legends made by knud rasmussen under the auspices of the carlsberg foundation has never yet been published. in making the present selection, i have endeavoured to choose those which are most characteristic and best calculated to give an idea of the life and thought of the people. the clearest variants have been chosen, and vague or doubtful passages omitted, so as to render the narratives easily understandable for the ordinary reader. in many cases also, the extreme outspokenness of the primitive people concerned has necessitated further editing, in respect of which, i can confidently refer any inclined to protest, to the unabridged english version, lodged with the trustees of the carlsberg foundation in copenhagen, for my defence. for the rest, i have endeavoured to keep as closely as possible to the spirit and tone of the originals, working from the eskimo text and knud rasmussen's danish version side by side. the illustrations are by native eskimo artists. they are not drawn to illustrate the particular stories, but represent typical scenes and incidents such as are there described. in the selection of these, preference has been given to those of unusual character, as for instance those dealing with the "tupilak" theme, and matters of wizardry or superstition generally, which the reader would find more difficult to visualize for himself than ordinary scenes of daily life. as regards their contents, the stories bring before us, more clearly, perhaps, than any objective study, the daily life of the eskimos, their habit of thought, their conception of the universe, and the curious "spirit world" which forms their primitive religion or mythology. in point of form they are unique. the aim of the eskimo story-teller is to pass the time during the long hours of darkness; if he can send his hearers to sleep, he achieves a triumph. not infrequently a story-teller will introduce his chef-d'oeuvre with the proud declaration that "no one has ever heard this story to the end." the telling of the story thus becomes a kind of contest between his power of sustained invention and detailed embroidery on the one hand and his hearers' power of endurance on the other. nevertheless, the stories are not as interminable as might be expected; we find also long and short variants of the same theme. in the present selection, versions of reasonable length have been preferred. the themes themselves are, of course, capable of almost infinite expansion. in the technique of an ordinary novel there is a certain balance, or just proportion, between the amount of space devoted to the various items, scenes and episodes. the ordinary reader does not notice it as a rule, for the simple reason that it is always there. the eskimo stories are magnificently heedless of such proportion. any detail, whether of fact or fancy, can be expanded at will; a journey of many hundred miles may be summarized in a dozen words: "then he went away to the northward, and came to a place." thus with the little story of the man who went out to search for his son; the version here employed covers no more than a few pages, yet it is a record of six distinct adventures, threaded on to the main theme of the search. it is thus a parallel in brief to the "wandering" stories popular in europe in the middle ages, when any kind of journey served as the string on which to gather all sorts of anecdote and adventure. the story of atungait, who goes on a journey and meets with lame people, left-handed people, and the like, is an example of another well-known classical and mediæval type. the mythical stories present some interesting features when compared with the beliefs and folk-lore of other peoples. the legend of the men who travelled round the world is based on a conception of the world as round. there is the tradition of a deluge, but here supported by geological evidence which is appreciated by the natives themselves: i.e. the finding of mussel shells on the hills far inland. the principle of the tides is recognized in what is otherwise a fairy tale; "there will be no more ebb-tide or flood if you strangle me," says the moon man to the obstinate one. the constellation of the great bear is explained in one story, the origin of venus in another. the spirits of the departed are "stellified" as seen in "the coming of men." there seems to be a considerable intermingling of christian culture and modern science in the general attitude towards life, but these foreign elements are coated over, as it were, like the speck of grit in an oyster, till they appear as concentrations of the native poetic spirit that forms their environment. we find, too, constant evidence of derivation from the earliest, common sources of all folk-lore and myth; parallels to the fairy tales and legends of other lands and other ages. there is a version of the bluebeard theme in Ímarasugssuaq, "who, it is said, was wont to eat his wives." instances of friendship and affection between human beings and animals are found, as in the tale of the foster-mother and the bear. various resemblances to well-known fairy tales are discernible in such stories as that of the eagle and the whale, where the brothers set out to rescue their sisters from the husbands who hold them captive. here too, we encounter that ancient and classical expedient of fugitives; throwing out objects behind to check pursuit. the conception of the under-world, as shown in the story of kúnigseq and others, is a striking example of this kinship with ancient and well-known legends. kúnigseq comes to the land of shades, and meets there his mother, who is dead. but she must not kiss him, for "he is only here on a visit." or again: "if you eat of those berries, you will never return." the under-world is partly an elysium of existence without cares; partly dantesque: "bring ice when you come again, for we thirst for cold water down here." and the traveller who has been away from earth for what seems an hour, finds that years of earthly time have passed when he returns. spirits of the departed appearing to their kin upon earth do so with an injunction "not to tell." (in england we write to the newspapers about them.) magic powers or gifts are lost by telling others how they came. spirit gifts are made subject to some condition of restraint: "choose only one and no more." "if you kill more than one seal to-day, you will never kill seal again hereafter." the technique of the fairy tale is frequently apparent. one test fulfilled is followed by the demand for fulfilment of another. qujâvârssuk, having found the skeleton as instructed, is then sent off to search for a lamb stone. this, of course, apart from its æsthetic value as retardation, is particularly useful to the story-teller aiming principally at length. we also find the common progression from one great or splendid thing to other greater or more splendid; a woman appears "even more finely dressed than on the day before." english children will perhaps remember hans andersen's dog with "eyes as big as saucers ... eyes as big as rundetaarn." the use of "magic power" is of very frequent occurrence; it seems, indeed, to be the generally accepted way of solving any difficulty. as soon as the hero has been brought into a situation from which no ordinary way of escape appears, it then transpires--as an afterthought--that he is possessed of magic powers, when the rest, of course, is easy. a delightful instance of the extent to which this useful faculty can be watered down and yet remain effective is seen in the case of the village where no wizard can be found to help in time of famine, until it is "revealed" that Íkardlítuarssuk "had formerly sat on the knee of one of those present when the wizards called up their helping spirits." in virtue of which very distant connection he proceeds to magic away the ice. there is a general tendency towards anthropomorphic conception of supernatural beings. the moon man has his stock of harpoons like any mortal hunter; the mountain spirit has a wife and children. the life and domestic arrangements of "spirits" are mostly represented as very similar to those with which the story-teller and his hearers are familiar, much as we find, in early italian paintings, scriptural personages represented in the costume and environment of the artist's own place and period. the style of narrative is peculiar. the stories open, as a rule, with some traditionally accepted gambit. "there was once a man ..." or "a fatherless boy lived in the house of the many brothers." the ending may occasionally point a sort of moral, as in the case of ukaleq, who after having escaped from a magic bear, "never went out hunting bear again." but the usual form is either a sort of equivalent to "lived happily ever after," or a frank and direct intimation: "here ends this story," or "that is all i know of so-and-so." some such hint is not infrequently necessary, since the "end" of a story often leaves considerable scope for further development. it is a characteristic feature of these stories that one never knows what is going to happen. poetic justice is often satisfied, but by no means always (kâgssagssuk). one or two of them are naïvely weak and lacking in incident; we are constantly expecting something to happen, but nothing happens ... still nothing happens ... and the story ends (puagssuaq). it is sometimes difficult to follow the exact course of a conversation or action between two personages, owing to the inadequate "he" which is used for both. the story-teller, while observing the traditional form, does not always do so uncritically. occasionally he will throw in a little interpolation of his own, as if in apology: "there was once a wifeless man--that is the way a story always begins." or the entertainer starts off in a cheerfully familiar style: "well, it was the usual thing; there was a strong man, and he had a wife. and, of course, he used to beat her...." here and there, too, a touch of explanation may be inserted. "this happened in the old days," or "so men thought in the olden time." there is a general recognition of the difference between old times and new. and the manner in which this difference is viewed reveals two characteristic attitudes of mind, the blending of which is apparent throughout the eskimo culture of to-day. there is the attitude of condescension, the arrogant tolerance of the proselyte and the parvenu: "so our forefathers used to do, for they were ignorant folk." at times, however, it is with precisely opposite view, mourning the present degeneration from earlier days, "when men were yet skilful rowers in 'kayaks,' or when this or that might still be done 'by magic power.'" and it is here, perhaps, that the stories reach their highest poetic level. this regret for the passing of "the former age," whether as an age of greater strength and virtue, greater courage and skill, or as the golden age of romance, is a touching and most human trait. it gives to these poor eskimo hunters, far removed from the leisure and security that normally precede the growth of art, a place among the poets of the world. w. w. worster. contents page introduction the two friends who set off to travel round the world the coming of men, a long, long while ago nukúnguasik, who escaped from the tupilak qujâvârssuk kúnigseq the woman who had a bear as a foster-son Ímarasugssuaq, who ate his wives qalagánguasê, who passed to the land of ghosts isigâligârssik the insects that wooed a wifeless man the very obstinate man the dwarfs the boy from the bottom of the sea, who frightened the people of the house to death the raven and the goose when the ravens could speak makíte asalôq ukaleq Íkardlítuarssuk the raven who wanted a wife the man who took a vixen to wife the great bear the man who became a star the woman with the iron tail how the fog came the man who avenged the widows the man who went out to search for his son atungait, who went a-wandering kumagdlak and the living arrows the giant dog the inland-dwellers of etah the man who stabbed his wife in the leg the soul that lived in the bodies of all beasts papik, who killed his wife's brother pâtussorssuaq, who killed his uncle the men who changed wives artuk, who did all forbidden things the thunder spirits nerrivik the wife who lied kâgssagssuk, the homeless boy who became a strong man qasiagssaq, the great liar the eagle and the whale the two little outcasts atdlarneq, the great glutton Ángángujuk Âtârssuaq puagssuaq tungujuluk and saunikoq anarteq the guillemot that could talk kánagssuaq the sources of the various legends illustrations man and wife from angmagssalik frontispiece   to face page making a tupilak. note the bones of various animals used: the monster is on the point of coming to life hunter in kayak. the creature behind is a monster that frightens all the seal away hunters encountering sarqiserasak, a dangerous troll, who rows in a half kayak himself, and upsets all he meets with his paddle wizard preparing for a "spirit fight." he is bound head to knees and hands behind; the magic drum resting on his foot is beating itself. bird's wings are fastened to his back "inland-dweller" armed with bow and arrow an "inland-dweller," half dog, half human, pointing out a settlement for destruction a tupilak frightening a man to death in his kayak evil spirit entering a house wizard calling up a "helping spirit" flying race between two wizards, one of whom, unable to keep up, has fallen to earth, and is vainly begging the other to stop angiut, a "helping spirit," who knows all about everywhere eskimo folk-tales the two friends who set off to travel round the world once there were two men who desired to travel round the world, that they might tell others what was the manner of it. this was in the days when men were still many on the earth, and there were people in all the lands. now we grow fewer and fewer. evil and sickness have come upon men. see how i, who tell this story, drag my life along, unable to stand upon my feet. the two men who were setting out had each newly taken a wife, and had as yet no children. they made themselves cups of musk-ox horn, each making a cup for himself from one side of the same beast's head. and they set out, each going away from the other, that they might go by different ways and meet again some day. they travelled with sledges, and chose land to stay and live upon each summer. it took them a long time to get round the world; they had children, and they grew old, and then their children also grew old, until at last the parents were so old that they could not walk, but the children led them. and at last one day, they met--and of their drinking horns there was but the handle left, so many times had they drunk water by the way, scraping the horn against the ground as they filled them. "the world is great indeed," they said when they met. they had been young at their starting, and now they were old men, led by their children. truly the world is great. the coming of men, a long, long while ago our forefathers have told us much of the coming of earth, and of men, and it was a long, long while ago. those who lived long before our day, they did not know how to store their words in little black marks, as you do; they could only tell stories. and they told of many things, and therefore we are not without knowledge of these things, which we have heard told many and many a time, since we were little children. old women do not waste their words idly, and we believe what they say. old age does not lie. a long, long time ago, when the earth was to be made, it fell down from the sky. earth, hills and stones, all fell down from the sky, and thus the earth was made. and then, when the earth was made, came men. it is said that they came forth out of the earth. little children came out of the earth. they came forth from among the willow bushes, all covered with willow leaves. and there they lay among the little bushes: lay and kicked, for they could not even crawl. and they got their food from the earth. then there is something about a man and a woman, but what of them? it is not clearly known. when did they find each other, and when had they grown up? i do not know. but the woman sewed, and made children's clothes, and wandered forth. and she found little children, and dressed them in the clothes, and brought them home. and in this way men grew to be many. and being now so many, they desired to have dogs. so a man went out with a dog leash in his hand, and began to stamp on the ground, crying "hok--hok--hok!" then the dogs came hurrying out from the hummocks, and shook themselves violently, for their coats were full of sand. thus men found dogs. but then children began to be born, and men grew to be very many on the earth. they knew nothing of death in those days, a long, long time ago, and grew to be very old. at last they could not walk, but went blind, and could not lie down. neither did they know the sun, but lived in the dark. no day ever dawned. only inside their houses was there ever light, and they burned water in their lamps, for in those days water would burn. but these men who did not know how to die, they grew to be too many, and crowded the earth. and then there came a mighty flood from the sea. many were drowned, and men grew fewer. we can still see marks of that great flood, on the high hill-tops, where mussel shells may often be found. and now that men had begun to be fewer, two old women began to speak thus: "better to be without day, if thus we may be without death," said the one. "no; let us have both light and death," said the other. and when the old woman had spoken these words, it was as she had wished. light came, and death. it is said, that when the first man died, others covered up the body with stones. but the body came back again, not knowing rightly how to die. it stuck out its head from the bench, and tried to get up. but an old woman thrust it back, and said: "we have much to carry, and our sledges are small." for they were about to set out on a hunting journey. and so the dead one was forced to go back to the mound of stones. and now, after men had got light on their earth, they were able to go on journeys, and to hunt, and no longer needed to eat of the earth. and with death came also the sun, moon and stars. for when men die, they go up into the sky and become brightly shining things there. nukÚnguasik, who escaped from the tupilak [ ] nukúnguasik, it is said, had land in a place with many brothers. when the brothers made a catch, they gave him meat for the pot; he himself had no wife. one day he rowed northward in his kayak, and suddenly he took it into his head to row over to a big island which he had never visited before, and now wished to see. he landed, and went up to look at the land, and it was very beautiful there. and here he came upon the middle one of many brothers, busy with something or other down in a hollow, and whispering all the time. so he crawled stealthily towards him, and when he had come closer, he heard him whispering these words: "you are to bite nukúnguasik to death; you are to bite nukúnguasik to death." and then it was clear that he was making a tupilak, and stood there now telling it what to do. but suddenly nukúnguasik slapped him on the side and said: "but where is this nukúnguasik?" and the man was so frightened at this that he fell down dead. and then nukúnguasik saw that the man had been letting the tupilak sniff at his body. and the tupilak was now alive, and lay there sniffing. but nukúnguasik, being afraid of the tupilak, went away without trying to harm it. now he rowed home, and there the many brothers were waiting in vain for the middle one to return. at last the day dawned, and still he had not come. and daylight came, and then as they were preparing to go out in search of him, the eldest of them said to nukúnguasik: "nukúnguasik, come with us; we must search for him." and so nukúnguasik went with them, but as they found nothing, he said: "would it not be well to go and make search over on that island, where no one ever goes?" and having gone on to the island, nukúnguasik said: "now you can go and look on the southern side." when the brothers reached the place, he heard them cry out, and the eldest said: "o wretched one! why did you ever meddle with such a thing as this!" and they could be heard weeping all together about the dead man. and now nukúnguasik went up to them, and there lay the tupilak, still alive, and nibbling at the body of the dead man. but the brothers buried him there, making a mound of stones above him. and then they went home. nukúnguasik lived there as the oldest in the place, and died at last after many years. here i end this story: i know no more. qujÂvÂrssuk a strong man had land at ikerssuaq. the only other one there was an old man, one who lived on nothing but devil-fish; when the strong man had caught more than he needed, the old man had always plenty of meat, which was given him in exchange for his fish. the strong one, men say, he who never failed to catch seal when he went out hunting, became silent as time went on, and then very silent. and this no doubt was because he could get no children. the old one was a wizard, and one day the strong one came to him and said: "to-morrow, when my wife comes down to the shore close by where you are fishing, go to her. for this i will give you something of my catch each day." and this no doubt was because he wanted his wife to have a child, for he wished greatly to have a child, and could not bring it about. the old man did not forget those words which were said to him. and to his wife also, the strong one said: "to-morrow, when the old one is out fishing, go you down finely dressed, to the shore close by." and she did it as he had said. when they had slept and again awakened, she watched to see when the old one went out. and when he rowed away, she put on her finest clothes and followed after him along the shore. when she came in sight of him, he lay out there fishing. then eagerly she stood up on the shore, and looked out towards him. and now he looked at her, and then again out over the sea, and this went on for a long time. she stood there a long time in vain, looking out towards him, but he would not come in to where she was, and therefore she went home. as soon as she had come home, her husband rowed up to the old one, and asked: "did you not go to my wife to-day?" the old one said: "no." and again the strong one said a second time: "then do not fail to go to her to-morrow." but when the old one came home, he could not forget the strong man's words. in the evening, the strong one said that same thing again to his wife, and a second time told her to go to the old one. they slept, and awakened, and the strong man went out hunting as was his wont. then his wife waited only until the old one had gone out, and as soon as he was gone, she put on her finest clothes and followed after. when she came in sight of the water, the old one was sitting there in his boat as on the other days, and fishing. now the old one turned his head and saw her, and he could see that she was even more finely dressed than on the day before. and now a great desire of her came over him, and he made up his mind to row in to where she was. he came in to the land, and stepped out of his kayak and went up to her. and now he went to her this time. then he rowed out again, but he caught scarcely any fish that day. when only a little time had gone, the strong man came rowing out to him and said: "now perhaps you have again failed to go to my wife?" when these words were spoken, the old one turned his head away, and said: "to-day i have not failed to be with her." when the strong one heard this, he took one of the seals he had caught, and gave it to the old man, and said: "take this; it is yours." and in this way he acted towards him from that time. the old one came home that day dragging a seal behind him. and this he could often do thereafter. when the strong one came home, he said to his wife: "when i go out to-morrow in my kayak, it is not to hunt seal; therefore watch carefully for my return when the sun is in the west." next day he went out in his kayak, and when the sun was in the west, his wife went often and often to look out. and once when she went thus, she saw that he had come, and from that moment she was no longer sleepy. as the strong one came nearer and nearer to land, he paddled more and more strongly. now his wife went down to that place where he was about to land, and turned and sat down with her back to the sea. the man unfastened his hunting fur from the ring of his kayak, and put his hand into the back of the kayak, and took out a sea serpent, and struck his wife on the back. at this she felt very cold, and her skin smarted. then she stood up and went home. but her husband said no word to her. then they slept, and awakened, and then the old one came to them and said: "now you must search for the carrion of a cormorant, with only the skeleton remaining, for your wife is with child." and the strong one went out eagerly to search for this. one day, paddling southward in his kayak, as was his custom, he started to search all the little bird cliffs. and coming to the foot of one of them, he saw that which he so greatly wished to see; the carrion of a big cormorant, which had now become a skeleton. it lay there quite easy to see. but there was no way of coming to the place where it was, not from above nor from below, nor from the side. yet he would try. he tied his hunting line fast to the cross thongs on his kayak, and thrust his hand into a small crack a little way up the cliff. and now he tried to climb up there with his hands alone. and at last he got that skeleton, and came down in the same way back to his kayak, and got into it, and rowed away northward to his home. and almost before he had reached land, the old one came to him, and the cormorant skeleton was taken out of the kayak. now the old one trembled all over with surprise. and he took the skeleton, and put it away, and said: "now you must search for a soft stone, which has never felt the sun, a stone good to make a lamp of." and the strong man began to search for such a stone. once when he was on this search, he came to a cliff, which stood in such a place that it never felt the sun, and here he found a fine lamp stone. and he brought it home, and the old one took it and put it away. a few days passed, and then the strong one's wife began to feel the birth-pangs, and the old one went in there at once with his own wife. then she bore a son, and when he was born, the strong man said to the old one: "this is your child; name him after some dead one." [ ] "let him be named after him who died of hunger in the north, at amerdloq." this the old one said. and then he said: "his name shall be qujâvârssuk!" and in this way the old one gave him that name. now qujâvârssuk grew up, and when he was grown big enough, the strong man said to the old one: "make a kayak for him." now the old one made him a kayak, and the kayak was finished. and when it was finished, he took it by the nose and thrust him out into the water to try it, but without loosing his hold. and when he did this, there came one little seal up out of the water, and others also. this was a sign that he should be a strong man, a chief, when the seals came to him so. when he drew him out of the water, they all went down again, and not a seal remained. now the old one began to make hunting things. when they were finished, and there was nothing more to be done in making them, and he thought the boy was of a good age to begin going out to hunt seal, he said to the strong one: "now row out with him, for he must go seal hunting." then he rowed out with him, and when they had come so far out that they could not see the bottom, he said: "take the harpoon point with its line, and fix it on the shaft." they had just made things ready for their hunting and rowed on farther, when they came to a flock of black seal. the strong one said to him: "now row straight at them." and then he rowed straight at them, and he lifted his harpoon and he threw it and he struck. and this he did every day in the same manner, and made a catch each time he went out in his kayak. then some people who had made a wintering place in the south heard, in a time of hunger, of qujâvârssuk, the strong man who never suffered want. and when they heard this, they began to come and visit the place where he had land. in this way there came once a man who was called tugto, and his wife. and while they were there--they were both great wizards--the man and his wife began to quarrel, and so the wife ran away to live alone in the hills. and now the man could not bring back his wife, for he was not so great a wizard as she. and when the people who had come to visit the place went away, he could do nothing but stay there. one day when he was out hunting seal at ikerssuaq, he saw a big black seal which came up from the bottom with a red fish in its mouth. now he took bearings by the cliffs of the place where the seal went down, and after that time, when he was out in his kayak, he took up all the bird wings that he saw, and fastened all the pinion feathers together. tugto was a big man, yet he had taken up so much of this that it was a hard matter for him to carry it when he took it on his back, and then he thought it must be enough for that depth of water. at last the ice lay firm, and when the ice lay firm, he began to make things ready to go out and fish. one morning he woke, and went away over land. he came to a lake, and walked over it, and came again on to the land. and thus he came to the place where lay that water he was going to fish, and he went out on the ice while it was still morning. then he cut a great hole in the ice, and just as he cast out the weight on his line, the sun came up. it came quite out, and went across the sky, all in the time he was letting out his line. and not until the sun had gone half through the day did the weight reach the bottom. then he hauled up the line a little way, and almost before it was still, he felt a pull. and he hauled it up, and it was a mighty sea perch. this he killed, but did not let down his line a second time, for in that way it would become evening. he cut a hole in the lower jaw of the fish, and put in a cord to carry it with. and when he took it on his head, it was so long that the tail struck against his heel. then in this manner he walked away, and came to land. when he came to the big lake he had walked over in the morning, he went out on it. but when he had come half the way over, the ice began to make a noise, and when he looked round, it seemed to him that the noise in the ice was following him from behind. now he went away running, but as he ran he fainted suddenly away, and lay a long time so. when he woke again, he was lying down. he thought a little, and then he remembered. "au: i am running away!" and then he got up and turned round, but could not find a break in the ice anywhere. but he could feel in himself that he had now become a much greater wizard than before. he went on farther, and chose his way up over a little hilly slope, and when he could see clearly ahead, he perceived a mighty beast. it was one of those monsters which men saw in the old far-off times, quite covered with bird-skins. and it was so big that not a twitch of life could be seen in it. he was afraid now, and turned round, until he could no longer see it. then he left that way, and came out into another place, where he saw another looking just the same. he now went back again in such a manner that it could not find him, but then he remembered that a wizard can win power to vanish away, even to vanish into the ground, if he can pull to pieces the skin of such a monster. when his thoughts had begun to work upon this, he threw away his burden and went towards it and began to wrestle with it. and it was not a long time before he began to tear its covering in pieces; the flesh on it was not bigger than a thumb. then he went away from it, and took up his burden again on his head, and went wandering on. when he was again going along homewards, he felt in himself that he had become a great wizard, and he could see the door openings of all the villages in that countryside quite close together. and when he came home, he caused these words to be said: "let the people come and hear." and now many people came hurrying into the house. and he began calling up spirits. and in this calling he raised himself up and flew away towards his wife. and when he came near her in his spirit flight, and hovered above her, she was sitting sewing. he went straight down through the roof, and when she tried to escape through the floor he did likewise, and reached her in the earth. after this, she was very willing when he tried to take her home with him, and he took her home with him, and now he had his wife again, and those two people lived together until they were very old. one winter, the frost came, and was very hard and the sea was frozen, and only a little opening was left, far out over the ice. and hither qujâvârssuk was forced to carry his kayak each day, out to the open water, but each day he caught two seals, as was his custom. and then, as often happens in time of dearth, there came many poor people wandering over the ice, from the south, wishing to get some good thing of all that qujâvârssuk caught. once there came also two old men, and they were his mother's kinsmen. they came on a visit. and when they came, his mother said to them: "now you have come before i have got anything cooked. it is true that i have something from the cooking of yesterday; eat that if you will, while i cook something now." then she set before them the kidney part of a black seal, with its own blubber as dripping. now one of the two old men began eating, and went on eagerly, dipping the meat in the dripping. but the other stopped eating very soon. then qujâvârssuk came home, as was his custom, with two seals, and said to his mother: "take the breast part and boil it quickly." for this was the best part of the seal. and she boiled it, and it was done in a moment. and then she set it on a dish and brought it to those two. "here, eat." and now at last the one of them began really to eat, but the other took a piece of the shoulder. when qujâvârssuk saw this, he said: "you should not begin to eat from the wrong side." and when he had said that, he said again: "if you eat from that side, then my catching of the seals will cease." but the old man became very angry in his mind at this order. next morning, when they were about to set off again southward, qujâvârssuk's mother gave them as much meat as they could carry. they went home southward, over the ice, but when they had gone a little way, they were forced to stop, because their burden was so heavy. and when they had rested a little, they went on again. when they had come near to their village, one said to the other: "has there not wakened a thought in your mind? i am very angry with qujâvârssuk. yesterday, when we came there, they gave us only a kidney piece in welcome, and that is meat i do not like at all." "hum," said the other. "i thought it was all very good. it was fine tender meat for my teeth." at these words, the other began again to speak: "now that my anger has awakened, i will make a tupilak for that miserable qujâvârssuk." but the other said to him: "why will you do such a thing? look; their gifts are so many that we must carry the load upon our heads." but that comrade would not change his purpose, not for all the trying of the other to turn him from it. and at last the other ceased to speak of it. now as the cold grew stronger, that opening in the ice became smaller and smaller, at the place where qujâvârssuk was used to go with his kayak. one day, when he came down to it, there was but just room for his kayak to go in, and if now a seal should rise, it could not fail to strike the kayak. yet he got into the kayak, and at the time when he was fixing the head on his harpoon, he saw a black seal coming up from below. but seeing that it must touch both the ice and the kayak, it went down again without coming right to the surface. then qujâvârssuk went up again and went home, and that was the first time he went home without having made a catch, in all the time he had been a hunter. when he had come home, he sat himself down behind his mother's lamp, sitting on the bedplace, so that only his feet hung down over the floor. he was so troubled that he would not eat. and later in the evening, he said to his mother: "take meat to tugto and his wife, and ask one of them to magic away the ice." his mother went out and cut the meat of a black seal across at the middle. then she brought the tail half, and half the blubber of a seal, up to tugto and his wife. she came to the entrance, but it was covered with snow, so that it looked like a fox hole. at first, she dropped that which she was carrying in through the passage way. and it was this which tugto and his wife first saw; the half of a black seal's meat and half of its blubber cut across. and when she came in, she said: "it is my errand now to ask if one of you can magic away the ice." when these words were heard, tugto said to his wife: "in this time of hunger we cannot send away meat that is given. you must magic away the ice." and she set about to do his bidding. to qujâvârssuk's mother she said: "tell all the people who can come here to come here and listen!" and then she began eagerly going in to the dwellings, to say that all who could come should come in and listen to the magic. when all had come in, she put out the lamp, and began to call on her helping spirits. then suddenly she said: "two flames have appeared in the west!" and now she was standing up in the passage way, and let them come to her, and when they came forward, they were a bear and a walrus. the bear blew her in under the bedplace, but when it drew in its breath again, she came out from under the bedplace and stopped at the passage way. in this manner it went on for a long time. but now she made ready to go out, and said then to the listeners: "all through this night none may yawn or wink an eye." and then she went out. at the same moment when she went out, the bear took her in its teeth and flung her out over the ice. hardly had she fallen on the ice again, when the walrus thrust its tusks into her and flung her out across the ice, but the bear ran along after her, keeping beneath her as she flew through the air. each time she fell on the ice, the walrus thrust its tusks into her again. it seemed as if the outermost islands suddenly went to the bottom of the sea, so quickly did she move outwards. they were now almost out of sight, and not until they could no longer see the land did the walrus and the bear leave her. then she could begin again to go towards the land. when at last she could see the cliffs, it seemed as if there were clouds above them, because of the driving snow. at last the wind came down, and the ice began at once to break up. now she looked round on all sides, and caught sight of an iceberg which was frozen fast. and towards this she let herself drift. hardly had she come up on to the iceberg, when the ice all went to pieces, and now there was no way for her to save herself. but at the same moment she heard someone beside her say: "let me take you in my kayak." and when she looked round, she saw a man in a very narrow kayak. and he said a second time: "come and let me take you in my kayak. if you will not do this, then you will never taste the good things qujâvârssuk has paid you." now the sea was very rough, and yet she made ready to go. when a wave lifted the kayak, she sprang down into it. but as she dropped down, the kayak was nearly upset. then, as she tried to move over to the other side of it, she again moved too far, and then he said: "place yourself properly in the middle of the kayak." and when she had done so, he tried to row, for it was his purpose to take her with him in his kayak, although the sea was very rough. then he rowed out with her. and when he had come a little way out, he sighted land, but when they came near, there was no place at all where they could come up on shore, and at the moment when the wave took them, he said: "now try to jump ashore." and when he said this, she sprang ashore. when she now stood on land, she turned round and saw that the kayak was lost to sight in a great wave. and it was never seen again. she turned and went away. but as she went on, she felt a mighty thirst. she came to a place where water was oozing through the snow. she went there, and when she reached it, and was about to lay herself down to drink, a voice came suddenly and said: "do not drink it; for if you do, you will never taste the good things qujâvârssuk has paid you." when she heard this she went forward again. on her way she came to a house. on the top of the house lay a great dog, and it was terrible to see. when she began to go past it, it looked as if it would bite her. but at last she came past it. in the passage way of the house there was a great river flowing, and the only place where she could tread was narrow as the back of a knife. and the passage way itself was so wide that she could not hold fast by the walls. so she walked along, poising carefully, using her little fingers as wings. but when she came to the inner door, the step was so high, that she could not come over it quickly. inside the house, she saw an old woman lying face downwards on the bedplace. and as soon as she had come in, the old woman began to abuse her. and she was about to answer those bad words, when the old woman sprang out on to the floor to fight with her. and now they two fought furiously together. they fought for a long time, and little by little the old woman grew tired. and when she was so tired that she could not get up, the other saw that her hair hung loose and was full of dirt. and now tugto's wife began cleaning her as well as she could. when this was done, she put up her hair in its knot. the old woman had not spoken, but now she said: "you are a dear little thing, you that have come in here. it is long since i was so nicely cleaned. not since little atakana from sârdloq cleaned me have i ever been cleaned at all. i have nothing to give you in return. move my lamp away." and when she did so, there was a noise like the moving of wings. when she turned to look, she saw a host of birds flying in through the passage way. for a long time birds flew in, without stopping. but then the woman said: "now it is enough." and she put the lamp straight. and when that was done, the other said again: "will you not put it a little to the other side?" and she moved it so. and then she saw some men with long hair flying towards the passage way. when she looked closer, she saw that it was a host of black seal. and when very many of them had come in this manner, she said: "now it is enough." and she put the lamp in its place. then the old woman looked over towards her, and said: "when you come home, tell them that they must never more face towards the sea when they empty their dirty vessels, for when they do so, it all goes over me." when at last the woman came out again, the big dog wagged his tail kindly at her. it was still night when tugto's wife came home, and when she came in, none of them had yet yawned or winked an eye. when she lit the lamp, her face was fearfully scratched, and she told them this: "you must not think that the ice will break up at once; it will not break up until these sores are healed." after a long time they began to heal slowly, and sometimes it might happen that one or another cried in mockingly through the window: "now surely it is time the ice broke up and went out to sea, for that which was to be done is surely done." but at last her sores were healed. and one day a black cloud came up in the south. later in the evening, there was a mighty noise of the wind, and the storm did not abate until it was growing light in the morning. when it was quite light, and the people came out, the sea was open and blue. a great number of birds were flying above the water, and there were hosts of black seal everywhere. the kayaks were made ready at once, and when they began to make them ready, tugto's wife said: "no one must hunt them yet; until five days are gone no one may hunt them." but before those days were gone, one of the young men went out nevertheless to hunt. he tried with great efforts, but caught nothing after all. not until those days were gone did the witch-wife say: "now you may hunt them." and now the men went out to sea to hunt the birds. and not until they could bear no more on their kayaks did they row home again. but then all those men had to give up their whole catch to tugto's house. not until the second hunting were they permitted to keep any for themselves. next day they went out to hunt for seal. they harpooned many, but these also were given to tugto and his wife. of these also they kept nothing for themselves until the second hunting. now when the ice was gone, then that old man we have told about before, he put life into the tupilak, and said to it then: "go out now, and eat up qujâvârssuk." the tupilak paddled out after him, but qujâvârssuk had already reached the shore, and was about to carry up his kayak on to the land, with a catch of two seals. now the tupilak had no fear but that next day, when he went out, it would be easy to catch and eat him. and therefore, when it was no later than dawn, it was waiting outside his house. when qujâvârssuk awoke, he got up and went down to his kayak, and began to make ready for hunting. he put on his long fur coat, and went down and put the kayak in the water. he lifted one leg and stepped into the kayak, and this the tupilak saw, but when he lifted the other leg to step in with that, he disappeared entirely from its sight. and all through the day it looked for him in vain. at last it swam in towards land, but by that time he had already reached home, and drawn the kayak on shore to carry it up. he had a catch of two seal, and there lay the tupilak staring after him. when it was evening, qujâvârssuk went to rest. he slept, and awoke, and got up and made things ready to go out. and at this time the tupilak was waiting with a great desire for the moment when he should put off from land. but when he put on his hunting coat ready to row out, the tupilak thought: "now we shall see if he disappears again." and just as he was getting into his kayak, he disappeared from sight. and at the end of that day also, qujâvârssuk came home again, as was his custom, with a catch of two seal. now by this time the tupilak was fearfully hungry. but a tupilak can only eat men, and therefore it now thought thus: "next time, i will go up on land and eat him there." then it swam over towards land, and as the shore was level, it moved swiftly, so as to come well up. but it struck its head on the ground, so that the pain pierced to its backbone, and when it tried to see what was there, the shore had changed to a steep cliff, and on the top of the cliff stood qujâvârssuk, all easy to see. again it tried to swim up on to the land, but only hurt itself the more. and now it was surprised, and looked in vain for qujâvârssuk's house, for it could not see the house at all. and it was still lying there and staring up, when it saw that a great stone was about to fall on it, and hardly had it dived under water when the stone struck it, and broke a rib. then it swam out and looked again towards land, and saw qujâvârssuk again quite clearly, and also his house. now the tupilak thought: "i must try another way. perhaps it will be better to go through the earth." and when it tried to go through the earth, so much was easy; it only remained then to come up through the floor of the house. but the floor of the house was hard, and not to be got through. therefore it tried behind the house, and there it was quite soft. it came up there, and went to the passage way, and there was a big black bird, sitting there eating something. the tupilak thought: "that is a fortunate being, which can sit and eat." then it tried to get up over the walls at the back part of the house, by taking hold of the grass in the turf blocks. but when it got there, the bird's food was the only thing it saw. again it tried to get a little farther, seeing that the bird appeared not to heed it at all, but then suddenly the bird turned and bit a hole just above its flipper. and this was very painful, so that the tupilak floundered about with pain, and floundered about till it came right out into the water. and because of all these happenings, it had now become so angered that it swam back at once to the man who had made it, in order to eat him up. and when it came there, he was sitting in his kayak with his face turned towards the sun, and telling no other thing than of the tupilak which he had made. for a long time the tupilak lay there beneath him, and looked at him, until there came this thought: "why did he make me a tupilak, when afterwards all the trouble was to come upon me?" then it swam up and attacked the kayak, and the water was coloured red with blood as it ate him. and having thus found food, the tupilak felt well and strong and very cheerful, until at last it began to think thus: "all the other tupilaks will certainly call this a shameful thing, that i should have killed the one who made me." and it was now so troubled with shame at this that it swam far out into the open sea and was never seen again. and men say that it was because of shame it did so. one day the old one said to qujâvârssuk: "you are named after a man who died of hunger at amerdloq." it is told of the people of amerdloq that they catch nothing but turbot. and qujâvârssuk went to amerdloq and lived there with an old man, and while he lived there, he made always the same catch as was his custom. at last the people of amerdloq began to say to one another: "this must be the first time there have been so many black seal here in our country; every time he goes hunting he catches two seal." at last one of the big hunters went out hunting with him. they fixed the heads to their harpoons, and when they had come a little way out from land, qujâvârssuk stopped. then when the other had gone a little distance from him, he turned, and saw that qujâvârssuk had already struck one seal. then he rowed towards him, but when he came up, it was already killed. so he left him again for a little while, and when he turned, qujâvârssuk had again struck. then qujâvârssuk rowed home. and the other stayed out the whole day, but did not see a single seal. when qujâvârssuk had thus continued as a great hunter, his mother said to him at last that he should marry. he gave her no answer, and therefore she began to look about herself for a girl for him to marry, but it was her wish that the girl might be a great glutton, so that there might not be too much lost of all that meat. and she began to ask all the unmarried women to come and visit her. and because of this there came one day a young woman who was not very beautiful. and this one she liked very much, for that she was a clever eater, and having regard to this, she chose her out as the one her son should marry. one day she said to her son: "that woman is the one you must have." and her son obeyed her, as was his custom. every day after their marriage, the strongest man in amerdloq called in at the window: "qujâvârssuk! let us see which of us can first get a bladder float for hunting the whale." qujâvârssuk made no answer, as was his custom, but the old man said to him: "we use only speckled skin for whales. and they are now at this time in the mouth of the river." after this, they went to rest. qujâvârssuk slept, and awoke, and got up, and went away to the north. and when he had gone a little way to the north, he came to the mouth of a small fjord. he looked round and saw a speckled seal that had come up to breathe. when it went down again, he rowed up on the landward side of it, and fixed the head and line to his harpoon. when it came up again to breathe, he rowed to where it was, and harpooned it, and after this, he at once rowed home with it. the old man made the skin ready, and hung it up behind the house. but while it was hanging there, there came very often a noise as from the bladder float, and this although there was no one there. this thing the old man did not like at all. when the winter was coming near, the old man said one day to qujâvârssuk: "now that time will soon be here when the whales come in to the coast." one night qujâvârssuk had gone out of the house, when he heard a sound of deep breathing from the west, and this came nearer. and because this was the first time he had heard so mighty a breathing, he went in and told the matter in a little voice to his wife. and he had hardly told her this, when the old man, whom he had thought asleep, said: "what is that you are saying?" "mighty breathings which i have heard, and did not know them, and they do not move from that side where the sun is." this said qujâvârssuk. the old one put on his boots, and went out, and came in again, and said: "it is the breathing of a whale." in the morning, before it was yet light, there came a sound of running, and then one came and called through the window: "qujâvârssuk! i was the first who heard the whales breathing." it was the strong man, who wished to surpass him in this. qujâvârssuk said nothing, as was his custom, but the old man said: "qujâvârssuk heard that while it was yet night." and they heard him laugh and go away. the strong man had already got out the umiak [ ] into the water to row out to the whale. and then qujâvârssuk came out, and they had already rowed away when qujâvârssuk got his boat into the water. he got it full of water, and drew it up again on to the shore, and turned the stem in towards land and poured the water out, and for the second time he drew it down into the water. and not until now did he begin to look about for rowers. they went out, and when they could see ahead, the strong man of amerdloq was already far away. before he had come up to where he was, qujâvârssuk told his rowers to stop and be still. but they wished to go yet farther, believing that the whale would never come up to breathe in that place. therefore he said to them: "you shall see it when it comes up." hardly had the umiak stopped still, when qujâvârssuk began to tremble all over. when he turned round, there was already a whale quite near, and now his rowers begged him eagerly to steer to where it was. but qujâvârssuk now saw such a beast for the first time in his life. and he said: "let us look at it." and his rowers had to stay still. when the strong man of amerdloq heard the breathing of the whale, he looked round after it, and there lay the beast like a great rock close beside qujâvârssuk. and he called out to him from the place where he was: "harpoon it!" qujâvârssuk made no answer, but his rowers were now even more eager than before. when the whale had breathed long enough, it went down again. now his rowers wished very much to go farther out, because it was not likely that it would come up again in that way the next time. but qujâvârssuk would not move at all. the whale stayed a long time under the water, and when it came up again it was still nearer. now qujâvârssuk looked at it again for a long time, and now his rowers became very angry with him at last. not until it seemed that the whale must soon go down again did qujâvârssuk say: "now row towards it." and they rowed towards it, and he harpooned it. and when it now floundered about in pain and went down, he threw out his bladder float, and it was not strange that this went under water at once. and those farther out called to him now and said: "when a whale is struck it will always swim out to sea. row now to the place where it would seem that it must come up." but qujâvârssuk did not answer, and did not move from the place where he was. not until they called to him for the third time did he answer: "the beasts i have struck move always farther in, towards my house." and now they had just begun laughing at him out there, when they heard a washing of water closer in to shore, and there it lay, quite like a tiny fish, turning about in its death struggle. they rowed up to it at once and made a tow line fast. the strong man rowed up to them, and when he came to where they were, no one of them was eating. then he said: "not one of you eating, and here a newly-killed whale?" when he said this, qujâvârssuk answered: "none may eat of it until my mother has first eaten." but the strong man tried then to take a mouthful, although this had been said. and when he did so, froth came out of his mouth at once. and he spat out that mouthful, because it was destroying his mouth. and they brought that catch home, and qujâvârssuk's mother ate of it, and then at last all ate of it likewise, and then none had any badness in the mouth from eating of it. but the strong man sat for a long time the only one of them all who did not eat, and that because he must wait till his mouth was well again. and the strong man of amerdloq did not catch a whale at all until after qujâvârssuk had caught another one. for a whole year qujâvârssuk stayed at amerdloq, and when it was spring, he went back southward to his home. he came to his own land, and there at a later time he died. and that is all. kÚnigseq there was once a wizard whose name was kúnigseq. one day, when he was about to call on his helping spirits and make a flight down into the underworld, he gave orders that the floor should be swilled with salt water, to take off the evil smell which might otherwise frighten his helping spirits away. then he began to call upon his helping spirits, and without moving his body, began to pass downward through the floor. and down he went. on his way he came to a reef, which was covered with weed, and therefore so slippery that none could pass that way. and as he could not pass, his helping spirit lay down beside him, and by placing his foot upon the spirit, he was able to pass. and on he went, and came to a great slope covered with heather. far down in the underworld, men say, the land is level, and the hills are small; there is sun down there, and the sky is also like that which we see from the earth. suddenly he heard one crying: "here comes kúnigseq." by the side of a little river he saw some children looking for greyfish. and before he had reached the houses of men, he met his mother, who had gone out to gather berries. when he came up to her, she tried again and again to kiss him, but his helping spirit thrust her aside. "he is only here on a visit," said the spirit. then she offered him some berries, and these he was about to put in his mouth, when the spirit said: "if you eat of them, you will never return." a little after, he caught sight of his dead brother, and then his mother said: "why do you wish to return to earth again? your kin are here. and look down on the sea-shore; see the great stores of dried meat. many seal are caught here, and it is a good place to be; there is no snow, and a beautiful open sea." the sea lay smooth, without the slightest wind. two kayaks were rowing towards land. now and again they threw their bird darts, and they could be heard to laugh. "i will come again when i die," said kúnigseq. some kayaks lay drying on a little island; they were those of men who had just lost their lives when out in their kayaks. and it is told that the people of the underworld said to kúnigseq: "when you return to earth, send us some ice, for we thirst for cold water down here." after that, kúnigseq went back to earth, but it is said that his son fell sick soon afterwards, and died. and then kúnigseq did not care to live any longer, having seen what it was like in the underworld. so he rowed out in his kayak, and caught a guillemot, and a little after, he caught a raven, and having eaten these one after the other, he died. and then they threw him out into the sea. the woman who had a bear as a foster-son there was once an old woman living in a place where others lived. she lived nearest the shore, and when those who lived in houses up above had been out hunting, they gave her both meat and blubber. and once they were out hunting as usual, and now and again they got a bear, so that they frequently ate bear's meat. and they came home with a whole bear. the old woman received a piece from the ribs as her share, and took it home to her house. after she had come home to her house, the wife of the man who had killed the bear came to the window and said: "dear little old woman in there, would you like to have a bear's cub?" and the old woman went and fetched it, and brought it into her house, shifted her lamp, and placed the cub, because it was frozen, up on to the drying frame to thaw. suddenly she noticed that it moved a little, and took it down to warm it. then she roasted some blubber, for she had heard that bears lived on blubber, and in this way she fed it from that time onwards, giving it greaves to eat and melted blubber to drink, and it lay beside her at night. and after it had begun to lie beside her at night it grew very fast, and she began to talk to it in human speech, and thus it gained the mind of a human being, and when it wished to ask its foster-mother for food, it would sniff. the old woman now no longer suffered want, and those living near brought her food for the cub. the children came sometimes to play with it, but then the old woman would say: "little bear, remember to sheathe your claws when you play with them." in the morning, the children would come to the window and call in: "little bear, come out and play with us, for now we are going to play." and when they went out to play together, it would break the children's toy harpoons to pieces, but whenever it wanted to give any one of the children a push, it would always sheathe its claws. but at last it grew so strong, that it nearly always made the children cry. and when it had grown so strong the grown-up people began to play with it, and they helped the old woman in this way, in making the bear grow stronger. but after a time not even grown men dared play with it, so great was its strength, and then they said to one another: "let us take it with us when we go out hunting. it may help us to find seal." and so one day in the dawn, they came to the old woman's window and cried: "little bear, come and earn a share of our catch; come out hunting with us, bear." but before the bear went out, it sniffed at the old woman. and then it went out with the men. on the way, one of the men said: "little bear, you must keep down wind, for if you do not so, the game will scent you, and take fright." one day when they had been out hunting and were returning home, they called in to the old woman: "it was very nearly killed by the hunters from the northward; we hardly managed to save it alive. give therefore some mark by which it may be known; a broad collar of plaited sinews about its neck." and so the old foster-mother made a mark for it to wear; a collar of plaited sinews, as broad as a harpoon line. and after that it never failed to catch seal, and was stronger even than the strongest of hunters, and never stayed at home even in the worst of all weather. also it was not bigger than an ordinary bear. all the people in the other villages knew it now, and although they sometimes came near to catching it, they would always let it go as soon as they saw its collar. but now the people from beyond angmagssalik heard that there was a bear which could not be caught, and then one of them said: "if ever i see it, i will kill it." but the others said: "you must not do that; the bear's foster-mother could ill manage without its help. if you see it, do not harm it, but leave it alone, as soon as you see its mark." one day when the bear came home as usual from hunting, the old foster-mother said: "whenever you meet with men, treat them as if you were of one kin with them; never seek to harm them unless they first attack." and it heard the foster-mother's words and did as she had said. and thus the old foster-mother kept the bear with her. in the summer it went out hunting in the sea, and in winter on the ice, and the other hunters now learned to know its ways, and received shares of its catch. once during a storm the bear was away hunting as usual, and did not come home until evening. then it sniffed at its foster-mother and sprang up on to the bench, where its place was on the southern side. then the old foster-mother went out of the house, and found outside the body of a dead man, which the bear had hauled home. then without going in again, the old woman went hurrying to the nearest house, and cried at the window: "are you all at home?" "why?" "the little bear has come home with a dead man, one whom i do not know." when it grew light, they went out and saw that it was the man from the north, and they could see he had been running fast, for he had drawn off his furs, and was in his underbreeches. afterwards they heard that it was his comrades who had urged the bear to resistance, because he would not leave it alone. a long time after this had happened, the old foster-mother said to the bear: "you had better not stay with me here always; you will be killed if you do, and that would be a pity. you had better leave me." and she wept as she said this. but the bear thrust its muzzle right down to the floor and wept, so greatly did it grieve to go away from her. after this, the foster-mother went out every morning as soon as dawn appeared, to look at the weather, and if there were but a cloud as big as one's hand in the sky, she said nothing. but one morning when she went out, there was not even a cloud as big as a hand, and so she came in and said: "little bear, now you had better go; you have your own kin far away out there." but when the bear was ready to set out, the old foster-mother, weeping very much, dipped her hands in oil and smeared them with soot, and stroked the bear's side as it took leave of her, but in such manner that it could not see what she was doing. the bear sniffed at her and went away. but the old foster-mother wept all through that day, and her fellows in the place mourned also for the loss of their bear. but men say that far to the north, when many bears are abroad, there will sometimes come a bear as big as an iceberg, with a black spot on its side. here ends this story. Ímarasugssuaq, who ate his wives it is said that the great Ímarasugssuaq was wont to eat his wives. he fattened them up, giving them nothing but salmon to eat, and nothing at all to drink. once when he had just lost his wife in the usual way, he took to wife the sister of many brothers, and her name was misána. and after having taken her to wife, he began fattening her up as usual. one day her husband was out in his kayak. and she had grown so fat that she could hardly move, but now she managed with difficulty to tumble down from the bench to the floor, crawled to the entrance, dropped down into the passage way, and began licking the snow which had drifted in. she licked and licked at it, and at last she began to feel herself lighter, and better able to move. and in this way she afterwards went out and licked up snow whenever her husband was out in his kayak, and at last she was once more quite able to move about. one day when her husband was out in his kayak as usual, she took her breeches and tunic, and stuffed them out until the thing looked like a real human being, and then she said to them: "when my husband comes and tells you to come out, answer him with these words: i cannot move because i am grown so fat. and when he then comes in and harpoons you, remember then to shriek as if in pain." and after she had said these words, she began digging a hole at the back of the house, and when it was big enough, she crept in. "bring up the birds i have caught!" but the dummy answered: "i can no longer move, for i am grown so fat." now the dummy was sitting behind the lamp. and the husband coming in, harpooned that dummy wife with his great bird-spear. and the thing shrieked as if with pain and fell down. but when he looked closer, there was no blood to be seen, nothing but some stuffed-out clothes. and where was his wife? and now he began to search for her, and as soon as he had gone out, she crept forth from her hiding-place, and took to flight. and while she was thus making her escape, her husband came after her, and seeing that he came nearer and nearer, at last she said: "now i remember, my amulet is a piece of wood." and hardly had she said these words, when she was changed into a piece of wood, and her husband could not find her. he looked about as hard as ever he could, but could see nothing beyond a piece of wood anywhere. and he stabbed at that once or twice with his knife, but she felt no more than a little stinging pain. then he went back home to fetch his axe, and then, as soon as he was out of sight, she changed back into a woman again and fled away to her brothers. when she came to their house, she hid herself behind the skin hangings, and after she had placed herself there, her husband was heard approaching, weeping because he had lost his wife. he stayed there with them, and in the evening, the brothers began singing songs in mockery of him, and turning towards him also, they said: "men say that Ímarasugssuaq eats his wives." "who has said that?" "misána has said that." "i said it, and i ran away because you tried to kill me," said she from behind the hangings. and then the many brothers fell upon Ímarasugssuaq and held him fast that his wife might kill him; she took her knife, but each time she tried to strike, the knife only grazed his skin, for her fingers lost their power. and she was still standing there trying in vain to stab him, when they saw that he was already dead. here ends this story. qalagÁnguasÊ, who passed to the land of ghosts there was once a boy whose name was qalagánguasê; his parents lived at a place where the tides were strong. and one day they ate seaweed, and died of it. then there was only one sister to look after qalagánguasê, but it was not long before she also died, and then there were only strangers to look after him. qalagánguasê was without strength, the lower part of his body was dead, and one day when the others had gone out hunting, he was left alone in the house. he was sitting there quite alone, when suddenly he heard a sound. now he was afraid, and with great pains he managed to drag himself out of the house into the one beside it, and here he found a hiding-place behind the skin hangings. and while he was in hiding there, he heard a noise again, and in walked a ghost. "ai! there are people here!" the ghost went over to the water tub and drank, emptying the dipper twice. "thanks for the drink which i thirsty one received," said the ghost. "thus i was wont to drink when i lived on earth." and then it went out. now the boy heard his fellow-villagers coming up and gathering outside the house, and then they began to crawl in through the passage way. "qalagánguasê is not here," they said, when they came inside. "yes, he is," said the boy. "i hid in here because a ghost came in. it drank from the water tub there." and when they went to look at the water tub, they saw that something had been drinking from it. then some time after, it happened again that the people were all out hunting, and qalagánguasê alone in the place. and there he sat in the house all alone, when suddenly the walls and frame of the house began to shake, and next moment a crowd of ghosts came tumbling into the house, one after the other, and the last was one whom he knew, for it was his sister, who had died but a little time before. and now the ghosts sat about on the floor and began playing; they wrestled, and told stories, and laughed all the time. at first qalagánguasê was afraid of them, but at last he found it a pleasant thing to make the night pass. and not until the villagers could be heard returning did they hasten away. "now mind you do not tell tales," said the ghost, "for if you do as we say, then you will gain strength again, and there will be nothing you cannot do." and one by one they tumbled out of the passage way. only qalagánguasê's sister could hardly get out, and that was because her brother had been minding her little child, and his touch stayed her. and the hunters were coming back, and quite close, when she slipped out. one could just see the shadow of a pair of feet. "what was that," said one. "it looked like a pair of feet vanishing away." "listen, and i will tell you," said qalagánguasê, who already felt his strength returning. "the house has been full of people, and they made the night pass pleasantly for me, and now, they say, i am to grow strong again." but hardly had the boy said these words, when the strength slowly began to leave him. "qalagánguasê is to be challenged to a singing contest," he heard them say, as he lay there. and then they tied the boy to the frame post and let him swing backwards and forwards, as he tried to beat the drum. after that, they all made ready, and set out for their singing contest, and left the lame boy behind in the house all alone. and there he lay all alone, when his mother, who had died long since, came in with his father. "why are you here alone?" they asked. "i am lame," said the boy, "and when the others went off to a singing contest, they left me behind." "come away with us," said his father and mother. "it is better so, perhaps," said the boy. and so they led him out, and bore him away to the land of ghosts, and so qalagánguasê became a ghost. and it is said that qalagánguasê became a woman when they changed him to a ghost. but his fellow-villagers never saw him again. isigÂligÂrssik isigâligârssik was a wifeless man, and he was very strong. one of the other men in his village was a wizard. isigâligârssik was taken to live in a house with many brothers, and they were very fond of him. when the wizard was about to call upon his spirits, it was his custom to call in through the window: "only the married men may come and hear." and when they who were to hear the spirit calling went out, a little widow and her daughter and isigâligârssik always stayed behind together in the house. once, when all had gone out to hear the wizard, as was their custom, these three were thus left alone together. isigâligârssik sat by the little lamp on the side bench, at work. suddenly he heard the widow's daughter saying something in her mother's ear, and then her mother turned towards him and said: "this little girl would like to have you." isigâligârssik would also like to have her, and before the others of the house had come back, they were man and wife. thus when the others of the house had finished and came back, isigâligârssik had found a wife, and his house-fellows were very glad of this. next day, as soon as it was dark, one called, as was the custom: "let only those who have wives come and hear." and isigâligârssik, who had before had no wife, felt now a great desire to go and hear this. but as soon as he had come in, the great wizard said to isigâligârssik's wife: "come here; here." when she had sat down, he told her to take off her shoes, and then he put them up on the drying frame. then they made a spirit calling, and when that was ended, the wizard said to isigâligârssik: "go away now; you will never have this dear little wife of yours again." and then isigâligârssik had to go home without a wife. and isigâligârssik had to live without a wife. and every time there was a spirit calling, and he went in, the wizard would say: "ho, what are you doing here, you who have no wife?" but now anger grew up slowly in him at this, and once when he came home, he said: "that wizard in there has mocked me well, but next time he asks me, i shall know what to answer." but the others of the village warned him, and said: "no, no; you must not answer him. for if you answer him, then he will kill you." but one evening when the bad wizard mocked him as usual isigâligârssik said: "ho, and what of you who took my wife away?" now the wizard stood up at once, and when isigâligârssik bent down towards the entrance to creep out, the wizard took a knife, and stabbed him with a great wound. isigâligârssik ran quickly home to his house, and said to his wife's mother: "go quickly now and take the dress i wore when i was little. [ ] it is in the chest there." and when she took it out, it was so small that it did not look like a dress at all, but it was very pretty. and he ordered her then to dip it in the water bucket. when it was wet, he was able to put it on, and when the lacing thong at the bottom touched the wound, it was healed. now when his house-fellows came out after the spirit-calling they thought to find him lying dead outside the entrance. they followed the blood spoor, and at last he had gone into the house. when they came in, he had not a single wound, and all were very glad for that he was healed again. and now he said: "to-morrow i will go bow-shooting with him." then they slept, and awakened, and isigâligârssik opened his little chest and searched it, and took out a bow that was so small it could hardly be seen in his hands. he strung that bow, and went out, and said: "come out now and see." then they went out, and he went down to the wizard's house, and called through the window: "big man in there; come out now and let us shoot with the bow!" and when he had said this, he went and stood by a little river. when he turned to look round, the wizard was already by the passage of his house, aiming with his bow. he said: "come here." and then isigâligârssik drew up spittle in his mouth and spat straight down beside his feet. "come here," he said then, to the great wizard. then he went over to him, and came nearer and nearer, and stopped just before him. now the wizard aimed with his bow towards him, and when he did this, the house-fellows cried to isigâligârssik: "make yourself small!" and he made himself so small that only his head could be seen moving backwards and forwards. the wizard shot and missed. and a second time he shot and missed. then isigâligârssik stood up, and took the arrow, and broke it across and said: "go home; you cannot hit." and then the wizard went off, turning many times to look round. at last, when he bent down to get into his house through the passage way, isigâligârssik aimed and shot at him. and they heard only the sound of his fall. the arrow was very little, and yet for all that it sent him all doubled up through the entrance, so that he fell down in the passage. in this way isigâligârssik won his wife again, and he lived with her afterwards until death. the insects that wooed a wifeless man there was once a wifeless man. yes, that is the way a story always begins. and it was his custom to run down to the girls whenever he saw them out playing. and the young girls always ran away from him into their houses. and when the time of great hunting set in, and the kayak men lived in plenty, it always happened that he shamefully overslept himself every time he had made up his mind to go out hunting. he did not wake until the sun had gone down, and the hunters began to come in with their catch in tow. one day when he awoke as usual about sunset, he got into his kayak all the same, and rowed off. hardly had he passed out of sight of the houses, when he heard a man crying: "my kayak has upset, help me." and he rowed over and righted him again, and then he saw that it was one of the noseless ones, the people from beneath the earth. "now i will give you all my hide thongs with ornaments of walrus tusk," said the man who had upset. "no," said the wifeless man; "such things i am not fit to receive; the only thing i cannot overcome is my miserable sleepiness." "first come in with me to land," said the fire man. and they went in together. when they reached the place, the noseless one said: "this is the man who saved my life when i was near to death." "i happened to save you because my course lay athwart your own," said the wifeless man. "it is the first time for many days that i have been out at all in my kayak." "one beast and one only you may choose when you are on your homeward way. and be careful never to tell what you have seen, or it will go ill with your hunting hereafter." those were the fire man's words. and then the wifeless man rowed home. but when the time for his expected return had come, he was nowhere to be seen, and the young girls began to rejoice at the misfortune which must have befallen him. for they could not bear the sight of that man. but then suddenly he came in sight round the point, and at once all cried: "here comes one who looks like the wifeless man." and then all the young unmarried girls ran into their houses. "and the wifeless man has made a catch," one cried. and hardly had the evening begun to fall when the wifeless man went to rest, and hardly had the light appeared when the wifeless man went out hunting, long before his fellows. hardly had the sun appeared in the sky, when the wifeless man came home with three seals. and his fellow-hunters were then but just preparing to set out. thus the days passed for that wifeless man. early in the morning he would go out, and when the sun had only just begun to climb the sky, he would come home with his catch. then the unmarried girls began talking together. "what has come to our wifeless man," they said, and began to vie with one another in seeking his favour. "let me, let me," they cried all together. and the wifeless man turned towards them, and laughingly chose out the best in the flock. and now they lived together, the wifeless man and the girl, and every day there was freshly caught seal meat to be cut up. at last she grew weary, and cried: "why ever do you catch such a terrible lot?" "h'm," said he. "the seals come of themselves, and i catch them--that is all." but she kept on asking him, and so he said at last: "it was in this way. once...." but having said thus much, he ceased, and went to rest. but it was long before he could sleep. and the sun was just over the houses of the village before he awoke and set out next day. that day he caught but one seal. in the evening, his wife began again asking and asking, and seeing that she would not desist, at last he said: "it was in this way. once ... well, i woke up in the evening, and rowed out, and heard a man crying for help, because his kayak had upset. and i rowed up to him and righted him again, and when i looked at him, it was one of the noseless ones." "'it was a good thing you were not idling about by the houses,' said the noseless one to me. "'i had but just got into my kayak,'" said i. and thus he told all that had happened to him that day, and from that time forward he lost his power of hunting, for now his old sleepiness came over him once more, and he lost all. at last he had not even skins enough to give his wife for her clothes, and so she ran away and left him. he set off in chase, but she escaped through a crevice in the rocks, a narrow place whereby he could just pass. now he lay in wait there, and soon he heard a whispering inside: "you go out to him." and out crawled a blowfly, and said: "take me." "i will not take you," said the wifeless man, "for you pick your food from the muck-heaps." the blowfly laughed and crawled back again, and he could hear it say: "he will not take me, because i pick my food from the muck-heaps." then there was more whispering inside. "now you go out." and out came a fly. "you may have me," it said. "thanks," said the wifeless man, "but i do not care for you at all. you lay your eggs about anyhow, and your eyes are quite abominably big." at this the fly laughed, and went inside with the same message as before. again there was a whispering inside. "take me," said the cranefly. "no, your legs are too long," said the wifeless man. and the cranefly went in again, laughing. then out came a centipede. "take me." "i will not take you," said the wifeless man, "for you have far too many legs. your body clings to the ground with all those legs, and your eyes are simply nasty." and the centipede laughed a cackling laugh and went in again. they whispered together again in there, and out came a gnat. "take me," said the gnat. "no thanks, you bite," said the wifeless man. and the gnat went in again, laughing. and then at last his wife bade him come in to her, since he would have none of the others, and at last he just managed to squeeze his body in through the crack, and then he took her to wife again. "comb my hair," said the wifeless man, now very happy once more. and his wife began, and said words above him thus: "do not wake until the fulmar begins to cry: sleep until we hear a sound of young birds." and he fell asleep. and when at last he awoke, he was all alone. the earth was blue with summer, and the fulmar cried noisily on the bird cliff. and it had been winter when he crawled in through the crack. when he came down to his kayak, the skin was rotted through with age. and then i suppose he reached home as usual, and now sits scratching himself at ease. the very obstinate man there was once an obstinate man--no one in the world could be as obstinate as he. and no one dared come near him, so obstinate was he, and he would always have his own way in everything. once it came about that his wife was in mourning. her little child had died, and therefore she was obliged to remain idle at home; this is the custom of the ignorant, and this we also had to do when we were as ignorant as they. and while she sat thus idle and in mourning, her husband, that obstinate one, came in one day and said: "you must sew the skin of my kayak." "you know that i am not permitted to touch any kind of work," said his wife. "you must sew the skin of my kayak," he said again. "bring it down to the shore and sew it there." and so the woman, for all her mourning, was forced to go down to the shore and sew the skin of her husband's kayak. but when she had been sewing a little, suddenly her thread began to make a little sound, and the little sound grew to a muttering, and louder and louder. and at last a monster came up out of the sea; a monster in the shape of a dog, and said: "why are you sewing, you who are still in mourning?" "my husband will not listen to me, for he is so obstinate," she said. and then the mighty dog sprang ashore and fell upon that husband. but that obstinate one was not abashed; as usual, he thought he would get his own way, and his way now was to kill the dog. and they fought together, and the dog was killed. but now the owner of the dog appeared, and he turned out to be the moon man. and he fell upon that obstinate one, but the obstinate one would as usual not give way, but fell upon him in turn. he caught the moon man by the throat, and had nearly strangled him. he clenched and clenched, and the moon man was nearly strangled to death. "there will be no more ebb-tide or flood if you strangle me," said the moon man. but the obstinate one cared little for that; he only clutched the tighter. "the seal will never breed again if you strangle me," cried the moon man. but the obstinate one did not care at all, though the moon man threatened more and more. "there will never be dawn or daylight again if you kill me," said the moon man at last. and at this the obstinate one began to hesitate; he did not like the thought of living in the dark for ever. and he let the moon man go. then the moon man called his dog to life again, and made ready to leave that place. and he took his team and cast the dogs up into the air one by one, and they never came down again, and at last there was the whole team of sledge dogs hovering in the air. "may i come and visit you in the moon?" asked the obstinate one. for he suddenly felt a great desire to do so. "yes, come if you please," said the moon man. "but when you see a great rock in your way, take great care to drive round behind it. do not pass it on the sunny side, for if you do, your heart will be torn out of you." and then the moon man cracked his whip, and drove off through the naked air. now the obstinate one began making ready for his journey to the moon. it had been his custom to keep his dogs inside the house, and therefore they had a thick layer of ingrown dirt in their coats. now he took them and cast them out into the sea, that they might become clean again. the dogs, little used to going out at all, were nearly frozen to death by that cold water; they ran about, shivering with the cold. then the obstinate one took a dog, and cast it up in the air, but it fell down heavily to earth again. he took another and did so, and then a third, but they all fell down again. they were still too dirty. but the obstinate one would not give in, and now he cast them out into the sea once more. and when he then a second time tried casting them up in the air, they stayed there. and now he made himself a sledge, threw his team up in the air, and drove off. but when he came to the rock he was to drive round, this obstinate one said to himself: "why should i drive round a rock at all? i will go by the sunny side." when he came up alongside, he heard a woman singing drum songs, and whetting her knife; she kept on singing, and he could hear how the steel hummed as she worked. now he tried to overpower that old woman, but lost his senses. and when he came to himself, his heart was gone. "i had better go round after all," he thought to himself. and he went round by the shady side. thus he came up to the moon, and told there how he had lost his heart merely for trying to drive round a rock by the sunny side. then the moon man bade him lie down at full length on his back, with a black sealskin under, which he spread on the floor. this the obstinate one did, and then the moon man fetched his heart from the woman and stuffed it in again. and while he was there, the moon man took up one of the stones from the floor, and let him look down on to the earth. and there he saw his wife sitting on the bench, plaiting sinews for thread, and this although she was in mourning. a thick smoke rose from her body; the smoke of her evil thoughts. and her thoughts were evil because she was working before her mourning time was passed. and her husband grew angry at this, forgetting that he had himself but newly bidden her work despite her mourning. and after he had been there some time, the moon man opened a stone in the entrance to the passage way, and let him look down. the place was full of walrus, there were so many that they had to lie one on top of another. "it is a joy to catch such beasts," said the moon man, and the obstinate one felt a great desire to harpoon one of them. "but you must not, you cannot," said the moon man, and promised him a share of the catch he had just made himself. but the obstinate one would not be content with this; he took harpoons from the moon man's store, and harpooned a walrus. then he held it on the line--he was a man of very great strength, that obstinate one--and managed to kill it. and in the same way he also dealt with another. after his return from the moon man's place, he left off being obstinate, and never again forced his wife to work while she was in mourning. the dwarfs a man who was out in his kayak saw another kayak far off, and rowed up to it. when he came up with it, he saw that the man in it was a very little man, a dwarf. "what do you want," asked the dwarf, who was very much afraid of the man. "i saw you from afar and rowed up," said the man. but the dwarf was plainly troubled and afraid. "i was hunting a little fjord seal which i cannot hit," he said. "let me try," said the other. and so they waited until it came up to breathe. hardly had it come up, when the harpoons went flying towards it, and entered in between its shoulder-blades. "ai, ai--what a throw!" cried the dwarf in astonishment. and the man took the seal and made a tow-line fast. then the two kayaks set off together in towards land. "hum--hum. wouldn't care to ... come and visit us?" [ ] said the dwarf suddenly. but this the man would gladly do. "hum--hum. i've a wife ... and a daughter ... very beautiful daughter ... hum--hum. many men wanted her ... wouldn't have them ... can't take her by force ... very strong. thought of taking her to wife myself ... hum--hum. but she is too strong for me ... own daughter." they rowed on a while, and then the little one spoke again. "hum--hum. might perhaps do for you ... you could manage her ... what?" "let us first see her," said the man. and now they rowed into a great deep fjord. when they came to the place, they landed and went up at once to the house of the little old man. and those in the house did all they could that the stranger might be well pleased. when they had been sitting there a while, the old man said: "hum--hum ... our guest has made a catch ... he comes to us bringing game." now it was easy to see that they would gladly have tasted the flesh of that little seal. and so the guest said: "if you care to cook that meat, then set to work and cut it up as soon as you please. cut it up and give to those who wish to eat of it." the little old man was delighted at this, and sent out his two women-folk to cut up that seal. but they stayed away a long while, and no one came in with any meat. so the little old man went out to look for them. and there stood the two women, hauling at the little fjord seal, which they could not manage to drag up from the shore. they could not even manage it with the old man's help. they hauled away, all three of them, bending their bodies to the ground in their efforts, but the seal would not move. then at last the stranger came out, and he took that seal by the flipper with one hand, and carried it up that way. "what strength, what strength! the man is a giant indeed," cried the little folk. and they fell to work cutting up the seal, but to them it seemed as if they were cutting up a huge walrus, so hard did they find it to cut up that little seal. and people came hurrying down from the houses up above, and all wished to share. the women of the house then shared out that seal. each of the guests was given a little breastbone and no more, but this to them was a very great piece of meat. when they held such a piece in their hands, it reached to the ground, and their hands and clothes were covered with fat. inside on the bench sat an old hag who now began trying to make herself agreeable to the guest. she squeezed up close to him and kept on talking to him, and looking at him kindly. she was old and ugly, and the man would have nothing to do with her. suddenly he gave a loud whistle. "ugh--ugh!" cried the old hag in a fright, and fell down from the bench. then she stumbled down into the passage way, and disappeared. and now after they had feasted on the seal meat, those from the houses up above cried out: "let the guest now come up here; we have foxes' liver to eat!" and as he did not come at once, they cried again. and then he went up. the house was full of people, all busy eating foxes' liver. "it is very hard to cut," said the dwarfs. "it is dried." and the dwarfs worked away as hard as they could, but could not cut it through. but the guest took and munched and crunched as if it had been fresh meat. "ai, ai--see how he can eat," cried some. but all those in the house were very kind to him, and would gladly have seen him married into their family. and the young women had dressed their hair daintily with mussel shells, that the guest might think them the finer. but he cared for none of them, for the little old man's daughter was the most beautiful. and therefore he went down to that house again when it was time to go to rest. and he said he would have her to wife. and so they lived happily together, and soon they had a child. and now the man began to long for his own place and kin. he thought more and more of his old mother, who was still alive when he started off. and so one day he said he was going to visit his home. "we will all go with you," said the little old man; "we will visit your kinsfolk." and so they made ready for the journey, and set out. now when they came to the place of real people, all these were greatly astonished to find their old comrade still alive. for they had thought him dead long since. and the dwarf people lived happily enough among the real men, and after a little time they forgot to be troubled and afraid. but one day when the little dwarf grandmother was sitting at the opening of the passage way with the little child, she dropped the child in the passage. "hlurp--hlurp--hlurp," was all she heard. a great dog, his face black on one side and white on the other, lay there in the passage, and it ate up the child on the spot. "ai--ai," she cried. "nothing is left but a little smear on the ground." and now the dwarf folk were filled with horror, and the little old man was for setting off at once. so they gathered their belongings together and set out. and whenever they came to a village, they went up on shore, and the old man always went up with his tent-skins on his back. "are there any dogs here? is there a great beast with a black-and-white face?" was always the first thing he asked. "yes, indeed." and before they could turn round, the old man was back in his boat again, so great was his fear of dogs. and at last the skin was worn quite away from his forehead with carrying of tent-skins up on to the shore in vain. [ ] one day they were lying-to, when a wind began to blow from the north. "are there dogs here?" asked the old man, and groaned, for his forehead was flayed and smarting, so often had he borne those tent-skins up and down. but before any could answer, he heard the barking of the dogs themselves. and in a moment he was back in his boat again. the wind had grown stronger. the seas were frothing white, and the foam was scattered about. then the old dwarf stood up in his boat and cried: "the sky is clearing to the east with crested clouds." now this was a magic song, and as soon as he had sung it, the sea was calm and bright once more. then the old man went on again. so great was the power of his magic words that he could calm the sea. but for all that he had no peace, by reason of the dogs. and he went on his way again, but whither he came at last i do not know. the boy from the bottom of the sea, who frightened the people of the house to death well, you see, it was the usual thing: "the obstinate one" had taken a wife, and of course he beat her, and when he wanted to make it an extra special beating, he took a box, and banged her about with that. one day, when he had been beating her as usual, she ran away. and she was just about to have a child at that time. she walked straight out into the sea, and was nearly drowned, but suddenly she came to herself again, and found that she was at the bottom of the sea. and there she built herself a house. while she was down there, the child was born. and when she went to look at it, she nearly died of fright, it was so ugly. its eyes were jellyfish, its hair of seaweed, and the mouth was like a mussel. and now these two lived down there together. the child grew up, and when it was a little grown up, it could hear the children playing on the earth up above, and it said: "i should like to go up and see." "when you have grown stronger, then you may go," said his mother. and then the boy began practising feats of strength, with stones. and at last he was able to pick up stones as big as a chest, and carry them into the house. one evening, when it was dark, they heard again a calling from above. the children, not content with simply shouting at their play, began crying out: "iyoi-iyoi-iyoi," with all their might. "now i will go with you," said the mother. "but you must not go into the houses nearest the shore, for there i often fled in when your father would have beaten me; i have suffered much evil up there. and when you thrust in your head, be sure to look as angry as you can." there were two houses on the shore, one a little way above the other. as they went up, the mother suddenly saw that her son was going into the one nearest the shore. and she cried: "ha-a; ha-a! when your father beat me, i always ran in there. go to the one up above." and now the boy made his face fierce, and thrust in his head at the doorway, and all those inside fell down dead with fright. he would have beaten his father, but his father had died long since. then he went down again to the bottom of the sea. when the day dawned, the people from the house nearest the shore came out and said: "ai! what footsteps are these, all full of seaweed?" and seeing that the tracks led up to the house a little way above, they followed there, and found that all inside had died of fright. the raven and the goose do you know why the raven is so black, so dull and black in colour? it is all because of its own obstinacy. now listen. it happened in the days when all the birds were getting their colours and the pattern in their coats. and the raven and the goose happened to meet, and they agreed to paint each other. the raven began, and painted the other black, with a nice white pattern showing between. the goose thought that very fine indeed, and began to do the same by the raven, painting it a coat exactly like its own. but then the raven fell into a rage, and declared the pattern was frightfully ugly, and the goose, offended at all the fuss, simply splashed it black all over. and now you know why the raven is black. when the ravens could speak once, long ago, there was a time when the ravens could talk. but the strange thing about the ravens' speech was that their words had the opposite meaning. when they wanted to thank any one, they used words of abuse, and thus always said the reverse of what they meant. but as they were thus so full of lies, there came one day an old man, and by magic means took away their power of speech. and since that time the ravens can do no more than shriek. but the ravens' nature has not changed, and to this day they are an ill-tempered, lying, thieving lot. makÍte makíte, men say, took to wife the sister of many brothers, but he himself could never manage to catch a seal when he was out in his kayak. but his wife's brothers caught seal in great numbers. and so it was that one day he heard his wife say she would leave him, because he never caught anything. and in his grief at hearing this, he said to himself: "this evening, when they are all asleep, i will go up into the hills and live there all alone." when darkness had fallen, he set off up into the hills, but as he went, his wife's father, who was standing outside, saw him going, and cried in to the others in the house: "makíte has gone up into the hills to live there all alone. go after him." the many brothers went out after him, but when they had nearly come up with him, he made his steps longer, and thus got farther and farther away from them, and at last they ceased to pursue him any more. on his way he came to a house, and this was just as it was beginning to get light. he looked in, and saw that the hangings on the walls were of nothing but reindeer and foxes' skins. and now he said to himself: "hum--i may as well go in." but as he went in, the hinge of the door creaked, and then a strange, deep sound was heard inside the house, and it began to shake. at the same moment, the master of the house came in and said: "have you had nothing to eat yet?" makíte said: "i will eat nothing until i know what are those things which look like candles, there in front of the window." then the lone-dweller said: "that is no concern of one who is not himself a lone-dweller. therefore he cannot tell you." but then makíte said: "if you do not tell me, i will kill you." and then at last he told. "it may be you have seen to-day the great hills away in the blue to the south; if you go up to the top of the nearer hill, you will find nothing there, but he who climbs that one which lies farther away, and reaches the top, he will find such things there. but this cannot be done by one who is not a lone-dweller." and not until he had said all this did makíte eat. then they both went to rest. and just as he was near falling asleep, the lone-dweller began to quiver slightly, but he pretended to sleep. and before makíte could see what he was about, the lone-dweller had strung his bow, and makíte, therefore, seeing he was preparing to kill him, pretended to wake up, and then the other laid aside his bow so quickly that it seemed as if he had not held anything at all. at last, when it was nearly dawn, the lone-dweller fell asleep, and then makíte tried very cautiously to get out, but as he was about to pass through the doorway, he again happened to draw the door to after him, and again it creaked as before with a strange sound. when he looked in through the window, the lone-dweller was about to get up. now makíte had laid his great spear a little way above the house, and he ran to the place. when he looked round, he saw that the man from the house was already in chase. then he came to a big rock, and as there was no help for it, he commenced to run round. when he had run round it for the third time, he grasped his harpoon firmly, and without turning round, thrust it out behind him, and struck something soft. he had struck the other in the side. having now killed this one, and as there was no help for it, he wandered on at hazard, and came to a great plain. and in the middle of the plain was something which looked like a house. and he went up to it and found it was the house of a dwarf, and no end of people coming out of it. one went in and another came out, and so they kept on. he tried to get into the passage, but could not even get his foot in. then he heard someone inside saying: "heave up the passage way a little with your back, and then come in." when he came in, it was a big place, and the old creature spoke to him, and said: "when you go out, look towards the west; the inland-dwellers are coming." and when makíte went out, he looked towards the west, and there he saw a great black thing approaching, and when he then came in again, the old man went to the window and called out: "here they are; they are close up now." and then the dwarfs went out to fight, and took up their posts on the plain, one party opposite the other, and none said a word. but suddenly the dog that was with the inland folk gave a great bark, and there came a mighty wave of water, rolling right up to the dwarfs. but when it had come quite close to them, it suddenly grew quite small. and then the dwarfs' dog gave a bark. and at the same time the dwarfs' wave arose, and washed right up over the inland folk, and drowned them, and only few of them escaped alive. when they came home again, makíte built himself a house, and from the high hill fetched some of those things which looked like candles, and hung them up in his house. and he lived there in his house until he died. and here ends this story. asalÔq asalôq, men say, had a foster-brother. once when he had come home after having been out in his kayak, his foster-brother had disappeared. he sought for him everywhere, but being unable to find him, he built a big umiak, and when it was built, he covered it with three layers of skins. then he rowed off southwards with his wife. and while they were rowing, they saw a black ripple on the sea ahead. when they came to the place, they saw that it was the sea-lice. and the outermost layer of skins on the boat was eaten away before they got through them. now they rowed onwards again, and saw once more a black ripple ahead. when they came to the place, they saw that it was the sea-serpents. and once again they slipped through with the loss of one layer of skins. having now but one layer of skins left, they went in great fear of what they might chance to meet next. but without seeing anything strange, they rounded a point, and came in sight of a place with many houses. hardly had they come into land when the strangers caught hold of their boat, and hauled it up, so that asalôq had no need to help. and now it was learned that these were folk who had a strong man in their midst. asalôq had been but a short time in one of the houses, when they heard the sound of one coming from outside and in through the passage way; it was the strong man's talebearer boy, and to make matters worse, a boy with a squint. and now the people of the house said: "now that wretched boy will most certainly tell him you are here." and indeed, the boy was just about to run out again, when they caught hold of him and set him up behind the lamp. but hardly had they turned their backs on him for a moment, when he slipped out before any could move, and they heard the sound of his running footsteps in the snow without. and after a while, the window grew red with a constant filling of faces looking in to say: "we are sent to bid the stranger come." and since there was no help for it, asalôq went up there with them. when he came into the house, it was full of people, and he looked round and saw the strong man far in on the big bench. and at the moment asalôq caught sight of him, the strong man said in a deep voice: "let us have a wrestling match." and as he spoke, the others drew out a skin from under the bench, and spread it on the floor. and after the skin had been spread out, food was brought in. and asalôq ate till there was no more left. but as he rose, all that he had eaten fell out of his stomach. and then they began pulling arms. and now asalôq began mightily pulling the arms of all the men there, until the skin was worn from his arm, leaving the flesh almost bare. and when he had straightened out all their arms, he went out of that house the strongest of all, and went out to his umiak and rowed away southwards with his wife. and when they had rowed a little way, they came to a little island, and pitched their tent on the sunny side. and when asalôq then went up on the hillside to look out, he saw many umiaks coming from the northward, and they camped on the shady side. then he heard them say: "now search carefully about." and others said: "he can hardly be on such a little island." and now asalôq sang magic songs over them from the top of the hill, and at last he heard them say: "we may as well go home again." now asalôq stood and watched them row away, and not until they were out of sight did he set off again to the southward. at last they reached aluk, and there their bones still rest. here ends this story. ukaleq ukaleq, men say, was a strong man. whenever he heard news of game, even if it were a great bear, he had only to go out after it, and he never failed to kill it. once the winter came, and the ice grew firm, and then men began to go out hunting bears on the ice. one day there was a big bear. ukaleq set off in chase, but he soon found that it was not to be easily brought down. the bear sighted ukaleq, and turned to pursue him. ukaleq fled, but grew tired at length. now and again he managed to wound the beast, but was killed himself at last, and at the same time the bear fell down dead. now when his comrades came to look at the bear, its teeth began to whisper, and then they knew that ukaleq had been killed by a magic bear. [ ] and as there was no help for it, they took the dead man home with them. and then his mother said: "lay him in the middle of the floor with a skin beneath him." she had kept the dress he had worn as a little child, and now that he was dead, she put it in her carrying bag, and went out with it to the cooking place in the passage. and when she got there, she said: "for five days i will neither eat nor drink." then she began hushing the dress in the bag as if it were a child, and kept on hushing it until at last it began to move in the bag, and just as it had commenced to move, there came some out from the house and said: "ukaleq is beginning to quiver." but she kept on hushing and hushing, and at last that which she had in the bag began trying to crawl out. but then there came one from the house and said: "ukaleq has begun to breathe; he is sitting up." hardly was this said when that which was in the bag sprang out, making the whole house shake. then they made up a bed for ukaleq on the side bench, and placed skins under him and made him sit up. and after five days had passed, and that without eating or drinking, he came to himself again, and commenced to go out hunting once more. then the winter came, and the winter was there, and the ice was over the sea, and when the ice had formed, they began to make spirit callings. the villages were close together, and all went visiting in other villages. and at last ukaleq set out with his family to a village near by, where there was to be a big spirit calling. the house where it was to be held was so big that there were three windows in it, and yet it was crowded with folk. in the middle of the spirit calling, there was an old woman who was sitting cross-legged up on the bench, and she turned round towards the others and said: "we heard last autumn that ukaleq had been killed by a magic bear." hardly had she said those words when an old wifeless man turned towards her and said: "was it by any chance your magic bear that killed him?" then the old woman turned towards the others and said: "mine? now where could i have kept such a thing?" but after saying that she did not move. she even forgot to breathe, for shame at having been discovered by the wifeless man, and so she died on the spot. after that ukaleq went home, and never went out hunting bears again. here ends this story. ÍkardlÍtuarssuk Íkardlítuarssuk, men say, had a little brother; they lived at a place where there were many other houses. one autumn the sea was frozen right out from the coast, without a speck of open water for a long way out. after this, there was great dearth and famine; at last their fellow-villagers began to offer a new kayak paddle as a reward for the one who should magic it away, but there was no wizard among the people of that village. then it came about that Íkardlítuarssuk's little brother began to speak to him thus: "Íkardlítuarssuk, how very nice it would be to win that new paddle!" and then it was revealed that Íkardlítuarssuk had formerly sat on the knee of one of those present when the wizards called up their helping spirits. then it came about that Íkardlítuarssuk one evening began to call upon his helping spirits. he called them up, and having called them up, went out, and having gone out, went down to the water's edge, crept in through a crack between the land and the ice, and started off, walking along the bottom of the sea. he walked along, and when he came to seaweed, it seemed as if there lay dogs in among the weed. but these were sharks. then on his way he saw a little house, and went towards it. when he came up to the entrance, it was narrow as the edge of a woman's knife. but he got in all the same, following that way which was narrow as the edge of a woman's knife. and when he came in, there sat the mother of tôrnârssuk, the spirit who lived down there; she was sitting by her lamp and weeping. and picking behind her ears, she threw down many strange things. inside her lamp were many birds that dived down, and inside the house were many seals that bobbed up. and now he began tickling the weeping woman as hard as he could, to encourage her; and at last she was encouraged, and after this, she freed a number of the birds, and then made a sign to many of the seals to swim out of the house. and when they swam out, there was one of the fjord seals which she liked so much that she plucked a few of the hairs from its back, that she might have it to make breeches of when it was caught. and when all this had been done, she went home, and went to rest without saying a word. when they awoke next morning, the sea was quite dark ahead, and all the ice had gone. but when the villagers came out, she said to them: "do not kill more than one; if any of you should kill two, he will never kill again." and furthermore she said: "if any of you should catch a young fjord seal with a bare patch on its back, you must give it to me to make breeches." when they came back, each of the hunters had made a catch; only one of them had caught two. and the man who had caught two seals that day never after caught any seal at all when he rowed out, but all the others always made a catch when they rowed out, and some of them even caught several at a time. thus it came about that Íkardlítuarssuk with the little brother won the new paddle as a reward. the raven who wanted a wife a little sparrow was mourning for her husband who was lost. she was very fond of him, for he caught worms for her. as she sat there weeping, a raven came up to her and asked: "why are you weeping?" "i am weeping for my husband, who is lost; i was fond of him, because he caught worms for me," said the sparrow. "it is not fitting for one to weep who can hop over high blades of grass," said the raven. "take me for a husband; i have a fine high forehead, broad temples, a long beard and a big beak; you shall sleep under my wings, and i will give you lovely offal to eat." "i will not take you for a husband, for you have a high forehead, broad temples, a long beard and a big beak, and will give me offal to eat." so the raven flew away--flew off to seek a wife among the wild geese. and he was so lovesick that he could not sleep. when he came to the wild geese, they were about to fly away to other lands. said the raven to two of the geese: "seeing that a miserable sparrow has refused me, i will have you." "we are just getting ready to fly away," said the geese. "i will go too," said the raven. "but consider this: that none can go with us who cannot swim or rest upon the surface of the water. for there are no icebergs along the way we go." "it is nothing; i will sail through the air," said the raven. and the wild geese flew away, and the raven with them. but very soon he felt himself sinking from weariness and lack of sleep. "something to rest on!" cried the raven, gasping. "sit you down side by side." and his two wives sat down together on the water, while their comrades flew on. the raven sat down on them and fell asleep. but when his wives saw the other geese flying farther and farther away, they dropped that raven into the sea and flew off after them. "something to rest on!" gasped the raven, as it fell into the water. and at last it went to the bottom and was drowned. and after a while, it broke up into little pieces, and its soul was turned into little "sea ravens." [ ] the man who took a vixen to wife there was once a man who wished to have a wife unlike all other wives, and so he caught a little fox, a vixen, and took it home to his tent. one day when he had been out hunting, he was surprised to find on his return that his little fox-wife had become a real woman. she had a lovely top-knot, made of that which had been her tail. and she had taken off the furry skin. and when he saw her thus, he thought her very beautiful indeed. now she began to talk about journeyings, and how greatly she desired to see other people. and so they went off, and came to a place and settled down there. one of the men there had taken a little hare to wife. and now these two men thought it would be a pleasant thing to change wives. and so they did. but the man who had borrowed the little vixen wife began to feel scorn of her after he had lived with her a little while. she had a foxy smell, and did not taste nice. but when the little vixen noticed this she was very angry, for it was her great desire to be well thought of by the men. so she knocked out the lamp with her tail, dashed out of the house, and fled away far up into the hills. up in the hills she met a worm, and stayed with him. but her husband, who was very fond of her, went out in search of her. and at last, after a long time, he found her living with the worm, who had taken human form. but now it was revealed that this worm was the man's old enemy. for he had once, long before, burned a worm, and it was the soul of that worm which had now taken human form. he could even see the marks of burning in its face. now the worm challenged the man to pull arms, and they wrestled. but the man found the worm very easy to master, and soon he won. after that he went out, no longer caring for his wife at all. and he wandered far, and came to the shore-dwellers. they had their houses on the shore, just by high-water mark. their houses were quite small, and the people themselves were dwarfs, who called the eider duck walrus. but they looked just like men, and were not in the least dangerous. we never see such folk nowadays, but our forefathers have told us about them, for they knew them. and now when the man saw their house, which was roofed with stones, he went inside. but first he had to make himself quite small, though this of course was an easy matter for him, great wizard as he was. as soon as he came in, they brought out meat to set before him. there was the whole fore-flipper of a mighty walrus. that is to say, it was really nothing more than the wing of an eider duck. and they fell to upon this and ate. but they did not eat it all up. after he had stayed with these people some time he went back to his house. and i have no more to tell of him. the great bear a woman ran away from her home because her child had died. on her way she came to a house. in the passage way there lay skins of bears. and she went in. and now it was revealed that the people who lived in there were bears in human form. yet for all that she stayed with them. one big bear used to go out hunting to find food for them. it would put on its skin, and go out, and stay away for a long time, and always return with some catch or other. but one day the woman who had run away began to feel homesick, and greatly desired to see her kin. and then the bear spoke to her thus: "do not speak of us when you return to men," it said. for it was afraid lest its two cubs should be killed by the men. then the woman went home, and there she felt a great desire to tell what she had seen. and one day, as she sat with her husband in the house, she said to him: "i have seen bears." and now many sledges drove out, and when the bear saw them coming towards its house, it felt so sorry for its cubs that it bit them to death, that they might not fall into the hands of men. but then it dashed out to find the woman who had betrayed it, and broke into her house and bit her to death. but when it came out, the dogs closed round it and fell upon it. the bear struck out at them, but suddenly all of them became wonderfully bright, and rose up to the sky in the form of stars. and it is these which we call qilugtûssat, the stars which look like barking dogs about a bear. since then, men have learned to beware of bears, for they hear what men say. the man who became a star there was once an old man who stood out on the ice waiting for the seal to come up to their breathing holes to breathe. but on the shore, just opposite where he was, a crowd of children were playing in a ravine, and time after time they frightened away a seal just as he was about to harpoon it. at last the old man grew angry with them for thus spoiling his catch, and cried out: "close up, ravine, over those who are spoiling my hunting." and at once the hillside closed over those children at play. one of them, who was carrying a little brother, had her fur coat torn. then they all fell to screaming inside the hill, for they could not come out. and none could bring them food, only water that they were able to pour down a crack, and this they licked up from the sides. at last they all died of hunger. and now the neighbours fell upon that old man who had shut up the children by magic in the hill. he took to flight, and the others ran after him. but all at once he became bright, and rose up to heaven as a great star. we can see it now, in the west, when the lights begin to return after the great darkness. but it is low down, and never climbs high in the sky. and we call it nâlaussartoq: he who stands and listens. [ ] the woman with the iron tail there was once a woman who had an iron tail. and more than this, she was also an eater of men. when a stranger came to visit her, she would wait until her guest had fallen asleep, and then she would jump up in the air, and fall down upon the sleeping one, who was thus pierced through by her tail. once there came a man to her house. and he lay down to sleep. and when she thought he had fallen asleep, she jumped up, and coming over the place where he lay, dropped down upon him. but the man was not asleep at all, and he moved aside so that she fell down on a stone and broke her tail. the man fled out to his kayak. and she ran after. when she reached him, she cried: "oh, if i could only thrust my knife into him." and as she cried, the man nearly upset--for even her words had power. "oh, if only i could send my harpoon through her," cried the man in return. and so great was the power of his words that she fell down on the spot. and then the man rowed away, and the woman never killed anyone after that, for her tail was broken. how the fog came there was a mountain spirit, which stole corpses from their graves and ate them when it came home. and a man, wishing to see who did this thing, let himself be buried alive. the spirit came, and saw the new grave, and dug up the body, and carried it off. the man had stuck a flat stone in under his coat, in case the spirit should try to stab him. on the way, he caught hold of all the willow twigs whenever they passed any bushes, and made himself as heavy as he could, so that the spirit was forced to put forth all its strength. at last the spirit reached its house, and flung down the body on the floor. and then, being weary, it lay down to sleep, while its wife went out to gather wood for the cooking. "father, father, he is opening his eyes," cried the children, when the dead man suddenly looked up. "nonsense, children, it is a dead body, which i have dropped many times among the twigs on the way," said the father. but the man rose up, and killed the mountain spirit and its children, and fled away as fast as he could. the mountain spirit's wife saw him, and mistook him for her husband. "where are you going?" she cried. the man did not answer, but fled on. and the woman, thinking something must be wrong, ran after him. and as he was running over level ground, he cried: "rise up, hills!" and at once many hills rose up. then the mountain spirit's wife lagged behind, having to climb up so many hills. the man saw a little stream, and sprang across. "flow over your banks!" he cried to the stream. and now it was impossible for her to get across. "how did you get across?" cried the woman. "i drank up the water. do you likewise." and the woman began gulping it down. then the man turned round towards her, and said: "look at the tail of your tunic; it is hanging down between your legs." and when she bent down to look, her belly burst. and as she burst, a steam rose up out of her, and turned to fog, which still floats about to this day among the hills. the man who avenged the widows this was in the old days, in those times when men were yet skilful rowers in kayaks. you know that there once came a great sickness which carried off all the older men, and the young men who were left alive did not know how to build kayaks, and thus it came about that the manner of hunting in kayaks was long forgotten. but our forefathers were so skilful, that they would cross seas which we no longer dare to venture over. the weather also was in those times less violent than now; the winds came less suddenly, and it is said that the sea was never so rough. in those times, there lived a man at kangârssuk whose name was angusinãnguaq, and he had a very beautiful wife, wherefore all men envied him. and one day, when they were setting out to hunt eider duck on the islands, the other men took counsel, and agreed to leave angusinãnguaq behind on a little lonely island there. and so they sailed out to those islands, which lie far out at sea, and there they caught eider duck in snares, and gathered eggs, and were soon ready to turn homeward again. then they pushed out from the land, without waiting for angusinãnguaq, who was up looking to his snares, and they took his kayak in tow, that he might never more be able to leave that island. and now they hastened over towards the mainland. and the way was long. but when they came in sight of the tents, they saw a man going from one tent to another, visiting the women whom they left behind at that place. they rowed faster, and came nearer. all the men of that place had gone out together for that hunting, and they could not guess who it might be that was now visiting among the tents. then an old man who was steering the boat shaded his eyes with his hand and looked over towards land. "the man is angusinãnguaq," he said. and now it was revealed that angusinãnguaq was a great wizard. when the umiaks had left, and he could not find his kayak, he had wound his body about with strips of hide, bending it into a curve, and then, as is the way of wizards, gathered magic power wherewith to move through the air. and thus he had come back to that place, long before those who had sought his death. and from that day onwards, none ever planned again to take his wife. and it was well for them that they left him in peace. for at that time, people were many, and there were people in all the lands round about. out on the islands also there were people, and these were a fierce folk whom none might come near. moreover when a kayak from the mainland came near their village, they would call down a fog upon him, so that he could not see, and in this manner cause him to perish. but now one day angusinãnguaq planned to avenge his fellow-villagers. he rowed out to those unapproachable ones, and took them by surprise, being a great wizard, and killed many of the men, and cut off their heads and piled them up on the side bench. and having completed his revenge, he rowed away. there was great joy among the widows of all those dead hunters when they learned that angusinãnguaq had avenged their husbands. and they went into his hut one by one and thanked him. the man who went out to search for his son once in the days of our forefathers, a man went out along the coasts, making search for his son. for that son had gone out in his kayak and had not returned. one day he saw a giant beside a great glacier, and rowed up to him then. when he had entered the house, the giant drew forth a drum, a beautiful drum with a skin that had been taken from the belly of a man. now the giant was about to give him this drum, but at the same time he felt such a violent desire to eat him up, that he trembled all over. just then some great salmon began dropping down through a hole in the roof, and the man was so frightened at this that he could scarcely eat. and he could not get out of the place. but he was himself a great wizard, and now he began calling upon his helping spirits. and they were great. "killer whales, killer whales--come forth, my helping spirits and show yourselves, for here is one who desires to eat me up." and they came forth, and the house was crushed and the giant was killed, and the man set out again in search of his own. then he met another big man, and this man did nothing but eat men, and their kayaks he threw down into a great ravine. the man rowed up to this giant. and when he reached him, the man-eater said: "come here and look," and led him to the deep ravine. and when the man looked down, the giant tried to thrust him backwards down into the depth. but the man caught hold of the giant's legs and cast him down instead. and then he went on again. and as he was rowing on, he heard the bone of a seal calling to him: "take away the moss which has stopped up the hole that goes through me." and he did so, and went on again. another time he heard a mussel at the bottom of the sea crying: "here is a mussel that wishes to see you; come down to the bottom; row your kayak straight down through the water--this way!" that mussel wanted to eat him. but he did not heed it. then at last one day he saw an old woman, and rowed towards her, and came up to her. and she said: "let me dry your boots." and she took them and hung them up so high that he could not reach them. the man would have slept, but he could not sleep for fear. "give me my boots," he said. for it was now revealed that she was a man-eater. and so he got hold of his boots and fled down to his kayak, and the woman ran after him. "if only i could catch him, and cut him up," she said. and as she spoke, the kayak nearly upset. "if only i could send a bird dart through her," said the man. and as he spoke, the woman fell down on her back and broke her knife. and then he rowed on his way. and on his way he met a man, and rowed up to him. "see what a skin i have stretched out here," said the stranger. and he knew at once it was his son's kayak. the stranger had eaten his son, and there was his skin stretched out. the man therefore went up on land and trampled that man-eater to death, so that all his bones were crushed. and then he went home again. atungait, who went a-wandering atungait, that great man, had once, it is said, a fancy to go out on a sledge trip with a strong woman. he took a ribbon seal and had it flayed, and forbade his wife to scrape the meat side clean, so that the skin might be as thick as possible. and so he had it dried. when the winter had come, he went out to visit a tribe well known for their eagerness in playing football. he stayed among them for some time, and watched the games, carefully marking who was strongest among the players. and he saw that there was one among them a woman small of stature, who yet always contrived to snatch the ball from the others. therefore he gave her the great thick skin he had brought with him, and told her to knead it soft. and this she did, though no other woman could have done it. then he took her on his sledge and drove off on a wandering through the lands around. on their way they came to a high and steep rock, rising up from the open water. atungait sprang up on to that rock, and began running up it. so strong was he that at every step he bored his feet far down into the rock. when he reached the top, he called to his dogs, and one by one they followed by the way of his footsteps, and reached the top, all of them save one, and that one died. and after that he hoisted up his sledge first, and then his wife after, and so they drove on their way. after they had driven for some time, they came to a place of people. and the strange thing about these people was that they were all left-handed. and then they drove on again and came to some man-eaters; these ate one another, having no other food. but they did not succeed in doing him any harm. and they drove on again and came to other people; these had all one leg shorter than the other, and had been so from birth. they lay on the ground all day playing ajangat. [ ] and they had a fine ajangat made of copper. atungait stayed there some time, and when the time came for him to set out once more, he stole their plaything and took it away with him, having first destroyed all their sledges. but the lame ones, being unable to pursue, dealt magically with some rocky ridges, which then rushed over the ice towards the travellers. atungait heard something like the rushing of a river, and turning round, perceived those rocks rolling towards him. "have you a piece of sole-leather?" he asked his wife. and she had such a piece. she tied it to a string and let it drag behind the sledge. when the stones reached it, they stopped suddenly, and sank down through the ice. and the two drove on, hearing the cries of the lame ones behind them: "bring back our plaything, and give us our copper thing again." but now atungait began to long for his home, and not knowing in what part of the land they were, he told the woman with him to wait, while he himself flew off through the air. for he was a great wizard. he soon found his house, and looked in through the window. and there sat his wife, rubbing noses with a strange man. "huh! you are not afraid of wearing away your nose, it seems." so he cried. on hearing this, the wife rushed out of the house, and there she met her husband. "you have grown clever at kissing," he said. "no, i have not kissed any one," she cried. then atungait grasped her roughly and killed her, because she had lied. the strange man also came out now, and atungait went towards him at once. "you were kissing inside there, i see," he said. "yes," said the stranger. and atungait let him live, because he spoke the truth. and after that he flew back to the strong woman and made her his wife. kumagdlak and the living arrows kumagdlak, men say, lived apart from his fellows. he had a wife, and she was the only living being in the place beside himself. one day his wife was out looking for stones to build a fireplace, and looking out over the sea, she saw many enemies approaching. "an umiak and kayaks," she cried to her husband. and he was ill at ease on hearing this, for he lay in the house with a bad leg. "my arrows--bring my arrows!" he cried. and his wife saw that all his arrows lay there trembling. and that was because their points were made of the shinbones of men. and they trembled because their master was ill at ease. kumagdlak had made himself arrows, and feathered them with birds' feathers. he was a great wizard, and by breathing with his own breath upon those arrows he could give them life, and cause them to fly towards his enemies and kill them. and when he himself stood unprotected before the weapons of his enemies, he would grasp the thong of the pouch in which his mother had carried him as a child, and strike out with it, and then all arrows aimed at him would fly wide of their mark. now all the enemies hauled up on shore, and the eldest among them cried out: "kumagdlak! it is time for you to go out and taste the water in the land of the dead under the earth--or perhaps you will go up into the sky?" "that fate is more likely to be yours," answered kumagdlak. and standing at the entrance to his tent, he aimed at them with his bow. if but the first arrow could be sent whirling over the boats, then he knew that none of them would be able to harm him. he shot his arrow, and it flew over the boats. then he aimed at the old man who had spoken, and that arrow cut through the string of the old man's bow, and pierced the old man himself. then he began shooting down the others, his wife handing him the arrows as he shot. the men from the boats shot at him, but all their arrows flew wide. and his enemies grew fewer and fewer, and at last they fled. and now kumagdlak took all the bodies down by the shore and plundered them, taking their knives, and when the boats had got well out to sea, he called up a great storm, so that all the others perished. but the waves washed the bodies this way and that along the coast, until the clothes were worn off them. here ends this story. the giant dog there was once a man who had a giant dog. it could swim in the sea, and was so big that it could haul whale and narwhal to shore. the narwhal it would hook on to its side teeth, and swim with them hanging there. the man who owned it had cut holes in its jaws, and let in thongs through those holes, so that he could make it turn to either side by pulling at the thongs. and when he and his wife desired to go journeying to any place, they had only to mount on its back. the man had long wished to have a son, but as none was born to him, he gave his great dog the amulet which his son should have had. this amulet was a knot of hard wood, and the dog was thus made hard to resist the coming of death. once the dog ate a man, and then the owner of the dog was forced to leave that place and take land elsewhere. and while he was living in this new place, there came one day a kayak rowing in towards the land, and the man hastened to take up his dog, lest it should eat the stranger. he led it away far up into the hills, and gave it a great bone, that it might have something to gnaw at, and thus be kept busy. but one day the dog smelt out the stranger, and came down from the hills, and then the man was forced to hide away the stranger and his kayak in a far place, lest the dog should tear them in pieces, for it was very fierce. now because the dog was so big and fierce, the man had many enemies. and once a stranger came driving in a sledge with three dogs as big as bears, to kill the giant dog. the man went out to meet that sledge, and the dog followed behind him. the dog pretended to be afraid at first, but then, when the stranger's dog set upon it in attack, it turned against them, and crushed the skulls of all three in its teeth. after a time, the man noticed that his giant dog would go off, now and again, for long journeys in the hills, and would sometimes return with the leg of an inland-dweller. and now he understood that the dog had made it a custom to attack the inland-dwellers and bring back their legs to its master. he could see that the legs were legs of inland-dwellers, for they wore hairy boots. and it is from this giant dog that the inland-dwellers got their great fear of all dogs. it would always appear suddenly at the window, and drag them out. but it was a good thing that something happened to frighten the inland-dwellers, for they had themselves an evil custom of carrying off lonely folk, especially women, when they had lost their way in the fog. and that is all i know about the giant dog. the inland-dwellers of etah there came a sledge driving round to the east of etah, up into the land, near the great lake. suddenly the dogs scented something, and dashed off inland over a great plain. then they checked, and sniffed at the ground. and now it was revealed that they were at the entrance to an inland-dweller's house. the inland-dwellers screamed aloud with fear when they saw the dogs, and thrust out an old woman, but hurried in themselves to hide. the old woman died of fright when she saw the dogs. now the man went in, very ill at ease because he had caused the death of the old woman. "it is a sad thing," he said, "that i should have caused you to lose that old one." "it is nothing," answered the inland-dwellers; "her skin was already wrinkled; it does not matter at all." then the sledges drove home again, but the inland-dwellers were so terrified that they fled far up into the country. since then they have never been seen. the remains of their houses were all that could be found, and when men dug to see if anything else might be there, they found nothing but a single narwhal tusk. the inland-dwellers are not really dangerous, they are only shy, and very greatly afraid of dogs. there was a woman of the coast-folk, suagaq, who took a husband from among the inland folk, and when that husband came to visit her brothers, the blood sprang from his eyes at sight of their dogs. and they train themselves to become swift runners, that they may catch foxes. when an inland-dweller is to become a swift runner, they stuff him into the skin of a ribbon seal, which is filled with worms, leaving only his head free. then the worms suck all his blood, and this, they say, makes him very light on his feet. there are still some inland-dwellers left, but they are now gone very far up inland. the man who stabbed his wife in the leg there was once a man whose name was neruvkâq, and his wife was named navaránâ, and she was of the tunerssuit, the inland-dwellers. she had many brothers, and was herself their only sister. and they lived at natsivilik, the place where there is a great stone on which men lay out meat. but neruvkâq was cruel to his wife; he would stab her in the leg with an awl, and when the point reached her shinbone, she would snivel with pain. "do not touch me; i have many brothers," she said to her husband. and as he did not cease from ill-treating her, she ran away to those brothers at last. and they were of the tunerssuit, the inland-dwellers. now all these many brothers moved down to natsivilik, and when they reached the place, they sprang upon the roof of neruvkâq's house and began to trample on it. one of them thrust his foot through the roof, and neruvkâq's brother cut it off at the joint. "he has cut off my leg," they heard him say. and then he hopped about on one leg until all the blood was gone from him and he died. but neruvkâq hastened to put on his tunic, and this was a tunic he had worn as a little child, and it had been made larger from time to time. also it was covered with pieces of walrus tusk, sewn all about. none could kill him as long as he wore that. and now he wanted to get out of the house. he put the sealskin coat on his dog, and thrust it out. those outside thought it was neruvkâq himself, and stabbed the dog to death. neruvkâq came close on the heels of the dog, and jumped up to the great stone that is used to set out meat on. so strongly did he jump that his footmarks are seen on the stone to this day. then he took his arrows all barbed with walrus tusk, and began shooting his enemies down. his mother gave him strength by magic means. soon there were but few of his enemies left, and these fled away. they fled away to the southward, and fled and fled without stopping until they had gone a great way. but navaránâ, who was now afraid of her husband, crept in under the bench and hid herself there. and as she would not come out again, her husband thrust in a great piece of walrus meat, and she chewed and gnawed at it to her heart's content. "come out, come out, for i will never hurt you any more," he said. but she had grown so afraid of him that she never came out any more, and so she died where she was at last--the old sneak! the soul that lived in the bodies of all beasts there was a man whose name was avôvang. and of him it is said that nothing could wound him. and he lived at kangerdlugssuaq. at that time of the year when it is good to be out, and the days do not close with dark night, and all is nearing the great summer, avôvang's brother stood one day on the ice near the breathing hole of a seal. and as he stood there, a sledge came dashing up, and as it reached him, the man who was in it said: "there will come many sledges to kill your brother." the brother now ran into the house to tell what he had heard. and then he ran up a steep rocky slope and hid away. the sledges drove up before the house, and avôvang went out to meet them, but he took with him the skin of a dog's neck, which had been used to wrap him in when he was a child. and when then the men fell upon him, he simply placed that piece of skin on the ground and stood on it, and all his enemies could not wound him with their weapons, though they stabbed again and again. at last he spoke, and said mockingly: "all my body is now like a piece of knotty wood, with the scars of the wounds you gave me, and yet you could not bring about my death." and as they could not wound him with their stabbing, they dragged him up to the top of a high cliff, thinking to cast him down. but each time they caught hold of him to cast him down, he changed himself into another man who was not their enemy. and at last they were forced to drive away, without having done what they wished. it is also told of avôvang, that he once desired to travel to the south, and to the people who lived in the south, to buy wood. this men were wont to do in the old days, but now it is no longer so. and so they set off, many sledges together, going southward to buy wood. and having done what they wished, they set out for home. on the way, they had made a halt to look for the breathing holes of seal, and while the men had been thus employed, the women had gone on. avôvang had taken a wife on that journey, from among the people of the south. and while the men stood there looking for seal holes, all of them felt a great desire to possess avôvang's wife, and therefore they tried to kill him. qautaq stabbed him in the eyes, and the others caught hold of him and sent him sliding down through a breathing hole into the sea. when his wife saw this, she was angry, and taking the wood which they had brought from the south, she broke it all into small pieces. so angry was she at thus being made a widow. then she went home, after having spoiled the men's wood. but the sledges drove on. suddenly a great seal came up ahead of them, right in their way, where the ice was thin and slippery. and the sledges drove straight at it, but many fell through and were drowned at that hunting. and a little after, they again saw something in their way. it was a fox, and they set off in chase, but driving at furious speed up a mountain of screw-ice, they were dashed down and killed. only two men escaped, and they made their way onward and told what had come to the rest. and it was the soul of avôvang, whom nothing could wound, that had changed, first into a seal and then into a fox, and thus brought about the death of his enemies. and afterwards he made up his mind to let himself be born in the shape of every beast on earth, that he might one day tell his fellow-men the manner of their life. at one time he was a dog, and lived on meat which he stole from the houses. when he was pressed for food, he would carefully watch the men about the houses, and eat anything they threw away. but avôvang soon tired of being a dog, on account of the many beatings which fell to his lot in that life. and so he made up his mind to become a reindeer. at first he found it far from easy, for he could not keep pace with the other reindeer when they ran. "how do you stretch your hind legs at a gallop?" he asked one day. "kick out towards the farthest edge of the sky," they answered. and he did so, and then he was able to keep pace with them. but at first he did not know what he should eat, and therefore he asked the others. "eat moss and lichen," they said. and he soon grew fat, with thick suet on his back. but one day the herd was attacked by a wolf, and all the reindeer dashed out into the sea, and there they met some kayaks in their flight, and one of the men killed avôvang. he cut him up, and laid the meat in a cairn of stones. and there he lay, and when the winter came, he longed for the men to come and bring him home. and glad was he one day to hear the stones rattling down, and when they commenced to eat him, and cracked the bones with pieces of rock to get at the marrow, avôvang escaped and changed himself into a wolf. and now he lived as a wolf, but here as before he found that he could not keep up with his comrades at a run. and they ate all the food, so that he got none. "kick up towards the sky," they told him. and then at once he was able to overtake all the reindeer, and thus get food. and later he became a walrus, but found himself unable to dive down to the bottom; all he could do was to swim straight ahead through the water. "take off as if from the middle of the sky; that is what we do when we dive to the bottom," said the others. and so he swung his hindquarters up to the sky, and down he went to the bottom. and his comrades taught him what to eat; mussels and little white stones. once also he was a raven. "the ravens never lack food," he said, "but they often feel cold about the feet." thus he lived the life of every beast on earth. and at last he became a seal again. and there he would lie under the ice, watching the men who came to catch him. and being a great wizard, he was able to hide himself away under the nail of a man's big toe. but one day there came a man out hunting who had cut off the nail of his big toe. and that man harpooned him. then they hauled him up on the ice and took him home. inside the house, they began cutting him up, and when the man cast the mittens to his wife, avôvang went with them, and crept into the body of the woman. and after a time he was born again, and became once more a man. papik, who killed his wife's brother there was once a man whose name was papik, and it was his custom to go out hunting with his wife's brother, whose name was ailaq. but whenever those two went out hunting together, it was always ailaq who came home with seal in tow, while papik returned empty-handed. and day by day his envy grew. then one day it happened that ailaq did not return at all. and papik was silent at his home-coming. at last, late in the evening, that old woman who was ailaq's mother began to speak. "you have killed ailaq." "no, i did not kill him," answered papik. then the old woman rose up and cried: "you killed him, and said no word. the day shall yet come when i will eat you alive, for you killed ailaq, you and no other." and now the old woman made ready to die, for it was as a ghost she thought to avenge her son. she took her bearskin coverlet over her, and went and sat down on the shore, close to the water, and let the tide come up and cover her. for a long time after this, papik did not go out hunting at all, so greatly did he fear the old woman's threat. but at last he ceased to think of the matter, and began to go out hunting as before. one day two men stood out on the ice by the breathing holes. papik had chosen his place a little farther off, and stood there alone. and then it came. they heard the snow creaking, with the sound of a cry, and the sound moved towards papik, and a fog came down over the ice. and soon they heard shouts as of one in a fury, and the screaming of one in fear; the monster had fallen upon papik, to devour him. and now they fled in towards land, swerving wide to keep away from what was happening there. on their way, they met sledges with hunters setting out; they threw down their gear, and urged the others to return to their own place at once, lest they also should be slain by fear. when they reached their village, all gathered together in one house. but soon they heard the monster coming nearer over the ice, and then all hurried to the entrance, and crowding together, grew yet more greatly stricken with fear. and pressing thus against each other, they struggled so hard that one fatherless boy was thrust aside and fell into a tub full of blood. when he got up, the blood poured from his clothes, and wherever they went, the snow was marked with blood. "now we are already made food for that monster," they cried, "since that wretched boy marks out the way with a trail of blood." "let us kill him, then," said one. but the others took pity on him, and let him live. and now the evil spirit came in sight out on the ice; they could see the tips of its ears over the hummocks as it crept along. when it came up to the houses, not a dog barked, and none dared try to surround it, for it was not a real bear. but at last an old woman began crying to the dogs: "see, there is your cousin--bark at him!" and now the dogs were loosed from the magic that bound them, and when the men saw this, they too dashed forward, and harpooned that thing. but when they came to cut up the bear, they knew its skin for the old woman's coverlet, and its bones were human bones. and now the sledges drove out to find the gear they had left behind, and they saw that everything was torn to pieces. and when they found papik, he was cut about in every part. eyes, nose and mouth and ears were hacked away, and the scalp torn from his head. thus that old woman took vengeance for the killing of her son ailaq. and so it was our fathers used to tell: when any man killed his fellow without good cause, a monster would come and strike him dead with fear, and leave no part whole in all his body. the people of old times thought it an ill thing for men to kill each other. this story i heard from the men who came to us from the far side of the great sea. pÂtussorssuaq, who killed his uncle there lived a woman at kûgkat, and she was very beautiful, and alátaq was he who had her to wife. and at the same place lived pâtussorssuaq, and alátaq was his uncle. he also had a wife, but was yet fonder of his uncle's wife than of his own. but one day in the spring, alátaq was going out on a long hunting journey, and made up his mind to take his wife with him. they were standing at the edge of the ice, ready to start, when pâtussorssuaq came down to them. "are you going away?" he asked. "yes, both of us," answered alátaq. but when pâtussorssuaq heard thus, he fell upon his uncle and killed him at once, for he could not bear to see the woman go away. when pâtussorssuaq's wife saw this, she snatched up her needle and sewing ring, and fled away, following the shadow of the tent, over the hills to the place where her parents lived. she had not even time to put on her skin stockings, and therefore her feet grew sore with treading the hills. on her way up inland she saw people running about with their hoods loose on their heads, as is the manner of the inland folk, but she had no dealings with them, for they fled away. then, coming near at last to her own place, she saw an old man, and running up, she found it was her father, who was out in search of birds. and the two went gladly back to his tent. now when pâtussorssuaq had killed his uncle, he at once went up to his own tent, thinking to kill his own wife, for he was already weary of her. but she had fled away. inside the tent sat a boy, and pâtussorssuaq fell upon him, crying: "where is she? where is she gone?" "i have seen nothing, for i was asleep," cried the boy, speaking falsely because of his great fear. and so pâtussorssuaq was forced to desist from seeking out his wife. and now he went down and took alátaq's wife and lived with her. but after a little time, she died. and thus he had but little joy of the woman he had won by misdeed. and he himself was soon to suffer in another way. at the beginning of the summer, many people were gathered at natsivilik, and among them was pâtussorssuaq. one day a strange thing happened to him, while he was out hunting: a fox snapped at the fringe of his coat, and he, thinking it to be but a common fox, struck out at it, but did not hit. and afterwards it was revealed that this was the soul of dead alátaq, playing with him a little before killing him outright. for alátaq's amulet was a fox. and a little time after, he was bitten to death by the ghost of alátaq, coming upon him in the shape of a bear. his daughter, who was outside at that time, heard the cries, and went in to tell of what she had heard, but just as she came into the house, behold, she had quite forgotten all that she wished to say. and this was because that vengeful spirit had by magic means called down forgetfulness upon her. afterwards she remembered it, but then it was too late. they found pâtussorssuaq torn to pieces, torn limb from limb; he had tried to defend himself with great pieces of ice, as they could see, but all in vain. thus punishment falls upon the man who kills. the men who changed wives there were once two men, talîlarssuaq and navssârssuaq, and they changed wives. talîlarssuaq was a mischievous fellow, who was given to frightening people. one evening, sitting in the house with the other's wife, whom he had borrowed, he thrust his knife suddenly through the skins of the bench. then the woman ran away to her husband and said: "go in and kill talîlarssuaq; he is playing very dangerous tricks." then navssârssuaq rose up without a word, and put on his best clothes, and took his knife, and went out. he went straight up to talîlarssuaq, who was now lying on the bench talking to himself, and pulled him out on the floor and stabbed him. "you might at least have waited till i had dressed," said talîlarssuaq. but navssârssuaq hauled him out through the passage way, cast him on the rubbish heap and went his way, saying nothing. on the way he met his wife. "are you not going to murder me, too?" she asked. "no," he answered in a deep voice. "for pualúna is not yet grown big enough to be without you." pualúna was their youngest son. but some time after that deed he began to perceive that he was haunted by a spirit. "there is some invisible thing which now and again catches hold of me," he said to his comrades. and that was the avenging spirit, watching him. but about this time, many in the place fell sick. and among them was navssârssuaq. the sickness killed him, and thus the avenging spirit was not able to tear him in pieces. artuk, who did all forbidden things a man whose name was artuk had buried his wife, but refused to remain aloof from doings which those who have been busied with the dead are forbidden to share. he said he did not hold by such old customs. some of his fellow-villagers were at work cutting up frozen meat for food. after watching them for a while as they worked at the meat with their knives, he took a stone axe and hacked at the meat, saying: "that is the way to cut up meat." and this he did although it was forbidden. and on the same day he went out on to the ice and took off his inner coat to shake it, and this he did although it was forbidden. also he went up on to an iceberg and drank water which the sun had melted there, knowing well that this was likewise forbidden. and all these things he did in scorn of that which his fellows believed. for he said it was all lies. but one day when he was starting out with his sledge, fear came upon him, and he dared not go alone. and as his son would not go with him willingly, he took him, and bound him to the uprights of the sledge, and carried him so. he never returned alive. late in the evening, his daughter heard in the air the mocking laughter of two spirits. and she knew at once that they were laughing so that she might know how her father had been punished for his ill-doing. on the following day, many sledges went out to search for artuk. and they found him, far out on the ice, torn to pieces, as is the way with those whom the spirits have punished for refusing to observe the customs of their forefathers. and the son, who was bound to the sledge, had not been touched, but he had died of fright. the thunder spirits two sisters, men say, were playing together, and their father could not bear to hear the noise they made, for he had but few children, and was thus not wont to hear any kind of noise. at last he began to scold them, and told them to go farther away with their playing. when the girls grew up, and began to understand things, they desired to run away on account of their father's scolding. and at last they set out, taking with them only a little dogskin, and a piece of boot skin, and a fire stone. they went up into a high mountain to build themselves a house there. their father and mother made search for them in vain, for the girls kept hiding themselves; they had grown to be true mountain dwellers, keeping far from the places of men. only the reindeer hunters saw them now and again, but the girls always refused to go back to their kin. and when at last the time came when they must die of hunger, they turned into evil spirits, and became thunder. when they shake their dried boot skin, then the gales come up, the south-westerly gales. and great fire is seen in the heavens whenever they strike their fire stone, and the rain pours down whenever they shed tears. their father held many spirit callings, hoping to make them return. but this he ceased to do when he found that they were dead. but men say that after those girls had become spirits, they returned to the places of men, frightening many to death. they came first of all to their father and mother, because of the trouble they had made. the only one they did not kill was a woman bearing a child on her back. and they let her live, that she might tell how terrible they were. and tales are now told of how terrible they were. when the thunder spirits come, even the earth itself is stricken with terror. and stones, even those which lie on level ground, and not on any slope at all, roll in fear towards men. thus the thunder comes with the south-westerly gales; there is a noise and crackling in the air, as of dry skins shaken, and the sky glows from time to time with the fire from their firestone. great rocks, and everything which stands up high in the air, begin to glow. when this happens, men use to take out a red dog, and cut its ear until the blood comes, and then lead the beast round about the house, letting the blood drip everywhere, for then the house will not take fire. a red dog was the only thing they feared, those girls who were turned to thunder. nerrivik a bird once wished to marry a woman. he got himself a fine sealskin coat, and having weak eyes, made spectacles out of a walrus tusk, for he was greatly set upon looking as nice as possible. then he set off, in the shape of a man, and coming to a village, took a wife, and brought her home. now he began to go out catching fish, which he called seal, and brought home to his wife. once it happened that he lost his spectacles, and his wife, seeing his bad eyes, burst out weeping, because he was so ugly. but her husband only laughed. "oho, so you saw my eyes? hahaha!" and he put on his spectacles again. then her brothers, who longed for their sister, came out one day to visit her. and her husband being out hunting, they took her away with them. the husband was greatly distressed when he came home and found her gone, and thinking someone must have carried her off, he set out in pursuit. he swung his wings with mighty force, and raised a violent storm, for he was a great wizard. when the storm came up, the boat began to take in water, and the wind grew fiercer, as he doubled the beating of his wings. the waves rose white with foam, and the boat was near turning over. and when those in the boat began to suspect that the woman was the cause of the storm, they took her up and cast her into the sea. she tried to grasp the side of the boat, but then her grandfather sprang up and cut off her hand. and so she was drowned. but at the bottom of the sea, she became nerrivik, the ruler over all the creatures in the sea. and when men catch no seal, then the wizards go down to nerrivik. having but one hand, she cannot comb her hair, and this they do for her, and she, by way of thanks, sends seal and other creatures forth to men. that is the story of the ruler of the sea. and men call her nerrivik [ ] because she gives them food. the wife who lied navaránâpaluk, men say, came of a tribe of man-eaters, but when she grew up, she was taken to wife by one of a tribe that did not eat men. once when she was going off on a visit to her own people, she put mittens on her feet instead of boots. and this she did in order to make it appear that her husband's people had dealt ill by her. it was midwinter, and her kinsfolk pitied her greatly when they saw her come to them thus. and they agreed to make war against the tribe to which her husband belonged. so they set out, and came to that village at a time when all the men were away, and only the women at home; these they took and slew, and only three escaped. one of them had covered herself with the skin which she was dressing when they came, the second had hidden herself in a box used for dog's meat, and the third had crept into a store shed. when the men came home, they found all their womenfolk killed, and at once they thought of navaránâpaluk, who had fled away. and they were the more angered, that the slayers had hoisted the bodies of the women on long poles, with the points stuck through them. they fell to at once making ready for war against those enemies, and prepared arrows in great numbers. the three women who were left alive plaited sinew thread to fix the points of the arrows; and so eagerly did they work that at last no more flesh was left on their fingers, and the naked bone showed through. when all things were ready, they set out, and coming up behind the houses of their enemies, they hid themselves among great rocks. the slayers had kept watch since their return, believing that the avengers would not fail to come, and the women took turns at the watching. and now it is said that one old woman among them had a strange dream. she dreamed that two creatures were fighting above her head. and when she told the others of this, they all agreed that the avengers must be near. they gathered together in one house to ask counsel of the spirits, and when the spirit calling had commenced, then suddenly a dog upon the roof of the house began to bark. the men dashed out, but their enemies had already surrounded the house, and now set about to take their full revenge, shooting down every man with arrows. at last, when there were no more left, they chose themselves wives from among the widows, and bore them off to their own place. but two of them took navaránâpaluk and hurried off with her. and she, thinking that both wished to have her to wife, cried out: "which is it to be? which is it to be?" the men laughed, and made no answer, but ran on with her. then suddenly they cut through both her arms with their knives. and soon she fell, and the blood went from her, and she died. this fate they meted out to her because she lied. kÂgssagssuk, the homeless boy who became a strong man one day, it is said, when the men and women in the place had gone to a spirit calling, the children were left behind, all in one big house, where they played, making a great noise. a homeless boy named kâgssagssuk was walking about alone outside, and it is said that he called to those who were playing inside the house, and said: "you must not make so much noise, or the great fire will come." the children, who would not believe him, went on with their noisy play, and at last the great fire appeared. little kâgssagssuk fled into the house, and cried: "lift me up. i must have my gloves, and they are up there!" so they lifted him up to the drying frame under the roof. and then they heard the great fire come hurrying into the house from without. he had a great live ribbon seal for a whip, and that whip had long claws. and then he began dragging the children out through the passage with his great whip, and each time he drew one out, that one was frizzled up. and at last there were no more. but before going away, the great fire reached up and touched with his finger a skin which was hanging on the drying frame. as soon as the great fire had gone away, little kâgssagssuk crawled down from the drying frame and went over to the people who were gathered in the wizard's house, and told them what had happened. but none believed what he said. "you have killed them yourself," they declared. "very well, then," he said, "if you think so, try to make a noise yourselves, like the children did." and now they began cooking blubber above the entrance to the house, and when the oil was boiling and bubbling as hard as it could, they began making a mighty noise. and true enough, up came the great fire outside. but little kâgssagssuk was not allowed to come into the house, and therefore he hid himself in the store shed. the great fire came into the house, and brought with it the live ribbon seal for a whip. they heard it coming in through the passage, and then they poured boiling oil over it, and his whip being thus destroyed, the great fire went away. but from that time onward, all the people of the village were unkind to little kâgssagssuk, and that although he had told the truth. up to that time he had lived in the house of umerdlugtoq, who was a great man, but now he was forced to stay outside always, and they would not let him come in. if he ventured to step in, though it were for no more than to dry his boots, umerdlugtoq, that great man, would lift him up by the nostrils, and cast him over the high threshold again. and little kâgssagssuk had two grandmothers; the one of these beat him as often as she could, even if he only lay out in the passage. but his other grandmother took pity on him, because he was the son of her daughter, who had been a woman like herself, and therefore she dried his clothes for him. when, once in a while, that unfortunate boy did come in, umerdlugtoq's folk would give him some tough walrus hide to eat, wishing only to give him something which they knew was too tough for him. and when they did so, he would take a little piece of stone and put it between his teeth, to help him, and when he had finished, put it back in his breeches, where he always kept it. when he was hungry, he would sometimes eat of the dogs' leavings on the ground outside, finding there walrus hide which even the dogs refused to eat. he slept among the dogs, and warmed himself up on the roof, in the warm air from the smoke hole. but whenever umerdlugtoq saw him warming himself there, he would haul him down by the nostrils. thus a long time passed, and it had been dark in the winter, and was beginning to grow light near the coming of spring. and now little kâgssagssuk began to go wandering about the country. once when he was out, he met a big man, a giant, who was cutting up his catch, and on seeing him, kâgssagssuk cried out in a loud voice: "ho, you man there, give me a piece of that meat!" but although he shouted as loudly as he could, that giant could not hear him. at last a little sound reached the big man's ears, and then he said: "bring me luck, bring me luck!" and he threw down a little piece of meat on the ground, believing it was one of the dead who thus asked. but little kâgssagssuk, who, young as he was, had already some helping spirits, made that little piece of meat to be a big piece, just as the dead can do, and ate as much as he could, and when he could eat no more, there was still so much left that he could hardly drag it away to hide it. some time after this, little kâgssagssuk said to his mother's mother: "i have by chance become possessed of much meat, and my thoughts will not leave it. i will therefore go out and look to it." so he went off to the place where he had hidden it, and lo! it was not there. and he fell to weeping, and while he stood there weeping, the giant came up. "what are you weeping for?" "i cannot find the meat which i had hidden in a store-place here." "ho," said the giant, "i took that meat. i thought it had belonged to another one." and then he said again: "now let us play together." for he felt kindly towards that boy, and had pity on him. and they two went off together. when they came to a big stone, the giant said: "now let us push this stone." and they began pushing at the big stone until they twirled it round. at first, when little kâgssagssuk tried, he simply fell backwards. "now once more. make haste, make haste, once more. and there again, there is a bigger one." and at last little kâgssagssuk ceased to fall over backwards, and was able instead to move the stones and twirl them round. and each time he tried with a larger stone than before, and when he had succeeded with that, a larger one still. and so he kept on. and at last he could make even the biggest stones twirl round in the air, and the stone said "leu-leu-leu-leu" in the air. then said the giant at last, seeing that they were equal in strength: "now you have become a strong man. but since it was by my fault that you lost that piece of meat, i will by magic means cause bears to come down to your village. three bears there will be, and they will come right down to the village." then little kâgssagssuk went home, and having returned home, went up to warm himself as usual at the smoke hole. then came the master of that house, as usual, and hauled him down by the nostrils. and afterwards, when he went to lie down among the dogs, his wicked grandmother beat him and them together, as was her custom. altogether as if there were no strong man in the village at all. but in the night, when all were asleep, he went down to one of the umiaks, which was frozen fast, and hauled it free. next morning when the men awoke, there was a great to-do. "hau! that umiak has been hauled out of the ice!" "hau! there must be a strong man among us!" "who can it be that is so strong?" "here is the mighty one, without a doubt," said umerdlugtoq, pointing to little kâgssagssuk. but this he said only in mockery. and a little time after this, the people about the village began to call out that three bears were in sight--exactly as the giant had said. kâgssagssuk was inside, drying his boots. and while all the others were shouting eagerly about the place, he said humbly: "if only i could borrow a pair of indoor boots from some one." and at last, as he could get no others, he was obliged to take his grandmother's boots and put them on. then he went out, and ran off over the hard-trodden snow outside the houses, treading with such force that it seemed as if the footmarks were made in soft snow. and thus he went off to meet the bears. "hau! look at kâgssagssuk. did you ever see...." "what is come to kâgssagssuk; what can it be?" umerdlugtoq was greatly excited, and so astonished that his eyes would not leave the boy. but little kâgssagssuk grasped the biggest of the bears--a mother with two half-grown cubs--grasped that bear with his naked fists, and wrung its neck, so that it fell down dead. then he took those cubs by the back of the neck and hammered their skulls together until they too were dead. then little kâgssagssuk went back homeward with the biggest bear over his shoulders, and one cub under each arm, as if they had been no more than hares. thus he brought them up to the house, and skinned them; then he set about building a fireplace large enough to put a man in. for he was now going to cook bears' meat for his grandmother, on a big flat stone. umerdlugtoq, that great man, now made haste to get away, taking his wives with him. and kâgssagssuk took that old grandmother who was wont to beat him, and cast her on the fire, and she burned all up till only her stomach was left. his other grandmother was about to run away, but he held her back, and said: "i shall now be kind to you, for you always used to dry my boots." now when kâgssagssuk had made a meal of the bears' meat, he set off in chase of those who had fled away. umerdlugtoq had halted upon the top of a high hill, just on the edge of a precipice, and had pitched their tent close to the edge. up came kâgssagssuk behind him, caught him by the nostrils and held him out over the edge, and shook him so violently that his nostrils burst. and there stood umerdlugtoq holding his nose. but kâgssagssuk said to him: "do not fear; i am not going to kill you. for you never used to kill me." and then little kâgssagssuk went into the tent, and called out to him: "hi, come and look! i am in here with your wives!" for in the old days, umerdlugtoq had dared him even to look at them. and having thus taken due vengeance, kâgssagssuk went back to his village, and took vengeance there on all those who had ever ill-treated him. and some time after, he went away to the southward, and lived with the people there. it is also told that he got himself a kayak there, and went out hunting with the other men. but being so strong, he soon became filled with the desire to be feared, and began catching hold of children and crushing them. and therefore his fellow-villagers harpooned him one day when he was out in his kayak. all this we have heard tell of kâgssagssuk. qasiagssaq, the great liar qasiagssaq, men say, was a great liar. his wife was called qigdlugsuk. he could never sleep well at night, and being sleepless, he always woke his fellow-villagers when they were to go out hunting in the morning. but he never brought home anything himself. one day when he had been out as usual in his kayak, without even sight of a seal, he said: "it is no use my trying to be a hunter, for i never catch anything. i may as well make up some lie or other." and at the same moment he noticed that one of his fellow-villagers was towing a big black seal over to an island, to land it there before going out for more. when that seal had been brought to land, qasiagssaq rowed round behind the man, and stole it, and towed it back home. his wife was looking out for him, going outside every now and then to look if he were in sight. and thus it was that coming out, she caught sight of a kayak coming in with something in tow. she shaded her eyes with both hands, one above the other, and looked through between them, gazing eagerly to try if she could make out who it was. the kayak with its seal in tow came rowing in, and she kept going out to look, and at last, when she came out as usual, she could see that it was really and truly qasiagssaq, coming home with his catch in tow. "here is qasiagssaq has made a catch," cried his fellow-villagers. and when he came in, they saw that he had a great black seal in tow, with deep black markings all over the body. and the tow-line was thick with trappings of the finest narwhal tusk. "where did you get that tow-line?" they asked. "i have had it a long time," he answered, "but have never used it before to-day." after they had hauled the seal to land, his wife cut out the belly part, and when that was done, she shared out so much blubber and meat to the others that there was hardly anything left for themselves. and then she set about cooking a meal, with a shoulder-blade for a lamp, and another for a pot. and every time a kayak came in, they told the newcomer that qasiagssaq had got a big black seal. at last there was but one kayak still out, and when that one came in, they told him the same thing: "qasiagssaq has actually got a big seal." but this last man said when they told him: "i got a big black seal to-day, and hauled it up on an island. but when i went back to fetch it, it was gone." the others said again: "the tow-line which qasiagssaq was using to-day was furnished with toggles of pure narwhal tusk." later in the evening, qasiagssaq heard a voice calling in at the window: "you, qasiagssaq, i have come to ask if you will give back that tow-line." qasiagssaq sprang up and said: "here it is; you may take it back now." but his wife, who was beside him, said: "when qasiagssaq does such things, one cannot but feel shame for him." "hrrrr!" said qasiagssaq to his wife, as if to frighten her. and after that he went about as if nothing had happened. one day when he was out in his kayak as usual, he said: "what is the use of my being out here, i who never catch anything?" and he rowed in towards land. when he reached the shore, he took off his breeches, and sat down on the ground, laying one knee across a stone. then he took another stone to serve as a hammer, and with that he hammered both his knee-caps until they were altogether smashed. and there he lay. he lay there for a long time, but at last he got up and went down to his kayak, and now he could only walk with little and painful steps. and when he came down to his kayak, he hammered and battered at that, until all the woodwork was broken to pieces. and then, getting into it, he piled up a lot of fragments of iceberg upon it, and even placed some inside his clothes, which were of ravens' skin. and so he rowed home. but all this while two women had been standing watching him. his wife was looking out for him as usual, shading her eyes with her hands, and when at last she caught sight of his kayak, and it came nearer, she could see that it was qasiagssaq, rowing very slowly. and when then he reached the land, she said: "what has happened to you now?" "an iceberg calved." and seeing her husband come home in such a case, his wife said to the others: "an iceberg has calved right on top of qasiagssaq, so that he barely escaped alive." but when the women who had watched him came home, they said: "we saw him to-day; he rowed in to land, and took off his breeches and hammered at his knee-caps with a stone; then he went down to his kayak and battered it to bits, and when that was done, he filled his kayak with ice, and even put ice inside his clothing." but when his wife heard this, she said to him: "when qasiagssaq does such things, one cannot but feel shame for him." "hrrrr!" said qasiagssaq, as if to frighten her. after that he lay still for a long while, waiting for his knees to heal, and when at last his knees were well again, he began once more to go out in his kayak, always without catching anything, as usual. and when he had thus been out one day as usual, without catching anything, he said to himself again: "what is the use of my staying out here?" and he rowed in to land. there he found a long stone, laid it on his kayak, and rowed out again. and when he came in sight of other kayaks that lay waiting for seal, he stopped still, took out his two small bladder floats made from the belly of a seal, tied the harpoon line to the stone in his kayak, and when that was done, he rowed away as fast as he could, while the kayaks that were waiting looked on. then he disappeared from sight behind an iceberg, and when he came round on the other side, his bladder float was gone, and he himself was rowing as fast as he could towards land. his wife, who was looking out for him as usual, shading her eyes with her hands, said then: "but what has happened to qasiagssaq?" as soon as a voice could reach the land, qasiagssaq cried: "now you need not be afraid of breaking the handles of your knives; i have struck a great walrus, and it has gone down under water with my two small bladder floats. one or another of those who are out after seal will be sure to find it." he himself remained altogether idle, and having come into his house, did not go out again. and as the kayaks began to come in, others went down to the shore and told them the news: "qasiagssaq has struck a walrus." and this they said to all the kayaks as they came home, but as usual, there was one of them that remained out a long time, and when at last he came back, late in the evening, they told him the same thing: "qasiagssaq, it is said, has struck a walrus." "that i do not believe, for here are his bladder floats; they had been tied to a stone, and the knot had worked loose." then they brought those bladder floats to qasiagssaq and said: "here are your bladder floats; they were fastened to a stone, but the knot worked loose." "when qasiagssaq does such things, one cannot but feel shame for him," said his wife as usual. "hrrrr!" said qasiagssaq, to frighten her. and after that qasiagssaq went about as if nothing had happened. one day he was out in his kayak as usual at a place where there was much ice; here he caught sight of a speckled seal, which had crawled up on to a piece of the ice. he rowed up to it, taking it unawares, and lifted his harpoon ready to throw, but just as he was about to throw, he looked at the point, and then he laid the harpoon down again, saying to himself: "would it not be a pity, now, for that skin, which is to be used to make breeches for my wife, to be pierced with holes by the point of a harpoon?" so he lay alongside the piece of ice, and began whistling to that seal. [ ] and he was just about to grasp hold of it when the seal went down. but he watched it carefully, and when it came up again, he rowed over to it once more. now he lifted his harpoon and was just about to throw, when again he caught sight of the point, and said to himself: "would it not be a pity if that skin, which is to make breeches for my wife, should be pierced with holes by the point of a harpoon?" and again he cried out to try and frighten the seal, and down it went again, and did not come up any more. once he heard that there lived an old couple in another village, who had lost their child. so qasiagssaq went off there on a visit. he came to their place, and went into the house, and there sat the old couple mourning. then he asked the others of the house in a low voice: "what is the trouble here?" "they are mourning," he was told. "what for?" he asked. "they have lost a child; their little daughter died the other day." "what was her name?" "nipisartángivaq," they said. then qasiagssaq cleared his throat and said in a loud voice: "to-day my little daughter nipisartángivaq is doubtless crying at her mother's side as usual." hardly had he said this when the mourners looked up eagerly, and cried: "ah, how grateful we are to you! [ ] now your little daughter can have all her things." and they gave him beads, and the little girl's mother said: "i have nothing to give you by way of thanks, but you shall have my cooking pot." and when he was setting out again for home, they gave him great quantities of food to take home to his little girl. but when he came back to his own place, his fellow-villagers asked: "wherever did you get all this?" "an umiak started out on a journey, and the people in it were hurried and forgetful. here are some things which they left behind them." towards evening a number of kayaks came in sight; it was people coming on a visit, and they had all brought meat with them. when they came in, they said: "tell qasiagssaq and his wife to come down and fetch up this meat for their little girl." "qasiagssaq and his wife have no children; we know qasiagssaq well, and his wife is childless." when the strangers heard this, they would not even land at the place, but simply said: "then tell them to give us back the beads and the cooking pot." and those things were brought, and given back to them. then qasiagssaq's wife said as usual: "now you have lied again. when you do such things, one cannot but feel shame for you." "hrrrr!" said qasiagssaq, to frighten her, and went on as if nothing had happened. now it is said that qasiagssaq's wife qigdlugsuk had a mother who lived in another village, and had a son whose name was ernilik. one day qasiagssaq set out to visit them. he came to their place, and when he entered into the house, it was quite dark, because they had no blubber for their lamp, and the little child was crying, because it had nothing to eat. qasiagssaq cleared his throat loudly and said: "what is the matter with him?" "he is hungry, as usual," said the mother. then said qasiagssaq: "how foolish i was not to take so much as a little blubber with me. over in our village, seals are daily thrown away. you must come back with me to our place." next morning they set off together. when they reached the place, qasiagssaq hurried up with the harpoon line in his hand, before his wife's mother had landed. and all she saw was that there was much carrion of ravens on qasiagssaq's rubbish heap. suddenly qasiagssaq cried out: "ah! one of them has got away again!" he had caught a raven in his snare. his wife cooked it, and their lamp was a shoulder-blade, and another shoulder-blade was their cooking pot, and when that meat was cooked, qigdlugsuk's mother was given raven's meat to eat. afterwards she was well fed by the other villagers there, and next morning when she was setting out to go home, they all gave her meat to take with her; all save qasiagssaq, who gave her nothing. and time went on, and once he was out as usual in his kayak, and when he came home in the evening, he said: "i have found a dead whale; to-morrow we must all go out in the umiak and cut it up." next day many umiaks and kayaks set out to the eastward, and when they had rowed a long way in, they asked: "where is it?" "over there, beyond that little ness," he said. and they rowed over there, and when they reached the place, there was nothing to be seen. so they asked again: "where is it?" "over there, beyond that little ness." and they rowed over there, but when they reached the place, there was nothing to be seen. and again they asked: "where is it? where is it?" "up there, beyond the little ness." and again they reached the place and rowed round it, and there was nothing to be seen. then the others said: "qasiagssaq is lying as usual. let us kill him." but he answered: "wait a little; let us first make sure that it is a lie, and if you do not see it, you may kill me." and again they asked: "where is it?" "yes ... where was it now ... over there beyond that little ness." and now they had almost reached the base of that great fjord, and again they rounded a little ness farther in, and there was nothing to be seen. therefore they said: "he is only a trouble to us all: let us kill him." and at last they did as they had said, and killed him. the eagle and the whale in a certain village there lived many brothers. and they had two sisters, both of an age to marry, and often urged them to take husbands, but they would not. at last one of the men said: "what sort of a husband do you want, then? an eagle, perhaps? very well, an eagle you shall have." this he said to the one. and to the other he said: "and you perhaps would like a whale? well, a whale you shall have." and then suddenly a great eagle came in sight, and it swooped down on the young girl and flew off with her to a high ledge of rock. and a whale also came in sight, and carried off the other sister, carrying her likewise to a ledge of rock. after that the eagle and the girl lived together on a ledge of rock far up a high steep cliff. the eagle flew out over the sea to hunt, and while he was away, his wife would busy herself plaiting sinews for a line wherewith to lower herself down the rock. and while she was busied with that work, the eagle would sometimes appear, with a walrus in one claw and a narwhal in the other. one day she tried the line, with which she was to lower herself down; it was too short. and so she plaited more. but as time went on, the brothers began to long for their sister. and they all set to work making crossbows. and there was in that village a little homeless boy, who was so small that he had not strength to draw a bow, but must get one of the others to draw it for him every time he wanted to shoot. when they had made all things ready, they went out to the place where their sister was, and called to her from the foot of the cliff, telling her to lower herself down. and this she did. as soon as her husband had gone out hunting, she lowered herself down and reached her brothers. towards evening, the eagle appeared out at sea, with a walrus in each claw, and as he passed the house of his wife's brothers, he dropped one down to them. but when he came home, his wife was gone. then he simply threw his catch away, and flew, gliding on widespread wings, down to where those brothers were. but whenever the eagle tried to fly down to the house, they shot at it with their bows. and as none of them could hit, the little homeless boy cried: "let me try too!" and then one of the others had to bend his bow for him. but when he shot off his arrow, it struck. and when then the eagle came fluttering down to earth, the others shot so many arrows at it that it could not quite touch the ground. thus they killed their sister's husband, who was a mighty hunter. but the other sister and the whale lived together likewise. and the whale was very fond of her, and would hardly let her out of his sight for a moment. but the girl here likewise began to feel homesick, and she also began plaiting a line of sinew threads, and her brothers, who were likewise beginning to long for their sister, set about making a swift-sailing umiak. and when they had finished it, and got it into the water, they said: "now let us see how fast it can go." and then they got a guillemot which had its nest close by to fly beside them, while they tried to outdistance it by rowing. but when it flew past them, they cried: "this will not do; the whale would overtake us at once. we must take this boat to pieces and build a new one." and so they took that boat to pieces and built a new one. then they put it in the water again and once more let the bird fly a race with them. and now the two kept side by side all the way, but when they neared the land, the bird was left behind. one day the girl said as usual to the whale: "i must go outside a little." "stay here," said her husband, that great one. "but i must go outside," said the girl. now he had a string tied to her, and this he would pull when he wanted her to come in again. and hardly had she got outside when he began pulling at the string. "i am only just outside the passage," she cried. and then she tied the string by which she was held, to a stone, and ran away as fast as she could down hill, and the whale hauled at the stone, thinking it was his wife, and pulled it in. the brothers' house was just below the hillside where she was, and as soon as she came home, they fled away with her. but at the same moment, the whale came out from the passage way of its house, and rolled down into the sea. the umiak dashed off, but it seemed as if it were standing still, so swiftly did the whale overhaul it. and when the whale had nearly reached them, the brothers said to their sister: "throw out your hairband." and hardly had she thrown it out when the sea foamed up, and the whale stopped. then it went on after them again, and when it came up just behind the boat, the brothers said: "throw out one of your mittens." and she threw it out, and the sea foamed up, and the whale pounced down on it. and then she threw out the inner lining of one of her mittens, and then her outer frock and then her inner coat, and now they were close to land, but the whale was almost upon them. then the brothers cried: "throw out your breeches!" and at the same moment the sea was lashed into foam, but the umiak had reached the land. and the whale tried to follow, but was cast up on the shore as a white and sun-bleached bone of a whale. the two little outcasts there were two little boys and they had no father and no mother, and they went out every day hunting ptarmigan, and they had never any weapons save a bow. and when they had been out hunting ptarmigan, the men of that place were always very eager to take their catch. one day they went out hunting ptarmigan as usual, but there were none. on their way, they came to some wild and difficult cliffs. and they looked down from that place into a ravine, and saw at the bottom a thing that looked like a stone. they went down towards it, and when they came nearer, it was a little house. and they went nearer still and came right to it. they climbed up on to the roof, and when they looked down through the air hole in the roof, they saw a little boy on the floor with a cutting-board for a kayak and a stick for a paddle. they called down to him, and he looked up, but then they hid themselves. when they looked down again, he was there as before, playing at being a man in a kayak. a second time they called to him, and then he ran to hide. and they went in then, and found him, sobbing a little, and pressing himself close in against the wall. and they asked him: "do you live here all alone?" and he answered: "no, my mother went out early this morning, and she is out now, as usual." they said: "we have come to be here with you because you are all alone." and when they said this, he ventured to come out a little from the wall. in the afternoon, the boy went out again and again and when he did so, they looked round the inside of the house, which was covered with fox skins, blue and white. at last the boy came in, and said: "now i can see her, away to the south." they looked out and saw her, and she seemed mightily big, having something on her back. and she came quickly nearer. then they heard a great noise, and that was the woman throwing down her burden. she came in hot and tired, and sat down, and said: "thanks, kind little boys. i had to leave him alone in the house, as usual, and now you have stayed with him while i was fearing for him on my way." then she turned to her son, and said: "have they not eaten yet?" "no," said the boy. and when he had said that, she went out, and came in with dried flesh of fox and reindeer, and a big piece of suet. and very glad they were to eat that food. at first they did not eat any of the dried fox meat, but when they tasted it, they found it was wonderfully good to eat. now when they had eaten their fill, they sat there feeling glad. and then the little boy whispered something in his mother's ear. "he has a great desire for one of your sets of arrows, if you would not refuse to give it." and they gave him that. in the evening, when they thought it was time to rest, a bed was made for them under the window, and when this was done the woman said: "now sleep, and do not fear any evil thing." they slept and slept, and when they awoke, the woman had been awake a long time already. and when they were setting off to go home again, she paid them for their arrows with as much meat as they could carry; and when they went off, she said: "be sure you do not let any others come selling arrows." but in the meantime, the people of the village had begun to fear for those two boys, because they did not come home. when at last they appeared in the evening, many went out to meet them. and it was a great load they had to carry. "where have you been?" they asked. "we have been in a house with one who was not a real man." they tasted the food they had brought. and it was wonderfully good to eat. "that we were given in payment for one set of arrows," they said. "we must certainly go out and sell arrows, too," said the others. but the two told them: "no, you must not do that. for when we went away, she said: 'do not let any others come selling arrows.'" but although this had been said to them, all fell to at once making arrows. and the next day they set out with the arrows on their backs. the two little boys did not desire to go, but went in despite of that, because the others ordered them. now when they came to the ravine, it looked as if that house were no longer there. and when they came down, not a stone of it was to be seen. they could not see so much as the two sheds or anything of them. and no one could now tell where that woman had gone. and that was the last time they went out hunting ptarmigan. atdlarneq, the great glutton this is told of atdlarneq: that he was a strong man, and if he rowed but a little way out in his kayak, he caught a seal. on no day did he fail to make a catch, and he was never content with only one. but one day when he should have been out hunting seal, he only paddled along close to the shore, making towards the south. on the way he sighted a cape, and made towards it; and when he could see the sunny side, he spied a little house, quite near. he thought: "i must wait until some one comes out." and while he lay there, with his paddle touching the shore, a woman came out; she had a yellow band round her hair, and yellow seams to all her clothes. now he would have gone on shore, but he thought: "i had better wait until another one comes out." and as he thought this, there came another woman out of the house. and like the first, she also had a yellow hair band, and yellow seams to all her clothes. and he did not go on shore, but thought again: "i can wait for just one more." and truly enough, there came yet another one, quite like the others. and like them also, she bore a dish in her hand. and now at last he went on shore and hauled up his kayak. he went into the house, and they all received him very kindly. and they brought great quantities of food and set before him. at last the evening came. and now those three women began to go outside again and again. and at last atdlarneq asked: "why do you keep going out like that?" when he asked them this, all answered at once: "it is because we now expect our dear master home." when he heard this, he was afraid, and hid himself behind the skin hangings. and he had hardly crawled in there when that master came home; atdlarneq looked through a little hole, and saw him. and his cheeks were made of copper. [ ] he had but just sat down, when he began to sniff, and said: "hum! there is a smell of people here." and now atdlarneq crawled out, seeing that the other had already smelt him. he had hardly shown himself, when the other asked very eagerly: "has he had nothing to eat yet?" "no, he has not yet eaten." "then bring food at once." and then they brought in a sack full of fish, and a big piece of blubber from the half of a black seal. and then the man said violently: "you are to eat this all up, and if you do not eat it all up, i will thrash you with my copper cheeks!" and now atdlarneq began eagerly chewing blubber with his fish; he chewed and chewed, and at last he had eaten it all up. then he went to the water bucket, and lifted it to his mouth and drank, and drank it all to the last drop. hardly had he done this when the man said: "and now the frozen meat." and they brought in the half of a black seal. and atdlarneq ate and ate until there was no more left, save a very little piece. when the man saw there was some not eaten, he cried out violently again: "give him some more to eat." and when atdlarneq had eaten again for a while, he did not wish to eat more. but then they brought in a whole black seal. and the man set that also before him, and cried: "eat that up too." and so atdlarneq was forced to stuff himself mightily once more. he ate and ate, and at last he had eaten it all up. and again he emptied the water bucket. after all that he felt very well indeed, and seemed hardly to have eaten until now. but that was because he had swallowed a little stalk of grass before he began. so atdlarneq slept, and next morning he went back home again. but after having thus nearly gorged himself to death, he never went southward again. ÁngÁngujuk it is said that Ángángujuk's father was very strong. they had no other neighbours, but lived there three of them all alone. one day when the mother was going to scrape meat from a skin, she let the child play at kayak outside in the passage, near the entrance. and now and again she called to him: "Ángángujuk!" and the child would answer from outside. and once she called in this way, and called again, for there came no answer. and when no answer came again, she left the skin she was scraping, and began to search about. but she could not find the child. and now she began to feel greatly afraid, dreading her husband's return. and while she stood there feeling great fear of her husband, he came out from behind a rock, dragging a seal behind him. then he came forward and said: "where is our little son?" "he vanished away from me this morning, after you had gone, when he was playing kayak-man out in the passage." and when she had said this, her husband answered: "it is you, wicked old hag, who have killed him. and now i will kill you." to this his wife answered: "do not kill me yet, but wait a little, and first seek out one who can ask counsel of the spirits." and now the husband began eagerly to search for such a one. he came home bringing wizards with him, and bade them try what they could do, and when they could not find the child, he let them go without giving them so much as a bite of meat. and seeing that none of them could help him, he now sought for a very clever finder of hidden things, and meeting such a one at last, he took him home. then he fastened a stick to his face, and made him lie down on the bedplace on his back. and now he worked away with him until the spirit came. and when this had happened, the spirit finder declared: "it would seem that spirits have here found a difficult task. he is up in a place between two great cliffs, and two old inland folk are looking after him." then they stopped calling spirits, and wandered away towards the east. they walked and walked, and at last they sighted a lot of houses. and when they came nearer, they saw the smoke coming out from all the smoke holes. it was the heat from inside coming out so. and the father looked in through a window, and saw that they were quarrelling about his child, and the child was crying. "who is to look after him?" so he heard them saying inside the house; each one was eager to have the child. when the father saw this, he was very angry. and the people inside asked the child: "what would you like to eat?" "no," said the child. "will you have seal meat?" "no," said the child. and there was nothing he cared to have. therefore they asked him at last: "do you want to go home very much?" Ángángujuk answered quickly: "yes." and his father was very greatly angered by now. and said to those with him: "try now to magic them to sleep." and now the wizard began calling down a magic sleep upon those in the hut, and one by one they sank to sleep and began to snore. and fewer and fewer remained awake; at last there were only two. but then one of those two began to yawn, and at last rolled over and snored. and now the great finder of hidden things began calling down sleep with all his might over that one remaining. and at last he too began to move towards the sleeping place. then he began to yawn a little, and at last he also rolled over. now Ángángujuk's father went in quickly, and now he caught up his son. but now the child had no clothes on. and looking for them, he saw them hung up on the drying frame. but the house was so high that they had to poke down the clothes with poles. at last they came out, and walked and walked and came farther on. and it was now beginning to be light. as soon as they came to the place, they cut the moorings of the umiak, and hastily made all ready, and rowed out to the farthest islands. they had just moved away from land when they saw a number of people opposite the house. but when the inland folk saw they had already moved out from the land, they went up to the house and beat it down, beating down roof and walls and all that there was of it. after that time, Ángángujuk's parents never again took up their dwelling on the mainland. here ends this story. ÂtÂrssuaq Âtârssuaq had many enemies. but his many enemies tried in vain to hurt him, and they could not kill him. then it happened that his wife bore him a son. Âtârssuaq came back from his hunting one day, and found that he had a son. then he took that son of his and bore him down to the water and threw him in. and waited until he began to kick out violently, and then took him up again. and so he did with him every day for long after, while the child was growing. and thus the boy became a very clever swimmer. and one day Âtârssuaq caught a fjord seal, and took off the skin all in one piece, and dried it like a bladder, and made his son put it on when he went swimming. one day he felt a wish to see how clever the boy had become. and said to him therefore: "go out now and swim, and i will follow after you." and the father brought down his kayak and set it in the water, and his son watched him. and then he said: "now you swim out." and he made his father follow him out to sea, while he swam more and more under water. as soon as he came to the surface, his father rowed to where he was, but every time he took his throwing stick to cast a small harpoon, he disappeared. and when his father thought they had done this long enough, he said: "now swim back to land, but keep under water as much as you can." the son dived down, but it was a long time before he came up again. and now his father was greatly afraid. but at last the boy came up, a long way off. and then he rowed up to where he was, and laid one hand on his head, and said: "clever diver, clever diver, dear little clever one." and then he sniffed. and a second time he said to him: "now swim under water a very long way this time." so he dived down, and his father rowed forward all the time, to come to the place where he should rise, and feeling already afraid. his face moved as if he were beginning to cry, and he said: "if only the sharks have not found him!" and he had just begun to cry when his son came up again. and then they went in to land, and the boy did not dive any more that day. so clever had he now become. and one day his father did not come back from his hunting. this was because of his enemies, who had killed him. evening came, and next morning there was a kayak from the north. when it came in to the shore, the boy went down and said: "to-morrow the many brothers will come to kill you all." and the kayak turned at once and went back without coming on shore. night passed and morning came. and in the morning when the boy awoke, he went to look out, and again, and many times. once when he came out he saw many kayaks appearing from the northward. then he went in and said to his mother: "now many kayaks are coming, to kill us all." "then put on your swimming dress," said his mother. and he did so, and went down to the shore, and did not stop until he was quite close to the water. when the kayaks then saw him, they all rowed towards him, and said: "he has fallen into the water." when they came to the place where he had fallen in, they all began looking about for him, and while they were doing this, he came up just in front of the bone shoeing on the nose of one of the kayaks which lay quite away from the rest. when they spied him, each tried to outdo the others, and cried: "here he is!" but then he dived down again. and this he continued to do. and in this manner he led all those kayaks out to the open sea, and when they had come a great way out, they sighted an iceberg which had run aground. when Âtârssuaq's son came to this, he climbed up, by sticking his hands into the ice. and up above were two large pieces. and when he came close to the iceberg, he heard those in the kayaks saying among themselves: "we can cut steps in the ice, and climb up to him." and they began cutting steps in the iceberg, and at last the ice pick of the foremost came up over the edge. but now the boy took one of the great pieces of ice and threw it down upon them as they crawled up, so that it sent them all down again as it fell. and again he heard them say: "it would be very foolish not to kill him. let us climb up, and try to reach him this time." and then they began crawling up one after another. but now the boy began as before, shifting the great piece of ice. and he waited until the head of the foremost one came up, and then he let it fall. and this time he also killed all those who had climbed on to the iceberg, after he had so lured them on to follow him. but the others now turned back, and said: "he will kill us all if we do not go." and now the boy jumped down from the iceberg and swam to the kayaks and began tugging at their paddles, so that they turned over. but the men righted themselves again with their throwing sticks. and at last he was forced to hold them down himself under water till they drowned. and soon there were left no more of all those many kayaks, save only one. and when he looked closer, he saw that the man had no weapon but a stick for killing fish. and he rowed weeping in towards land, that man with no weapon but a stick. then the boy pulled the paddle away from him, and he cried very much at that. then he began paddling with his hands. but the boy gripped his hands from below, and then the man began crying furiously, and dared no longer put his hands in the water at all. and weeping very greatly he said: "it is ill for me that ever i came out on this errand, for it is plain that i am to be killed." the boy looked at him a little. and then said: "you i will not kill. you may go home again." and he gave him back his paddle, and said to him as he was rowing away: "tell those of your place never to come out again thinking to kill us. for if they do not one of them will return alive." then Âtârssuaq's son went home. and for some time he waited, thinking that more enemies might come. but none ever came against them after that time. puagssuaq there was once a wifeless man who always went out hunting ptarmigan. it became his custom always to go out hunting ptarmigan every day. and when he was out one day, hunting ptarmigan as was his custom, he came to a place whence he could see out over a rocky valley. and it looked a good place to go. and he went there. but before he had come to the bottom of the valley, he caught sight of something that looked like a stone. and when he could see quite clearly that it was not a stone at all, he went up to it. he walked and walked, and came to it at last. then he looked in, and saw an old couple sitting alone in there. and when he had seen this, he crawled very silently in through the passage way. and having come inside, he looked first a long time at them, and then he gave a little whistle. but nothing happened when he did so, and therefore he whistled a second time. and this time they heard the whistle, and the man nudged his wife and said: "you, puagssuaq, you can talk with the spirits. take counsel with them now." when he had said this, the wifeless man whistled again. and at this whistling, the man looked at his wife again and said earnestly: "listen! it sounds as if that might be the voice of a shore-dweller; one who catches miserable fish." and now the wifeless man saw that the old one's wife was letting down her hair. and this was because she was now about to ask counsel of the spirits. and he was now about to look at them again, when he saw that the passage way about him was beginning to close up. and it was already nearly closed up. but then it opened again of itself. then the wifeless man thought only of coming out again from that place, and when the passage way again opened, he slipped out. and then he began running as fast as he could. for a long time he ran on, with the thought that some one would surely come after him. but at last he came up the hillside, without having been pursued at all. and when he came home, he told what had happened. here ends this story. tungujuluk and saunikoq tungujuluk and saunikoq were men from one village. and both were wizards. when they heard a spirit calling, one would change into a bear, and the other into a walrus. tungujuluk had a son, but saunikoq had no children. as soon as his son was old enough, tungujuluk taught him to paddle a kayak. at this the other, saunikoq, grew jealous, and began planning evil. one morning when he awoke, he went out hunting seal as usual. he had been out some time, when he went up to an island, and called for his bearskin. when it came, he got into it, and moved off towards tungujuluk's house. he landed a little way off, and then stole up to kill tungujuluk's son. and when he came near, he saw him playing with the other children. but he did not know that his father had already come home, and was sitting busily at work on the kayak he was making for his son. he was just about to go up to them, when the boy went weeping home to his father, and when his father looked round, there was a big bear already close to them. he took a knife and ran towards it, and was just about to stab that bear, when it began to laugh. and then suddenly tungujuluk remembered that his neighbour saunikoq was able to take the shape of a bear. and he was now so angry that he had nearly stabbed him in spite of all, and it was a hard matter for him to hold back his knife. but he did not forget that happening. he waited until a long time had passed, and at last, many days later, when he awoke in the morning, he went out in his kayak. on the way he came to an island. and going up on to that island, he called his other shape to him. when it came, he crawled into it, and became a walrus. and when he had thus become a walrus, he went to that place where it was the custom for kayaks to hunt seal. and when he came near, he looked round, and sighted saunikoq, who lay there waiting for seal. now he rose to the surface quite near him, and when saunikoq saw him, he came over that way. and saunikoq lifted his harpoon to throw it, and the stroke could not fail. therefore he made himself small, and crept over to one side of the skin. and when he was struck, he floundered about a little, but not too violently, lest he should break the line. then he swam away under water with the bladder float, and folded it up under his arm, and took out the air from it, and swam in towards land, and swam and swam until he came to the land near by where his kayak was lying. then he went to it, and having taken out the point of the harpoon, he went out hunting. he struck a black seal, and rowed home at once. and when he had come home, he said to his wife: "make haste and cook the breast piece." and when that breast piece was cooked, and the other kayaks had come home, he made a meat feast, and saunikoq, thinking nothing of any matter, came in with the others. when he came in, tungujuluk made no sign of knowing anything, but went and took out the bladder and line from his kayak. and then all sat down to eat together. and they ate and were satisfied. and then each man began telling of his day's hunting. at last saunikoq said: "to-day, when i struck a walrus, i did not think at all that it should cause me to lose my bladder float. where that came up again is a thing we do not know. that bladder float of mine was lost." and when saunikoq had said this, tungujuluk took that bladder and line and laid them beside the meat dish, and said: "whose can this bladder be, now, i wonder? aha, at last i have paid you for the time when you came in the shape of a bear, and mocked us." and when these words were said, the many who sat there laughed greatly. but saunikoq got up and went away. and then next morning very early, he set out and rowed northward in his umiak. and since then he has not been seen. so great a shame did he feel. anarteq there was once an old man, and he had only one son, and that son was called anarteq. but he had many daughters. they were very fond of going out reindeer hunting to the eastward of their own place, in a fjord. and when they came right into the base of the fjord, anarteq would let his sisters go up the hillside to drive the reindeer, and when they drove them so, those beasts came out into a big lake, where anarteq could row out in his kayak and kill them all. thus in a few days they had their umiak filled with meat, and could go home again. one day when they were out reindeer hunting, as was their custom, and the reindeer had swum out, and anarteq was striking them down, he saw a calf, and he caught hold of it by the tail and began to play with it. but suddenly the reindeer heaved up its body above the surface of the water, and kicked at the kayak so that it turned over. he tried to get up, but could not, because the kayak was full of water. and at last he crawled out of it. the women looked at him from the shore, but they could not get out to help him, and at last they heard him say: "now the salmon are beginning to eat my belly." and very slowly he went to the bottom. now when anarteq woke again to his senses, he had become a salmon. but his father was obliged to go back alone, and from that time, having no son, he must go out hunting as if he had been a young man. and he never again rowed up to those reindeer grounds where they had hunted before. and now that anarteq had thus become a salmon, he went with the others, in the spring, when the rivers break up, out into the sea to grow fat. but his father, greatly wishing to go once more to their old hunting grounds, went there again as chief of a party, after many years had passed. his daughters rowed for him. and when they came in near to the base of the fjord, he thought of his son, and began to weep. but his son, coming up from the sea with the other salmon, saw the umiak, and his father in it, weeping. then he swam to it, and caught hold of the paddle with which his father steered. his father was greatly frightened at this, and drew his paddle out of the water, and said: "anarteq had nearly pulled the paddle from my hand that time." and for a long while he did not venture to put his paddle in the water again. when he did so at last, he saw that all his daughters were weeping. and a second time anarteq swam quickly up to the umiak. again the father tried to draw in his paddle when the son took hold of it, but this time he could not move it. but then at last he drew it quite slowly to the surface, in such a way that he drew his son up with it. and then anarteq became a man again, and hunted for many years to feed his kin. the guillemot that could talk a man from the south heard one day of a guillemot that could talk. it was said that this bird was to be found somewhere in the north, and therefore he set off to the northward. and toiled along north and north in an umiak. he came to a village, and said to the people there: "i am looking for a guillemot that can talk." "three days' journey away you will find it." then he stayed there only that night, and went on again next morning. and when he came to a village, he had just asked his way, when one of the men there said: "to-morrow i will go with you, and i will be a guide for you, because i know the way." next morning when they awoke, those two men set off together. they rowed and rowed and came in sight of a bird cliff. they came to the foot of that bird cliff, and when they stood at the foot and looked up, it was a mightily big bird cliff. "now where is that guillemot, i wonder?" said the man from the south. he had hardly spoken, when the man who was his guide said: "here, here is the nest of that guillemot bird." and the man was prepared to be very careful when the bird came out of its nest. and it came out, that bird, and went to the side of the cliff and stared down at the kayaks, stretching its body to make it very long. and sitting up there, it said quite clearly: "this, i think, must be that southern man, who has come far from a place in the south to hear a guillemot." and the bird had hardly spoken, when he who was guide saw that the man from the south had fallen forward on his face. and when he lifted him up, that man was dead, having died of fright at hearing the bird speak. then seeing there was no other thing to be done, he covered up the body at the foot of the cliff below the guillemot's nest, and went home. and told the others of his place that he had covered him there below the guillemot's nest because he was dead. and the umiak and its crew of women stayed there, and wintered in that place. next summer, when they were making ready to go southward again, they had no man to go with them. but on the way that wifeless man procured food for them by catching fish, and when he had caught enough to fill a pot, he rowed in with his catch. and in this way he led them southward. when they came to their own country, they had grown so fond of him that they would not let him go northward again. and so that wifeless man took a wife from among those women, because they would not let him go away to the north. it is said that the skeleton of that wifeless man lies there in the south to this day. kÁnagssuaq kánagssuaq, men say, went out from his own place to live on a little island, and there took to wife the only sister of many brothers. and while he lived there with her, it happened once that the cold became so great that the sea between the islands was icebound, and they could no longer go out hunting. at last they had used up their store of food, and when that store of food was used up, and none of them could go out hunting, they all remained lying down from hunger and weakness. once, when there was open water to the south, where they often caught seal, kánagssuaq took his kayak on his head and went out hunting. he rowed out in a northerly wind, with snow falling, and a heavy sea. and soon he came upon a number of black seal. he rowed towards them, to get within striking distance, but struck only a little fjord seal, which came up between him and the others. this one was easier to cut up, he said. now when he had got this seal, he took his kayak on his head again and went home across the ice. and his house-fellows shouted for joy when they saw the little creature he sent sliding in. next day he went out again, and caught two black seal, and after that, he never went out without bringing home something. the north wind continued, and the snow and the cold continued. when he lay out waiting for seal, as was now his custom, he often wished that he might meet with kilitêraq, the great hunter from another place, who was the only one that would venture out in such weather. but this did not come about. but now there was great dearth of food also in the place where kilitêraq lived. and therefore kilitêraq took his kayak on his head and went out across the ice to hunt seal. and coming some way, he sighted kánagssuaq, who had already made his catch, and was just getting his tow-line out. as soon as he came up, kánagssuaq cut away the whole of the belly skin and gave to him. and kilitêraq felt now a great desire for blubber, and took some good big pieces to chew. and while he lay there, some black seal came up, and kánagssuaq said: "row in to where they are." and he rowed in to them and harpooned one, and killed it on the spot with that one stroke. he took his bladder float, to make a tow-line fast, and wound up the harpoon line, but before he had come to the middle, a breaking wave came rolling down on him. and it broke over him, and it seemed indeed as if there were no kayak there at all, so utterly was it hidden by that breaking wave. then at last the bladder showed up behind the kayak, and a little after, the kayak itself came up, with the paddles held in a balancing position. now for the second time he took his bladder and line, and just as he came to the place where the tow-line is made fast, there came another wave and washed over him so that he disappeared. and then he came up a second time, and as he came up, he said: "i am now so far out that i cannot make my tow-line fast. will you do this for me?" and then kánagssuaq made his tow-line fast, and as soon as he had taken the seal in tow, he rowed away in the thickly falling snow, and was soon lost to sight. when he came home, his many comrades in the village were filled with great thankfulness towards him. and thereafter it was as before; that he never came home without some catch. a few days later, they awoke and saw that the snow was not falling near them now, but only far away on the horizon. and after that the weather became fine again. and when the spring came, they began hunting guillemots; driving them together in flocks and killing them so. this they did at that time. and now one day they had sent their bird arrows showering down among the birds, and were busy placing the killed ones together in the kayaks. and then suddenly a kayak came in sight on the sunny side. and when that stranger came nearer, they looked eagerly to see who it might be. and when kilitêraq came nearer--for it was kilitêraq who came--he looked round among the kayaks, and when he saw that kánagssuaq was among them, he thrust his way through and came close up to him, and stuck his paddle in between the thongs on kánagssuaq's kayak, and then loosened the skin over the opening of his own kayak, and put his hand in behind, and drew out a splendid tow-line made of walrus hide and beautifully worked with many beads of walrus tooth. and a second time he put in his hand, and took out now a piece of bearskin fashioned to the seat of a kayak. and these things he gave to kánagssuaq, and said: "once in the spring, when i could not make my tow-line fast to a seal, you helped me, and made it fast. here is that which shall thank you for that service." and then he rowed away. note.--the particular sources of the various legends are as follows: polar eskimo, smith sound-- page the two friends who set off to travel round the world the coming of men, a long, long while ago the woman who had a bear as a foster-son the great bear the man who became a star the woman with the iron tail how the fog came the man who avenged the widows the man who went out to search for his son atungait, who went a-wandering kumagdlak and the living arrows the giant dog the inland-dwellers of etah the man who stabbed his wife in the leg the soul that lived in the bodies of all beasts papik, who killed his wife's brother pâtussorssuaq, who killed his uncle the men who changed wives artuk, who did all things forbidden the thunder spirits nerrivik the wife who lied kâgssagssuk, the homeless boy who became a strong man south-east greenland-- nukúnguasik, who escaped from the tupilak Ímarasugssuaq, who ate his wives qalagánguasê, who passed to the land of ghosts isigâligârssik the insects that wooed a wifeless man the very obstinate man the dwarfs the boy from the bottom of the sea, who frightened the people of the house to death the raven and the goose when the ravens could speak west greenland-- makíte asalôq ukaleq the man who took a vixen to wife qasiagssaq, the great liar the eagle and the whale the two little outcasts atdlarneq, the great glutton godthaab, west greenland-- qujâvârssuk kúnigseq Ángángujuk Âtârssuaq puagssuaq tungujuluk and saunikoq anarteq the guillemot that could talk kánagssuaq south greenland-- Íkardlítuarssuk upernivik, north greenland-- the raven who wanted a wife notes [ ] tupilak: a monster created by one having magic powers, who uses it to wreak vengeance on an enemy. [ ] according to custom. it is believed that the qualities of the dead are thus transferred to the living namesake. [ ] umiak: a large boat, as distinct from the small kayak. [ ] the first dress worn by a child is supposed to act as a charm against wounds if the former wearer can put it on when a grown man. [ ] the story-teller speaks the dwarf's part throughout in a hurried and jerky manner, to illustrate the little man's shyness. [ ] a heavy burden carried on the back is supported by a strap or thong passing over the forehead. [ ] i.e. a creature fashioned by an enemy, after the same manner as a tupilak. [ ] a small black mollusc. [ ] the star is that which we know as venus. "listening": perhaps as the old man had stood listening for the breathing of the seal. [ ] a game played with rings and a stick; the "ring and pin game." [ ] lit., "meat dish." [ ] speckled seal may often be caught in this fashion. [ ] the souls of the dead are supposed to be born again in the body of one named after them. [ ] there is a fabulous being in eskimo folklore supposed to have cheeks of copper, with which he can deliver terrible blows by a side movement of the head. naughty children are frequently threatened with "copper-cheeks" as a kind of bogey. generously made available by the canadian institute for historical microreproductions (www.canadiana.org)) * * * * * +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's note: | | a number of obvious typographical errors have | | been corrected in this text. | | for a complete list, please see the bottom of this document. | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ * * * * * smithsonian institution. united states national museum. throwing-sticks in the national museum. otis t. mason, _curator of the department of ethnology_ from the report of the smithsonian institution, -' , part ii, pages - , and plates i-xvii washington: government printing office. . i.--throwing-sticks in the national museum. by otis t. mason. col. lane fox tells us there are three areas of the throwing-stick: australia, where it is simply an elongated spindle with a hook at the end; the country of the conibos and the purus, on the upper amazon, where the implement resembles that of the australians, and the hyperborean regions of north america. it is of this last group that we shall now speak, since the national museum possesses only two specimens from the first-named area and none whatever from the second. the researches and collections of bessels, turner, boas, hall, mintzner, kennicott, ray, murdoch, nelson, herendeen, and dall, to all of whom i acknowledge my obligations, enable me to compare widely separated regions of the hyperborean area, and to distinguish these regions by the details in the structure of the throwing-stick. the method of holding the throwing-stick is indicated in fig. by a drawing of h.w. elliott. the eskimo is just in the act of launching the light seal harpoon. the barbed point will fasten itself into the animal, detach itself from the ivory foreshaft, and unwind the rawhide or sinew line, which is securely tied to both ends of the light wooden shaft by a martingale device. the heavy ivory foreshaft will cause the shaft to assume an upright position in the water, and the whole will act as a drag to impede the progress of the game. the same idea of impeding progress and of retrieving is carried out by a multitude of devices not necessary to mention here. the eskimo spend much time in their skin kyaks, from which it would be difficult to launch an arrow from a bow, or a harpoon from the unsteady, cold, and greasy hand. this device of the throwing-stick, therefore, is the substitute for the bow or the sling, to be used in the kyak, by a people who cannot procure the proper materials for a heavier lance-shaft, or at least whose environment is prejudicial to the use of such a weapon. just as soon as we pass mount st. elias going southward, the throwing-stick, plus the spear or dart of the eskimo and the aleut, gives place to the harpoon with a long, heavy, cedar shaft, weighing or pounds, whose momentum from both hands of the indian, without the throw-stick, exceeds that of the eskimo and aleut darts and harpoons, with the additional velocity imparted by the throwing-stick. it must not be forgotten, also, that the kyak is a very frail, unsteady thing, and therefore not much of the momentum of the body can be utilized, as it is by the northwest indians in making a lunge with a heavy shaft. the throwing-stick is also said by some arctic voyagers to be useful in giving directness of aim. perhaps no other savage device comes so near in this respect to a gun barrel or the groove of a bow-gun. its greatest advantages, however, are the firm grip which it gives in handling a harpoon or dart, and the longer time which it permits the hunter to apply the force of his arm to the propulsion of his weapon. having practiced with a throwing-stick somewhat, i have imagined also that there was a certain amount of leverage acquired by the particular method of holding the stick and straightening the arm, as in a toggle joint. that implement, which seems so simple, and which is usually mentioned and dismissed in a word, possesses several marks or organs, which help to distinguish the locality in which each form occurs, as well as to define the associations of the implement as regards the weapon thrown from it and the game pursued. these marks are: . shape, or general outline in face and side view, and size. . handle, the part grasped in the hand. . thumb-groove or thumb-lock, provision for the firm and comfortable insertion of the phalanx and ball of the thumb. . finger-grooves, provision for each finger according to its use in the manipulation of the implement. . finger-pegs, little plugs of wood or ivory to give more certain grip for the fingers and to prevent their slipping. the devices for the fingers are the more necessary where the hands are cold and everything is covered with grease. . finger-tip cavities, excavations on the front face of the implement, into which the tips of the three last fingers descend to assist in grasping and to afford a rest on the back of these fingers for the weapon shaft. . index-finger cavity or hole, provision for the insertion of the index finger, which plays a very important part in the use of the throwing-stick. . spear shaft groove, in which the shaft of the weapon lies, as an arrow or bolt in the groove of a bow-gun. . hook or spur, provision for seizing the butt end of the weapon while it is being launched. these may be ridges left in the wood by excavation, or pieces of wood, bone, ivory, &c., inserted. the size and shape of this part, and the manner of insertion, are also worthy of notice. . edges: this feature is allied to the form and not to the function of the implement. . faces: upper, on which the weapon rests; lower, into which the index finger is inserted. the figures illustrating this article are drawn to a scale indicated by inch marks in the margin, every dot on the line standing for an inch. by the presence or absence, by the number or the shape of some of these marks or structural characteristics, the type and locality can be easily detected. the eskimo have everywhere bows and arrows for land hunting, the former made of several pieces of bone lashed together, or of a piece of driftwood lashed and re-enforced with sinew. the arrows are of endless variety. it should also be noticed that the kind of game and the season of the year, the shape and size of the spear accompanying the stick, and the bare or gloved hand, are all indicated by language expressed in various parts of this wonderful throwing-stick. greenland type. the greenland throwing-stick is a long, flat trapezoid, slightly ridged along the back (fig. ). it has no distinct handle at the wide end, although it will be readily seen that the expanding of this part secures a firm grip. a chamfered groove on one side for the thumb, and a smaller groove on the other side for the index finger, insure the implement against slipping from the hunter's grasp. marks , , of the series on page are wanting in the greenland type. the shaft-groove, in which lies the shaft of the great harpoon, is wide, deep, and rounded at the bottom. there is no hook, as in all the other types, to fit the end of the harpoon shaft, but in its stead are two holes, one in the front end of the shaft-groove, between the thumb-groove and the finger-groove, with an ivory eyelet or grommet for a lining, the other at the distal end of the shaft-groove, in the ivory piece which is ingeniously inserted there to form that extremity. this last-mentioned hole is not cylindrical like the one in front, but is so constructed as to allow the shaft-peg to slide off easily. these holes exactly fit two ivory pegs projecting from the harpoon shaft. when the hunter has taken his throwing-stick in his hand he lays his harpoon shaft upon it so that the pegs will fall in the two little holes of the stick. by a sudden jerk of his hand the harpoon is thrown forward and released, the pegs drawing out of the holes in the stick. at the front end of the throwing-stick a narrow piece of ivory is pegged to prevent splitting. as before intimated, this type of throwing-stick is radically different from all others in its adjustment to the pegs on the heavy harpoon. in all other examples in the world the hook or spur is on the stick and not on the weapon. ungava type. one specimen from fort chimo in this region, southeast of hudson bay, kindly lent by mr. lucien turner, is very interesting, having little relation with that from greenland (which is so near geographically), and connecting itself with all the other types as far as kadiak, in alaska (fig. ). the outline of the implement is quite elaborate and symmetrical, resembling at the hook end a fiddle-head, and widening continuously by lateral and facial curves to the front, where it is thin and flat. a slight rounded notch for the thumb, and a longer chamfer for three fingers, form the handle. marks and are wanting. the cavity for the index finger extends quite through the implement, as it does in all cases where it is on the side of the harpoon-shaft groove, and not directly under it. the shaft groove is shallow, and the hook at the lower extremity is formed by a piece of ivory inserted in a parallel groove in the fiddle-head and fastened with pegs. it is as though a saw-cut one-eighth inch wide had been made longitudinally through the fiddle-head and one-half inch beyond, and the space had been filled with a plate of ivory pared down flush with the wood all round, excepting at the projection left to form the hook or spur for the harpoon shaft. this peg or spur fits in a small hole in the butt of the harpoon or spear shaft and serves to keep the weapon in its place until it is launched from the hand. the ungava spear is heavier than that of the western eskimo, hence the stick and its spur are proportionately larger. it is well to observe carefully the purport of the spur. a javelin, assegai, or other weapon hurled from the hand is seized in the center of gravity. the greenland spears have the pegs for the throwing-stick sometimes at the center of gravity, sometimes at the butt end. in all other uses of the throwing-stick the point of support is behind the center of gravity, and if the weapon is not fastened in its groove it cannot be hurled. this fastening is accomplished by the backward leaning of the peg in the greenland example, and by the spur on the distal end of the throwing-stick in all other cases. cumberland gulf type. the cumberland gulf type is the clumsiest throwing-stick in the museum, and dr. franz boas recognizes it as a faithful sample of those in use throughout baffin land (fig. ). in general style it resembles mr. turner's specimens from ungava; but every part is coarser and heavier. it is made of oak, probably obtained from a whaling vessel. instead of the fiddle-head at the distal end we have a declined and thickened prolongation of the stick without ornament. there is no distinct handle, but provision is made for the thumb by a deep, sloping groove; for the index-finger by a perforation, and for the other three fingers by separate grooves. these give a splendid grip for the hunter, but the extraordinary width of the handle is certainly a disadvantage. there are two longitudinal grooves on the upper face; the principal one is squared to receive the rectangular shaft of the bird spear; the other is chipped out for the tips of the fingers, which do not reach across to the harpoon shaft, owing to the clumsy width of the throwing-stick. in this example, the hook for the end of the bird-spear shaft is the canine tooth of some animal driven into the wood at the distal end of the long-shaft groove. fury and hecla straits type. in parry's second voyage (p. ) is described a throwing-stick of igloolik, inches long, grooved for the shaft of the bird-spear, and having a spike for the hole of the shaft, and a groove for the thumb and for the fingers. the index-finger hole is not mentioned, but more than probably it existed, since it is nowhere else wanting between ungava and cape romanzoff in alaska. this form, if properly described by parry, is between the ungava and the cumberland gulf specimen, having no kinship with the throwing-stick of greenland. the national museum should possess an example of throwing-stick from the fury and hecla straits. anderson river type. the anderson river throwing-stick (and we should include the mackenzie river district) is a very primitive affair in the national museum, being only a tapering flat stick of hard wood (fig. ). marks , , , , and are wanting. the index-finger cavity is large and eccentric and furnishes a firm hold. the shaft-groove is a rambling shallow slit, not over half an inch wide. there is no hook or spur of foreign material inserted for the spear end; but simply an excavation of the hard wood which furnishes an edge to catch a notch in the end of the dart. only one specimen has been collected from this area for the national museum; therefore it is unsafe to make it typical, but the form is so unique that it is well to notice that the throwing-stick in eskimoland has its simplest form in the center and not in the extremities of its whole area. it is as yet unsafe to speculate concerning the origin of this implement. a rude form is as likely to be a degenerate son as to be the relic of a barbaric ancestry. among the theories of origin respecting the eskimo, that which claims for them a more southern habitat long ago is of great force. if, following retreating ice, they first struck the frozen ocean at the mouth of mackenzie's river and then invented the kyak and the throwing-stick, thence we may follow both of these in two directions as they depart from a single source. point barrow type. through the kindness of mr. john murdoch, i have examined a number from this locality, all alike, collected in the expedition of lieutenant ray, u.s.a. (fig. ). they are all of soft wood, and in general outline they resemble a tall amphora, bisected, or with a slice cut out of the middle longitudinally. there is a distinct "razor-strop" handle, while in those previously described the handle is scarcely distinct from the body. marks , , , and are wanting. the index-finger hole is very large and eccentric, forming the handle of the "amphora." the groove for the harpoon or spear-shaft commences opposite the index-finger cavity as a shallow depression, and deepens gradually to its other extremity, where the hook for the spear-shaft is formed by an ivory peg. this form is structurally almost the same as the anderson river type, only it is much better finished. kotzebue sound type. the kotzebue sound type is an elongated truncated pyramid, or obelisk, fluted on all sides (fig. ). the handle is in the spiral shape so frequent in eskimo skin-scrapers from norton sound and vicinity, and exactly fits the thumb and the last three fingers. marks and are wanting. the index cavity is a _cul de sac_, into which the forefinger is to be hooked when the implement is in use. especial attention is called to this characteristic because it occurs here for the first time and will not be seen again after we pass cape vancouver. from ungava to point barrow the index-finger hole is eccentric and the finger passes quite through the implement and to the right of the harpoon or spear-shaft. in the kotzebue type the index finger cavity is subjacent to the spear-shaft groove, consequently the forefinger would be wounded or at least in the way by passing through the stick. the spear or harpoon-shaft groove is wide and shallow and passes immediately over the index cavity. the hook is of ivory and stands up above the wood. it needs only to be mentioned that this type, as well as those with eccentric forefinger perforations are used with the naked hand. in the quarto volume of beechey's voyage, page , is mentioned a throwing-stick from eschscholtz bay, with a hole for the forefinger and a notch for the thumb, the spear being placed in the groove and embraced by the middle finger and the thumb. this last assertion is very important. when i first began to examine a large number of the implements, i could not explain the cavities for the finger-tips until this note suggested that the shaft rides outside of and not under the fingers. to test the matter i had a throwing-stick made to fit my hand, and found that the spear could get no start if clamped close to the throwing-stick by all the fingers; but if allowed to rest on the back of the fingers or a part of them, and it is held fast, by the thumb and middle finger, it had just that small rise which gave it a start from the propelling instrument. in the national collection is a specimen marked russian america, collected by commodore john rodgers, resembling in many respects the kotzebue sound type. the handle is of the same razor-strop shape, but on the upper side are three deep depressions for the finger-tips. in several of the objects already described provision is made for the tips of the last three fingers by means of a gutter or slight indentations. but in no other examples is there such pronounced separation of the fingers. in very many of the norton sound skin-dressers, composed of a stone blade and ivory handle, the fingers are separated in exactly the same manner. these skin-dressers are from the area just south of kotzebue sound. the back of the rodgers specimen is ornamented in its lower half by means of grooves. in its upper half are represented the legs and feet of some animal carved out in a graceful manner. the index-finger cavity is central and is seen on the upper side by a very slight rectangular perforation, which, however, does not admit the extrusion of any part of the index-finger. the upper surface is formed by two inclined planes meeting in the center. along this central ridge is excavated the groove for the spear-shaft, deep at its lower end and quite running out at its upper extremity. the hook for the end of the harpoon-shaft in this specimen resembles that seen on the throwing-sticks of the region south of cape vancouver. the whole execution of this specimen is so much superior to that of any other in the museum and the material so different as to create the suspicion that it was made by a white man, with steel tools (fig ). eastern siberian type. the national museum has no throwing-stick from this region, but nordenskjöld figures one in the voyage of vega (p. , fig. ), which is as simple as the one from anderson river, excepting that the former has a hook of ivory, while the latter has a mere excavation to receive the cavity on the end of the weapon. nordenskjöld's bird-spear accompanying the stick has a bulb or enlargement of the shaft at the point opposite the handle of the throwing-stick, which is new to the collection of the national museum. indeed, a systematic study should now be made of the siberian throwing-sticks to decide concerning the commercial relationships if not the consanguinities of the people of that region. port clarence and cape nome type. the specimens from this area are more or less spatulate in form, but very irregular, with the handle varying from that of the razor-strop to the spiral, twisted form of the eskimo skin-scraper (fig. ). on the whole, these implements are quite similar to the next group. a section across the middle of the implement would be trapezoidal with incurved sides. in two of the specimens not figured these curved sides are brought upward until they join the upper surface, making a graceful ornament. the handles are not symmetrical, the sides for the thumb being shaved out so as to fit the muscles conveniently. places for the fingers are provided thus: there is an index-finger cavity quite through the stick indeed, but the index-finger catches in the interior of the wood and does not pass through as in the eastern arctic types. the middle finger rests against an ivory or wooden peg. this is the first appearance of this feature. it will be noted after this on all the throwing-sticks as the most prominent feature until we come to kadiak, but the unalashkans do not use it on their throwing-sticks. cavities for the three last finger-tips are not always present, and the hooks at the distal ends for the extremities of the weapons are very large plugs of wood or ivory and have beveled edges rather than points for the reception of the butt end of the weapon to be thrown. norton sound types. these types extend from cape darby around to cape dyer, including part of kaviagmut, the mahlemut, the unaligmut, and the ekogmut area of dall, and extending up the yukon river as far as the eskimo, who use this weapon. the characteristics are the same as those of the last named area, excepting that in many specimens there are two finger-pegs instead of one, the first peg inclosing the middle finger, the second the ring-finger and the little finger (figs. - ). a single specimen collected by lucien turner at saint michael's has no index cavity, the forefinger resting on the first peg and the other three fingers passing between this and the outer peg (fig. ). another specimen of nelson's, marked sabotinsky, has the index-finger cavity and one finger-peg. the finger-tip cavity on the upper surface of the handle forms the figure of a water-bird, in which the heart is connected with the mouth by a curved line, just as in the pictography of the more southern indians. the yukon river eskimo use a throwing-stick quite similar to the norton sound type. the characteristics are very pronounced. thumb-groove deep, index-finger cavity so long as to include the first joint. the hook for the spear-end formed by the edge of a plug of hard wood. the middle finger is separated by a deep groove and peg. the ring and little finger are inclosed by the peg and a sharp projection at the upper end of the handle. nunivak island and cape vancouver type. in this region a great change comes over the throwing-stick, just as though it had been stopped by cape romanzoff, or new game had called for modification, or a mixing of new peoples had modified their tools (figs. - ). the index-finger cavity and the hole for the index finger are here dropped entirely, after extending from greenland uninterruptedly to cape romanzoff. the handle is conspicuously wide, while the body of the implement is very slender and light. the thumb-groove is usually chamfered out very thoroughly so as to fit the flexor muscle conveniently. there are frequently finger-grooves and finger-tip cavities in addition to the pegs. the cavity for the index finger having disappeared, provision is made for that important part of the hand by a separate peg and groove. the middle finger is also pegged off, and the last two fingers have to shift for themselves. the hook for the shaft of the weapon has a fine point like a little bead, the whole implement being adapted to the light seal-harpoon darts. mr. dall collected a large number of two-pegged sticks from nunivak island and four three-pegged sticks labeled the same. mr. nelson also collected four three-pegged sticks, but labels them kushunuk; cape vancouver, on the mainland opposite nunivak (fig. ). in these three-pegged sticks the ring-finger and the little finger are inclosed together. this should be compared with mr. turner's saint michael specimen, in which the last three fingers are inclosed together (fig. ). it remains to be seen and is worthy of investigation whether crossing a narrow channel would add a peg to the throwing-stick. one of these nunivak specimens is left-handed. bristol bay type. the throwing-stick from bristol bay resembles in general characteristics those from nunivak island and cape vancouver. in outline it has the shape of the broadsword. its cross-section is bayonet-shaped. it has no distinct handle beyond a slight projection from the end. the thumb-groove is shallow and chamfered on the lower side to fit exactly. there is a long, continuous notch for the four fingers, in which the index finger and the middle finger are set off by pegs. there is a depression, more or less profound, to receive the tips of the fingers. the groove for the harpoon or spear-shaft is at the lower extremity and runs out entirely near the index finger. the ivory plug at its lower extremity is beveled to receive a notch in the end of the spear or harpoon shaft (figs. - ). a freshly-made implement, looking as if cut out by machinery, resembling closely those just described, is labeled kadiak. the constant traffic between bristol bay and kadiak, across the alaskan peninsula, may account for the great similarity of these implements. furthermore, since the natives in this region and southward have been engaged for more than a century in fur-sealing for the whites, there is not the slightest doubt that implements made by whites have been introduced and slightly modified by the wearer to fit his hand. kadiak or unalashka type. in the national museum are four throwing-sticks, one of them left-handed, exactly alike--two of them marked kadiak and two unalashka (figs. - ). they return to the more primitive type of the area from kotzebue sound to greenland, indicating that the implement culminated in norton sound. in outline this southern form is thin and straight-sided, and those in possession are all of hard wood. the back is carved in ridges to fit the palm of the hand and muscles of the thumb. there is no thumb-groove, the eccentric index-finger hole of the northern and eastern eskimo is present in place of the central cavity of the area from kotzebue sound to cape vancouver, and there is a slight groove for the middle finger. marks and are wanting. the shaft-groove is very slight, even at its lower extremity, and runs out in a few inches toward the handle. the hook for the end of the weapon resembles that of nunivak, but is more rounded at the point. of the eskimo of prince william sound, the extreme southern area of the eskimo on the pacific, captain cook says, in the narrative of his last voyage: "their longer darts are thrown by means of a piece of wood about a foot long, with a small groove in the middle which receives the dart. at the bottom is a hole for the reception of one finger, which enables them to grasp the piece of wood much firmer and to throw with greater force." captain cook's implement corresponds exactly to the specimens just described and renders it probable that this thin, parallel-sided, shallow-grooved throwing-stick, with index-finger hole placed at one side of the spear-shaft groove, extended all along the southern border of eskimoland as far as the aleuts of unalashka and attoo. in addition to the information furnished by the specimens in hand, dr. stejneger describes a similar stick in use in the island of attoo. on the contrary, mr. elliott assures me that aleutian fur-sealers of pribylov island use throwing-sticks precisely similar to those of norton sound and nunivak. this list might be extended further by reference to authorities, but that is from the purpose of this article and the series of ethnological papers commenced in this volume. the most perfect throwing-stick of all is that of the mahlemut, in norton sound, in which are present the handle, thumb-groove, finger-grooves, and pegs, cavities for the finger-tips, index finger cavity, shaft-groove, and hook for the harpoon. in short, all the characteristics present on the rest are combined here. classifications of these implements may be varied according to the organ selected. as to the hook for the attachment of the weapon, in greenland this is on the shaft, in all other parts of the world it is on the throwing-stick. as to the index finger, there is for its reception, from point barrow to greenland, an eccentric hole quite through which the finger passes. from kotzebue sound to norton sound there is a central pocket on the back of the weapon, directly under the groove, for the shaft of the weapon to receive the index finger. from cape vancouver to bristol bay an ivory or wooden peg serves this purpose. at kadiak and unalashka the eccentric index-finger hole returns. it is more than probable that further investigation will destroy some of the types herein enumerated or merge two more of them into one; but it will not destroy the fact that in changing from one environment to another the hyperboreans were driven to modify their throwing-stick. a still more interesting inquiry is that concerning the origin of the implement. it is hardly to be supposed that the simplest type, that of anderson river, was invented at once in its present form, for the australian form is ruder still, having neither hole for the index finger nor groove for the weapon shaft. when we recall that the chief benefit conferred by the throwing-stick is the ability to grasp firmly and launch truly a greasy weapon from a cold hand, we naturally ask, have the eskimo any other device for the same purpose? they have. on the shaft of the light-seal harpoon, thrown without the stick, and on the heavy, ivory-weighted walrus-harpoon-shaft an ivory hand-rest is lashed just behind the center of gravity. this little object is often beautifully carved and prevents effectually the hand from slipping on the shaft, even with the greatest lunge of the hunter. from this object to the throwing-stick the way may be long and crooked, or there may be no way at all. so far as the national museum is concerned there is nothing to guide us over this waste of ignorance. throwing-sticks in the u.s. national museum. ------+------------------------------------------+---------------------- no. | locality. | collector. ------+------------------------------------------+---------------------- | norton's sound, alaska | e.w. nelson. | cumberland gulf | w.a. mintzner, u.s.n. | norton's sound, alaska | e.w. nelson. | do. | do. | do. | do. | saint michael's sound, alaska | lucien m. turner. | do. | do. | do. | do. | port clarence, alaska | w.h. dall. | do. | do. | rasbonisky, l. yukon | e.w. nelson. | yukon river | do. | do. | do. | kushunuk, sabotnisky, alaska | do. | kuskunuk, alaska | do. | sabotnisky, alaska | do. | do. | do. | unalashka | catlin. | anderson river | r. kennicott. | ugashak | william j. fisher. | cape nome, alaska | e.w. nelson. | cook's inlet | william j. fisher. | nunivak island, alaska | w.h. dall. | do. | do. | holsteinberg, greenland | george merchant, jr. | unalashka | w.h. dall. | point barrow, alaska | lieut. p.h. ray. | chalitmut | e.w. nelson. | saint michael's, norton's sound, alaska | lucien m. turner. | do. | e.w. nelson. | kadiak island, alaska | dr. t.t. minor, u.s.r.m. | sabotnisky, alaska | e.w. nelson. | bristol bay, alaska | charles l. mckay. | nunivak island, alaska | w.h. dall. | bristol bay, alaska | vincent colyer. | kotzebue sound, alaska | e.p. herenden. | nunivak, alaska | w.h. dall. | do. | do. | do. | do. | unalashka, aleutian islands | sylvanus bailey. | nunivak, alaska | w.h. dall. | do. | do. | do. | do. | do. | do. | do. | do. ------+------------------------------------------+---------------------- plate i. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . eskimo launching a seal harpoon by means of the throwing-stick. mr. john murdoch states that the hand is held much lower by the point barrow eskimo, the harpoon resting as low as the shoulder, and that the movement of throwing the harpoon is quick, as in casting a fly in fishing. [illustration: fig. . eskimo using the throwing-stick.] plate ii. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . greenland type of throwing-stick. the specific characteristics are the broad form; the scanty grooves for thumb and fingers; the absence of pegs, separate finger grooves, or index perforation; but the most noteworthy are the two grommets or eyelets to fit ivory pegs on the harpoon-shaft. the peculiar method of strengthening the ends with ivory pieces should also be noted. from holsteinburg, greenland, . catalogue number, . [illustration: fig. . greenland throwing-stick, back and front.] plate iii. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . ungava type of throwing-stick. the specific marks are the general outline, especially the fiddle-head ornament at the bottom; the bend upward at the lower extremity, the eccentric perforation for the index finger, and the groove for three fingers. collected at ungava, by lucien m. turner, . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . ungava throwing-stick, front and back.] plate iv. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . cumberland gulf type of throwing-stick. the specific marks are the broad clumsy form, the separate provision for the thumb and each finger, the bent lower extremity, and the broad furrow for the bird-spear. accidental marks are the mending of the handle, the material of the stick, and the canine tooth for the spur at the bottom of the square groove. collected in cumberland gulf, by w.a. mintzer, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . cumberland gulf throwing-stick, back and front.] plate v. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . anderson river type. the specific marks are the extreme plainness of form, the lack of accommodations for the thumb and fingers, excepting the eccentric index-finger hole, the poor groove for the harpoon-shaft, and the absence of a hook or spur at the bottom of this groove. the accidental marks are cuts running diagonally across the back. in another specimen seen from the same locality the shaft groove is squared after the manner of the cumberland gulf type. collected at the mouth of anderson river, by r. kennicott, in . museum number, . fig. . point barrow type. the specific marks are the distinct handle without finger grooves, the very eccentric index-finger hole, the method of inserting the spur for the shaft, and the harpoon-shaft groove very shallow above and deep below. in the specimens shown by mr. murdoch there is great uniformity of shape. collected at point barrow, by lieut. p.h. ray, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . anderson river throwing-stick, front and back. fig. . point barrow throwing-stick, front and back.] plate vi. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . kotzebue sound type. the specific marks are the twisted handle, the broad shallow shaft groove, and, notably, the pocket for the index-finger tip-visible on the lower side, but nearly absent from the upper side, and lying directly under the shaft groove. in the examples before noted all the holes for the index finger are to one side of this shaft groove. collected in kotzebue sound, by e.p. herendeen, in . museum number, . fig. . the rodgers type, so called because the locality is doubtful. in specific characters it resembles fig. . the differences are the three cavities for finger tips in the handle, the shaft groove very shallow and running out before reaching the index-finger cavity, and the delicate hook for the spear shaft resembling those farther south. since writing this paper two throwing-sticks from sitka have been seen in many respects resembling this form, but covered all over their surfaces with characteristic thlinkit mythological figures, and having iron hooks at the lower end of the shaft groove. collected by commodore john rodgers, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . kotzebue sound throwing-stick, front and back. fig. . the commodore rodgers throwing-stick, front and back.] plate vii. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . the port clarence and cape nome type. the notable characteristics are the occurrence of an ivory peg in the handle for the middle finger, the very small size of the handle, and the central index-finger pocket central in position but quite piercing the stick. collected by e.w. nelson, at cape nome, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . port clarence and cape nome throwing-stick, front and back.] plate viii. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . norton sound type, single-pegged variety. except in the better finish, this type resembles the one last described. collected by l.m. turner, at saint michael's island, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . norton sound throwing-stick, front and back.] plate ix. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . norton sound type, two-pegged variety. in all respects, excepting the number of pegs, this resembles figs. and . in all of them the peg at the bottom of the groove is very clumsy. collected in norton sound, by e.w. nelson, in . museum number, . fig. . throwing-stick from sabotnisky, on the lower yukon. it belongs to the norton sound type. the cavity on the upper side of the handle for the finger-tips is remarkable for the carving of a bird resembling figures seen on objects made by the western indians of the united states. collected by e.w. nelson, at sabotnisky, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . norton sound throwing-stick, front and back. fig. . sabotnisky throwing-stick, front and back.] plate x. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . specimen from yukon river, belonging to the northern sound one-pegged variety. collected by e.w. nelson, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . yukon river throwing-stick, front and back.] plate xi. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . throwing-stick from saint michael's. this specimen is very noteworthy on account of the absence of the index-finger pocket, a mark characteristic of the vancouver type, fig. . if the middle peg of the vancouver example were removed the resemblance would be close, but the clumsy spur at the bottom of the shaft groove is norton sound rather than nunivak. collected by lucien m. turner, at saint michael's, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . saint michael's throwing-stick, front and back.] plate xii. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . nunivak type. the characteristic marks are the absence of any cavity for the index finger, the nicely-fitting handle, the disposition of the finger-pegs, and the delicate point on the ivory spur at the bottom of the shaft groove. collected by w.h. dall, at nunivak island, in . museum number, . (this specimen is left-handed.) [illustration: fig. . nunivak island throwing-stick, front and back, left-handed.] plate xiii. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . specimen from nunivak, right-handed. the cuts on the front and back are noteworthy. collected by w.h. dall, at nunivak island, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . nunivak island throwing-stick, front and back.] plate xiv. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . specimen from cape vancouver. in all respects it is like those of nunivak, excepting a peg-rest for the little finger. collected by e.w. nelson, at cape vancouver, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . cape vancouver throwing-stick, front and back.] plate xv. (mason. throwing-sticks.) figs. , . bristol bay type. in no essential characters do these sticks differ from those of nunivak. the handle is smaller, and they appear to have been made with steel tools. fig. collected by c.l. mckay, at bristol bay, alaska, in . museum number, . fig. collected by william j. fisher, at kadiak, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . bristol bay throwing-stick, front and back. fig. . bristol bay throwing-stick, front and back.] plate xvi. (mason. throwing-sticks.) fig. . unalashkan throwing-stick. it would be better to call this form the southern type. the noticeable features in all our specimens are the parallel sides, the hard material, thinness, the carving for the fingers, but above all the reappearance of the eccentric cavity for the index finger. this cavity is not a great perforation, as in the point barrow type, but an eccentric pocket, a compromise between the northern cavity and that of the east. collected by sylvanus bailey, at unalashka, in . museum number, . [illustration: fig. . unalashkan throwing-stick, front and back.] plate xvii. (mason. throwing-sticks.) figs. , . throwing-sticks of the southern type. fig. is left-handed, collected by dr. t.t. minor, at kadiak, in . museum number, . fig. collected by w.h. dall, at unalashka, in . museum number, . at sitka two specimens were collected, unfortunately not figured, with the following characters laid down in the beginning of this paper: . short, very narrow and deep, and carved all over with devices. . no handle distinct from the body. , , , . all wanting. . the index-finger cavity is near the center of the back, very like a thimble. indeed this is a very striking feature. . the shaft groove occupies only the lower half of the upper surface. . the spur for the end of the weapon shaft is a long piece of iron like a knife-blade driven into the wood, with the edge toward the weapon shaft. [illustration: fig. . kadiak throwing-stick, front and back, left handed. fig. . unalashkan throwing-stick, front and back.] * * * * * typographical errors corrected in text: page : "not fastened in its groove in cannot be hurled." changed to "not fastened in its groove it cannot be hurled." page : sabotinsky replaced with sabotnisky. * * * * * available by early canadiana online (http://www.canadiana.org/eco/index.html) note: images of the original pages are available through early canadiana online. see http://www.canadiana.org/eco/mtq?doc= +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's notes: | | | | the lone greek word is transliterated and surrounded with +'s | | | | the original images were of very poor quality, some | | punctuation has been inferred. | | | | this document was originally published in and contains | | archaic spelling, as well as a number of obvious typographical | | errors which have been corrected. for a complete list of | | corrected words, please see the end of this document. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ moravians in labrador. [illustration] the moravians in labrador. from greenland's icy mountains the joyful sound proclaim, till each remotest nation has learnt the saviour's name. waft, waft, ye winds, his story, and you, ye waters, roll, till like a sea of glory, it spreads from pole to pole. heber. edinburgh: printed by j. ritchie. sold by w. whyte & co., w. oliphant, waugh & innes, and j. lindsay & co., edinburgh; m. ogle, and w. collins, glasgow; hamilton, adams & co., and j. nisbet, london. m.dccc.xxxiii. advertisement. the present small volume which, in some measure, owes its origin to the suggestion of that long tried, excellent, and first friend of the moravians in scotland, r. plenderleath, esq., and being cordially approved of by the rev p. latrobe, london, though connected with considerable labour, great part of it having been translated from the german, has been cheerfully executed, and is intended to promote a purpose similar to that of the first edition of the moravians in greenland--to aid the subscriptions of some private friends who wish to communicate occasionally with the missionaries in labrador, and send them a few articles of comfort which the general funds do not supply. in allusion to this, the following extract from a letter, addressed to a friend in this city, from one of these devoted men, will be pleasant to the friends of the missions--"dear sister a ----, you kindly mention that a society of christian ladies was formed in edinburgh in aid of the missions in greenland and labrador, and had sent a gift of clothes, for which i beg you will accept of our united thanks. there are many poor widows and orphans in our esquimaux congregations who are in the greatest necessity, to whom any little article of clothing will be most welcome. when our dear friends send us any thing of this kind, we always keep it till christmas, and then divide them, that they may appear clothed on christmas night. the dividing scene is often very affecting, their sobbing and weeping prevents their expressing _their gratitude_ in words, but one may easily perceive how deeply they feel their kindness." contents. introduction. page vii chapter i. hudson's bay company first settle among the esquimaux.--j.c. erhardt suggests a mission--his letter to the moravian bishop.--m. stach consulted.--london merchants undertake the scheme--engage erhardt--its fatal conclusion.--jans haven employed by the brethren--encouraged by the british government, sets out on a voyage of discovery--his providential arrival at quirpont--first meeting with the esquimaux--his interesting intercourse--returns to england. his second expedition, accompanied by drachart and other missionaries--their proceedings.--drachart's remarkable conversation with the natives--influence of the missionaries in preserving peace--their religious communications with the savages--the curiosity of the latter--their thievish tricks--their kindness to the missionaries--a dreadful storm.--drachart and haven entertained by an angekok--his incantations--their parting addresses to each other--the missionaries return to london. chapter ii. contests between the colonists and savages revive--murderous skirmish.--mikak.--karpik, his conversion and death.--the moravians receive a grant of land on the coast of labrador-- resolve to renew the mission--voyage to explore the land.-- jans haven, drachart, &c., arrive at labrador--their interview with the natives--meet mikak and tuglavina--their kindness.--segulliak the sorcerer.--anxiety of the esquimaux for their remaining among them--ground purchased for a settlement--manner of bargaining with the esquimaux--sail for esquimaux bay--the natives troublesome--the captain's method of checking them.--conduct of the missionaries--they preach on shore.--conversation with the esquimaux.--search out a place for a settlement--purchase it of the natives--ceremonies used on the occasion--take formal possession. deputation return to england chapter iii. preparations for establishing a settlement in labrador.--a love feast.--missionaries leave london--erect a mission-house at nain---regulations for their intercourse with the natives--visited by great numbers--manner of instruction--they retire in winter, are visited by the brethren in their houses.--death of anauke.--an incantation.--adventures in search of a dead whale.--p.e. lauritz deputed by the conference--visits the missions--his excursion along the coast.--a sloop of war arrives to examine the settlement--the captain's report.--jans haven's voyage to the north-- interesting occurrences.--lauritz leaves nain--his concluding address.--the brethren propose new settlements--disastrous voyage in search of a situation.--liebisch appointed superintendant.--an angekok baptized--his address to the natives.--jans haven commences a new station at okkak--received joyfully by the natives--six esquimaux baptized--proceedings at nain.--missionary accompanies the esquimaux to a rein-deer-hunt.--third settlement--hopedale founded.--remarkable preservation of the missionaries. chapter iv. esquimaux visit the english settlements--pernicious consequences--dreadful accident--famine--unexpected supply of food and skins.--emigration from okkak--missionaries' care of the wanderers, who return disappointed.--terrible tales from the south.--inquirers separated from the heathen.--popish priest attempts to seduce the converts.--brother rose inspects hopedale.--karpik the sorcerer.--peter's fall.--visits to the south renewed.--parting address of the brethren.--epidemic.-- death of daniel--of esther.--conversion and peaceful end of tuglavina.--last days of mikak.--indians come to hopedale.-- rose's remarks on the internal state of the missions.--instances of the power of grace among the esquimaux--striking observation of one of the baptized.--jonathan's letter to the greenlanders.-- affecting confession of solomon.--conduct of a young woman sought in marriage by a heathen.--state of the settlements at the close of the century.--prospects begin to brighten.--remarkable phenomenon.--avocations of the missionaries--their trials-- preservation of their vessels--of their settlements--their brotherly love. chapter v. variable appearances of the mission at nain and okkak--more favourable at hopedale.--death of benjamin.--spirit of love among the converted.--happy communion and close of the year.--providential escape of the resolution.--new epoch in labrador.--a remarkable awakening commences at hopedale-- meetings--schools.--letter from a converted esquimaux to his teacher.--industry of the awakened.--declension of religion at nain and okkak.--state of the children at hopedale.-- progress of the adults in knowledge, love, and zeal--instances.-- striking conversion of two young esquimaux, its effects upon their countrymen.--awakening spreads to nain and to okkak.--zeal of the converts towards the heathen rouses backsliders.-- behaviour of the awakened in sickness, and the prospect of death.--remarkable accessions from the heathen.--the son of a sorcerer. chapter vi. mutual affection of the christian esquimaux and greenlanders--their correspondence--letter from timothy, a baptized greenlander.--delight of the esquimaux in religious exercises.--order of the congregations--distressing events, apostasy of kapik--awful end of jacob--peaceful end of believers--judith, joanna.--revival among the communicants.--a feast by a christian brother to the esquimaux.--winter arrangements.--childrens' meetings--schools.--the brethren's settlements contrasted with the heathen.--progress of religion at the different stations.--books printed in the esquimaux language.--number of the settled esquimaux.--epidemic at nain--its consequences.--general view of the mission. chapter vii. desire of the heathen to hear the gospel.--brethren meditate a new settlement--voyage to explore the country.--quiet course of the mission--advantages of their church discipline.--death of burghardt.--exertions of the aged survivors.--schreiber, superintendant, arrives.--anxiety of the native christians to attend the ordinances of religion.--advantages of the bible as a school-book.--four missionaries unexpectedly carried to england.--baptized esquimaux seduced by traders.--perilous voyage of the returning missionaries--striking accident.-- schreiber retires from the superintendance--kohlmeister succeeds--his journeyings to okkak, to nain.--stability of the work of god at nain--hopeful deaths--conversion and recovery of a young native.--remarkable preservation of an esquimaux youth. chapter viii. fiftieth anniversary of the missionary vessel's first arrival in labrador--jubilee of the mission celebrated at nain.-- summary view of the success of the gospel in labrador during that period.--instance of maternal affection.--esquimaux contribute to the bible society.--british sloop of war, clinker, visits hopedale.--captain martin's testimony to the good effect of the brethren's labours--visits nain and okkak--consequences of his favourable report. chapter ix. the brethren obtain a further grant of land on the east coast of labrador--projected fourth settlement delayed.--progress of the three settlements in the interval.--instances of wonderful preservation--ephraim--of conrad, peter, and titus.--report of the superintendant, kohlmeister, on the general state of the mission.--letter from brother and sister kmoch, to a friend in edinburgh.--commencement and progress of hebron, the fourth station. the moravians in labrador. introduction. the moravian mission in labrador was attempted under circumstances scarcely less discouraging than those under which the brethren were enabled to achieve the moral conquest of greenland, was attended with incidents still more romantic, and blest with a success equally remarkable. but it possesses a peculiar interest to british readers, having been commenced under the auspices of the british government, and promising a more extensive influence among tribes with whom british intercourse is likely to produce a wider and more intimate connection. the peninsula of labrador extends from the th to the st deg. n.l. it is somewhat of a triangular form; bounded on the north by hudson's straits, and indented by ungava bay; on the east by the northern ocean; on the south by canada and the gulph of st lawrence; and on the west by hudson's and james' bay, which last coast, by a kind of anomaly in nomenclature, has been called the east main, from its situation to that great inland sea. the german geographers do not appear to doubt, what some of our own have called in question, that the discovery and the name of this peninsula, at least of its eastern shores, were owing to the portuguese, gaspar cortereal, who, in the years and , in an expedition fitted by the king to discover a western passage to india, reached the coast of newfoundland about the th deg. n.l., and sailed northward to nearly the entrance into hudson's bay. this tract of country was originally called after its discoverer, terra cortereali, a name since superseded by that of terra de labrador--the land capable of cultivation. davis straits, here about one hundred miles broad, separates it from greenland, whose southernmost point, cape farewell, lies in the same degree of latitude, [ n.l.] with cape chudleigh, the northernmost extremity of labrador. the straits of bellisle run between it and newfoundland. the land along the shore is abrupt and precipitous, indented with many little creeks and vallies, surrounded by innumerable islands, and rendered extremely dangerous of access from the multitude of sunken rocks. the interior is mountainous, intersected by marshes, and abounding with streamlets and lakes. detached from the arctic lands, this country ought to partake in some degree of the temperate cold regions, but whether owing to the elevation of its mountains, or the influence of the perpetual fogs that cover the neighbouring seas, it is as frozen a region as those to the west of hudson's bay; and though it lies some degrees farther south than greenland, yet the cold during the long winter is far more severe, the thermometer being frequently ° below ° of fahrenheit. perhaps the immense quantity of drift ice which accumulates on the eastern shores, and which extends for so many miles out to sea, may have some influence on the temperature of the climate. the summer, on the other hand, during the short time that it lasts, is proportionally warmer, the thermometer rising from ° to ° above . vegetation then proceeds with uncommon rapidity; the shrubs and plants expand as if by enchantment; and the country assumes the luxuriance and beauty of a european summer. forests of pine and larch are scattered over the country, the trees of sufficient size to be used in building, or to be sawn into boards; there are also willows, birch, aspen, and alder, in considerable quantities. the land animals are the same as those in greenland. the _rein-deer_, this beautiful and useful creature, is found in considerable herds, but has not hitherto been domesticated, being only hunted for its flesh, which makes an agreeable variety of food; and its skin, which is an elegant and necessary article of clothing, as the fur is always richer in proportion to the intensity of the cold, against which it forms an excellent defence; they are hunted with dogs, and formerly used to be easily killed with the bow and arrow, but the introduction of fire arms has proved much more destructive. when hard-pressed, they soon take to the water, and swim so well that a four oared boat can scarcely come up with them, but an esquimaux in his kaiak more readily overtakes them. _hares_ are tolerably plenty. the _arctic fox_ also is numerous; their skins are used for the purposes of commerce, and their flesh is esteemed preferable to that of the hare. _black bears_ are frequently killed, and are relished as food by the esquimaux. but the most formidable among the tribes of these regions is the _polar bear_, whose ferocity and courage render him an object of terror even to the well armed european. the _dog_ is the most useful of the quadrupeds to the esquimaux; he bears a strong resemblance to the wolf; is in height about the size of the newfoundland, and is well furnished with a thick hairy coat, peculiarly adapted to the climate. as a hunter, his scent can trace the seal or the rein-deer at a considerable distance, and he does not dread, when in packs, to attack even the white bear itself. his chief value, however, consists in his qualities as a draught animal; for this he is carefully trained from his infancy, and undergoes severe and frequent floggings to break him regularly into the team. he becomes then remarkably submissive, comes at his master's call, and allows himself quietly to be harnessed to the sledge. in fastening them care is taken not to let them go abreast: they are tied by separate thongs, of unequal lengths, to a horizontal bar on the forepart of the sledge; an old knowing one leads the way, running ten to twenty paces a head, directed by the driver's whip, which is often twenty-four feet long, and can only be properly wielded by an experienced esquimaux; the other dogs follow like a flock of sheep, and if one receives a lash, he bites his neighbour, and the bite goes round. their strength, and speed, even with an hungry stomach, is astonishing; and to this they are often subjected, especially by the heathen, who treat them with little mercy, and force them to perform hard duty for the small quantity of food they allow them. their portion upon a journey consists chiefly in offals, old skins, entrails, rotten whale flesh, or fins, or whatever else the esquimaux himself cannot use; if these run out, or if the master, whose stomach is not of the most delicate contexture, requires his dogs' meat, then the poor creatures must go and seek for themselves, in which case they will swallow almost any thing, so that it is always necessary to secure the harness over night, if the traveller wishes to proceed in the morning. the teams vary from three to nine dogs, and this last number have been known to drag a weight of more than sixteen hundred pounds, a mile in nine minutes. like the greenlanders the inhabitants of labrador must draw their subsistence and their wealth chiefly from the sea; but in this respect their circumstances are less favourable than the former. whales are scarce, and the chief species they take is that denominated the white fish, of little value in commerce. in pursuing them they have now adopted the european boat in preference to their own, and those most frequently employed are six oared, rowed by twelve men. the harpooner stands in the bow with his harpoon, or iron spear, which is stuck on a shaft one or two fathoms long, and is provided with a leathern thong of considerable length, to which are attached from five to ten bladders of seal skin. if the whale be struck he immediately dives to the bottom of the sea, where he remains till he is quite exhausted, when he again comes to the surface of the water to breathe; in the meanwhile the boat's crew observe all its motions, and are in readiness with their lances to complete the business, during which, the person who first struck the fish, falls down on his face in the fore part of the boat, and prays that torngak would strengthen the thongs that they may not break; another of the crew allows his feet to be bound, as a symbol of what he desires, then attempting to walk, falls down and exclaims, "let him be lame!" and a third, if he observes that the whale is dying, calls out, "now torngak is there, and will help us to kill the fish, and we shall eat his flesh, and fare sumptuously, and be happy!" but if the whale appears likely to escape, the first continues lying on his face crying out with vehemence, "hear yet, and help us!" if the whale get off, some of their conjurors inform them that torngak was not there, or he did not hear, or he was otherwise employed! seals are more abundant, and are the chief dependance of the natives, their flesh serving for food, their skins for clothes and covering to their tents and boats, and their blubber for oil or for exchange. catching the seal was formerly a tedious and laborious process, but now they are generally taken in nets, which the natives have adopted from the europeans. salmon and salmon-trout are caught in every creek and inlet; they remain in the rivers and fresh-water lakes during the winter, and return to the sea in spring. the esquimaux about okkak and saeglak, catch them in winter under the ice by spearing. for this purpose they make two holes in the ice, about eight inches in diameter, and six feet asunder, in a direction from north to south. the northern hole they screen from the sun by a bank of snow about four feet in height, raised in a semi-circle round its southern edge, and form another similar bank on the north side of the southern hole, sloped in such a manner as to reflect the rays of the sun into it. the esquimaux then lies down, with his face close to the northern aperture, beneath which the water is strongly illuminated by the sunbeams entering at the southern. in his left hand he holds a red string, with which he plays in the water to allure the fish, and in his right, a spear ready to strike them as they approach; and in this manner, they soon take as many as they want. the trout on this coast are from twelve to eighteen inches long, and in august and september so fat, that the esquimaux collect from them a sufficient quantity of oil for their lamps. the great shoals of herrings, which are the staple of the greenlanders, do not touch at the shores of labrador, but they have abundance of cod at many of their fishing stations, which the missionaries have shown them the method, and set them the example, of curing for their winter's supply. sea-fowl of the duck and goose species frequent the shores of labrador, and the islands scattered around it, and afford to the natives, as they do to the rest of the northern tribes, food, warmth, and materials for trade. of the land birds, the large partridge, [reiper,] or american wild pheasant, is the only one which the missionaries mention as being used by them as an agreeable variety of food, when, other resources failing, they have been confined to salted provisions. the peninsula is chiefly inhabited on the coast, where the moravians have now four settlements. the natives style themselves _innuit_, _i.e._ men; and foreigners, _kablunat_ or inferior beings. their original national name is karalit, also denoting superiority, and the term esquimaux, by which they are now so generally known, was given them by their neighbours the indians, in whose language it signifies "men's raw meat," and probably imports that the indians were, or it may be, are cannibals, and devoted their captives for this horrible repast. in lowness of stature, in their flat features, and dark colour, they exactly resemble the greenlanders. their language is a dialect of the same tongue, intelligible by both; but from their intercourse with foreigners, and their adopting some foreign customs, and becoming possessed of foreign utensils, a number of strange words have been introduced into each, only the former borrowed danish or english phrases, while the latter had learned many french words. their dress is nearly similar, being seal-skin coats and breeches, except the outer garment of the women ends behind in a train that reaches to the ground, and their boats are sufficiently large to carry their children if they are mothers--or provisions, or any other packages, if they are not. their winter houses are low, long, ill-constructed huts, inhabited by several families, and abominably filthy; they are dug deep in the earth, but the walls above the surface never exceed three feet in height, the roof is elevated in the middle, and the windows are placed to look to the south: the entry can only admit a person to crawl in; on one side of it is placed the kitchen, and on the other the dog-kennel, but no partition separates the biped from the quadruped inhabitant. if constrained to travel in winter, or to remain at a distance from their usual homes, they build houses of snow, which afford them a tolerably comfortable temporary abode. these habitations are very ingeniously constructed; they first search out a heap of firmly frozen snow, next they trace out a circular figure, of whatever size they think requisite, and then proceed with their long thin knives, to cut out square slabs, about three feet in length, two in breadth, and one in thickness, and gradually contracting as they rise, they form a dome about eight feet high; within, they leave an elevation all round the walls of about twenty inches, which, when covered with skins, serves both for a seat and a sleeping place; a piece of ice serves for a window, and in the evening they close their door with a board of snow; a lamp suspended from the roof gives light and heat to the apartment. when missions were first commenced among the greenlanders, they had had but little intercourse with europeans: it was different when the brethren visited labrador--the esquimaux had been long acquainted with europeans, but of the baser sort, and had lost many of the original features of savage life, without, however, gaining any thing better in their place. their communication with these wretches, who disgraced the term civilized, corrupted their morals, and did not improve their knowledge, taught them wants, without teaching them how to supply them, except by theft. when the missionaries latterly came in contact with esquimaux, who were previously unacquainted, or but little acquainted, with white men, they found them comparatively mild and honest. on a voyage of observation, they landed at nachrack, and they report, "we found," say they, "the people here, differing much in their manners from the people at saeglak. their behaviour was modest, and rather bashful, nor were we assailed by beggars and importunate intruders. we had no instance of stealing. thieves are considered by the esquimaux in general with abhorrence, and with a thief no one is willing to trade." latter voyagers have borne similar testimony to their brethren still further north; but their honesty seems to have arisen from the want of temptation; for the same missionaries add: "we have discovered that this propensity is not altogether wanting in the northern esquimaux, who now and then, if they think they can do it without detection, will make a little free with their neighbour's property." and a further acquaintance with the natives discovered to the northern navigators, that first impressions are not always to be relied upon, for even the fair damsels could slyly secrete pewter plates, spoons and other valuables in the capacious trunks of their hose-boots; but those near the european settlements had improved in wickedness, and got ingrafted on their own vicious propensities new branches of more vigorous and productive mischief. they were in truth in a situation peculiarly adapted to shew the power and the necessity of the gospel for reclaiming the moral wilderness, for in them it had to overcome the worst vices of barbarous and civilized men. their religion too appears to have received no more improvement than their morals; from their neighbourhood to nominal christians their creed remained much the same. they believed that torngak, under the figure of an old man, dwelt in the waters, and had the rule over whales and seals, and that a female demon, supperguksoak, under the form of an old woman, resided in the interior, and reigned over the land animals. but the angekoks had assumed a secular power, which they did not possess in greenland, and exercised at once the office of priest and a chief, of a sorcerer, a thief, and a murderer. of this several examples will be found in the subsequent narrative, as well as instances of their ridiculous incantations: the females, in some cases, showed the authority and influence of their husbands. their notions of futurity were gross and sensual, the highest enjoyment of the soul after death, being made to consist in successful hunting and gluttony; the sorest punishment, in poverty and hunger. the esquimaux on the east coast of labrador, may be divided into two sections: those in the south, who seldom come farther than kangertuksoak, about twenty miles north of okkak, which lies °, m. n.l.; and those of the north, who seldom come farther south than nachrack ° --m. saeglak lies between, and in winter is visited by both in their sledges. those in the north still retain the original native furniture, wooden bowls, and whale-bone water buckets, large and small lamps and kettles of bastard marble, and are more unvitiated, therefore more to be depended upon than the others. they of the south have obtained european pots and kettles of iron, hatchets, saws, knives and gimlets, woollen cloths, sewing needles, and various other utensils of iron; they are more treacherous, and less to be trusted in their dealings. so long as newfoundland remained in possession of the french, the traffic of europeans with the esquimaux went little farther than the bartering of fish hooks, knives, or trifling wares, which they had brought with them to the fishing for whale fins. but when that island fell into the hands of the english, they and the americans, who promised themselves great advantages from opening a trade with the natives, brought with them a more extensive assortment of goods. the traffic at first was mis-managed. in order to ingratiate themselves with the savages, the traders both took and allowed greater liberties than were calculated to preserve mutual good understanding. the foreigners excited the cupidity of the natives, which, though easily satisfied at the moment, soon became a constant, increasing, and insatiable appetite; and when their whale-fins, furs, or blubber were exhausted, and they could purchase no more of the articles they had learned to prize, they first quarrelled with those friends who would not make them presents of what they wanted, and then proceeded by fraud or force to supply themselves. having a thorough contempt for the _kablunat_, they imagined that they displayed a virtuous and praiseworthy superiority, when they overreached, deceived, and stole from them. the traders who entertained similar notions respecting the esquimaux, acted in a similar manner, and their intercourse soon became productive of murders and robberies, in which the numbers and cunning of the latter enabled them for a time to be the most successful. a band of esquimaux from avertok, a place not far from where the settlement of nain at present is, commenced their plundering expeditions upon system, evincing a depraved ingenuity, converted now to better objects. they went regularly to the south with whale fins, which they bought up from their neighbours, and under the pretext of trading with the europeans, contrived, either by stratagem or open violence, to rob them to an extent far beyond the value of what they pretended to barter; this succeeding for a while, they were joined by others from various quarters, till they were able to equip a fleet of boats amounting to eighteen. in , they so infested the straits of bellisle, that it was not safe for a fishing vessel to enter them alone. and so successful were these pirates, that they supplied the whole coast, not only with iron utensils and european arms, but likewise with boats, sails, anchors, cords and nets; and boats in particular were in such plenty, that a good one could have been got for a few skins, twelve whale-fins, or two or three dogs. the excesses and cruelties with which these depredations were accompanied, filled the europeans and colonists with such extraordinary terror, that if but the cry of a bird was heard in the night, every one trembled, and made ready to flee. the savages preferred stratagem, and to accomplish their purpose did not hesitate to employ the most insidious treachery. when they approached cape charles, they never ventured farther, till they reconnoitred during the dark in their kaiaks, and ascertained whether there were any europeans on the north side of chateau bay; if they found none, they advanced in the night, or in foggy weather, to the three islands that lie in the mouth of the bay, whence they, under cloud of night, examined the bay itself. if they found there only a few europeans, whom they supposed they could easily master, they approached softly so near, that they could stare them in the face, and then raised a most frightful yell, which commonly terrified the europeans thus taken by surprise, and threw them into such confusion, that they left all, and were glad if they escaped with their lives. if, however, the europeans did not allow themselves to be frightened by the unexpected cry, but received them in a friendly manner, and made offer to trade, the esquimaux would agree with seeming cordiality; and having sent off their boats and families, the men returned in their kaiaks bringing a few whale-fins to sell, and entered upon a very amicable-like traffic. this kind of intercourse they would continue for some days, till, having gained the confidence of the strangers and thrown them off their guard, then the most resolute and strongest of the esquimaux, concealing their long knives in a secret sheath in their left sleeve, would enter upon a bargain for some more fins, and while adjusting it with the greatest show of friendship, each would seize the trader with whom he was dealing, as if he meant to embrace him, and on a given sign by their leader, would plunge his knife into his heart. in this manner the whole were cut off, and their property became the prey of the savages, who, when they had fairly cleaned chateau bay, would set sail to renew their depredations in other quarters, and if dark and misty weather favoured, and their force was sufficient, they would even scour the straits of bellisle, or roam during the night in search of booty through the neighbouring islands. such was the character of the savages the moravians were desirous to civilize; how they succeeded, the following pages will show. the moravians in labrador chapter i. hudson's bay company first settle among the esquimaux.--j.c. erhardt suggests a mission--his letter to the moravian bishop.--m. stach consulted.--london merchants undertake the scheme--engage erhardt--its fatal conclusion.--jans haven employed by the brethren, encouraged by the british government, sets out on a voyage of discovery--his providential arrival at quirpont--first meeting with the esquimaux--his interesting intercourse--returns to england.--his second expedition, accompanied by drachart and other missionaries--their proceedings.--drachart's remarkable conversation with the natives--influence of the missionaries in preserving peace--their religious communications with the savages--the curiosity of the latter--their thievish tricks--their kindness to the missionaries--a dreadful storm.--drachart and haven entertained by an angekok--his incantations--their parting addresses to each other--the missionaries return to london. when the original hudson's bay company was formed, , for the purpose of trading in furs with the natives, the instructions they sent to their factors breathed the most liberal and benevolent principles. they directed them to use every means in their power to reclaim the heathen from a state of barbarism, and instil into their minds the pure lessons of christianity; and at the same time admonished them to trade equitably, and take no advantage of their untutored simplicity. it does not appear that much attention was paid to either of these injunctions, or if there was, the efforts proved as abortive as those they made to discover the western passage. the moral wilderness still remains around their settlements on the east maine, while those of the brethren on the opposite coast of labrador bloom and blossom as the rose. the first thought of attempting to establish a missionary settlement in that quarter among the esquimaux, originated with a moravian brother, john christian erhardt, a dutch pilot. he had in early life made several voyages to davis straits; but in , when sailing under captain grierson in the irene, the vessel touched at new hernhut in greenland, where he saw the congregation that had been gathered from among the heathen in that land; and in conversation with the brethren they told him that they supposed the opposite coast of north america was peopled by tribes having the same customs and speaking the same language as the greenlanders. this statement made a deep impression on his mind, and during his stay at hernhaag, , while musing on the state of that people sitting in the darkness of heathenism, and on how the light of the gospel might be communicated to them, a description of the journey undertaken by henry ellis, - , at the desire of the hudson's bay company, to try to discover a north-west passage, accidentally fell into his hands. the account there given of these barbarous regions convinced him that the people were sprung from the same origin with the greenlanders, and the methods suggested by ellis for their moral improvement enabled him to bring his own scheme to a bearing. in a letter, dated th may , addressed to bishop johannes de watteville, he laid before him his plan for establishing a mission on that part of the coast between newfoundland and hudson's straits, which had as yet been but rarely visited by europeans, and offered himself to undertake it. "whoever," says he in this letter, "has seen our cause in greenland, and what the saviour has done to the poor heathen there, surely his heart and his eyes must overflow with tears of joy, if he possess any feeling of interest in the happiness of others: they are indeed sparkling rubies in the golden girdle of our dear saviour, as the text for the day speaks, rev . and i believe the saviour has in these northern waters many such gems that he will also gather, and set in it to his praise and glory. my heart is much impressed with the thought of carrying the gospel to the before mentioned countries and places." "now, dear johannes," he concludes, "thou knowest that i am an old greenland traveller; i have also an amazing affection for these northern countries, indians, and other barbarians; and it would be a source of the greatest joy if the saviour would discover to me that he has chosen me, and would make me fit for this service. it is not for ease or convenience that i so earnestly desire it. i think i can say before the saviour, if this is of thee thou wilt cause it to prosper, if not, yet it is a good work, and no one will lose any thing by it." on purpose to further the prosecution of this object, m. stach, the first greenland missionary, had been recalled to europe, and in the year was sent for to london by count zinzendorff, to be consulted with upon the occasion. application was at the same time made to the hudson's bay company, for permission to preach the gospel to the savages in the neighbourhood of their factories; but this being refused, probably lest it should interfere with their mercantile projects, m. stach returned to found new settlements near the scenes of his first labours. meanwhile, three london merchants, but unconnected with the hudson's bay company, messrs nisbet, grace and bell, fitted out a vessel for the coast of labrador, to trade in oil and whale fins, and engaged erhardt, then at zeist, to act as supercargo, who, on account of his knowledge of the north seas, of the trade, and of the language, they judged well qualified for that office; but they also wished to make some preparation for a missionary settlement, and four brethren, golkowsky, kunz, post, and krumm, volunteered to remain in the country to learn the language, and endeavour the conversion of the heathen; for this purpose they took with them a wooden house ready to set up, a boat, various articles of furniture, and some kitchen garden-seeds. count zinzendorff, who, from former experience, was opposed to mixing trading transactions with the work of a christian mission, was not without doubts as to the issue of this undertaking, he did not however attempt to prevent it. the vessel on board of which this small society embarked, named the hope, reached the south-east coast of labrador on the th july . the whole is precipitous, and skirted with numerous barren rocky islands; among these they had to steer their way under many difficulties, and with the greatest caution, without any proper chart, in misty weather, and with the sounding line constantly in their hands. at length they landed, and proceeded in search of the esquimaux in order to traffic with them. on the th july they made their first appearance in five kaiaks, which they managed with great dexterity, and seemed highly delighted with erhardt, who, from his knowledge of the greenlandish, could make himself understood by them. they exchanged some whale fins for knives. july they came to anchor deg. m. n.l. in a beautiful harbour, surrounded by a wooded high land, and bounded by meadow grounds, to which, from respect to the chief owner of the ship, they gave the name of nisbet's harbour. there the brethren, with the assistance of the sailors, brought their house on shore, and erected it on this pleasant spot--for it was summer[a]--which they called hoffenthal, _i.e._ hopevale; they received from the ship all that was necessary for the supply of their present wants, and putting their confidence in the protection of their heavenly father, they took up their habitation. erhardt, in the mean time, carried on a considerable trade with the natives, who seemed very desirous to assemble around him, and showed him particular marks of affection and attachment. having remained till the th of september, and having seen the brethren, to all appearance, comfortably settled in their dwelling, the vessel left to proceed further to the north, for the purpose of completing her cargo, and drachart, who had engaged to return to europe, received in charge the brethren's letters for their friends, and bade them farewell. ten days after, on the th, the missionaries, to their astonishment, perceived the hope again re-enter nisbet's harbour. upon boarding her, they learned the painful heart-rending news, that erhardt, the captain, ship's clerk, and four sailors, had left the ship in a boat filled with merchandize, and for one day had conducted a friendly and gainful traffic with the esquimaux; but being enticed by the savages, had consented to repeat their visit, perhaps proceed farther into the country, or along the coast, and were never seen more. the vessel, with the remains of the crew, had waited in a state of the most anxious distressing expectation two days and three nights, in hopes of their return; but as they never made their appearance, and they had no other boat to send in quest of them, they were constrained to leave the district, under the distressing conviction that the natives, who had been observed lurking behind some of the small islands, had risen on the unsuspecting party, and murdered them for the sake of their property. this intelligence threw the brethren into the greatest perplexity, as the person on whom the charge of the hope now devolved pressed them earnestly to give him their boat, and return with him to europe, because, from the loss of his best seamen, without additional hands, it would be impossible to navigate the ship. having come thither at the expense of the merchants, the missionaries could not allow them to suffer in their temporal concerns; and although they would willingly have risked their own lives in the cause, they did not see it equally their duty to risk the lives of others, and the property of the merchants, on an unknown coast and a tempestuous ocean, and therefore agreed to comply with the new captain's request. leaving provisions in the house, from which they departed with sorrowful hearts, in the feeble hope that perhaps some of those missing might yet be alive, and might be able to find their way thither, on the th september they bade adieu to the station, reached st john's, newfoundland, on the st, and about the latter end of november arrived in london. an issue so disastrous to an expedition so well planned, which apparently carried within itself every rational promise of prosperity, was calculated to throw a damp upon any renewal of missionary enterprize in that quarter; and it did so with those who imagined that they themselves could command success, if their projects were judiciously concerted, and the means sufficiently supplied. it had no such effect on that eminent servant of god, count zinzendorff. when the mournful accounts of the uncertain fate of erhardt and his companions reached that nobleman, he was grieved, yet not distressed--perplexed, yet not in despair; for he saw much mercy mingled in the dispensation, and was thankful to god that four brethren had returned safe. next year the vessel hope re-visited the coast of labrador, under the command of captain goff. he heard that some dead bodies had been found and buried, and that the missionary station had been burned, but no further particulars were ever learned. in this manner ended the first commercial adventure and first mission to labrador--enforcing, in a salutary and impressive manner, the fundamental maxim of the brethren, that worldly speculation ought never to be joined with christian enterprize. notwithstanding this failure, the brethren did not relinquish the hope that god would, in some way or other, direct them how to reach these savages, and there were not wanting men who showed a strong desire to carry the gospel among them. in particular, jans haven, a carpenter, from the moment he heard that erhardt had been killed by the esquimaux, could never get rid of the powerful impulse, and in his retirement constantly employed himself with charts and books relating to the subject, and by every means endeavoured to make himself acquainted with the inhabitants, customs, climate and situation of labrador. in the year , haven received a call to assist the greenland missionaries in founding the new settlement of lichtenfels. he then for the first time told count zinzendorff, that during six years he had cherished the idea of going to labrador to make known to the heathen their creator and saviour. at first the count hesitated whether he should allow him to go to greenland, but upon consideration, he thought it would be better for him to proceed thither; and on taking leave, and giving him his blessing, he said, "go first to greenland and learn the language, and the saviour will do the rest." he accordingly went thither, and was honoured, along with m. stach, to promote the second settlement in that country. with all the attachment and love, however, which he soon conceived for the greenlanders, his predilection for labrador never abated, while his determination to serve the lord in those regions was ever present to his mind; and when in he returned to germany, he laid his desire before the conference at engen, which at that time had the direction of the brethren's unity, and offered to undertake personally a voyage of inquiry into these regions. his proposals met with their most cordial approbation, and he took his departure from hernhut for england in the spring of , with the blessing of the congregation. he travelled on foot through germany to holland, and after encountering numberless difficulties--especially in england from his want of a knowledge of the language--he arrived in london. his first intention was to offer himself as a common sailor or ship's carpenter to the hudson bay company, in order to procure a passage; but the brethren advised him rather to try and get to labrador by the way of newfoundland. after many fruitless attempts, he was eventually introduced, through the means of james hutton, secretary to the brethren's unity in england, to sir hugh palliser, governor of newfoundland, and commodore of the squadron which sailed annually from england. sir hugh received him very kindly, and took a lively interest in what appeared to him so praiseworthy an undertaking as the conversion of the heathen; for he rationally concluded that it would also be most advantageous for commerce, if the population of that country were instructed and humanized. he at once promised all his assistance and support, and even offered to carry jans haven out on board his own ship. this the missionary declined, but requested letters of recommendation to the government officers at st john's, which were readily granted, and he set sail with the first vessel for that port. upon his arrival (may th) he lodged at the house of a merchant, who treated him with great civility, and supported himself by working at his trade as a carpenter, while he endeavoured to obtain every information possible respecting the scene of his future labours. in the mean time, his disinterested love for the work he had engaged in was put to an eminently trying test. many persons who heard of his intentions came to see and converse with him; but instead of endeavouring to strengthen his hands in his missionary designs, they made him several advantageous proposals for settling in newfoundland, where there would have been no doubt of his speedily realizing a fortune. his heart, however, was bent on a nobler object. that he did not under-rate the difficulties he would have to encounter in his arduous work, appears from a letter written about this time; but he knew likewise where his strength lay. "every one here," says he, "paints the esquimaux in the most shocking colours; but i think they are men, and the word of the death of jesus, which has produced such amazing effects on other barbarous nations, cannot fail to have an influence also on them." immediately upon his arrival in st john's, newfoundland, the governor issued a proclamation, expressive of his approval of the objects of the mission and of his desire to promote them. "as it would," said he, "be of the greatest advantage to the trade of his majesty's dominions in north america, if a friendly intercourse could be established between the esquimaux indians that inhabit the coasts of labrador, and the inhabitants of the colonies; and all attempts hitherto to accomplish this desirable object having failed--partly, it must be confessed, owing to the foolish, treacherous and cruel manner in which some of our people have treated the natives in their traffic with them on their own coasts--some of them being most deceitfully plundered, and others barbarously murdered; in consequence of which we have been brought into the greatest contempt, as if our only design was to lay a snare to get them extirpated: such flagitious proceedings being directly opposed to his majesty's benign and humane disposition, it is his royal will and pleasure that these indians be henceforth treated with kindness, and encouraged to trade with his majesty's subjects. in conformity with these sentiments of our gracious sovereign, we deem it necessary to recommend to every possible assistance the bearer of this, jans haven, a member of the moravian brethren's church, who has formed the laudable design of visiting these coasts, and if possible, to communicate the knowledge of religion to the poor ignorant heathen, and also endeavour to remove the prejudices which have prevented them from having a friendly intercourse with us. and further, we, his majesty's officers, &c. in council assembled, having conversed with the said jans haven, and being highly satisfied with him, command that no impediment be thrown in the way of this his attempt, but rather that every possible friendship and assistance be given him, in order to promote a happy issue to his most christian undertaking, as by this a great service will not only be rendered to the inhabitants of these colonies, but to his majesty's subjects in general. given under our hand, subscribed and sealed at st john's, st july . (signed) hugh palliser" fortified by this proclamation, which secured to the missionary the protection of the british government, a protection which the brethren have to this day enjoyed, he embarked on board a ship bound for the north, from which he was transferred to a french shallop engaged in fishing on the shores of labrador. when they arrived on the coast, haven for the first time saw the esquimaux rowing about in their kaiaks, but none were permitted to approach without being fired upon, so great was the dread these savages had inspired. he landed, however, th aug., near chateau bay, degrees n.l.; but the inhabitants fled at his approach, at least none made their appearance till he left the shore, when they came in numbers to the beach, which was the subject of much merriment to the sailors, who made both him and his object the frequent subjects of their coarse ridicule--the few who sympathized in his disappointment advised him to return, and refused further assistance in what they considered so hopeless a cause. at the same time he was informed that a murderous project was in contemplation against the natives. all these things filled his heart with the most pungent sorrow, preyed upon his mind, and wasted his body--and he cried to the lord for relief and help in this distressing situation. once, when writing down his heavy mournful cogitations in his journal, the master of the shallop entered his cabin, and seeing him in tears, inquired whether he was going to make a complaint to the owners? "no," replied he, "but i mean to complain of you to god, that he may notice your wicked conduct on the present occasion, for ye have taken his name in vain, and ye have mocked his word!" struck with this address, the captain entreated his forgiveness, and promised that from henceforth he would do every thing to promote his design, which he faithfully performed, and landed him next day at quirpont or quiverant, a harbour in an island, off the north-east extremity of newfoundland. here he landed in a most propitious moment--a number of unprincipled wretches had arrived, and were holding a council to concert a plan for destroying the esquimaux. instantly the missionary went to them boldly, showed them the governor's proclamation, and strongly remonstrated with them; yet it was not without difficulty that he persuaded them to lay aside their diabolical design. to this harbour the natives frequently resorted to trade, or rather more frequently to steal; and here his first interview took place with the esquimaux, which he records in his diary in the following manner: "september was the joyful day i had so long wished for, when one esquimaux came into the harbour to see if captain galliot was there. while i was preparing to go to him, he had turned, and was departing to return to his countrymen, who lay in the mouth of the harbour, with the intelligence that the captain had sailed. i called out to him in greenlandish that he should come to me, that i had words to say to him, and that i was his good friend. he was astonished at my speech, and answered in broken french; but i begged him to speak in his own language, which i understood, and to bring his countrymen, as i wished to speak to them also, on which he went to them and cried with a loud voice, 'our friend is come!' "i had hardly put on my greenland clothes when five of them arrived in their own boats--i went to meet them, and said, 'i have long desired to see you.' they replied, 'here is an _innuit_.' i answered, 'i am your countryman and friend.' they rejoined, 'thou art indeed our countryman!' the joy on both sides was very great, and we continued in conversation for a considerable time, when at last they invited me to accompany them to an island about an hour's row from the shore, where i should find their wives and children, who would give me a cordial welcome. i well knew that in doing this i put myself entirely in their power; but conceiving it to be of essential service to our saviour's cause that i should venture my life among them, and endeavour to become better acquainted with their nature, i turned simply to him, and said, 'i will go with them in thy name. if they kill me, my work on earth is done, and i shall live with thee; but if they spare my life, i will firmly believe that it is thy will that they should hear and believe thy gospel.' "the pilot and a sailor who put me ashore, remained in the boat, and pushed off a little way from the land to see what would become of me. i was immediately surrounded, and every one seemed anxious to show me his family. i gave every boy two fish-hooks, and every woman two or three sewing needles; and after conversing about two hours, left them, with a promise of soon being with them again. in the afternoon i returned with the pilot, who wished to trade with them. i begged them to remain in this place during the night, but not to steal any thing from our people, and showed the danger of doing this. they said the europeans steal also. i answered, if they do so, let me know, and they shall be punished. i seized every opportunity to say something about the saviour, to which they listened with great attention. i then invited them to visit me next morning, and took leave. "next morning accordingly, eighteen esquimaux came in their boats. i went out to sea to meet them, and as the french captain was frightened at the sight of such a crowd, i only allowed six of them to come ashore with me, and directed the others to land somewhere else. i now informed them of commodore palliser's proclamation, and of the kind intentions of the british government towards them, assuring them, that in future no one should be allowed to do them the least injury, so long as they themselves behaved properly and peaceably--to all which they listened with great attention; but when i offered them the written declaration, which i had received from the commodore, they shrunk back terrified, and would not be persuaded to touch it--for they supposed it a living creature, having seen me speak words from it. i then got into a boat and went with them again to their families, who received me as before, with the greatest show of kindness. in the evening, three french and one english boat arrived full of esquimaux--the men came immediately to see me, and requested i would visit them in their tents. i read to them a letter written by the missionary john beck, in name of the greenlanders; and as i spoke to them of the saviour's death, they appeared struck with terror--probably supposing that they were upbraided with some of their former murders. on which i showed them that he was a great friend to mankind--but they had no understanding of spiritual things. "to my astonishment i spoke to them with much more ease than i supposed i could have done, and they expressed great affection for me, insisting always upon my being present at all their trading transactions with the sailors, to adjust matters between them; 'for,' said they, 'you are our friend.' when retiring, they entreated me to come again, and bring my brethren with me. "on the day after, twenty-six men arrived, and requested me once more to pay them a visit before my departure. i begged the captain to lend me his boat, which he readily did, as he wished to go along with me; the pilot, surgeon, and six sailors, all well armed, accompanied me. the captain had dressed himself in his most gaudy apparel, but of this the esquimaux took no notice. they asked me if i really intended to come again next year? i said, yes, if they did not murder me as they had my countrymen some years before--they startled, looked to the ground, and remained silent. i continued, 'i believe you did it through ignorance, but now that i can speak to you, i hope you will never do the like again.' they promised unanimously that no one should ever receive the least injury from them again. i said farther, 'when i come back i shall tell you things of the greatest importance, of the god that created you, and that redeemed you; and if you will but believe on him, then shall we live happy together.' one of them asked if god dwelt in the sun? i replied, 'god made the sun, and them, and me, and all things.' another asked me, if he believed in this creator, if he would be more successful in his business? i answered, there was no doubt of it, if he was diligent in his employment; but that the future life was of infinitely greater importance than the present, and _it_, those who believed on him, trusted in him, and lived according to his will, should enjoy. some of them begged me to read again the letter that i had read yesterday; and when i wished to take leave, one of the chief persons among them, the angekok seguliak, took me into his tent, and embracing and kissing me, said, 'we are timorous now, but when you come back again we shall meet one another without fear, dread, or suspicion.' another came with his drum and began to dance and sing, repeating often, 'our friend is come! this makes us glad!' when he concluded, he asked me to answer him. i sung, while my heart was touched, this verse in the greenlandish language, 'jehovah, lord of hosts--the true god--thou art the creator of all nature--the preserver of the world--what was ruined thou hast regained by thy blood, and by thy blood must sanctify--consecrated to thee we fall at thy feet.' when i had finished, they said, we are without words to express our admiration. they took their final departure on the th, but no sooner had they left the harbour than they began to steal. i offered, if they would give me a boat with four men, to go again and speak seriously to them, but no one would go with me." sir h. palliser was so well satisfied with the missionary's report, that he sent him to britain in the lark frigate, to concert measures for carrying his benevolent design into execution. the board of trade, who perceived the immense advantages which would arise from a mission among these tribes, in promoting peace with the natives, and the security of the traders, were anxious to see the brethren established in labrador; and the directors of the unity, under their especial patronage, in the year , undertook a second voyage of inquiry upon the coast. on this expedition jans haven was accompanied by christian laurentius drachart, who had been a danish missionary in greenland,[b] john hill and andrew schlozer (schliezer.) the british admiralty accommodated them with a passage in a public vessel, and they ( th may) sailed from spithead, in the lark, captain thomson, the same frigate that had brought jans haven home. he landed them at cosque, newfoundland, where another government vessel, the niger, received them, and conveyed them to chateau bay, at which place they arrived july th; but were there obliged to separate, the captain, sir thomas adams, having received instructions to detain some of them, to keep up the friendly intercourse with the esquimaux. with these directions, they not unwillingly complied, their object being to follow the leadings of providence, and pursue the line which promised to lead to the greatest good. haven and schliezer therefore proceeded forward, and drachart and hill remained. the two former embarked in a schooner bound for the north, in order to prosecute their intended exploratory voyages; but after spending from the th of july to the d of september, and reaching the th deg. n.l. on the east coast, labrador, they returned without having accomplished any thing of importance, not having met with a single native in any place at which they had landed. the other two had an opportunity of speaking with hundreds, whom the trade attracted to their neighbourhood, of which they gave the following account in their journals: "on the th august, we heard that esquimaux were coming, and were about twenty english miles off. we sailed on the th, very early, with sir thomas, to meet them, and invited them, in the name of the governor, to pitt's harbour.[c] after some hours we saw the first kaiak. as they approached, the savages began to call out, in broken french, 'tous camarades oui hu!' which the sailors answered in the same manner. drachart allowed the first shout to pass over; he then took one of them by the hand and said in greenlandish, 'ikinguitigangut,' _i.e._ 'we are friends;' the native understood, and answered, 'ikinguitsgenpogui,' 'we are also thy friends.' we then took some of them into the vessel. a man in a white woollen coat, said he got it as a keepsake from jensingoak, _i.e._ jans haven, and inquired where he was. at their earnest invitation mr drachart went with them, and found upwards of three hundred assembled, crying out incessantly, 'we are your friends--be not afraid--we understand your words--where do you come from?' he answered, 'i have words to you;' on which the whole adjourned to a green plain without the camp, and sat down around him. he then told them, 'i come from the karalit in east greenland, where at one time i had a wife, children, and servants.' when they heard this, they cried out, 'these karalit are bad people,' thinking he meant the north indians; but he said, 'i come not from the north, i came over the great sea from the karalit in the east, of whom you have heard nothing, for it is very long since they went away from this place. but they have heard of you, and therefore jensingoak came last year to visit you, to see if you are karalits, and i now see myself that you are; and i am sent to say, that the karalits in the east are your friends, that they know the creator of all things, who is our saviour, and they wish you also to know him.' "greatly perplexed at this discourse, the savages made him repeat it again and again, saying to each other, 'saog?' what does he say? when an old man undertook to interpret. 'he means,' said he, '_silla_,'[d] throwing his hands around his head, and at the same time blowing with his mouth. 'yes!' repeated drachart immediately, 'silla!--the great creator of the world, is our saviour.' a young man, somewhat astonished, stepping forward, exclaimed, 'saviour! what is that? i do not understand what that means.' another asked, 'where is he?' drachart then moving his hand in circles around his head, as the old man had done, said, 'he is every where in silla, but he became a man, as we are.' 'are you a teacher?' asked one. 'yes, i was in the east,' replied the missionary. 'are you an angekok?' was the next question. 'it may be,' was the cautious response. on which two aged men, with long beards, coming up to him, said, 'we are angekoks.' drachart took them by the hands, and introduced them to sir thomas adams, who, with the sailors, had been standing by during the conversation, and told them, 'this is our captain, who is sent by a greater captain to invite you to visit him to-morrow.' sir thomas then hastened back to pitt's harbour, to give an account of this interview to the commodore, who had remained there, and we continued our course a few miles farther north in st louis bay, where we remained during the night." now scarcely a day escaped without the brethren's having some intercourse with the esquimaux, though this was attended with much difficulty, and many a sleepless night, as, in passing and repassing to their encampment, they often had nothing but the canopy of heaven to cover them from the wind and the rain. sir h. palliser employed mr drachart as his interpreter in the negociations which followed, for placing the trade with the esquimaux on such a footing that all violence should from that time cease on both sides, and that mutual confidence might be restored and maintained. he also learned by his means the chief places of their residence, and their actual numbers--important points for regulating his future intercourse with that nation. in these respects, the missionary was unweariedly diligent, and his efforts were so successful, that, during the whole time he and his brethren remained, peace and good will was preserved among all parties. but at the same time he neglected no opportunity to exhibit the crucified jesus, and commend him to the heathen as their saviour. the following excerpts from his diary may serve as a specimen:--when he spake to them of the corruption and depravity of all men, they thought he only meant the kablunat, or foreigners, not them, they were good karalit. "have you ever," said he, "any bad thoughts?" "no." "but when you think we will kill the kablunat, and take their boats and their goods, are not these bad thoughts?" "yes." "would you not then wish to be delivered from your bad thoughts, words, and actions?" "we do not know,"--concluded their catechism. when the missionary told them that the greenlanders had been washed from their sins in the blood of jesus, they were amazed, and said, "they must have been very wicked fellows!" and when he spoke to them of eternal damnation, they supposed it was only the kablunat that were sent to hell, (because they did wicked things,--as for them they were good karalit.) having upon one occasion mentioned god to them, they said, "thou speakest of torngarsuk." he then asked them if torngarsuk created all things; they answered, "we do not know." but an angekok said immediately, "torngarsuk ajungilak,"--the great spirit is good and holy; and another added, "ajuatangilat,"--nothing is impossible to him; and a third subjoined, "saimavot,"--he is gracious and merciful. they, however, could form no idea of what he said to them of a saviour and redeemer; he was obliged to explain that word to them by parables, when they would ask if this mighty personage would be their good friend, for they could conceive of him in no other way than as a great lord who was to come and deliver them from the kablunat, and assist them against the northern kraler. with the fickleness so natural to savages, they would listen attentively to the first instructions, but when it was often repeated, they would say, as both ancient and modern athenians, "we know all that already, tell us something new," or like the greenlanders, sometimes profess to believe it, and the next moment declare they neither understood nor cared about it. with those who had patience, and were so disposed, the missionary went over every doctrine about which they spoke in a catechetical way, and endeavoured by short questions, to see if they comprehended it, and tried to allure them to make further inquiry. during their whole intercourse, the esquimaux showed themselves very friendly, and were particularly glad when they saw jans haven again; some of them recollected many things he had told them the year before, and praised him for keeping his promise of returning, and others boasted of the good they had heard of him from their countrymen. the brethren could go any where among them with the utmost security; but they were under the necessity of submitting to their curiosity, and allowing them to handle every thing they saw, even when they perceived this liberty to be attended with danger; yet even now, such was the influence of their friendly behaviour, that very little damage was incurred. in one tent, they searched drachart's box, and carried every thing off, taking also his hat along with them. without uttering any reproachful complaint, the missionary went to some of the older people, and said, "now i have got no hat to skreen me from the sun." they instantly called to the young men, and desired them to give him back every thing, which they did with the utmost coolness, and only requested a knife as a keepsake. at another time, when they had secretly emptied his box, no sooner did the chief elders of the tribe perceive the circumstance, than they called every person belonging to the tent to come before them, and desired that what had been taken away should be restored; the thief immediately came forward, and without betraying any consciousness of having done wrong, threw down what he had taken, saying, "thou needest it thyself!" though at a great distance, and scattered over a considerable extent of country, haven and drachart were especially anxious to visit them in their own houses: this they seized every opportunity of doing, searching them out, and under every difficulty wandering after them. but they were gratified by the reception they generally met with; for when they informed them that they intended next year to come and live among them, the answer uniformly was--"come and build a house with us, and live with us; but do not bring kablunat with you, bring only innuit--men as we are, and you are; and jensingoak shall help us to build boats, and to repair them; and drachart shall teach us to read and write, and we shall live together as friends: then our flints[e] and harpoons shall no more be used against each other, but against the seals and rein deer." a dreadful storm of wind and rain occurred on the th september, which gave rise to some interesting incidents, and appears materially to have furthered the object of the missionaries, by shewing the esquimaux their fearless intrepidity and unsuspecting confidence, which strongly affected the savages, and greatly increased the affection and respect in which they before held them. the missionaries, when attempting to get on board their vessel, were prevented by the violence of the tempest. their shallop was driven on shore and grounded on the rocks. in vain they endeavoured, with the assistance of the esquimaux, to get her off: eight of them waded into the water breast-deep and toiled for upwards of an hour, but could not move her; meanwhile the vessel went away, and they were left alone with the natives. hill and the ship's surgeon endeavoured to follow the vessel in a small boat, in order to attempt some arrangement; but just as they had reached her, they were dashed by the waves against the ship's side and overset, and narrowly escaped with their lives. drachart and haven now betook themselves to the stranded shallop, but they were destitute of provisions, and the rain fell in torrents. the esquimaux, who perceived their wretched situation, came and represented to them that the boat could not possibly float before the tide returned in the morning, and invited them to lodge for the night in their tent, a proposal with which the poor drenched brethren were glad to comply. immediately segulliak, the angekok, plunged into the water and brought them successively on his back to the shore; he afterwards carried them to his tent, caused his wife to procure them dry garments, and spread a skin on the floor for them to sit and sleep on. the tent was soon crowded with people, who frequently asked them if they were not afraid? "we do not know what you intend," answered they, "but you are our friends, and friends are not afraid of each other." "we are good karalits," was the universal rejoinder, "and now we see you are not kablunat, but innuits, and our friends; for you come to see us without weapons, we will do you no harm." the esquimaux then gave the brethren fish, water and some bread they had got from the sailors, and in about half an hour prepared for rest, segulliak kindly covering them with two other skins. the conjurer himself did not, however, appear inclined for repose: falling into an ecstacy he first sung with his wives, then muttered some unintelligible jargon, made strange gestures, blew and foamed at the mouth, twisted his limbs and body together as if convulsed, throwing himself into every possible posture; and at intervals emitting the most frightful shrieks, then again he held his hand on drachart's face, who was next him, and concluded the first act of his demoniacal pantomime by groaning out, "now is my torngak come!" observing drachart, who was awake, appear startled when he came near him, as often as he laid his hand on his face he kissed him. he then lay still for a while as if dead--after a little began to moan, and at last raised himself up, and requested that they would kiss him, as that gave him some relief, after which he sat down and began to sing. the brethren told him they would sing something better, and accordingly sung some greenland hymns--to these the esquimaux were very attentive, and repeated every word, observing, "we know only a little of what you say." wearied and restless, the brethren lay down, but could not sleep; they therefore frequently arose and went out of the tent: but segulliak, who appeared to view their motions with suspicion, always took care to go out along with them: in the morning, at his desire, they divided among his people glass-beads, fish-hooks, sewing needles, &c as payment for their night's lodging. at parting, segulliak addressed them, "you may tell your countrymen in the east that you have slept a night with me in safety--you are the first foreigners that ever remained a night in my tent--yet you are not foreigners but men, our friends, with whom all dread is at an end, for we know each other." drachart being taken ill, it was not till the st september that the brethren were able to take their final departure, on which occasion jans haven, when bidding the natives farewell, made them promise that they would not forget what drachart had spoken to them. "we shall now," said he, "see you no more this year; but remember your creator and redeemer, and when we come again next year we shall be happy with each other--the saviour be gracious unto you and bless you, amen!" on the th september the four brethren returned to newfoundland, and after a friendly interview with the governor, embarked on board the niger, nov th, for england, being again granted a free passage by government. on the th they landed at plymouth, and reached london on the d of the same month. footnotes: [footnote a: the difference of aspect between a spot in summer, for a few weeks, and during winter, is altogether extreme.] [footnote b: vide "moravians in greenland."] [footnote c: pitt's bay and st. louis bay are creeks quite in the neighbourhood of chateau bay, or york's harbour.] [footnote d: _silla_ in greenlandish, signifies sometimes the air, sometimes the understanding, and sometimes the world, or the +pneuma+, the soul of the world.] [footnote e: a poetical expression for pistols and muskets.] chapter ii. contests between the colonists and savages revive--murderous skirmish.--mikak.--karpik, his conversion and death.--the moravians receive a grant of land on the coast of labrador--resolve to renew the mission--voyage to explore the land.--jans haven, drachart, &c., arrive at labrador--their interview with the natives--meet mikak and tuglavina--their kindness.--segulliak the sorcerer.--anxiety of the esquimaux for their remaining among them--ground purchased for a settlement--manner of bargaining with the esquimaux--sail for esquimaux bay--the natives troublesome--the captain's method of checking them--conduct of the missionaries--they preach on shore.--conversation with the esquimaux--search out a place for a settlement--purchase it of the natives--ceremonies used on the occasion--take formal possession.--deputation return to england. various impediments prevented any further negociations with the government of great britain, in regard to establishing a mission among the esquimaux, for nearly five years. during this period the english merchants and the natives on the coast of labrador were anew involved in strife and bloodshed. with the missionaries all confidence had left the country; the colonists had no check, and the savages had no friend. the mercenary views of the traders were ever leading them to cheat and deceive these poor untutored unprotected beings, who in return, deemed retaliation no crime; nor in balancing the amount of guilt would it be easy to settle which of the parties were most deeply implicated; the one who gave trifles, or worse--beads or brandy, for articles of real value; or the other, who secretly pilfered some useless toys or iron implements, for which in fact they had greatly overpaid. both were rogues in their dealings, only the europeans had the advantage of superior knowledge, which enabled them to rob with superior dexterity, and to cloak their knavery under the name of barter. but at this date-- - --the esquimaux, from their intercourse with their civilized neighbours, had learned to estimate the value of european arms and vessels, and they stuck at no method by which they might possess themselves of them, while the murders which the whites committed with impunity, led them on every occasion that offered, eagerly to gratify their cupidity and revenge. they accordingly watched their opportunity; and in , when the europeans were off their guard, killed three men and stole two boats. a battle was the consequence, when twenty of the savages were left dead on the field, and four women, two boys and three girls were taken prisoners, and brought to newfoundland. among the women prisoners were mikak; one of the boys was her son; the other, karpik, about fifteen years of age, had previously lost his mother, and his father fell in the engagement. their own story forms a remarkable episode in the history of the mission. these three were sent to england, where they were treated with much kindness. mikak, who seems to have been a person of very superior understanding, was noticed by many of the nobility, and particularly by the princess dowager of wales, mother to george iii; but nothing could overcome her love for her native land, or erase from her mind the deep sense she entertained of the sufferings of her kindred. we are not furnished with the facts of the case, but it appears sufficiently plain, that from all she saw in england, and during the time of her captivity, that she discerned and appreciated the immense superiority of the europeans over the esquimaux, and was extremely anxious to return home, and, if possible, carry with her the means of their amelioration. providentially jans haven came to england in for the purpose of endeavouring to renew the mission, and meeting with mikak, she immediately recognised him as an old acquaintance, who had formerly lodged in her tent, and expressed the most unbounded joy at meeting with a friend by whom her language was understood. her first and constant theme was the condition of her countrymen; and she incessantly entreated haven to return to labrador and endeavour to do something for their relief. besides, now that she had a medium of communication, she never ceased to urge her prayer among those distinguished personages, by whom she had been patronized, and her applications had no small influence in paving the way for a renewal of the mission. soon after she was sent home in a king's ship, and rendered essential service to the brethren who followed. by the especial direction of sir hugh palliser, karpik was consigned to the care of jans haven for the purpose of being properly educated, that he might afterwards be employed in the important service of introducing christianity, and the peaceful arts of civilized life, into the savage and inhospitable coasts of labrador--the governor being deeply impressed with a sense of the great benefits to be derived from a well conducted mission among the wild tribes in the neighbourhood of the colony, with whom they meant to carry on a safe or a gainful traffic. naturally ferocious and untractable, karpik was very averse to restraint; and it was not till after the most unwearied display of disinterested kindness, that jans succeeded in gaining the affections of this stubborn boy, and persuading him willingly to accompany him to his dwelling. here, perhaps, the good man's most trying labours began. karpik inherited the prejudices of his nation: he had a high opinion of himself, and despised all others; and when told that god the creator of the world desired to make him happy, received the information as a matter of course, replying to his teacher with a comfortable self-complacency, "that is right, for i am a good _karaler_!" the filthiness of his skin had superinduced a cutaneous disorder, which, when the care and attention of haven had got removed, he expressed high delight, but he soon became dissatisfied with the clean plain clothing in which he was dressed; boys of any rank at that time being absurdly decorated with ruffles and lace, and such like trumpery; and as if human folly had wished to caricature its own ridiculous extravagance, some of the children were even introduced into company with cocked hats and swords. poor karpik, it seems, caught the infection, and conceived a violent passion for a hat and coat bedizzened with embroidery; and it is amusing to remark his wayward ingenuity, when insisting upon being gratified. on one occasion jans had remonstrated with him upon the uselessness of finery, and exhorted him to apply himself to useful learning; and above all, to seek to know the lord who dwells in heaven--"poor clothes," retorted he instantly, "will not teach me that! my countrymen, who have poor clothes, die and know nothing of god. the king has fine clothes, and knows god as well as you, and why should not i? give me fine clothes, i can still know god and love him!" haven told him he had no money to buy him fine clothes--"then go to the king," said karpik, "and get money from him." "well," replied the missionary, "we will go; but if the king asks, what has karpik learned? can he read, or write, or is he acquainted with the god in heaven? what shall i say? if i am forced to answer, he has learned nothing; the king will say, take him on board the man of war, let him serve my officers and clean their shoes for seven years, till he has learned something.--you know how these boys are treated." karpik perceived the force of this simple reasoning, fell on the neck of his instructor, and promised all obedience in future. it was not, however, till some time after, that eternal things began to make a serious impression on his mind. at length he grew thoughtful, and under the powerful conviction of his wretched state as a sinner, would often exclaim, "woe is me! i am good for nothing, i am a miserable creature!" under these uneasy sensations he at first felt exasperated, and he wished he had never heard of a god or of a bible; but as the truth beamed in upon his soul, he became calm and peaceful, and manifested a strong desire to be further instructed. he was in this interesting state of mind, when haven, being called away, committed him to the charge of mr drachart, who was then residing at the brethren's settlement in yorkshire, under whose tutilage he made rapid improvement in knowledge; and evidenced, by the change of his disposition, and his mildness of manner, and simplicity of conduct, that the gospel had taken powerful hold upon his heart; and this he evidenced still more clearly, when early called to grapple with the last enemy. from the encouraging progress he was making, his friends were fondly anticipating the time when he should go forth as a zealous missionary of the lord jesus among his benighted countrymen, but their hopes were suddenly overcast. on september the d, he was seized with the small pox, which, in spite of the best medical assistance, speedily proved fatal. he bore his distemper with patience, and some of his last expressions were, "o! jesus, i come to thee, i have no where else to go. i am a poor sinner, but thou hast died for me! have mercy upon me! i cast myself entirely upon thee." the day before his death he was baptized by mr drachart, who, at his own request, made use of the greenlandish language in administering the rite. on the th october , he expired, the first fruits of christ's vintage among the esquimaux; and although not employed to spread the savour of his name among his heathen kindred by the living voice, yet he was honoured by his death to encourage the exertions, and strengthen the faith of those soldiers of the lord who were buckling on their armour for the glorious combat. whether the ruinous effects of the state of anarchy, and murderous contests which prevailed whenever the natives and the europeans came in contact, or whether the various memorials with which they had been for several years annoyed, had most influence, we know not; but the board of trade made a representation early in to the king, (george iii.) and on the d may, the same year, a privy council was summoned to consider of a petition from the brethren for establishing a mission on the coast of labrador. the result of their deliberations was, "that his majesty in council gave, and authorised the brethren's unity, and the society for the furtherance of the gospel among the heathen, to take one hundred thousand acres of land (_belonging to the esquimaux_,) on the coast of labrador, where, and in whatever place of the same was most convenient for their purpose." and the governor of newfoundland was directed to afford the brethren in their settlement every protection, and to furnish them from the royal stores with fifty muskets and the necessary ammunition. following up this favourable opening, the moravian synod, which was held at marienborn, resolved to renew the friendly intercourse with the esquimaux, and to search out a convenient situation for the establishment of a mission. in consequence, jans haven, drachart, and stephen jensen, received this in charge; and some other brethren resolved to take a part in it, and go themselves as sailors in a ship which a society of the brethren in london had fitted out, and which they resolved should annually visit the coast of labrador to carry out supplies of the necessaries of life to the missionaries. they first made land at a place called arnitok, an island about six miles from the spot where nain now stands; there they found twenty-nine boats full of esquimaux, but they behaved in a very unruly manner and with great insolence, till the report of the great guns, fired over their heads, frightened them into order; they then showed themselves friendly, and the missionaries, who understood the language, preached the gospel to them. after this the two brethren, haven and jensen, traversed the coast unmolested in search of favourable ground for a settlement; but being unable to find such a spot they set sail again, and on the th july ran into an harbour upon the most eastern point of the mainland, near nain, deg. n.l. here they found many esquimaux, and the joy on both sides was greatly heightened, when they recognised among them several of their old acquaintances, in particular segulliak, who said to jans haven, "when i first saw your boat i was afraid, but i no sooner heard that little jans haven was there than all fear departed, and i am very glad to see you again, for i have a great love to little jans." he then bound a strap of leather round drachart's arm, at the same time saying, "we love thee much!" and laying his right hand on drachart's breast, continued, "this band on thy arm shall from henceforth be a sign that our love shall never cease. i have not forgot what i heard of the lord in heaven, and i long to hear more." drachart answered, "you may indeed be assured that i have a great love for you, when i, an old man--he was then in his sixtieth year--have come again to visit you, that you might hear more of your lord in heaven, your creator, who became a man and died on the cross for your sins, for mine, and for the sins of the whole world." the esquimaux replied, "we will hear the word you have for us!" drachart continued, and spoke of the great love of the creator of all things, which moved him to come down from heaven to earth, and by his sufferings and death to redeem us from our sins and eternal punishment. when the brethren confirmed to the savages what mikak had formerly told them, that they intended to settle among them, they rejoiced like little children, and every one of them gave jans haven a small present. as mikak had told them that her relations, who had gone to the south, anxiously wished to see them, the missionaries sailed on the th july back to byron's bay, and sent the esquimaux boats before them. it was not long before a kaiak arrived with the father of mikak, who instantly coming on board said, "my daughter and her husband are here on the island before you, and they strongly desire to see and speak with you." indeed, scarcely had they cast anchor in the open creek, when mikak with her husband tuglavina, and their son and daughter, came to them. the man had a white woollen coat, but mikak herself wore a finely ornamented dress, trimmed with gold, and embroidered with gold spangles, which had been presented to her by the princess dowager of wales, when she was in london, and had on her breast a gold medal with a likeness of the king. her father also wore an officer's coat. being invited into the cabin to partake of some refreshments, jans haven asked her if she would receive the brethren as her own people. "you will see," she replied, "how well we will behave, if you will only come. we will love you as our countrymen, and trade with you justly, and treat you kindly." on account of the tempestuous weather, the whole party, amounting to fourteen, were detained during the whole night on board the vessel. early next morning they left them, followed by messrs haven and drachart, who, going from tent to tent, preached the gospel to them. mikak acted in the most friendly manner--assuring her kindred of the brethren's affection for them, and telling them of all the kindness she had experienced in england, where she had lived in a great house, and been most liberally treated. the missionaries being about to take leave, segulliak came up to drachart, and renewed his expressions of attachment; the latter replied, "i do not forget that five years ago you assured me of your love; and only a few days since you bound this thong on my arm as a token of your affection, and by this you have declared that you are willing to hear the word of the sufferings and death of jesus." when the others heard this, they all cried out, "we also are willing to hear." the missionary then mentioned some particulars of the history of the life and sufferings of the saviour, and asked if they would wish, as the greenlanders did, to hear something of jesus everyday? "yes! yes!" they all replied. "then," said drachart, "if that be the case, we will look out for a piece of land in esquimaux bay, where we may next year build a house." although these good men had received the extensive grant we have mentioned from his majesty of england of the esquimaux country, they did not consider that that gave them any right to take possession without the consent of the inhabitants, or without giving them an equivalent, notwithstanding the settlement was intended solely for their advantage, and was to communicate to them what was of infinitely more value than millions of acres in the finest country of the world, instead of a patch of barren ground on the bleak and inhospitable coast of labrador. when they mentioned that they meant to "buy" the land, the whole crowd, who perfectly understood the term, cried out, "good! good! pay us, and take as much land as you please!" drachart said, "it is not enough that you be paid for your high rocky mountain; you may perhaps say in your hearts, when these people come here, we will kill them, and take their boats and all their valuable articles." "no! no!" they exclaimed, "we will never kill any more, or steal any more; we are brethren!" "that gladdens my heart," said drachart; "but how shall we buy the land? you have no great chief, and every one of you will be lord of his land. we will do this: we will give each of you what will be more useful to you in your fishing than the land you may give us." "pay us," they repeated, "pay us, and take as much land as you please." drachart and the other brethren then going from tent to tent, divided among the men, women, and children, all kinds of tools and fishing tackle, which having done, he produced a written agreement to which all their names were attached, and telling them its import, required each to put a mark before his name with his own hand, that it might be a perpetual memorial of their having sold the land. when they had done so, he again shewed each his name with his mark, adding, "in time to come, when yourselves or your children shall learn to read and write, as the greenlanders have done, they will be able to read these names, and they will remember what they have just now seen and heard." drachart next informed them, that when they should return to esquimaux bay, after the rein-deer hunt, they would see four great stones erected with figures on them, which were called letters, and these would mark out the boundaries of the land which had been bought from them. the esquimaux, of whom about one hundred were present, then gave the brethren their hands, and solemnly promised to abide by their agreement "as long as the sun shone." after this sacred transaction the brethren, along with mikak and her family, returned to the ship, which set sail the same day for esquimaux bay. on the dangerous passage, mikak and her husband were of essential service in directing their course among rocks and islands, and likewise in trading with the esquimaux they met with on their way, and inducing them to receive the brethren favourably, and attend to their instructions. notwithstanding, however, the uniform expressions of love with which the savages everywhere hailed them, the missionaries found it necessary always to be upon their guard, and use the utmost circumspection in their intercourse with their new friends, especially on shipboard, where they behaved with a rude intrusion, often extremely troublesome, and not always without showing marks of their natural propensity to thieving; they therefore prohibited more than five from coming on board at one time to trade, and that only during the day; and informed them that if any were found in the ship during the night, they should be treated as thieves; and, to fix the time allowed for trading more exactly, a cannon was fired at six o'clock in the morning, and another at the same time in the evening. finding that his regulations, however, were not so strictly observed as he could wish, and the natives becoming rather troublesome, captain mugford, while lying off the island amitok, deemed it necessary to show them that he possessed the power of punishing their misdeeds if he chose to employ it. he fired several shot from his great guns over their heads against a high barren rock at no great distance. when the broken pieces of the rock rolled down threateningly towards them, they raised a mournful howl in their tents, as if they were about to be destroyed; but they afterwards behaved more orderly, and not with the savage wildness they had done before, yet the missionaries were always obliged to act with firmness and decision, in order to prevent all approaches to any transgression that it might have been necessary to punish, or that might have exposed any of the men to danger. during the voyage, drachart held a meeting morning and evening, in the cabin, with the young esquimaux, who seemed to take great pleasure in it, and were highly attentive. some of their expressions were remarkable. "they wished they had such a desire for the saviour as a child has for its parents"--"or a man to hunt the rein-deer, and obtain his prey."--"they would not cease to think of jesus' sufferings and death, but would remember that merciful and generous saviour who had died from love to them, and learn to know and love him." in the evening of the last day of july they cast anchor in the southernmost corner of esquimaux bay, and on the following day entered the harbour of nanangoak, in which lay fourteen european and two women's boats, and on shore fourty-seven tents were pitched. here mikak and her husband had wished to rejoin their countrymen. before they left the ship drachart reminded them of what he had taught them, and recommended to them every morning when they rose, and every evening before they went to sleep, to think on the saviour and his sufferings; and exhorted them, when any wicked thoughts should arise in their minds--theft, adultery, or murder, or any other bad thing they had heard from their youth up from the angekoks their teachers--that they should pray to him that he would take them away, adding, "if you thus turn to jesus and diligently seek to him, then you will no more belong to the heathen, but to the saviour, who will receive you as his own, and write your names among the faithful." jans haven accompanied them to their friends, who rejoiced to receive them in safety, and among them jans found his old acquaintance seguilliak. next day drachart and jensen went on shore, when they were immediately surrounded by a great crowd, who took the missionaries under the arm, and shook them by the hands, and then conducted them from tent to tent, where they proclaimed to them the unsearchable riches of christ. mikak invited them into her large tent, and begged they might hold a meeting in it. soon upwards of seven hundred esquimaux were collected within and around it, to whom drachart, for the first time, preached the gospel, and was heard here, as elsewhere, with the utmost apparent attention. when he had finished, mikak and her husband began to testify, in their own simple manner, how the lord in heaven had become man, and died for their sins. supposing that this alluded to their own murders, some of their countrymen appeared startled, and cried out, "ah! that is true, we are sinners, and old murderers; but we will never more carry concealed knives, either under our arms or under our clothes; and we shall never have bows and arrows hid in our kaiaks, because the lord in heaven has said, whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. if we kill europeans, as we did three years ago, then we deserve that they should kill us and our countrymen." but they seemed likewise alarmed lest the boats they had then taken should be demanded back; but mikak and her husband explained that the europeans did not come to desire them to give back the boats, but that certainly if they did so any more they would be punished. "that is good!" they replied "we believe your words, mikak; and shall also love the great and powerful chief you saw in london, and his people, and will trade honourably with them;" and renewed their protestations of affection for the missionaries, telling them, "now we are brethren." drachart seized the opportunity of explaining what he meant by brethren:--"ye have heard that many of the greenlanders are our brethren; now you must learn rightly to understand why we call one another brethren. hear what the reason is,--our hearts and the greenlanders are fast bound together by the love of jesus our saviour, who died on the cross for our sins, therefore do we call the greenlanders, and all who are united in the death of jesus, our brethren. if you will now be converted to jesus, then shall you be such brethren as the greenlanders are." at a subsequent meeting, the missionaries informed them that they were desirous of finding a proper place on which to build a house, as it was their intention to return next year and settle among them, and requested their opinion as to where would be the best spot. they told them there were many good places on the continent which they might examine and choose for themselves; or if they would prefer an island, they were welcome to the best; and the old men added, "you may build and dwell in our country, and do what you will, either on land or sea--you shall have the same liberty as we have, for you are innuit, as we are, and not such kablunat as the other wicked europeans." "well," replied drachart, "you and we and the greenlanders are also as one family." "yes," returned the old men, "we are friends and brethren." "then, dear men, when you speak thus, do you in your hearts really think so?" "yes! yes! you may firmly believe that." the brethren then proceeded from tent to tent, and distributed gifts, and obtained the marks of the old men, to the number of sixty-seven, to an agreement similar to that which they had made with the other esquimaux, and the land from monenguak to kangerlack being marked out with four great stones, was given to the brethren for a possession. the ceremony being concluded, drachart addressed them thus: "these signatures will shew to your children, and your children's children, that you have received us as friends and countrymen, and have given us the piece of land marked out by these stones, and then your children, and your children's children, will remember this transaction after your death, as if you spoke to them, and said, we, your fathers and grandfathers, called the brethren here for our sakes, and your sakes, and they have built a good house to meet daily with you, in that you may hear of the lord in heaven. do not forget that we your parents have given this piece of land for an inheritance to our brethren that came to us from the east of greenland; and when you are converted to jesus, you must live near the meeting house, love your teachers, and follow them as the greenlanders do. will you," continued he, "tell your families what you have now heard, as well as what you have now said? that your wives and children may know." they answered, "that we will,--and we have already begun to spread it through our country, and shall continue to do so." the missionary proceeded:--"the lord, your and our saviour, is over all. he is truly here with us--i feel his presence in my heart; he knoweth all things, and hath heard your words and mine; he is calling for your hearts--will you now give them to him? and will you keep to the words you have now said to me?" "yes!" cried all the men, and gave him their hands, and some kissed him. having concluded the solemn transactions of the day, the missionaries, towards evening, returned to the ship, and the next day the esquimaux began to set out for their hunting stations. but tuglavina and his wife remained some days longer to assist the brethren in seeking out an island, and then parted with tears on both sides. the missionaries rewarded them liberally for their services; and they were not forgetful of the favours they had now and formerly received. mikak begged the brethren would take charge of two white fox skins for the dowager princess of wales, of a black one for the princess of glocester, and two red ones for the governor palliser, as acknowledgments for their kindness. the place pitched upon by the brethren for their settlement was deg. m. n.l., well supplied with good wood for building, and numerous rivulets of excellent water, and where ships could conveniently find an excellent anchorage. the stones they erected were placed, one on king's point, marked g r iii. , the other marked u f (unitas fratrum,) , and the land was taken possession of in the name of king george, for behoof of the united brethren--a very important process, as it secured the protection of the british government for the new settlements; the other two stones were marked and placed in the interior merely as boundary stones. this first sacred spot was consecrated by thanksgiving and prayer. amid the heathen tribes and their rude rocks, the missionaries kneeled down, and with the deepest expressions of humility, thanked the lord that he had thus so far prospered them in their undertaking, had guarded them through the perils of their journey, and graciously granted them a resting place. having thus accomplished the object of their mission, they returned to england, and reached london th november , blessing and praising the lord that no evil had befallen them. chapter iii. preparations for establishing a settlement in labrador.--a love feast.--missionaries leave london--erect a mission-house at nain--regulations for their intercourse with the natives--visited by great numbers--manner of instruction--they retire in winter, are visited by the brethren in their houses.--death of anauke.--an incantation.--adventures in search of a dead whale.--p.e. lauritz deputed by the conference--visits the missions--his excursion along the coast.--a sloop of war arrives to examine the settlement--the captain's report.--jans haven's voyage to the north--interesting occurrences.--lauritz leaves nain--his concluding address.--the brethren propose new settlements--disastrous voyage in search of a situation.--liebisch appointed superintendant.--an angekok baptized--his address to the natives.--jans haven commences a new station at okkak--received joyfully by the natives--six esquimaux baptized--proceedings at nain.--missionary accompanies the esquimaux to a rein-deer hunt.--third settlement--hopedale founded.--remarkable preservation of the missionaries. every thing being now settled for establishing a missionary station among the esquimaux, the brethren were occupied during the winter in making the necessary preparations for carrying their object into effect. in this they were essentially aided by the same society who had sent out the vessel on the previous year, and who, knowing the difficulty europeans lay under of procuring the necessaries of life in that climate, resolved to send out one annually with supplies, and to preserve the communication, notwithstanding the previous voyage had been but a losing concern. the number of persons destined for this arduous undertaking was fourteen, among whom were three married brethren, brazen schneider and jans haven, accompanied by drachart and seven unmarried missionaries. brazen, who had gone as a surgeon to greenland in , and remained during the winter at one of the settlements, was appointed superintendant of this mission. before leaving london, on may th, these devoted men had a meeting in the brethren's chapel with the congregation, and a number of other christians who felt interested in the undertaking, and with the most delightful feelings they sat down together to a love feast, at which the following letter from mr drachart to the church was read: "dearly beloved brethren and sisters,--we are now for the third time going among the wild esquimaux; and in their name we thank you for the assistance you have afforded us in the past year to enable us to declare among these savages the gospel of the sufferings and death of jesus. we thank the saviour that he has so illuminated your hearts, that you are as willing to give your wealth, as we are to venture our lives to promote this cause. we now take our leave, and commend ourselves to your love and remembrance before the saviour. he is indeed near to you, and to us, to help in all our difficulties,--that our courage may not fail, but that we may look to him. it is his cause, and he will support us; on him we hope, and on him we rely; and in his name we venture our lives and all that we have, for he ventured his life for us. when we think of this our hearts are melted, and we fall down at his pierced feet, and exclaim, o! lord jesus, the little confidence we have in thee thou hast given us; our goods, our lives, we have from thee. thou knowest we venture to go through the great deep, through rocks and ice, that thy holy name may be glorified among the esquimaux. we pray that the angel of thy presence may accompany the ship out and home again; be with our brethren, give them courage to proclaim the tidings of thy love, which was stronger than death--dear brethren and sisters, the saviour is present, he certainly hears us when we join together to call upon him for ourselves and others the grace of the lord jesus christ, and the love of god be with you all. amen." on the th of may they left london in the ship amity, commanded by captain mugford, and on the th august reached the place of their destination, after a passage of peril and danger. they had constructed a wooden house while in london, and had been kindly furnished by their friends with household furniture, and a number of implements for enabling them to work in carpentry, in iron, and for gardening. immediately upon landing they commenced their operations, by surrounding the spot upon which they had fixed, and to which they gave the name of nain, with pallisades, and on the th of august laid the foundation of their wooden house; they soon found their fortification was unnecessary, as the natives, so far from offering any obstruction, appeared eager to forward the building, which, on the d september, was so far finished as to be habitable. as on the former occasion, so on this, the governor of newfoundland issued a proclamation in their favour, declaring the missionaries under the immediate protection of the british; and at the same time he conveyed to themselves the strongest assurances of his personal regard for their characters and wishes for their success, as what would so materially tend to tranquillize the country. among the excellent regulations adopted by the brethren, one, and not the least important, was, in their transactions with the savages, while they did them every kind office, to offer them nothing which might appear in the shape of a bribe to induce them to embrace their religion: they sometimes built boats for them, and sometimes improved and repaired those they had, and furnished them with iron pots, and arrows and lances for seal hunting, but they always required payment, which the esquimaux could easily render in whale fins, seals' blubber, or such other articles as their dexterity could procure. very soon, instruments of european manufacture became so necessary, that the natives were rendered industrious by the desire to possess them, while they enabled them to render that industry doubly advantageous. in this traffic the annual visits of the society's vessel were important, and the greater part of the barter was carried on through the agent or supercargo. more than a hundred esquimaux, during the summer, planted their tents round nain, to whom the missionaries preached the gospel. of the manner in which they did this, drachart tells us in his journal, "my method," says he, "is first to give a short discourse, and then to ask a few plain questions which only require a denial or assent; but they do not always content themselves with this--for instance, if i ask if they, as poor sinners, would wish to come to the saviour, some would say, yes! we cannot deny that we are poor sinners, and we begin to reflect upon what we have heard from you about this, and to converse with one another on the subject. others will boldly reply, no! we will not think of it; and a third sort will confess they do not understand any thing about the matter, but would be glad to know if i had any knives to sell, for they had whale fins. i then pray to the saviour:--thou hast in greenland made many stupid minds to understand, and many cold hearts warm; o do the same here, and bless my weak discourse that i may not be put to shame, for it is indeed thine own cause." during the winter the natives retired to other places, the nearest of which was many miles distant from nain; individuals, however, came from time to time to visit the brethren; among these were mikak, tuglavina, and segulliak, and the brethren returned their visits, as far as the deep snow and excessive cold would permit. the friendly reception they met with upon these occasions, and the willingness with which the heathen heard the word, reconciled the missionaries to the filth and inconvenience they had to encounter. of these the following specimen will enable the reader to form some idea. about the end of january , the brethren schneider and turner visited mikak in the island nintok, at the distance of five and a half hours from nain. they found here two houses, each of which contained twenty persons, the families only separated from each other by skins stretched out between them. mikak directed the brethren to an apartment in one of these houses, to which, when they retired, they were followed by great numbers of the esquimaux, who gathered round them, and heard in silence schneider preach to them the death of the lord, and sing some verses on the same subjects. they here met with a circumstance which greatly tended to comfort them amid other scenes which weighed heavily on their spirits. in a division of the house where they lodged, they found three widows dwelling together, and one of them informed them that her husband, anauke, who had died the year before, had said to her, when she was mourning over him in his last illness, "be not grieved for me,--i am going to heaven, to jesus who has loved his people so much!" he was one of those who had remained during the summer near nain, and whose countenance bore strong marks of the thief and the murderer, and had appeared at first to have more than usual savage ferocity in his whole deportment; but it was remarked that, before he left that vicinity, his very countenance had changed, and his behaviour had become gentle; but the missionaries had no decisive proof of his conversion to the saviour, till they heard, to their joy, this his dying profession of the faith. his countrymen called him the man whom the saviour had taken to himself. this man, there is every reason to believe, was the first fruits of the mission. night is an appropriate time to call on the prince of darkness; and it is observable that among all the heathen, that season has generally been devoted to his service in deeds that shunned the light. in the evening, when the missionaries had laid themselves down to sleep in mikak's house, they had another confirmation of this remark. there had been a dreadful storm during the day, so that the natives had been prevented from going to seal-catching, they therefore assembled in her house after nightfall, to entreat her, as she was considered a powerful sorceress, to make good weather, bring the seals from the deep, and show the holes in the ice to which they came for air; also where the greatest number of rein-deer were to be found. all the lamps were immediately extinguished, and she began with deep sighs, and groans, and mutterings, to call up torngak. sometimes she raised her voice so loud that the whole house rang. at this signal, the people began to sing, and to ask one another, what does torngak say? at length there was a tremendous crash, as if the whole place had been falling about their ears, produced, as the missionaries supposed, by the stroke of a stick on the extended skins. the sorceress then proceeded to the door, beating with her feet, and uttering strange sounds, at which some of the more sensible among the worshippers could not forbear to express their sense of the ridiculous scene by their laughter. schneider, who had hitherto been silent, now cried to the enchantress to cease calling upon torngak, who was an evil spirit, and reigned in darkness, and light the lamps again; but some one replied it was the custom of the country, and proposed they should conclude with a short song, in which all the company joined, after which they separated for their resting places before the lamps could be relighted. with a heart greatly touched, and eyes full of tears, the missionaries early next morning addressed the inmates of the house upon the true light that is come to enlighten men, and to redeem them from the spirit of darkness. he entreated them with great earnestness to turn to the crucified jesus, and renounce the evil spirit and his works, and commended them in prayer to the compassionate heart of the saviour. disinterested exertion, not only to prevent themselves from being burdensome to those among whom they labour, but to save as much as possible any unnecessary expense to the churches or societies who send them out, forms an admirable and a prominent feature in all the moravian missionary brethren. they follow the apostolic example, and minister to their necessities by their own hands, and exhibit a pattern to their infant establishments, not only of industry to procure the means of personal livelihood, but to enable them to assist those improvident heathen by whom they are surrounded, even when their exertions are attended with danger and repaid by insult; and by these means they often acquire an influence over the most savage minds, which it were otherwise difficult to obtain. of this we have a most remarkable instance which occurred in the beginning of the present year. having received accounts that a dead whale was found at comfort harbour, about seven miles south of nain, the brethren, jans haven, lister, morhardt, and turner, resolved to go thither, accompanied by some esquimaux, in the hope that, by procuring the blubber and the fins, they might be enabled to contribute somewhat to the support of the mission, while they would assist the starving natives at this season in obtaining a supply of provisions; and at the same time, they would have an opportunity of commending the saviour to these poor benighted heathen. they accordingly set out, under the guidance of an esquimaux, mannmoima, whose house they reached february th about mid-day, where, on account of the stormy weather, they were forced to remain. "if," says jans haven, in his diary, "our european sisters had only seen us here they would certainly have pitied us. we were forced to creep on all fours through a low passage several fathoms long to get into the house, and were glad if we escaped being bitten by the hungry dogs, who take refuge there in bad weather, and who, as they lie in the dark, are often trodden upon by the entrant; who, if he escapes this misfortune, is compelled to undergo the more disgusting salutation of being licked in the face by these animals, and of crawling through the filth in which they all mingle. yet this house, notwithstanding our senses of seeing and smelling were most woefully offended, in such frightful weather, was of equal welcome to us as the greatest palace." when haven here began to speak of the saviour, the angekoks began to exercise their enchantments. one man laid himself on his back, and allowed his left leg to be fastened to his neck by a string like a bow, while a woman who sat by his side, performed upon it with his right as if playing on some musical instrument. the lady was then asked if they might hope for good weather, and if the whale would be driven away? but the company appeared to be divided; and while some thought these operations were under the influence of torngak, others thought they might be directed by jesus christ, and asked the brethren to pray that there might be good weather, and that the whale might not be driven away. haven answered, "we only pray, lord be gracious to us, and open the eyes of poor ignorant people, that they may know how necessary it is for them to be washed in thy blood--but we are assured that he will do nothing but what is good to us, because he loves us." next day, the missionaries, accompanied by eleven esquimaux, attempted to reach the whale; but when they were about an hour's distance from the house, they perceived from a mountain near where the whale lay, that the ice was broken, and encountered such a violent storm of wind and snow that they were forced to return; while the frost was so intense, that often their mouth and nose were frozen to their skin coats, so that they had to break the ice before they could breathe, and their eyes were so closed that they had to force them open with their fingers. as hunger now began to torment the party, the brethren were exposed to great anxiety, suffering, and danger, from the perpetual importunity of the esquimaux for provisions, which they had no means of supplying, but which they supposed they were the means of their being deprived of obtaining. an old man began to cry, "torngak moves me to say that he will tell us the cause of this storm, and the breaking of the ice, and the loss of the whale." "let us hear," said they. "o! the sinews! o! the sinews!" replied he. rein-deer sinews are what, according to the superstition of the country, dare not be brought near a whale. but the brethren that morning had plaited some whale sinew, and fastened the haft of the ax with which they intended to cut up the whale; and he, supposing that they had been the sinews of the rein-deer, raised the cry. being informed of his mistake, he changed his tone and exclaimed, "o! the rotten wood! o! the rotten wood!" rotten wood is expressly forbid to be burnt in the preparation of food, but jans haven had brought some pieces in a sledge along with the rest of the fuel; the esquimaux, to whom the sledge belonged, had carefully picked it out and thrown it away, and the conjurer was informed that in this also he was mistaken. he was then called upon to say, as he affirmed that torngak was there, how he could be mistaken. with an ingenuity that would have done credit to a jesuit, he answered, "there is one present that keeps us back, he cannot go with us." every person in the company being mentioned, he pointed out jans haven. haven immediately rose, and looking the sorcerer full in the face, prayed to the saviour to stop the mouth of that wicked one. struck with the unexpected intrepidity of the missionary, and the appeal to a name of which they all had some knowledge, the angekok was utterly confounded; he grumbled and foamed, but could not utter a word. providentially at this very moment two persons arrived with intelligence that the whale was lying safe, and had not been driven away; and haven, charging the fellow with his imposture and lies, commanded him not to attempt accompanying them, or removing from the place where he was. the astonished sorcerer made no attempt to disobey. the weather increasing in severity, the esquimaux, who were confined to their huts, came to their favourite jans haven, saying, "tell us about the saviour." jans answered and said--"what shall i say? i know not what to say; i am grieved because i am constrained to hear and see that the wicked spirit yet dwells within you and robs you of your senses. he will hold your ears that you may not hear the love the saviour has for you, that after death you may dwell with him in utter darkness. yet listen to our words and follow us to the saviour, who will wash you from your sins in his own blood, that you may live eternally happy with him, after you have left a world where sorrow and pleasure are mingled together; where we must suffer hunger, and thirst, and cold, and wretchedness, and misery, unless we believe in jesus, who will preserve us, and keep us, and bring us to be for ever with himself, where there is no pain, but fulness of joy for evermore." still, on the succeeding day, the weather not abating, the party were detained at the station, which the increasing scarcity of food rendered now doubly uncomfortable; the brethren were obliged to be on the watch whenever they eat, lest the esquimaux should snatch the scanty morsel from them, which now consisted of only one meal a day. "one can hardly conceive," say they in their journal, "what we endured: we had no rest neither night nor day; when we lay down to sleep and gat warm, we were almost devoured with vermin; when we sat up during the day, we were almost suffocated with stench and smoke." at length a sledge, which had been sent off to the whale, returned laden with fat and flesh, which afforded relief from the pressure of hunger, "and made," say the missionaries, "all our hearts leap for joy;" and on the succeeding day, the whole party set off for the whale. when they reached it they found it of the middling size, about sixty-four feet long, but covered with ice and snow almost a fathom deep. the esquimaux, however, crept into the mouth and cut off what they wanted from the interior to supply themselves; but the wants of the brethren were only increased, they could make little use of such flesh, and they were without wood to dress it, had it been even more palatable. they had no shelter but a snow-house, which they constructed with the help of the esquimaux. the women, however, had forgotten their lamps, and the brethren had no resource for rendering their habitation comfortable, but to construct a kind of temporary lamp from a piece of whale's flesh, into which they cut a hole and put a piece of moss, and then to kindle it, but the smoke and disagreeable smell were insupportable; they also suffered greatly from the want of water, as they could get nothing to drink but ice or snow melted, which was done in a manner that in other circumstances would have proved an absolute prohibition against tasting it--the esquimaux filled their gloves with snow, or put it in the intestines of the seals which they had wrapped round them, and the natural heat of the body reduced into a state of liquifaction--yet even this they were happy to procure. amid these hardships haven was seized with a violent pain in his side, which the esquimaux, who greatly loved him, much lamented, as they said it was the disease that carried off so many of their countrymen. peaceful, however, in the hour of his suffering, the missionary was enabled to testify to the heathen that death for him had no terrors; nor was it to be dreaded by those who believed in the saviour. they showed their affection by procuring, with much difficulty, a lamp and some skins on which they placed the invalid, and by the blessing of god, the heat effected his cure. the brethren now began to try to hew down the frozen whale, but the want of food had so enfeebled them that they found themselves wholly unequal to the task, and were forced to give it up and return home, worn out with the fatigue they had endured, and without effecting their object. in the same year, , paul eugenus laritz, from the elders' conference of the unity, visited the missions. he was accompanied by john ludwig beck, who had spent some years in greenland with his father, and learned the language. they came in the ship amity to newfoundland, which they left there for the purpose of fishing, and proceeded to the coast of labrador in a shallop or sloop with one mast, which had been purchased for the use of the mission. on the th of july they arrived at nain, where the missionaries welcomed them with tears of joy--the esquimaux received them with shouting and other rude expressions of pleasure. of these, some hundreds, this summer, had set up their tents around the settlements--many of them strangers from a distance. in the evening they had a short discourse in the mission-house, after which the brethren visited them in their tents, and conversed further with them on what they had heard. the same evening laritz gave a short address to the assembled baptized esquimaux, and delivered the salutations of the european congregations to them, drachart being his interpreter. then one of the esquimaux answered in name of the rest--"we, our wives and children, were wonderfully glad when we saw the little ship come in; and we thank the brethren that they have come to us, and brought us so many good words that we have never heard before. we love all the brethren, and will be ever their good friends. we will constantly visit them to hear the good word of jesus' sufferings. we think on the saviour; we love him, and will give up our hearts to him, and renounce all our old heathenish customs. we agree with the innuit who live on the east coast opposite us. we, and our wives and our children, in our houses and our tents, speak of the saviour becoming man, of his sufferings and death. we cannot deny that we are sinners, but we think the saviour will be gracious to us." as there was not room in the mission-house to contain all the esquimaux, wood was cut down to build a large meeting-hall. some appeared deeply impressed by the word of god, particularly manamina, his sister alingana, and akaplack, who were received as catechumens. soon after laritz's arrival at nain, a sloop of war unexpectedly made its appearance, dispatched by commodore shuldam from newfoundland, commanded by lieutenant cartes, to explore the coast, and to see if the poor people who had settled there were all still in life. the lieutenant stopped some days with the brethren, and expressed his astonishment and happiness to find them so well accommodated, and on such good terms with the esquimaux. he had expected to find dark, sour, starving fanatics, living in huts of earth, and his disappointment was therefore the more agreeable. through drachart he told the esquimaux, that they should go no more to the english settlements in the south, nor rob and murder. they answered, we have never either robbed or murdered, since the time we heard of the saviour. robbers and murderers shall be punished as they deserve; and when we come to the south to get fir-timber, we will bring with us a letter from the brethren to the gentlemen of cheteau bay. the officer assured them of his love, and said to drachart, that the great change in the behaviour of these people appeared to him a miracle of god, who had begun his work among them. while laritz remained at nain, jans haven and james rhodes took the vessel which brought him there, and made a voyage on the north coast to nachwach, deg. m. n.l. it lasted from the th august to the th september. they landed at different places, and the esquimaux everywhere, who had either before known or heard of jans haven, received him with shouts! he told them what had moved the brethren to settle in the country, and invited them to come to him. they heard him with astonishment speak of the great love of the saviour to men, and asked if he was an angekok, as he spoke of such high things as they never had heard, even from their own prophets? others asked, why the saviour, who made all things, had not before sent some one to tell their fathers these good news, and now they were gone where they could hear nothing? havens answered, that "the times of their ignorance god had winked at," but that he now shewed mercy to them in sending them the gospel, and they ought to improve this the day of their visitation. at napartok, having declared to the natives the counsel of god for their salvation, he thus continued: "i hear that there are quarrels and backbitings among you, and that some even seek the lives of others; all this proceeds from your not knowing the saviour." he then turned to the angekok, aweinak, who was a reputed murderer, and said, "hear these my words, 'whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed.' forgive one another, and live as brethren and sisters in love and fellowship; make no difference between your own countrymen and those of the north and south." the angekok promised to behave better, and begged haven to repeat his assurance of friendship. haven did so, and turning to the by-standers, said, "you hear his words; forgive him and love him, and if he ever again act wickedly, let me know." at arimek, the esquimaux thanked him for what he had spoken, and concluded by saying, "though thou art not big, thou hast a great soul and a brave spirit." during an abode of two months at nain, laritz received every information respecting the state of the mission, and having made the proper arrangements for their further direction, he assembled the brethren in the mission-house at nain, and read to them a solemn farewell address, and left it with them. "from the bottom of my heart," he begins, "i praise the gracious counsel of our dear lord towards the poor and blind nations of the esquimaux, and i return back to europe with a deep impression of it; for though i have as yet only seen the springing of the seed, yet i feel in my heart a believing confidence, that in the proper time and hour which the lord himself has appointed, a joyful harvest shall appear. dear brethren and sisters, as the lord of his pure grace has placed you in a land, where, since the creation of the world, his name has not been named or praised, it seems to me to be more incumbent on you daily to renew the deep consideration of your call and appointment to the fulfilling his purposes of grace; for you are not called here, either collectively or separately, of your own choice, or of the will of men, but of the counsel of peace in the heart of jesus. you must therefore have it as a fixed principle in your hearts, and before your eyes, continually, that you are sent here to make known among the esquimaux, the character of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. if you are not all able to do this in words, you can place it before their eyes by a holy walk and conversation, and by your earnest prayers and supplications be blessed helpers of their joy. and first of all, as their fellow-servant, i pray that all the servants of the lord in this place, who bring the testimony of the gospel to the poor heathen, may, as often as they with the mouth praise the saviour, be baptized with the spirit and with fire, that their testimony may appear the power of god, able to make those blessed who believe it. and i beseech all the brethren to support and help with their prayers, those of them who shall speak and preach to the esquimaux. "you must not rest satisfied, my dear brethren, with daily meetings, but you must carefully visit them in their tents and in their houses, and put them in mind of what they have heard; for this end, all our dear brethren and sisters must diligently use the gifts and talents given them to learn the esquimaux language. let the joy of the lord animate you!--when you perceive the heart of any one awakened by the holy spirit, and in distress fleeing for mercy to the blood of jesus, baptize such an one, as the lord has directed, into his death, in the name of the father, of the son, and of the holy ghost: there shall be joy in heaven over such first fruits, and on earth in the church of jesus. with respect to the esquimaux, either as to gifts or european food, do as we agreed on--neither, on the one side, neglect what necessity or compassion require; nor, on the other, accustom them to what would be injurious. when they labour for you, or go messages, pay them according to the custom of the country; and when you work for them, and make boats, sails, chests, lamps, arrows and lances, let them also pay you, that by degrees they may be accustomed to an orderly domestic life. "to your little church in the house, i call in the name of jesus, love ye with a thorough inward sacred impulse; for god hath from eternity chosen you to love. consider this well, that our dear lord has said, 'by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' you know from what source the apparent want of this can be supplied; and i am sure, if every one would search out his own fault, with kindness and benevolence acquitting others, then would you feel that you loved one another from the heart fervently. be of one mind; live in peace, then shall your conferences be kept with much blessing, and you be subject one to another in the fear of god. no one will then tenaciously hold his own opinion as the best, or as infallible, but every one will gladly take advantage of the other's discernment, and rather follow what is likely to attain the desired end, than his own private inclination. in the division of your labour consider yourselves as members of one body--that the eye cannot be supposed to do what the hand can, and the hand cannot do what the foot can; and if ye are each of you conscious that you have, according to the words of our lord, done what thou couldst, let no one even in his heart think that one of his brethren has done too little. whatever the congregation sends for your support and clothing, receive with thanksgiving to our heavenly father, who has enabled his people to minister to you in these things: at the same time you must frugally and faithfully improve every opportunity afforded by providence to supply your necessary expenses, by working with your own hands, and his blessing shall certainly accompany your labours. "commend us to the lord, that his inestimable presence may be near us by sea and by land; and, dearest brethren and sisters, i commend you to god and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified. the god of love and peace sanctify you wholly, that your whole spirit, soul and body, may be kept unblameable to the coming of the lord jesus; that then you, with a great number of believing esquimaux, may appear before his presence with exceeding joy--'faithful is he who hath called you, and also will do it.'" with this excellent address, the labours of mr laritz ended. after partaking of the communion together, he bid adieu to the brethren on the th september, and went on board the ship amity, which had come from newfoundland, according to appointment, and arrived in london on the th of october. circumstances, apparently the most unpropitious, frequently contribute, in the course of providence, to promote the most important and most happy issues. while the brethren at nain continued with unwearied diligence to make known the salvation of christ among the esquimaux, they observed with grief, that their deep-rooted heathenish superstitions, and the violent and gross, but natural evil passions which they delighted to indulge, and which led to the frequent perpetration of adultery and murder, obstructed the entrance of the word of god into their hearts, and had as yet rendered almost all their labours fruitless. but what particularly distressed them was, when they saw that the impressions which had been made on some of the natives on hearing the gospel, while residing in the neighbourhood of the mission-settlement, were wholly effaced when they removed to a distance, and associated with their heathen countrymen. anxious, therefore, to retain them around their station, the brethren proposed a method for rendering them comfortable during the winter, by building a store-house where their provisions might be laid up, so that the superfluities of summer should supply the wants of winter. but the savages could not understand the use of refusing to gratify their present appetites in order to provide for any distant emergency--they preferred to revel in the plenty of summer, and to rove to other places in winter in search of food, by which propensity they were scattered above one hundred and twenty miles along the coast. yet, even these wanderers were the means of exciting the attention of their kindred to the gospel, by telling them of the strange things they had heard at nain. it was therefore resolved to follow the leadings of providence, and, as soon as possible, to establish two other missionary settlements, the one towards the north, the other south of the present. for this purpose, application was made to the society of the brethren in london, who, entering fully into their views, obtained from the privy council an order granting them liberty to search out and take possession of land sufficient for their object. a commission was accordingly sent for the brethren to explore the coast, and brazen, lister, lehman, and jans haven, offered themselves for this service. on the th of august they set out for the north. "but just as we were setting out," says jans haven, "an uncommon horror and trembling seized me, so that, contrary to my former experience, i was exceedingly intimidated, and wished rather to stay at home." they proceeded however, and were every where received in a friendly manner by the esquimaux, and invited to settle among them. their return justified the presentiment of jans haven. not far from cape keglapeit they had the misfortune to encounter a dreadful storm, and when only three miles from nain, their vessel struck on a sunk rock where she was wrecked. after a fearful night, about o'clock next morning they attempted to get at the boat that belonged to their shallop, but through the violence of the waves it was driven on a rock and almost dashed to pieces. brazen and lehman were drowned, but haven and lister, together with the sailors, succeeded in reaching a barren rock, where they suffered much from cold and hunger--where they must have perished miserably had they not providentially got their boat, which was in tatters, drawn on shore, and with all the woollen clothes and seal skins they could spare, patched it together. still it was a wretched barque, but they had no other resource, and were obliged to venture to sea in it such as it was. the wind was favourable, and at length they happily met manamina in his kaiak, who towed them safely to nain, where they arrived on the evening of the th of september, truly thankful to the lord for his wonderful assistance. "after our return," haven says in the account of his life, "i was overwhelmed with sorrow--spent days and nights in sighs and tears--thought much of my whole past life--cried to the lord for help and forgiveness of all my many failings, and renewed my vows to devote myself entirely to his service." the bodies of both the brethren who were drowned were driven on shore, and afterwards brought to the settlement, where they were decently interred. sad as this catastrophe was, it did not prevent the brethren, in the year , from undertaking new journies to explore the south and north coast; nor deter others from offering themselves to supply the place of those who had perished in the cause. when the accounts of brazen's departure reached the unity elders' conference, they appointed samuel liebisch superintendant of the mission, who, on the th august, the same year, arrived at nain with some new assistants to the mission. as usual, about the month of november, all the esquimaux left the neighbourhood of nain for their winter places, but towards christmas great numbers came on their sledges over the frozen sea to visit the brethren. among their visitors was kingminguse, who had formerly been an angekok, but who, by the preaching of the word of god, had experienced such an apparent change of mind as to give hopes of his conversion; and, indeed, early next year, on the th of february, the day on which the meeting-hall at nain was consecrated, he was baptized as the first fruits of that mission, and received the name of peter. some days before his baptism he told the brethren, "that he had been an angekok, and believed what his forefathers said, but now he believed it no more; that he would give up all his former evil customs and follow the lord jesus, though he should be persecuted by his countrymen; that he was ignorant, but what the brethren who had come thither had told him of the lord who made heaven and earth, who had become a man, and shed his blood from love to us, had taken fast hold of his heart--he had rejoiced in it, and would forsake all for it. he knew but little of the saviour, but was willing to learn, and placed his confidence alone on him, because he truly believed he only was good; and that when the body died the soul went to the place of rest to be with him, and happy for ever." shaking hands with every brother, individually, he promised that he would remain with the congregation of the believers, to be constantly obedient to his teachers, and walk worthy of the gospel. in the administration of the ordinance he was quite overcome, as were also several of the other esquimaux, who expressed their wishes likewise to be baptized, which afforded the missionaries an opportunity of speaking earnestly and affectionately to them. peter, likewise, every where testified to his people his great joy that he now belonged to the faithful; they viewed him with particular respect, and listened attentively to his discourse about the saviour, which was remarkably urgent and affectionate. for instance, upon one occasion he expressed himself in the following manner to them: "you must turn wholly to the saviour and place your confidence on him alone, so shall he by his precious blood purify and fill your hearts. you know that i am baptized, for this i am very thankful; and it would be well with you would you but learn to know jesus in time, for we have no other saviour either in this world or in the future. if we are washed in his blood we need no more fear death or darkness, we shall then come where it is ever light, and where we shall ever see the saviour. when we are sick or in pain, we must turn to him, for he hath born all our sicknesses. he still calls us to come to him; this call we have never hitherto understood, therefore he has sent the brethren who know him, to shew our souls the way to him. you know they have built a house, and ask nothing but to make the saviour known to our hearts. we cannot be grateful enough to him who sent them thither, for it is of the greatest importance to us; and, even those among them who do not know our language sufficiently to speak to us, pray to him that we may feel the power of his blood on our hearts. i have learned sorcery, and i have practised it, but that is the road to the greatest darkness, and can give no peace to the heart; but he who looks to the saviour, and to his wounds, receives peace and joy in his heart, and that is the only thing of any value in this world." in the following summer there were above two hundred esquimaux in thirty-seven tents near nain, and they were so assiduous in their attendance on the meetings, that the new hall could not contain the crowd that anxiously pressed to hear, and some were entered among the candidates for baptism. liebisch brought with him a commission for jans haven to commence a new settlement. "i felt," said haven, "not a little anxiety on this occasion, knowing the difficulties attending such a commission, but accepted it in reliance on our saviour's help." he accordingly, accompanied by stephen jensen, proceeded in an esquimaux boat to a little creek, afterwards okkak, which had been formerly fixed on as a most eligible spot for a settlement, and purchased from the esquimaux a hundred thousand acres, or three german square miles, of land; they expressing great joy at the prospect of the brethren coming to reside among them. stones were placed to mark the boundaries, and the place taken possession of with the usual formalities. the following was the mode of expression used by the brethren upon the occasion: "in the name of our god and saviour, and under the protection of our gracious monarch, george iii king of england, we take possession of this land for the purpose of a missionary settlement for the brethren's unity, and the society for propagating the gospel." during the following year, [ ,] the brethren were busily employed in cutting down wood in the forest near nain, and preparing it for a dwelling-house at the new station; and so diligent were they in their work, that in august, when the ship good intent arrived from england with the other necessary articles for building the house, the timber was all ready to be shipped for okkak. on the th september, jans haven, with his family and three other missionaries who had been appointed for the new settlement, arrived there, and immediately went to work and erected their house. "i had," says the devoted haven, "the peace in all trying circumstances to cleave to my saviour, of whose gracious assistance i had manifold experience. he was with us, and gave us success in our present enterprise. having finished the building of our house, we moved into it; and in our first conference, were so united by the power of jesus' grace in brotherly love and harmony, that we made a covenant with each other to offer soul and body to the lord, to serve him without fear, and bear each others' burdens with a cheerful heart. nor did we meet with the least interruption during the whole year, so that i justly count it the happiest of my life." this station lies thirty german miles north from nain, in deg. m. n.l., and is of great consequence both to the european settlers and the esquimaux, of whom above three hundred always live near it. there is a good harbour for ships and boats--a supply of wood and of fresh water in summer and winter--great quantities of fish, particularly haddocks--also some whales, but few seals, so that the esquimaux are obliged to go to various places at a considerable distance for this valuable animal, whose skins are among their absolute necessaries for their tents and clothing. the mission-house is built at the side of a high mountain, which serves as a protection from the north-west wind. the natives received the brethren with great joy, and evinced a pleasing desire to hear the gospel; but it was not till the th of august , that any baptism took place. on this occasion, however, six adults were received into the church by this holy ordinance, and several others soon followed. the baptized lived for the greater part of the winter in the mission-house, where daily meetings were held, and where they received farther instruction, for which purpose a larger meeting-hall was built in . at length at nain, also, the brethren had the pleasure in the winter of - , to see five esquimaux families, consisting of thirty-seven souls, come to the resolution of remaining during that season in their neighbourhood, and the year after their number increased from seventy to eighty; by this means the brethren were enabled to collect small congregations at each station, and in the winter at least carefully to observe their conduct, and to give them regular employment. meanwhile the mission work proceeded; they held daily meetings, where the gospel was preached to the resident esquimaux and numerous visitors. a school was opened for children, besides which, the baptized were twice a-week instructed in writing. a weekly meeting was likewise kept with the latter for furthering their knowledge on doctrinal points, particularly on the meaning of the lord's supper. during the season when the baptized were necessarily called away from the settlement, one of the missionaries generally attended them. in the year , william turner made two visits of twenty miles each into the interior of the country from nain in their company when they went to hunt the rein-deer, along with a number of the esquimaux; the first in february, and then from the th of august to the th of september. they travelled over wild mountains between lakes and pools. the rein-deer, which sometimes passed in large herds, were driven into the water by the esquimaux and there killed. in the winter journey, turner suffered much from the cold and the want of warm food, and was also frequently in imminent danger from the snow storms, when the great drift-heaps collected upon the mountains rolled down in tremendous and threatening masses like alpine avalanches. nor was the summer expedition free from its dangers and difficulties. the party consisted of fifty men, who travelled on foot; about a hundred dogs followed, laden with the baggage that was to be transported over barren mountains and through morasses; and often, after all their exertions and deprivations, they got very few rein-deer. the main design of his journeys too, was but imperfectly obtained, as his people were so very much occupied in the hunt that they could pay but little attention to the preaching of the word; and their heathen companions disliked the presence of a missionary, as it caused those to keep back who believed in their superstitious customs and practices, and who practised them, and on whom, according to their notions, the success of the hunt depended. from the promising appearances of the two settlements, the brethren now began to think of a third, to be situated south from nain; and in july , schneider, lister and jensen went to arvertok, which jans haven, lister and beck had formerly visited, and pitched upon a spot deemed the most proper for a missionary station. having purchased the land from the esquimaux, and fixed the boundaries, placing stones as on the former occasion; they then returned to nain, where the wood was prepared as for the missionary house at okkak, and brought to its destination by the good intent, on her arrival from england. in the meantime, jans haven, who had been on a visit to europe, arrived with his wife, after having experienced a wonderful escape on their voyage. when approaching near the coast of labrador, they discovered an ice-berg of prodigious extent and height approaching them, and had scarcely passed it in safety ere it fell to pieces with a tremendous crash, putting the surrounding sea into the most dreadful agitation and foam. had it happened but a few minutes before, they must every soul have perished in the immense ruin.--all the preparations being finished, the building was begun in at the new station, and jans haven was employed as first architect. on the st september of that year it was finished so as to be habitable. this settlement, which is thirty german miles south of nain, and lies in deg. m. n.l., was called hopedale, in remembrance of those brethren, who, in , had erected their dwelling a little farther to the south, at nisbet's harbour, and given it this name; the ruins of which had been discovered in the exploratory voyage, . the appearance of the ships, which were now annually sent from england to labrador, was hailed with joy. they visited all the three stations, supplied them with necessaries, and made considerable profit by what they got in exchange. in the interim, the brethren held as much intercourse as possible together, during summer, by the esquimaux boats that sail along the coast, and in winter, by travelling from one station to another, in sledges drawn by dogs. the land-road was extremely difficult on account of the steep rocky mountains. the way over the frozen sea was much more easy and pleasant, but often extremely dangerous, as, where it is not inclosed and fixed by the islands, in changeable and stormy weather it is liable to be broken up, and exposes the travellers to almost inevitable destruction. a most remarkable interposition of providence in behalf of two of the brethren, which occurred this year, will illustrate both the danger of that mode of travelling, and the peculiar protection afforded by god to those who have devoted their lives to his service. we shall relate it in the words of the rev. c.j. latrobe, secretary to the mission, who compiled the narrative from the private journal of one of the party: "brother samuel liebisch being at that time entrusted with the general care of the brethren's missions on the coast of labrador; the duties of his office required a visit to okkak, the most northern of our settlements, and about one hundred and fifty english miles distant from nain, the place where he resided. brother william turner being appointed to accompany him, they left nain on march the th, early in the morning, with very clear weather, the stars shining with uncommon lustre. the sledge was driven by the baptized esquimaux mark, and another sledge with esquimaux joined company. the two sledges contained five men, one woman, and a child. all were in good spirits, and appearances being much in their favour, they hoped to reach okkak in safety, in two or three days. the track over the frozen sea was in the best possible order, and they went with ease at the rate of six or seven miles an hour. after they had passed the islands in the bay of nain, they kept at a considerable distance from the coast, both to gain the smoothest part of the ice, and to weather the high rocky promontory of kiglapeit. about eight o'clock they met a sledge with esquimaux turning in from the sea. after the usual salutations, the esquimaux alighting, held some conversation, as is their general practice, the result of which was, that some hints were thrown out by the strange esquimaux that it might be as well to return. however, as the missionaries saw no reason whatever for it, and only suspected that the esquimaux wished to enjoy the company of their friends a little longer, they proceeded. after some time their own esquimaux hinted that there was a ground-swell under the ice. it was then hardly perceptible, except on lying down and applying the ear close to the ice, when a hollow disagreeable grating and roaring noise was heard, as if ascending from the abyss. the weather remained clear except toward the east, where a bank of light clouds appeared, interspersed with some dark streaks; but the wind being strong from the north west, nothing less than a sudden change of weather was expected. "the sun had now reached his height, and there was as yet little or no alteration in the appearance of the sky; but the motion of the sea under the ice had grown more perceptible, so as rather to alarm the travellers, and they began to think it prudent to keep closer to the shore. the ice had cracks and large fissures in many places, some of which formed chasms of one or two feet wide; but as they are not uncommon even in its best state, and the dogs easily leap over them, the sledge following without danger, they are only terrible to new comers. "as soon as the sun declined towards the west, the wind increased and rose to a storm, the bank of clouds from the east began to ascend, and the dark streaks to put themselves in motion against the wind. the snow was violently driven about by partial whirlwinds, both on the ice and from off the peaks of the high mountains, and filled the air. at the same time, the ground-swell had increased so much, that its effects upon the ice became very extraordinary and alarming. the sledges, instead of gliding along smoothly upon an even surface, sometimes ran with violence after the dogs, and shortly after seemed with difficulty to ascend the rising hill; for the elasticity of so vast a body of ice of many leagues square, supported by a troubled sea, though in some places three or four yards in thickness, would in some degree occasion an undulatory motion, not unlike that of a sheet of paper accommodating itself to the surface of a rippling stream. noises were likewise now distinctly heard in many directions like the report of cannon, owing to the bursting of the ice at some distance. "the esquimaux therefore drove with all haste towards the shore, intending to take up their night's quarters on the south side of the uivak. but as it plainly appeared that the ice would break and disperse in the open sea, mark advised to push forward to the north of uivak, from whence he hoped the track to okkak might still remain entire. to this proposal the company agreed; but when the sledges approached the coast, the prospect before them was truly terrific--the ice having broken loose from the rocks, was forced up and down, grinding and breaking into a thousand pieces against the precipices with a tremendous noise, which, added to the raging of the wind, and the snow driving about in the air, deprived the travellers almost of the power of hearing and seeing any thing distinctly. to make the land at any risk, was now the only hope left, but it was with the utmost difficulty, that the frightened dogs could be forced forward--the whole body of ice sinking frequently below the surface of the rocks, then rising above it. as the only moment to land was that when it gained the level of the coast, the attempt was extremely nice and hazardous. however, by god's mercy, it succeeded; both sledges gained the shore, and were drawn up the beach with much difficulty. "the travellers had hardly time to reflect with gratitude to god on their safety, when that part of the ice from which they had just made good their landing, burst asunder, and the water, forcing itself from below, covered and precipitated it into the sea. in an instant, as if by a signal given, the whole mass of ice, extending for several miles from the coast, and as far as the eye could reach, began to burst and to be overwhelmed by the immense waves. the sight was tremendous, and awfully grand--the large fields of ice, raising themselves out of the water, striking against each other, and plunging into the deep with a violence not to be described, and a noise like the discharge of innumerable batteries of heavy guns. the darkness of the night, the roaring of the wind and sea, and the dashing of the waves and ice against the rocks, filled the travellers with sensations of awe and horror, as almost to deprive them of the power of utterance. they stood overwhelmed with astonishment at their miraculous escape, and even the heathen esquimaux expressed gratitude to god for their deliverance. "the esquimaux now began to build a snow-house, about thirty paces from the beach; but before they had finished their work, the waves reached the place where the sledges were secured, and they were with difficulty saved from being washed into the sea. "about o'clock all of them crept into the snow-house, thanking god for this place of refuge; for the wind was piercingly cold, and so violent, that it required great strength to be able to stand against it. "before they entered their habitation, they could not help once more turning to the sea, which was now free from ice, and beheld with horror, mingled with gratitude for their safety, the enormous waves driving furiously before the wind, like huge castles, and approaching the shore, where, with dreadful noise, they dashed against the rocks, foaming, and filling the air with the spray. the whole company now got their supper; and having sung an evening hymn in the esquimaux language, lay down to rest about ten o'clock. they lay so close, that if any one stirred, his neighbour was roused by it. the esquimaux were soon fast asleep, but brother liebisch could not get any rest, partly on account of the dreadful roaring of the wind and sea, and partly owing to a sore throat which gave him great pain. both missionaries were also much engaged in their minds in contemplating the dangerous situation into which they had been brought, and amidst all thankfulness for their great deliverance from immediate death, could not but cry unto the lord for his help in this time of need." the wakefulness of the missionaries proved the deliverance of the whole party from sudden destruction. about two o'clock in the morning, brother liebisch perceived some salt water to drop from the roof of the snow-house upon his lips. though rather alarmed on tasting the salt, which could not proceed from a common spray, he kept quiet till the same dropping became more frequently repeated. just as he was about to give the alarm, on a sudden a tremendous surf broke close to the house, discharging a quantity of water into it; a second soon followed, and earned away the slab of snow placed as a door before the entrance. the missionaries immediately called aloud to the sleeping esquimaux to rise and quit the place. they jumped up in an instant. one of them with a large knife cut a passage through the side of the house; and each seizing some part of the baggage, it was thrown out upon a higher part of the beach, brother turner assisting the esquimaux. brother liebisch, and the woman and child, fled to a neighbouring eminence. the latter was wrapped up by the esquimaux in a large skin, and the former took shelter behind a rock, for it was impossible to stand against the wind, snow and sleet. scarcely had the company retreated to the eminence, when an enormous wave carried away the whole house, but nothing of consequence was lost. they now found themselves a second time delivered from the most imminent danger of death; but the remaining part of the night, before the esquimaux could seek and find another more safe place for a snow house, were hours of great trial to mind and body, and filled every one with painful reflections. before the day dawned, the esquimaux cut a hole into a large drift of snow, to screen the woman and child, and the two missionaries. brother liebisch, however, could not bear the closeness of the air, and was obliged to sit down at the entrance, when the esquimaux covered him with skins to keep him warm, as the pain in his throat was very great. as soon as it was light, they built another snow house; and miserable as such an accommodation is at all times, they were glad and thankful to creep into it. it was about eight feet square, and six or seven feet high. they now congratulated each other on their deliverance, but found themselves in very bad plight. the missionaries had taken but a small stock of provisions with them, merely sufficient for the short journey to okkak. joel, his wife and child, and kassigiak the sorcerer, had nothing at all. they were therefore obliged to divide the small stock into daily portions, especially as there appeared no hopes of soon quitting this place, and reaching any dwellings. only two ways were left for this purpose--either to attempt the land passage across the wild and unfrequented mountain kiglapeit, or to wait for a new ice-track over the sea, which it might require much time to form. they therefore resolved to serve out no more than a biscuit and a half per man per day. but as this would not by any means satisfy an esquimaux's stomach, the missionaries offered to give one of their dogs to be killed for them, on condition that in case distress obliged them to resort again to that expedient, the next dog killed should be one of the esquimaux's team. they replied they should be glad of it, if they had a kettle to boil the flesh in; but as that was not the case, they must suffer hunger, for they could not even yet eat dogs' flesh in its raw state. the missionaries now remained in the snow-house, and every day endeavoured to boil so much water over their lamp as might serve them for two dishes of coffee a piece. through mercy, they were preserved in good health, and brother liebisch quite unexpectedly recovered on the first day of his sore throat. the esquimaux also kept up their spirits, and even the rough heathen kassigiak declared that it was proper to be thankful that they were still alive, adding, that if they had remained a very little longer upon the ice yesterday, all their bones would have been broken to pieces in a short time. he had however his heels frozen, and suffered considerable pain. in the evening the missionaries sung an hymn with the esquimaux, and continued to do it every morning and evening. the lord was present with them, and comforted their hearts by his peace. towards noon of the thirteenth, the weather cleared up, and the sea was soon, as far as the eye could reach, quite freed from ice. mark and joel went up the hills to reconnoitre, and returned with the disagreeable news that not a morsel of ice was to be seen even from thence in any direction, and that it had been forced away from the coast at naasornak. they were therefore of opinion that nothing could be done, but force their way across the mountain kiglapeit. this day kassigiak complained much of hunger, probably to obtain from the missionaries a larger proportion than the common allowance. they represented to him that they had no more themselves, and reproved him for his impatience. whenever the victuals were distributed, he always swallowed his portion very greedily, and put out his hand for what he saw the missionaries had left, but was easily kept from any further attempt by serious reproof. the esquimaux eat to-day an old sack made of fish skin, which proved indeed a dry and miserable dish. while they were at this singular meal, they kept repeating in a low humming tone, "you was a sack but a little while ago, and now you are food for us." towards evening, some flakes of ice were discovered driving towards the coast, and on the th, in the morning, the sea was covered with them. but the weather was again very stormy, and the esquimaux could not quit the snow-house, which made them very low-spirited and melancholy. kassigiak suggested that it would be well "to attempt to make good weather," by which he meant to practise his art as a sorcerer to make the weather good. the missionaries opposed it, and told him that his heathenish practices were of no use, but that the weather would become favourable as soon as it should please god. kassigiak then asked, "whether jesus could make good weather?" he was told that to jesus was given all power in heaven and in earth, upon which he demanded that he should be applied to. another time he said, i shall tell my countrymen at seglek enough about you, how well you bear this misfortune. the missionaries replied, "tell them that in the midst of this affliction, we placed our only hope and trust in jesus christ, our saviour, who loves all mankind, and has shed his blood to redeem them from eternal misery." to-day the esquimaux began to eat an old filthy and worn out skin, which had served them for a mattress. on the th the weather continued extremely boisterous, and the esquimaux appeared every now and then to sink under disappointment. but they possess a good quality, namely, a power of going to sleep when they please, and if need be they will sleep for days and nights together. in the evening, the sky became clear and their hope revived. mark and joel went out to reconnoitre, and brought word that the ice had acquired a considerable degree of solidity, and might soon be fit for use. the poor dogs had meanwhile fasted for near four days, but now, in the prospect of a speedy release, the missionaries allowed to each a few morsels of food. the temperature of the air having been rather mild, it occasioned a new source of distress; for by the warm exhalations of the inhabitants, the roof of the snow-house got to be in a melting state, which occasioned a continual dropping, and by degrees made every thing soaking wet. the missionaries report, that they considered this the greatest hardship they had to endure, for they had not a dry thread about them, nor a dry place to lie down in. on the th the sky cleared, but the fine particles of snow were driven about like clouds. joel and kassigiak resolved to pursue their journey to okkak by the way of nuasornak, and set out with the wind and snow full in their faces. mark could not resolve to proceed farther north, because, in his opinion, the violence of the wind had driven the ice off the coast at tikkerarsuk, so as to render it impossible to land; but he thought he might proceed to the south with safety, and get round kiglapeit. the missionaries endeavoured to persuade him to follow the above mentioned company to okkak; but it was in vain, and they did not feel at liberty to insist upon it, not being sufficiently acquainted with the circumstances. their present distress dictated the necessity of venturing something to reach the habitations of men, and yet they were rather afraid of passing over the newly frozen sea under kiglapiet, and could not immediately determine what to do. brother turner, therefore, went again with mark to examine the ice, and both seemed satisfied that it would hold. they therefore came at last to a resolution to return to nain, and commit themselves to the protection of the lord. on the th, the wind had considerably increased with heavy showers of snow and sleet, but they set off at half-past ten o'clock in the forenoon. mark ran all the way round kiglapiet before the sledge to find a good track, and about one o'clock, through god's mercy, they were out of danger and reached the bay. here they found a good track, upon smooth ice, made a meal of the remnant of their provisions and got some warm coffee. thus refreshed, they resolved to proceed without stopping till they reached nain, where they arrived at twelve o'clock at night. the brethren at nain rejoiced exceedingly to see them return, for by several hints of the esquimaux, who first met them going out to sea, and who then, in their own obscure way, had endeavoured to warn them of the ground swell, but had not been attended to, their fellow missionaries, and especially their wives, had been much terrified. one of these esquimaux, whose wife had made some article of dress for brother liebisch, whom they called samuel, addressed sister liebisch in the following manner: "i should be glad of the payment for my wife's work." "wait a little," answered she, "and, when my husband returns, he will settle with you, for i am unacquainted with the bargain made between you." "samuel and william," replied the esquimaux, "will not return any more to nain." "how, not return, what makes you say so?" after some pause, the esquimaux returned in a low tone, "samuel and william are no more! all their bones are broken and in the stomachs of the sharks." terrified at this alarming account, sister liebisch called in the rest of the family, and the esquimaux was examined as to his meaning; but his answer was little less obscure. he seemed so certain of the destruction of the missionaries, that he was with difficulty prevailed on to wait some time for their return. he could not believe that they could have escaped the effects of so furious a tempest, considering the course they were taking. it may easily be conceived with what gratitude to god the whole family at nain bid them welcome. during the storm, they had considered with some dread what might be the fate of those brethren, though at nain its violence was not felt so much as on a coast unprotected by any islands. added to this, the hints of the esquimaux had considerably increased their apprehensions for their safety, and their fears began to get the better of their hopes. all therefore joined most fervently in praise and thanksgiving to god for their signal deliverance. in august , liebisch returned to europe, and took his place in the unity's elders conference as a member, and lister, with some assistants, exercised the office of superintendant until , when john christian ludwig rose was appointed to this office. chapter iv. esquimaux visit the english settlements--pernicious consequences--dreadful accident--famine--unexpected supply of food and skins.--emigration from okkak--missionaries' care of the wanderers, who return disappointed.--terrible tales from the south.--inquirers separated from the heathen.--popish priest attempts to seduce the converts.--brother rose inspects hopedale.--karpik the sorcerer.--peter's fall.--visits to the south renewed.--parting address of the brethren.--epidemic.--death of daniel--of esther.--conversion and peaceful end of tuglavina.--last days of mikak.--indians come to hopedale.--rose's remarks on the internal state of the missions.--instances of the power of grace among the esquimaux--striking observation of one of the baptized.--jonathan's letter to the greenlanders.--affecting confession of solomon.--conduct of a young woman sought in marriage by a heathen.--state of the settlements at the close of the century.--prospects begin to brighten.--remarkable phenomenon.--avocations of the missionaries--their trials--preservation of their vessels--of their settlements--their brotherly love. eleven years had the brethren now laboured for the conversion of the esquimaux amidst many difficulties and dangers, when circumstances occurred which threatened to blast these fair hopes of success. in the summer of , the esquimaux, for the first time since missionaries had settled in the country, visited the english settlements in the south. tuglavina had persuaded abraham, one of the baptized of nain, to go with him to chateau bay; and when they returned in october, they reported that the commander-in-chief had been quite overjoyed to see baptized esquimaux, and wished that more of them might come to visit him, for he also had been baptized, and hoped that his soul after death would go to heaven. he had reproved mikak for not being baptized, and warned then all against murders and adultery. abraham had bought a boat and still owed half of the price, yet he and tuglavina had each received a present of a musket and powder and ball, nor had the women been sent empty away; also, while they were there, they had had plenty to eat, a gratification of no minor importance. by these splendid accounts of their kind reception, a general desire was excited among their countrymen to go likewise to the south; and the next consequence was, insolence and opposition to the missionaries and teachers. if they were reminded to be sparing of their winter provisions, they sarcastically replied, by reminding the brethren of the manner in which tuglavina and abraham had been treated by the "good" europeans in the south; or if they came into the mission-house and got nothing to eat, they immediately exclaimed, with the europeans in the south we can have plenty to eat. and when one was turned out from the palasadoes, he angrily remarked, the europeans have no palasadoes. by these representations the greater part of the baptized were seduced and deceived; the brethren with meekness endeavoured to put them right, reminded them that at their baptism they had promised to love jesus only, and to follow him, not to leave the congregation of the faithful, and to obey their teachers. they also particularly described the dangers to which they would be exposed in their journey to the south, and desired them to consider the impressive warnings the commander-in-chief had so lately given them--but all was in vain. in the following winter, a famine broke out among the esquimaux in nain; their number amounted to eighty-two souls, whereof thirty-five were baptized and candidates for baptism. all these looked to the brethren when in want of the necessaries of life, who afforded them assistance to the utmost of their ability; but received little thanks for their kindness, for if they did not give them what they thought enough, they upbraided them with the conduct of the good europeans in the south. on the th december a dreadful accident happened at ankpalluktak, about six hours distant from nain. a large mass of snow was precipitated from a mountain and overwhelmed an esquimaux winter house, wherein were thirty persons, young and old. no one could escape to tell the tale of their disaster or procure assistance; but it happened, by the merciful providence of god, that nathaniel, with another esquimaux, went to ankpalluktak to bring sirmek to nain; to their astonishment they found him lying half-frozen, unable either to stand or walk, yet still alive. they then heard a voice from the midst of the ruins, by which they perceived there were still some persons alive beneath the snow; and hastening back to nain with sirmek, they returned with additional hands, and the necessary tools from the brethren. they soon found that there were more esquimaux within, and by great exertion and labour succeeded in extricating nine persons from the rubbish, but one of them was so much bruised that she died very soon after. by this visitation twenty-one persons lost their lives. the esquimaux were greatly alarmed by it for a little, but the impression soon wore off, and all was forgotten. in january and february , the famine increased among the natives, and the brethren redoubled their endeavours to supply their necessities, which however appears only to have had the effect of encouraging their indolence, for so long as they could get food in this way they would not stir abroad, or make the least exertion to supply their own wants. if urged to go in search of food, they alleged that hunger prevented them; "for," said they, "when we go out and catch nothing it makes us the more hungry." if advised to go and hunt, they replied, "we have no gun." yet did not this waywardness tire the patient benevolence of the missionaries; but, like children of their father in heaven, who causeth his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and unjust, when the famine had reached its height, brother lister sent to okkak to fetch a sledge load of dried fish. ere they arrived, news was brought that the esquimaux in the island of kerniteksut, two hours distant from nain, had been so fortunate as to find a dead whale. on hearing this, the whole inhabitants of the country hastened to the place to satisfy their hunger; an immense number of foxes came for the same purpose; these they killed, and thus the starving natives were supplied both with food and riches, the skins of these animals forming a principal article of exchange with the europeans. but this last occurrence proved that wealth among savages, as well as in more civilized countries, is not always a blessing; it renewed anew the desire to go to the south, as the greater part were now in circumstances to carry merchandize thither, to barter with the good and kind europeans. nothing then was spoken of but trade in the south, and they could hardly wait for the season to undertake the journey. when the brethren visited them in the spring, they treated them with the greatest indifference and even insolence; the gospel of jesus found no access to them; and though, through a certain dread of the missionaries, which they could not cast off, they were not so outrageously brutal as formerly; yet in secret they returned to the indulgence of many of their vile practices. early in the approaching summer, more than eighty esquimaux went from the country round nain to the south, among whom were nineteen of the baptized, and even peter, the first fruits of the mission, accompanied them. the majority had determined to spend the winter there, and get plenty to eat, and tobacco, and guns, and powder, and ball, and other articles which they could not purchase so advantageously from the brethren. from the country round okkak too, above an hundred of the natives went south in four boats, among whom were luke and his family, who were baptized. when the brethren saw that the baptized would not be prevented from going to the south, though sorely grieved, yet anxious for their welfare in their ill advised expedition, they gave them a written certificate, stating that they, the missionaries, had been sent there by an agreement with the governor of newfoundland, in the years and -- ; that they had lived in love and concord with the esquimaux, and had no cause of complaint against them; that there was no other reason for their present journey than the invitation of europeans in the south; then recommended them to the care and friendly treatment of the colonists, and concluded by giving a short account of the progress of the mission since its commencement. at the new mission station, hopedale, some beginnings of a stirring among the heathen were perceived, but the same giddy infatuation which had seized their countrymen laid hold on them also, and blasted this pleasing prospect. a boatful of them undertook the voyage to the south, while the others who remained, had their minds wholly dissipated. from this propensity of the esquimaux to go to the colony, the outward circumstances of the mission appeared to be in great danger. for as the wanderers carried considerable quantities of merchandize to the southern settlements, the home freight of the society's ship, the amity, which consisted of the same articles, was much less this, than it had been in any former year. on the th of october five families of arcktok came from chateau bay back to nain; they now spoke in a very different tone respecting the "good and kind" europeans; they had quarrelled with their friends, who had seized their wives, and afterwards maltreated and threatened to shoot themselves; while they, probably, had not altogether refrained from their old thievish practices. the year before, they said, the people in the south are better than you, they give us plenty to eat;--now they said, "you are the _innuit_, our true friends, we will never leave you more." the following year, , tuglavina arrived at nain on the th of september with three boats, on his return from chateau bay--the accounts which he and others gave of their residence there pierced the missionaries to their inmost souls. of the nineteen baptized who went south five had perished, david, abraham, moses, timothy, and deborah; the latter, there was ground to hope, had a blessed departure. david was drowned in a kaiak on the sea, and on this account, by the counsel of old nerkingoak, his sister killatsiak was ordered to be burnt to death. abraham, while striking fire for this purpose, slightly wounded his finger; but trifling as the hurt appeared, it brought him to his miserable end. moses was shot by tuglavina. timothy was likewise assassinated. when tuglavina touched at hopedale, being asked, "where is moses?" he coolly answered, "he is lost." "where is he lost? is he gone over the sea?" was next asked. "no! i have killed him," answered the savage. "and wherefore did you kill him?" said they. "because he was good for nothing," was the careless reply. it was apparent, however, that they had been murdered for the sake of their women. moses had three baptized wives, who were given or sold to three northern men; kathmina was purchased by her brother, kekluana of pitteklaluk, for a great coat, a hatchet, a folding knife, and a spoon. these conjugal bargains tuglavina related to brother lister, quite unasked and without emotion; indeed his whole appearance was as if he had been possessed by an evil spirit. the brethren slept none that night for grief. by such horrible occurrences the desire of the baptized to travel to the south was somewhat checked, and the following year only a single boat went thither. but the colony possessed particular attractions for the natives; as there they could be supplied with muskets, powder, and ball, which having learned the use of, had now become absolutely necessary for them in hunting. the missionaries had, hitherto, doubted the propriety of arming them with such dangerous weapons; but as they could no longer be kept from them, they got themselves supplied with them from england as articles of trade, to prevent, if possible, the esquimaux from making this a pretext for emigrating. daily observation more and more convinced the brethren of the injury the baptized and the inquirers had sustained while they continued to live among their heathen countrymen; the constant incitements to their superstitious sinful customs, and to their heathenish juggling and games, they were frequently little able to resist, especially when their old inclinations were seconded by the calls of affection or friendship. when, for example, some spell was to be tried on a sick relative, and any of those who had been taught something of christianity opposed it, they were reproached with hating the invalid, and wishing him dead. another source of seduction to the half-informed heathen, was the use which the angekoks made of the little knowledge of christianity which they had obtained. these sorcerers, who are held in great veneration and dread by the people, and whose atrocities, as well as their pretended inspirations, render them objects of terror; when they saw the influence of the missionaries, and felt their own importance begin to shake, introduced into their incantations the name of jesus, whom they acknowledged to be a powerful supernatural being, inferior only to torngak--and the believers themselves were apt to retain and to mix some of their old opinions with their new creed. to preserve these tender plants from the contagious breath of a heathen atmosphere, the brethren determined that in future, they should have fixed habitations adjacent to their own dwelling, and they erected houses in a substantial fashion not far from the missionary station, into which they received no esquimaux except such as expressed their sincere resolution to renounce heathenism. in hopedale they had often experienced the baleful consequences of being in the neighbourhood of the heathen at avertok. this was peculiarly evident from a declaration of some of the baptized who had spent the winter among them. a meeting was called on the th april , to consult about the subject, when all the men inhabiting the station attended; it was held in the open air, and as the weather was exceedingly fine, continued for upwards of three hours. here the brethren were informed of the transactions which had taken place the winter before, and one professed believer thought himself bound to make a confession of the superstitious and sinful practices in which he had formerly engaged. as these were among the actions and deeds which ought not so much as to be named among christians, the brethren strictly forbade any such confessions in future, but particularly in public, and before the heathen; who being strongly addicted to the same abominations, and unable to distinguish between a penitent confession and an actual approval, might be hardened in their sins by hearing such narratives, which they would naturally conclude proceeded from the pleasure the persons still took in practices they delighted to talk of. a new trial, of perhaps a more distressing kind, afflicted the brethren, from an attempt made by a roman catholic priest to seduce the baptized and the inquirers, by presenting them with a form of christianity which had some appearance to that they saw among the moravians, while it permitted an indulgence in those vices which the doctrines of the latter could not tolerate. a warm and a flattering invitation sent by a frenchman named macko, from canada, who had an establishment in the south at avertok, awakened with redoubled force the propensity of the esquimaux to go to the south, though they now could get shooting materials at the settlements, better, and on more advantageous terms, than they could there. this frenchman, who acted not only as a merchant, but as a roman catholic priest, made them the most extravagant promises; and besides, he said he would pray daily with them to jesus, and that he had the most beautiful writings--_i.e_. pictures--of the saviour. in consequence, a company of thirty-two persons, and among them fourteen of the baptized, went thither in the summer of , so that the number of inhabitants in hopedale was reduced from fifty-nine to thirty. macko invited the esquimaux to worship god with him; this seemed more pleasant and convenient than to remain under restraint with the brethren, for there they saw "christian" sailors who allowed themselves to follow every species of sinful dissolute conduct. on their return they said, the europeans have meetings yonder as you have, and they have jesus as you have here. the repeated distressing accounts from the brethren of the apparently insurmountable obstacles with which they had to struggle in attempting the conversion of the heathen, gave occasion to the venerable bishop spangenberg to write an impressive letter to the believing esquimaux. this letter was translated into their language, and read to the baptized and the candidates for baptism at all the stations. particularly anxious to root out these heathenish weeds which were chocking the growth of the good seed, superintendant rose, in , inspected hopedale, where they appeared most thickly scattered, and producing the most baneful effects. he spoke to every member of the congregation separately; and when they had given their assent to the contents of the letter, he made them, in a fellowship meeting, solemnly promise to give up their feasts with their heathen neighbours, and withdraw from the government of kapik, a powerful angekok in avertok. this sorcerer, whenever he chose, seduced the esquimaux to commit the greatest enormities, by threatening to kill them through the power of torngak, if they did not obey his commands. but coming soon after to hopedale, the missionary spoke seriously with him, and extorted a reluctant promise from him to renounce his usurped authority over the believers. although the journies to the south were a great hindrance to the collecting of congregations, yet in all the three settlements some were almost yearly added to the christian church by baptism; and the number of baptized, and candidates for baptism, in the year , amounted to about eighty. yet, alas! even with the baptized little fortitude and growth in grace could be observed--many deviated grievously from the right path. in nain, nathaniel, a baptized esquimaux, had taken a baptized woman for a second wife and had gone with her to the heathen, with whom a plurality of wives is very common, and is considered as a mark of superiority; he being considered a great man who possesses two or three wives, and as soon as any one possesses a european boat he is, according to the opinion of the country, in circumstances to have at least four helpmates. even peter had so far again sunk into heathenism, that he had taken several, and among others, a mother and her daughter. bishop spangenberg was so touched with the case of this poor wanderer that he wrote him, representing the nature of his conduct in the most affectionate manner, and earnestly exhorting him to return. when the letter was read to him at nain, , he said joseph has spoken pure truth, and i love him for it; his words are right, but i require the women for my boat and i cannot send them away. he was again put in remembrance of the letter in the following year, when he assured the brethren it had made such an impression on him that he could not sleep for three nights; but he continued in his evil course of conduct, and still kept the mother and the daughter among his wives. he went afterwards to the south, where he remained two or three winters, but whether he ever obtained repentance must remain a secret till "that day." reports of many horrible murders committed in the north in the year having reached the brethren, they were not a little comforted by the remark of an esquimaux living at one of the settlements, "as many murders," said he, "would have been committed here if you had not come and brought us the good word of our creator becoming our redeemer, of his great love to us, and of our duty to love him and our neighbour." a strong desire to travel to the south became again prevalent among the esquimaux in the summer of ; they said one could get a large boat there for a small price, and plenty to eat, as the europeans caught the seals in nets and gave away the flesh for nothing, and they gave them also bread and rum at a low rate, and all this was good for the _innuit_. a hundred persons, of whom fifteen were baptized, and three candidates for baptism, went from nain and okkak in eleven boats. the sad experience of former years had shewn the brethren the destructive effects that the frequent dispersion, and the constant intercourse with their heathen countrymen and careless europeans, had in bewildering the esquimaux, and erasing all their religion; they therefore determined at parting to give them a serious and affectionate admonition. in this they reminded them that the members of the congregation, in going away, were departing from what they had heard of the saviour, and what they had promised at their baptism, and from what the ordinance of the holy supper required them to be. that they--the missionaries--ever since the time of their backsliding, had never ceased to cry to the saviour, as they well knew that he was merciful and gracious, and would again receive repenting sinners; that though they would not now follow the counsel of their teachers, and would separate from them, yet it might be, that when they were in necessity or affliction, they might think on what they had heard of jesus, and take refuge in him; and then, though their bodies should return to the dust, their souls, purchased by his precious blood, would be saved. one of the baptized replied that he knew all that, and understood it quite well, but he must be allowed to follow his own discretion. he promised, however, at parting, that he would continue to love his teachers--would think on their words, and if he should die in the south, he would order that his baptized children should be sent back to the congregation and put under their care. during the winters and , an infectious disease visited all the settlements, a violent cough, accompanied with fever and pleurisy; it attacked both europeans and esquimaux, but proved fatal chiefly to the latter, and lasted for about two months; at nain it was so universal, that when they met together they could not proceed, as the coughing rendered the service altogether unintelligible. when an esquimaux is taken ill, he expects, from any medicine that may be prescribed, an immediate cure, and if this does not take place grows dejected; and now, fears at the thoughts of death, which are deeply rivetted, shewed themselves even in believers. the missionaries were assiduous in their attendance, and in using every means they possessed for their cure; but learned, to their inexpressible grief, that the impatience of some also who had received the gospel, led them to follow the old superstitious ways of the sorcerers to procure relief, and this at the very time when they were professing to follow implicitly the prescriptions of the brethren. they were very cautious, however, lest it should reach the missionaries' ears; nor do the latter seem to have been aware of it, till one of the communicants at okkak, constrained by uneasiness of mind, confessed the whole with many tears, saving that he had grievously sinned against the lord. the hypocrisy and equivocation which many, of whom they had hoped better things, evinced, added greatly to the anguish of the missionaries; but they had great consolation in the death of others, who departed happy in the faith to their saviour. among these was daniel, a communicant; he said in his last illness, "all the things i had confidence in are now in the depths of the sea, my only refuge is the saviour; all my thoughts rest on him." the widow esther, however, deserves particular notice; she was bred at kilanok north from okkak, and when a child came on a visit to nain in , where she and her countrymen heard for the first time the missionaries speak of the creator and redeemer of men; this made a great impression upon her, and though a child, and surrounded only by the heathen, it constantly occurred to her mind, "it is he who made all things and knows all things; he, therefore, knows me and can help me." often she told the missionaries, that when she was at kilanok, she would go out to a mountain and weep and pray to jesus, particularly when any thing painful happened to her. after her father's death a man took her for his third wife, which placed her in the most painful circumstances, as he was a rude wicked wretch, a sorcerer, and a murderer. in the year he died, and she was left with two children completely destitute, for every one hated them on his account. her children were so dreadfully beaten that they both died in consequence; but though they were thus cruelly treated in her presence she durst not interfere, as the savages in ridicule pretended it was the torngak that bid them, and threatened her also with death. at last rebecca, one of the baptized, had compassion on her in this disconsolate situation, and brought her to okkak. here the missionaries soon perceived such an earnest desire after salvation as they say they had never before seen in any esquimaux, though she at first spoke but little. in , she was baptized, and soon after was a partaker of the holy supper. she lived in constant communion with her saviour, for she had learned to know him as her comforter, her counsellor and help, and often said, "he is indeed my father; wherever i go, and wherever i am, he is with me, and i can tell him every thing." esther was the first converted person among the esquimaux who continued faithful unto the end, without allowing herself in any thing sinful, and though often asked in marriage by unbelievers, so far was she from listening to such proposals, that her reply was, "i would not disturb my present enjoyment even to marry a believer." for had she married, she must have gone in summer with the other esquimaux to the distant places where they procured their furs and skins, while in her present state she could always remain at the settlement, and enjoy the privileges of a christian church. she learned to read and write, so that she wrote letters with her own hand to the sisters at nain. in june , when she was taken ill, she sweetly repeated, "whether i live i am the saviour's, whether i die i am the saviour's--living or dying i am the saviour's! yes! he hath bought me with his blood, and he will take me to himself!" she died after three days illness, aged thirty years. about this time the hearts of the missionaries were revived by the joyful news, that tuglavina had begun to think about his soul, and seemed in earnest. this furious savage, by strength, courage, and activity, had procured a commanding influence among his countrymen; who so highly dreaded him as a chief, and trembled at his supernatural powers as an angekok, that his word was a law; and he had only to signify to them his pleasure as a revelation from torngak, when it was instantly executed. whoever he pointed out as a victim, his deluded followers were ready to sacrifice. besides the numerous murders thus perpetrated, he committed many with his own hands; nor was there any method of controlling or bringing him to an account. he had, however, at first, and upon many occasions, been of essential service to the mission; and entertained a peculiar respect for the missionaries, particularly "little jans," of which a striking instance is narrated in the journals. at one time, when he returned from the south from chateau bay, where he had purchased a two masted shallop, arms and ammunition, &c. he presented himself before haven dressed in an english officer's old uniform, swaggering with a cocked hat, and sword by his side. haven, with a grave aspect looking him in the face, asked, "what do you want here, kablunat?" "do you not know me?" replied the other, "i am tuglavina." "art thou tuglavina?" retorted jans, "then set off this moment, i have nothing to say to you in that attire; but put on thy own dress, and come again and act like a rational esquimaux, and i will speak to you." tuglavina, confounded, made no reply, but left the room; and without regarding the pitiful figure he was about to cut before his countrymen, laid aside his splendid apparel, resumed his seal skin clothes, and returned to the missionaries. these holy men, who neglected no opportunity of representing to him the guilt of his crimes, now pointed out the atrocity of the murders he had committed, or occasioned, and sharply reproved him for seducing the baptized to participate with him in his heathenish abominations. tuglavina trembled, grew pale, and confessed he was an horrible sinner; but, like some men who call themselves christians, excused himself on the ground of necessity. "i must sin," said he, "for torngak drives me to it." he frequently repeated this confession of his sins; but dazzled by the respect in which he was held by his countrymen, it was extremely difficult for him to think of relinquishing this flattering distinction, and humble himself under the mighty hand of god. but at length the time came when this once dreaded chieftain must lose his influence. his bodily vigour began to decline, and he saw and feared an enemy in every one of those whose relations he had murdered. he began to grow poor, and his numerous wives either deserted him or were carried away by force; of the whole number one only clave to him in his adversity. amid this extraordinary change of circumstances conscience awoke, and in his desolate state he had nothing with which to still its voice--his sins and his evil deeds stood in array before him, and he resorted to the brethren for consolation. he declared his resolution now cordially to renounce heathenism; and in october , was permitted, with his wife and children, to reside at nain. though he experienced many changes, yet at last the grace of god triumphed over this great sinner, and he remained firmly opposed to all the importunities of his friends, who, upon his returning prosperity, used every artifice to decoy him to another southern journey. formerly, when living in the south, he had a dangerous illness; and, at the request of the governor of chateau bay, he had been baptized by an english minister and got the name of william. on christmas-day he was received into the brethren's congregation; and on the d of april , admitted as a communicant to the lord's table. his conduct after this, and his expressions of gratitude for the mercy bestowed on him by the lord, who had forgiven him his sins and received him graciously, proved very pleasing and encouraging to the brethren. but afterwards they perceived, with grief, that he began to entertain high thoughts of himself, which made them apprehend some lurking deviation. and so it proved; for being led into temptation, he conducted himself in such a manner as obliged them to exclude him from the holy communion. but he soon acknowledged it with deep contrition, and sought and found forgiveness with the saviour, and was then re-admitted to the lord's supper. he now took every opportunity of telling his countrymen what jesus had done for him; "because," said he, "i am anxious that many more should he converted to him." on the th september , he returned home from a rein-deer hunt sick of a pleurisy; and the disorder increased on the following day so much, that all the remedies applied were in vain. from the very first the brethren suspected that his illness would end in his dissolution, and mentioned to him their fears without reserve; on which he declared that he was ready to go to jesus, and hoped his saviour would not despise him. one of the brethren was constantly with him; and, at his request, sung verses expressive of the change in view, in which he joined as long as he was able. he frequently testified that he was happy, and put all his confidence in our saviour alone; "and we," say the missionaries, "felt the peace of god attending his sick-bed." he breathed his last, october th, in the most gentle manner, while the waiting brother was engaged in prayer. "a singular object," says the missionary diary, "of the mercy of our saviour, who followed him through all his perverse and wicked ways with infinite patience and long-suffering, until at last he drew him to himself. he was sixty years of age." before this mikak died. she had resided chiefly in the south since the year , and thus lost the advantage of hearing the gospel, which she seemed latterly to view with indifference. but on the approach of death her impressions revived. the last two days of her life she spent at nain. immediately on her arrival, being very ill, she sent to brother burghardt, to request assistance and advice. he found her extremely weak, and apparently without hopes of recovery. however, after giving her some medicine, he took occasion to speak seriously with her concerning the state of her soul, advising her to return to jesus christ as a repentant sinner, who will surely receive all poor prodigals, if with their hearts they confess their deviations; and he also reminded her of the promises she had formerly made to devote her whole heart to him. she assented to the truth of all he said, and exclaimed, "ah! i have behaved very bad, and am grieved on that account; but what shall i do? i cannot find jesus again!" brother burghardt exhorted her not to desist from crying to him for mercy, for he came to seek and save the lost, and would not cast her out. in the following days she seemed to receive these admonitions with eagerness, and declared that she had not forgotten what she had heard of her saviour in former days, nor what she had promised when she became a candidate for baptism. she departed this life oct ; and was buried in the brethren's burying ground; and they were willing to entertain the hope that this straying sheep had found mercy at last. ever since the brethren had been in labrador, they had heard the esquimaux speak of indians in the interior, of whom they seemed greatly afraid; frequently a sudden terror would be diffused among their tribes, if they discovered any trace of that formidable people near them. but in the summer of , they were alarmed with the certain intelligence that five or six of their families had arrived at a european settlement, at kippakak, about five or six miles distant from hopedale; and in april , some of them for the first time paid the mission-station a visit. they were a father and son, who came with the design of buying tobacco from the brethren. they lived with some christians of french extraction in the southern settlements, and had been baptized by a french priest. all the esquimaux immediately gathered round the strangers, and eyed them as objects of jealous curiosity. the old man appeared exceedingly alarmed at this, and was extremely glad when the brethren invited him and his son into the mission-house. the latter understood the esquimaux language and english; but the father, when any one wished to speak with him, pointed to his ears, giving them to understand that he could hear nothing. when food was placed before them they took off their caps and crossed themselves; and before they went to bed they kneeled down and repeated a long prayer. an esquimaux wished them to lodge in his house, but when they came to the door they would not enter; the old man began to tremble, and made signs that they would rather sleep in the bushes. as the brethren tried to quiet them, the son cried out in the esquimaux language, "they are so filthy," and added in english, "we cannot sleep with the esquimaux, nor eat out of their dirty vessels. we have been accustomed to live as cleanly as the europeans." the brethren, who saw that they were afraid of the great number of the esquimaux, but wished to conceal their terror under the pretence of disgust at their filthiness, showed them into one of their own workshops, where beds were quickly prepared. the following morning they asked them if they knew any thing of the crucified jesus, in whose name they had been baptized; and showing them a picture of the saviour's crucifixion, told them that he had suffered thus, and died that they might not everlastingly perish. the history of jesus seemed not unknown to them; and they said, that they would not go down into the fire, but up into glory. as they saw a book lying on the table, they said, their priests, morning and evening, read kneeling, from such a book, that all the people listened to them, and in their meetings they made the sign of the cross. they also said that a great many indians lived not far from thence, who, for fear of the europeans, never ventured near the coast; that they had no fire-arms, but used bows and arrows in hunting. they wore a thin dress, evidently not calculated for a cold climate; their skin was brown, their hair black, and their features bore a greater resemblance to the europeans than the esquimaux. the morning after, they prepared to return; and on taking leave, reached over their hands to the brethren, and said, "you shall in future see more indians." since then the terror of the esquimaux for the indians, and their enmity towards them, have been greatly diminished. frederick burghardt being appointed superintendant of the mission in room of rose, who, after twelve years' service, returned to europe, the latter, before leaving, transmitted home the following remarks on the internal state of the mission at the close of the year . "it is the cause of great pain and grief to me and my sister, and my spirit often sinks within me, when i see those on whom the greatest care and faithful labour has been bestowed, so easily fall back to their heathenish practices; and who, if they are not treated with the greatest patience and tenderness, would be wholly carried away. in these cases it always occurs to me, how would the saviour have acted with such persons? the hypocrisy that appears in many is abominable, and could we have received them upon a mere verbal profession of love to the doctrine of jesus, we might in a short time have baptized the whole nation, as far as we could reach. many would have come here to live, but we were obliged to prevent them, and many expressed a desire to be converted, though they felt little interest in the subject, and did not so much as know what conversion meant. others, who had obtained rather more knowledge, and whose relations lived here, would pretend to be converted, and these we would receive in hope, but they only proved sources of affliction and sorrow. when i read the reports of other missions, and reflect on the little fruit of our many years' labour, how my heart is grieved, and i say, 'ah! why is the hour of visitation to the esquimaux so long delayed!' i expect not this for any faithful labours of ours--for when i think on them, i can only pray and entreat the lord jesus to forgive our great guilt, our many errors and mistakes in his service--but he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied; this makes me many times think, and why not among the esquimaux? with all this, however, i am constrained to render thanks to the saviour for what he has done in winning souls for himself even here, for there are a few who have received forgiveness of sins, who know the saviour, and live in the enjoyment of communion with him. o! that this were the case with all the baptized; it is, however, with the greater part; although, alas! there are others who do not yet feel heathenish customs to be a burden, and many that, having tasted the good word of god, have been deceived and involved in the commission of sin." of those who appeared truly converted there are some delightful examples in the diary of , who evince the power of the grace of god; though the missionary, under a sense of his own unworthiness, cried out, "my leanness! my leanness!" it is a practice with the missionaries, occasionally, to read to the esquimaux extracts from the accounts of other missions, particularly those of greenland, that nation having so great a resemblance to themselves, in their language, manners, and way of procuring their livelihood; these generally give rise to interesting conversations, and draw from the natives some striking remarks. at nain, upon an occasion of this kind, one of the baptized observed, "if we had so far advanced in grace, that our walk and conversation shone as a light among our heathen countrymen; and if some who are baptized had not, after their baptism, behaved again as bad as the heathen themselves, we should soon see an increase of our number; for the heathen would soon perceive the difference between a believer and an infidel, and seek to obtain the same happiness, but we ourselves are in fault." upon a similar occasion jonathan--of whom the missionaries write, "he is, without a particular commission, a faithful assistant among his nation, and proves useful in averting much mischief, and in exhorting them to obedience to the saviour,"--dictated the following remarkable letter to the believing greenlanders: "my brethren and sisters, you who live on the other side of the water, and are baptized, i salute you by these lines, and send my words to you in the name of jesus. when i hear your words come forth out of the written accounts, i ardently desire to be a partaker of your faith; for whenever these writings are read to us, my heart begins to burn within me. of that long period since my baptism, (fifteen years) i can reckon but about three years during which i have had solid and constant thoughts towards jesus; and have begun to enjoy my saviour's peace in my heart. i reflect also, that the time of my life in this world may possibly be soon past, since i begin to grow old. at the time when i was baptized i was still very ignorant, and for some time after walked in error and darkness. but now, i cleave with my whole heart to jesus, my lord and god, and weep for desire after him. i search my heart frequently, and examine my conduct on account of my sinfulness; for i find myself exceedingly depraved and sinful, therefore it is my concern that i may never lose sight of him again. of myself i am not able to abide faithful; but jesus my lover will help and protect me. "i will relate to you something of my chief wanderings and perverse ways in which i have lived:--i was not clever enough to have to do with satan, and to use sorceries; but i have lived in the sins of the flesh--from these i have now ceased, for i perceive i should be worse than a beast if i were to go to the holy communion, to partake of the body and blood of jesus, with a heart defiled with such impurities. henceforth i could not bear to be separated from my teachers, for i think thus--why was jesus crucified and put to death? surely for this cause, because he would atone for me, an exceeding sinful creature. when i was a poor orphan child, for i have seen neither father nor mother, then jesus became my father. as long as i live i will not forget him, and even in eternity i shall be with him. "i sometimes think, if i were with you and beheld your faith, i should be much more happy and cheerful than i am now; however, though i be ever so needy--be it so--yet, like thomas, i will call him my lord and my god! this, 'tis true, i cannot do of myself; but when i continue asking it as a favour he grants it me, and i experience it. "with respect to my countrymen, i must tell you, that they often grieve me when they will not follow my advice. i do not say this as if i fancied myself to be a man of importance, for i will gladly be the meanest of these before the eyes of jesus. when i think on my former resistance and stiff-necked behaviour in the work of conversion, i could strike myself. it causes deep sorrow and repentance within me, when i consider that i have been most faithfully instructed by my teachers for so many years, and yet have been like one that had no ears to hear. but now, not my ears only are unstopped to hear and understand the doctrine of jesus and the hymns we sing, but i feel that what i hear and learn penetrates into my heart, and since i am thus inwardly affected, warmed, and enlivened, i am the more astonished and amazed at the change, when recollecting, that i have been so hard and callous, that whenever any of my nearest relations departed this life, being taken from my side by death, i was not able to weep a tear for them; but now i can shed a flood of tears, both from a fervent desire of living intimately attached to jesus, and for delight and pleasure to think what happiness i should enjoy if incessantly thus disposed. however, since i am so poor and defective, i find that i cannot procure it by my own efforts; but i am taught that i may yet enjoy this constant happiness, by entreating our saviour for it to-day, to-morrow, and every day. as long as i am on this earth, i shall remain like a sick one, and be always apt to stray; for my heart is naturally untoward and hard as a stone, but when jesus softens it, then it becomes truly soft and tender. ah! that i had not such corrupted senses! yet, being conscious that i am constantly in danger on account of my depravity, i am determined faithfully to attend to the gospel, and to my teachers, to be guided and advised by them and to follow after righteousness. when i search my own heart, i still find many things condemnable in the sight of jesus, of which i had never thought before. hear these my poor words to you in love. jonathan." at okkak, solomon, a baptized man, thus complained to the brethren: "i will now utter words of truth only. i am unhappy because i cannot regain that state of mind i enjoyed when i was baptized. there is as it were a dark shadow between me and our saviour; this is the only thing that gives me pain at present. i feel, 'tis true, some desire after jesus, but i cannot always pray to him. this is, alas, my case, for whole days together, and yet i cannot live without him. i know, also, that it was he alone who first saved me from my evil ways, for neither you nor i could do it!" here he was so much affected, that he burst into tears. the missionaries encouraged him, and bid him not cast away his confidence in jesus; for since he, according to his own confession, had bestowed such mercy upon him, he might believe and be sure, that he would not suffer him to weep in vain for a new manifestation of his love towards him. there is not, perhaps, any surer test of a young woman's christianity than the choice she makes of an husband; and the missionaries were highly gratified in this respect, with the conduct of a young girl, a candidate for baptism. when the winter meetings were resumed, she expressed her joy, for she was desirous of learning the doctrine of jesus, and wished to know and love him more; and she said she was resolved never again to leave the fellowship of believers. her resolution was almost immediately tried; a heathen, from kivalek, proposed marriage to her, but she at once declared she would never take a husband who would lead her astray from god and his people. some time after, her parents, joseph and justina, came from okkak to nain, to inquire whether anauke, who seems to have been a rich esquimaux, was a candidate for baptism, or had ever spoken to the missionaries on the subject of conversion; and when informed that he had not, they said that since their daughter had declared her attachment to the believers, and her purpose to live with jesus, they would never bestow her upon a stranger. on which the missionaries observe, "whoever knows the natural dispositions and habits of the esquimaux, will, from this instance, see that there is a manifest influence of the spirit of god in their hearts, to cause them to act with such willing conformity to the doctrine of the scriptures, and such attention to their souls' welfare." as the century closed, the prospects of the missionaries brightened, and they therefore with greater earnestness entreated the prayers of their brethren. "the more we perceive," say they, "our own insufficiency, the more we perceive how much we stand in need of the support and prayers of god's children, in this our important calling, to win to christ, souls, harder than the rocks on which they dwell, and to be melted only by the fire of his love unto death." "we find every year," was the report from okkak, "when we receive the various accounts from our congregations, abundant cause to rejoice over all the manifold proofs of his grace and faithfulness towards them; and as to ourselves, we may confidently assert, that his goodness towards us has been daily new. he has granted us the grace to preach him to the esquimaux, both living in our land and elsewhere, as the saviour of men, who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, with courage and with joyful hearts, though under a sense of our own poverty and weakness;" and many heathen, who came hither from a great distance from the north for the sake of trade, heard it with attention. there was also a particular awakening among the baptized, who expressed an ardent desire to be admitted to partake of the lord's supper, and they in general acknowledged to the praise of the lord, that he had owned their small esquimaux flock, and blessed them with his presence. the state of the settlement at nain was equally pleasing. "we have had much joy," the missionaries write, "in observing the course of our small esquimaux congregation; having perceived that they are more and more desirous to live in a manner acceptable to god, and to be cleansed from all those things which might grieve the holy spirit, and be a disgrace to the cause of our saviour. in our meetings we frequently experience his gracious presence, and, more than ever before, felt the true spirit of a congregation of jesus, especially during two baptismal transactions we have had. it proves a great encouragement to us, when we see that people, who, only a short time ago, hardly knew that there exists a divine being, and lived in all manner of sin and abomination, now that they have learned to know the saviour, shed tears from a sense of god in their hearts, and of their fellowship with him as their redeemer." nor was hopedale less favoured. "we can declare to you with joy," was the language of missionaries in their letters to england, "that there has been a manifest work of god and his spirit upon the souls of the esquimaux in the year past. most of them are in a hopeful state, and intent upon cleaving to the lord, that they may partake of the blessings he has purchased for us by his bitter sufferings and death." of four families at arvertok, not far from hopedale, consisting of thirty persons, the greater part were awakened to a concern for their soul's conversion, by a remarkable appearance in the sky, which was repeated three times, particularly on the night of january th. it consisted of a vast quantity of inflammable matter in the air, which seemed to ascend from all parts of the horizon, and then to pour itself towards the earth, in immense fiery rays and balls. karpik and his people, who first saw the phenomenon, ran to hopedale in the greatest agitation and amazement, and awakened the esquimaux there, with the awful intelligence that the world was at an end. they, upon suddenly rising from bed, struck with the spectacle, imagined that the stars were falling from heaven, and that they were the signs which announced the near approach of the lord, as he had foretold. karpik cried out in agony, "let us turn with our whole hearts to our saviour--this is the hour;" and began to pray aloud to jesus, to sing hymns, and to entreat, with the greatest concern, all his household to unite with him. these esquimaux now attended the meetings daily, and evinced by their conduct a change in their minds; for they were not only anxious themselves about their eternal concerns, but were desirous that their children should also regard them. instead of preventing them as formerly, they now intreated that they might be allowed to send them to school, which from this time was well attended by both old and young. among the primary objects of the brethren is the instruction of the youth. old trees are ill to bend, but the tender sapling is more easily impressed, and there are peculiar promises to bless the instruction of children, and to encourage to a patient and proper performance of a very trying, and not unfrequently a very irksome task. but while the brethren communicate to their interesting charge the elements of knowledge, they employ as the grand instrument for shaping their characters, the word of the gospel of christ, and subject their pupils to a moral training, without which, the mere communication of knowledge, whether sacred or profane, is often a curse rather than a blessing. so soon as they had attained a sufficient knowledge of the language, the missionaries composed elementary books, and for those who were farther advanced they translated a history of the sufferings of jesus, which was gratefully received by those who could read and eagerly listened to by those who could not. about three months after this occurrence, karpik declared that he was now in his heart convinced that the blood of jesus could blot out his exceeding great sins--that he wept daily before him, entreating him to wipe away his iniquities, and declared that the ardent desire of his soul was to cleave more closely to the saviour; that he was resolved to follow him only, and to give up all connection with the unbelievers. and he was diligent in speaking to all the strangers who passed that way, beseeching and exhorting them to turn to the lord. when the century closed, after thirty years' labour, the missionaries at the three different stations had the pleasure of numbering two hundred and twenty-eight resident esquimaux under their care, of whom one hundred and ten were baptized. this involved them in various other avocations. they had not only to instruct them in matters of religion, but to teach them habits of industry and of economy and to show them the example; they induced them to build, and assisted them in building, substantial houses; they made them tools for working and implements for fishing[f] and gardening, which last process they had to superintend and to direct. besides, they erected and kept in repair their own dwellings, cultivated their own gardens, fabricated tools for themselves, and used every exertion to lessen the demand for, or supply the deficiency of their european food. they had also to collect and bring home firewood for their domestic purposes--no small labour; and to fell timber and build boats for the purposes of barter, as they took nothing gratuitous from the natives, heathen or christian. since the mission commenced, they had, in the mysterious ways of providence, lost two missionaries by shipwreck; and in , they were tried with the loss of another, in a yet more distressing manner. one of their new assistants, rieman, on the d december, had gone out to hunt alone, and had wandered, but whither was never known, as he never returned; nor, though diligent search was made for him five successive days, could any traces be found. during the period that had elapsed since the foundation of the mission, they had been repeatedly tried both by pestilence and famine, but they now found their heavenly father a ready help in every time of need. in one season, when the seal-catching had entirely failed, and the esquimaux were deprived of the means of subsistence for the winter, the brethren joined with them in crying aloud to god for help, and he so directed it, that in a short time two dead whales were found, which preserved them from starving. the missionary families depended chiefly upon the supplies from europe for their healthful subsistence, and it is an instance of the superintending providence of a gracious god which these missionaries acknowledged with humble thankfulness, that the voyages of the vessels which carried their stores, were never interrupted by storms or enemies. the amity was preserved so long as employed in the service, but the very year when about to quit it on her return home, she was taken by the french, yet was restored without much detriment. and the harmony, which had been purchased to supply her place, had now for more than twenty-six years traversed the wild and icy ocean, amid sunken rocks and in the sight of enemies, without accident.[g] the missionary settlements during this period, had been threatened with an attack from the french. two of their ships of war arrived on the coast in , but having landed at chateau bay, after plundering and burning that town and blowing up the fort, they were mercifully restrained from harming the more peaceful habitations of the brethren. in concluding the account of this past century, it is impossible not to notice the extraordinary spirit of love and of christian affection which pervaded the missionaries in labrador and their brethren in europe; they loved each other with pure hearts fervently; and it is remarkable, and worthy of peculiar observation, that before these servants of god were honoured to carry the tidings of the gospel to the heathen, a spirit of love for the brethren, and for all the members of the body of christ, was poured out largely upon the churches at home. twenty-six missionaries were employed in labrador in the year . footnotes: [footnote f: this refers to them making their nets for catching salmon-trout, of which there are immense numbers. in , in six nights, were taken, and in they got at one haul.] [footnote g: the brethren's society in london, now undertook to supply the missions, and relieved the merchants from a losing concern; they built the brig harmony of tons, which made her first voyage, , under captain james fraser, and continued to sail in safety till , when she was laid aside, and the resolution was employed.] chapter v. variable appearances of the mission at nain and okkak--more favourable at hopedale.--death of benjamin.--spirit of love among the converted.--happy communion and close of the year.--providential escape of the resolution.--new epoch in labrador.--a remarkable awakening commences at hopedale--meetings--schools.--letter from a converted esquimaux to his teacher.--industry of the awakened.--declension of religion at nain, and okkak.--state of the children at hopedale.--progress of the adults in knowledge, love, and zeal--instances.--striking conversion of two young esquimaux, its effects upon their countrymen.--awakening spreads to nain and to okkak.--zeal of the converts towards the heathen--rouses backsliders.--behaviour of the awakened in sickness, and the prospect of death.--remarkable accessions from the heathen.--the son of a sorcerer. chequered as life is with joy and grief, there is perhaps no section of it so much so as that of the missionary. those in labrador had, for thirty years, been going forth weeping and bearing the precious seed; they were now to perceive it beginning to spring, and to rejoice in the prospect of bringing back their sheaves. the concern about eternal things which had been observed the former year at hopedale, continued to increase, and appeared evidently a work of divine grace. at first only a few individuals found their minds stirred up to seek their salvation; but in the beginning of the year , a fresh and general awakening took place. those who had shewn the greatest enmity to the gospel now began to form the serious resolution of being converted to jesus. in february , a noted sorcerer, siksigak, and two women, were admitted candidates for baptism at nain; and on march th, a man was baptized, and named isaac.--"this transaction," say the missionaries, "was distinguished by a most encouraging perception of the presence of god among us." at okkak they believed that the saviour had granted a particular blessing to their feeble testimony of his love to sinners, in preaching the word of his cross. they had at these two last stations, however, much cause for mingling grief with their joy; for several of those of whom they hoped well drew back, and some of the baptized even forsook them and returned to the heathen. "we compare," say they in one of their letters, "our esquimaux congregations to an infirmary, in which patients of all descriptions are to be met with. however, we can plainly discover the power of god manifested among our people, and upon the whole we have had more cause for joy than grief. whoever is acquainted with this people in their natural and unconverted state, and sees them met together at the church, attentively listening to the word of god, tears flowing down the cheeks of many, or beholds a company of converted esquimaux surrounding the table of the lord, and favoured to enjoy his body and blood sacramentally, under a deep and comfortable sense of his gracious presence, must stand astonished at the power of jesus' love, which is able to melt the hardest heart, and make them partake of heavenly blessings." was a year of trial at okkak; several of their members were seduced to go south among the heathen, and the arrival of some europeans who came to hunt, and took up their habitation within the bounds of the settlement, caused the brethren many a heavy hour. an epidemic distemper visited them; but although many in the time of sickness promised to love the saviour and seek to know him, no permanent effect followed; yet they attended the daily meetings during the passion-week to hear of his sufferings, and seemed attentive to what they heard, which somewhat encouraged their teachers, who thus wrote to england, "we do not despair. we believe that the agonies of jesus are not in vain, and that the esquimaux shall share in the merits of his passion." nain was similarly situated--their wine also was mixed with water. but at hopedale the work of the lord went steadily forward; several were added to the church, and those who departed gave good evidence that they went to the saviour, particularly benjamin, who died of an inflammatory fever in the month of february. from the first he was convinced that his dissolution was at hand. being asked whether he thought he should go to jesus, he cheerfully answered in the affirmative. after some conversation on the subject, the missionary present sung that verse:-- "the saviour's blood and righteousness my beauty are--my glorious dress;" and others of the same import, in which he joined with great fervency of devotion. he then, of his own accord, began to sing other hymns, "christ my rock, my sure defence" "jesus my redeemer liveth" "no, my soul he cannot leave" "thy blood, thy blood, the deed hath wrought." before his departure he was frequently delirious; but even during this period of his illness, we, and the esquimaux who visited him, were delighted and greatly affected by the subjects his spirit seemed always engaged in. his thoughts were occupied with nothing but jesus christ his saviour; and he kept repeating the most beautiful and appropriate texts of scripture: "this is a true and faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners." "the blood of jesus christ, the son of god, cleanseth us from all sin;" never failing to add, "yes! on account of _my_ sins he shed his blood." he often pronounced with great earnestness, "little children abide in him, that when he shall appear we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his appearing." john ii . nor did he cease, in the midst of his greatest sufferings, to speak of the love of the saviour, till he drew his last breath. he was years of age, and left a widow and two young children. he had sometimes fallen into deviations, which occasioned the missionaries many fears and much anxiety about his perseverance in the faith; but his last illness fully satisfied and comforted them respecting the state of his soul. and it made a deep and salutary impression upon the esquimaux at the station, who expressed themselves, when speaking of his happy departure, in a manner which proved it had been sanctified for their real spiritual benefit and instruction. when the people returned from their summer occupations, , -- , the missionaries spoke with each of them, both baptized and unbaptized, and had the pleasure to find that during their absence, they had been preserved from falling a prey to the seductions and wicked practices of the heathen, with whom they had been forced to associate. the communicants they conversed with, previous to their partaking of the lord's supper, afforded them much satisfaction; while they, on the other hand, expressed their thankfulness for their exhortations, by which they had been led to forgive and forget old injuries and quarrels, and to speak freely with each other in love. on this point their tenderness of conscience was strikingly in contrast with that of the promiscuous multitudes who rush to the table of the lord, in the professing congregations of more civilized lands. peter observed, that his mind was not quite at ease respecting the subjects in dispute between him and others, and that he had better not go to the table of the lord with an unreconciled heart. he at the same time spoke humbly of himself; and added, that he did not wish to grieve the spirit of god by indulging anger. one of the women, brigitta, said, that she was not quite sure whether she dared approach the lord's table, feeling still much uneasiness and displeasure in her mind; but that she would once more in prayer cry unto our saviour to help her, and take away those evil things that separated her from him. on the day following she came again to the missionaries, and, with many tears, declared her thanks to the lord, that he had delivered her from her perplexing thoughts, and granted to her his peace in her soul, and therefore begged to be admitted to the holy communion. on the d of december they partook of this heavenly feast; and it proved a time of refreshing to them all. the season of christmas was celebrated with much blessing, and they rejoiced with thanksgiving in the incarnation of god our saviour, this amazing proof of his infinite love to the lost human race! again, on the st, they were strengthened anew by participating in the sacred ordinance together, and closed the year with praise and prayer, thankful to the lord for the numberless favours they had experienced, and particularly for his mercy to the esquimaux congregation. this year the brethren had another proof of the kind and watchful providence of god--their vessel which, on her return home, usually took advantage of the hudson bay ships' convoy from the orknies to london, left hopedale on the th of october, and in sixteen days was within three days' sail of these islands, when strong easterly gales drove her back and kept her three weeks longer at sea. but these apparently adverse storms proved, by god's great mercy, the very means of the hallowed barque's deliverance from the enemy. on the th november she was chased by a french frigate, brought to, and forced to keep her company; but the sea ran so high that it was impossible for the frigate to get out a boat to board the resolution, and continued so during that night and the following day. the second night proving extremely dark and boisterous, the captain set as much sail as the ship could carry, and before morning was out of sight of the frigate. but two days after he had the mortification to meet her again, and to be brought to a second time. again the lord interposed in his behalf, the wind was so violent that the frenchman could not put out a boat, and during the following night, the captain, crowding all sail, escaped, and saw no more of the enemy. a new epoch in the labrador mission commenced in . amid all the cheering realities and promising appearances which had hitherto sustained the spirits of the missionaries, there had been much hypocrisy, cold-heartedness, self-deceit, backsliding, and apostasy, among those who formed their congregations; and what was painful almost beyond conception, even in their church. but now the lord appeared in their behalf, and in his adorable procedure, the most unlikely were the first objects of his awakening grace; and that station, which for many years had been so barren, that the brethren at one time had contemplated giving it up as hopeless, was that to which, in his inscrutable sovereignty, he chose to give the precedence in his gracious visitation. the beginning of the year had proved very unfavourable, and the esquimaux at hopedale had experienced considerable distress for want of provisions; but amid all their difficulties they attended church with cheerful countenances, and some of them would say, "if we only feel in our hearts the presence of our saviour, who has loved us so much, and died and shed his blood that our sins might be forgiven, we may well be cheerful and contented, though our outward circumstances are difficult, and we have not much to eat, for we trust he will care for us in that respect, and we look to him for help." the behaviour of the people during this time of trial gave the missionaries much pleasure and encouragement. there was a general and powerful awakening among them, which first began to be perceived among some women who were baptized the winter before, but who appeared to have become cold and lifeless. these were led by the spirit of truth, in a particular manner, to a knowledge of their sinful and depraved hearts. an earnest desire was at the same time created within them, not only to experience the forgiveness of all their sins, but to know the crucified saviour, so often described to them as their reconciler; and by the testimony of their own hearts and consciences, to be assured of their interest in him and his atonement. their declarations on this occasion were such, that the missionaries were quite surprised at the knowledge they had already gained by the spirit's light, and not by the instruction of man; and with fervent thanksgivings to the saviour they joined frequent prayer, that he would grant them grace and wisdom to lead these souls, awakened from death unto life, according to their measure, and in the best manner, so as to farther their progress on the way to everlasting life. the first person with whom this delightful and amazing work of grace began, was a female, and such an atrocious sinner, that she was abhorred even of the heathen. hearing a discourse from these words, "the son of man came to seek and save that which was lost," she was much struck with it, and asked herself, "can this be true, that the saviour came to save such sinners as me? ah! there are none so wicked as i!" wholly absorbed in these thoughts, she remained in the meeting-hall when the others had left it, unconscious that she was alone. then suddenly starting up, she ran to a solitary mountain to give vent to her full heart, where, falling down upon her knees, she cried, "o! jesus, i have heard that thou camest to save the wicked--is that true? make me also to know it. see i am the most wicked of all, let me also be delivered and saved--o! forgive me all my sins!" while she continued fervently praying, she experienced a peace in her heart she had never felt before, and returned from this exercise so completely altered that it was evident to every one; her mouth now overflowed with praises for what her saviour had done for her soul. her change made a deep impression on a moral, intelligent, but self-righteous unbaptized woman. she could not comprehend how one so wicked and debased could speak of jesus with so much joy and praise, when she, who was so very superior a character, felt nothing of the kind. on this she became unhappy; she began to perceive her hitherto supposed righteousness was only a filthy garment, and in an agony, ran to her she had formerly despised as a sinner, to ask how she could obtain forgiveness of sin, and love to jesus. the latter took her by the hand, and both went to a solitary place, where she prayed that the saviour might also shew mercy to her; and now these women got rest to their souls, and with one mouth declared what great things the lord had done for them. shortly after, two other women joined them, and these four were of one heart and one mind. their uncommon spirituality attracted the notice of the congregation, and they were honoured by the formalists among them, with the epithet of "enthusiasts," but soon the spirit of god was shed abroad on them also, and new life was infused into the members of the church, and throughout the settlement. in the meetings an extraordinary degree of eagerness and devotion was perceived--they no longer went to church merely for form's sake, but from the impulse of their hearts, and to find comfort and enjoyment; and after the meetings, many came into the house to express their thankfulness that they now experienced the truth of what was spoken, and could bear witness of its power; or to request an explanation of what they yet but partly understood. the schools were diligently attended, and many of them, especially the men, showed a great desire to learn to write. some proceeded so far, though with but little instruction, as to be able to write a pretty legible hand; a few copied out the collection of hymns, and several seemed to take a particular delight in letter writing, of which the following, from jonathan to william turner, formerly a missionary in labrador, but then residing at the brethren's settlement at fulneck in yorkshire, may serve as a specimen--jonathan and his wife sibylla were the first esquimaux baptized at hopedale. it was dated october ----"my beloved william, first i will tell you, that since we two travelled together in a boat, and you then spake so much to me about the state of my soul, i have never forgot your words of instruction. i was a very bad man at that time, and also when you lived here i walked in darkness, and continually did that which was bad. after i was baptized i was not much better, and when i went with you to the holy communion while you lived here, i had many bad thoughts, of which i very much repent. but since you left us, i have turned with my whole heart to jesus, and all my thoughts and desires are drawn towards him.--now that i begin to be old, the feeling of his forgiveness is my only comfort, and i have nothing which i so much desire after as him, and to enjoy his peace in my heart. i will never more leave my teachers. i can be satisfied no longer with anything but my loved jesus, therefore i wish i loved my saviour more than i do. he loves me much, that i feel and know, but i am a poor human creature, and know by experience, that i can do nothing of myself, no, not even love him as i would. i pray constantly that he would keep me and instruct me, and my heart feels that when i go daily to him and crave his help, he hears me, and lets me experience that he is a loving saviour, ready and willing to help. i do not forget him when i am in my usual occupations, but my mind is always craving after jesus; when i go about with my boat, and am absent from my brethren, still my soul is taken up with him. my wish is, also, that i may have a pleasant grave for my body when i die," meaning that he might be with believers in their burying ground. "i love my wife as i ought. when you was here, i was always leading her into bad things, but now we often speak together, that we will fix our minds only upon jesus, and both live only for him, loving and following him. i am your poor jonathan. william! i salute you and your wife." the awakened esquimaux were also examples of industry to their countrymen, and in the years of scarcity, the brethren remarked with pleasure, that they had a sufficiency, while the heathen were starving; for with their christianity, they had not only learned diligence, but economy and foresight. nor did they now, as formerly, depend upon the stores of the missionaries, or tease them for food after they had wasted their own; but rather suffered hunger, or were contented with a very scanty meal, while they showed a readiness to assist them in all their undertakings, in cutting wood, building houses, or making roads which were found necessary for the convenience of the station. while the missionaries in hopedale were rejoicing in the great mercy shown to their beloved esquimaux, the brethren at nain were mourning over the sore backslidings of many of their congregation. "we are sorry to say," are the lamentations of their letter, "that most of our esquimaux flock seem to fall very far short of what we might expect, and the craft and power of satan is but too often visibly exerted to pluck up and to destroy the good seed sown into their hearts. we discovered grievous deviations into which some had fallen last summer, during their absence from us; and we perceived with pain, that in difficult occurrences, or in sickness, they are too hasty to listen to the sorcerers, and take refuge to their legerdemain tricks for help, rather than call upon our saviour, and trust to him. some, however, are of a different description, and give us good hopes of their being faithful." the brethren at okkak likewise hung their harps upon the willows. "our baptized brethren have not," say they sorrowfully, "been as steady as they ought. when we spoke with individuals after their return to us, concerning their spiritual condition, we discovered, to our great grief, among some of them, offences and wicked practices which had long been kept secret. we were obliged to advise several rather to leave us quietly than serve sin in secret, and attempt to deceive us by their untruths and hypocrisy. with some this produced repentance and reflection, and they begged to be forgiven and borne with; but two persons were dismissed, and two excluded from the communion. in general there was great lukewarmness of heart observed among the people, and we had but few instances of genuine conversion." they were also invited by their heathen friends in the north to come and eat whale-flesh, and all our remonstrances were in vain, for they answered, "that if they stayed at okkak they must suffer hunger." an epidemic disease again visited this settlement, and carried off seven individuals very suddenly, which struck such terror among the people, that the greater part of them fled from the place to escape the contagion; but the missionaries remarked, that neither upon the sick or the dying, nor upon the healthy, was any salutary effect produced. the dogs too were attacked with a similar disorder, and many died along the coast--a serious loss to the esquimaux. meanwhile the awakening at hopedale continued to go forward, and early in the summer extended itself to the children. the young, as well as the old, had been addicted to a gross and loathsome sensuality, which, although both they and their parents considered as trivial, yet they kept it carefully concealed from the missionaries. it happened now, however, that a grandmother, who herself perceived the iniquity of these depraved practices, caught her grand-daughter repeating some of the acts for which she had formerly chastised her; but instead of beating her, she carried her to the missionary to whom she was ordered to confess every thing. surprised and horror-struck at the disclosure, the missionaries immediately spoke to the parents and children, and with great earnestness and plainness represented to them the criminality of such doings. to their inexpressible grief they found that the corruption had extended even to the youngest, and that some of the parents had concealed, and even now excused their conduct; they therefore held a special meeting with the parents and children, and addressing them according to their capacities, warned them in the most forcible manner of the frightful consequences of these secret sins, and exhorted all earnestly and affectionately to flee to the saviour--throw themselves at his feet--implore his mercy and forgiveness, and pray to be delivered from the slavery of sin and satan. then kneeling down with the whole company, they entreated the saviour to heal the deep wounds they had inflicted on their souls, and the injury they had done to his cause. their prayers were heard. a pungent sorrow for their former sinful lives, was felt and expressed by old and young; this was followed by a general awakening among the children, which again had a powerful effect in stirring up the more advanced to seek a closer union with christ, and to strive more earnestly after holiness. children were now observed to retire to mountains and to vallies, where, on their knees alone, and in groupes, they besought the saviour with tears to have mercy on them, forgive their sins, and receive them into the number of his children: and many of the unbaptized little ones showed a great anxiety to be favoured with that ordinance.--it was a blessed time--all hearts were opened to attend to the instructions and exhortations brought from the word of god--all were inflamed with the love of jesus, and the eagerness to hear more and more of him who was the friend of sinners, was indescribable. when the esquimaux returned from their summer places, and settled at hopedale for the winter - , their teachers found, to their great comfort, that they had not only been preserved from sinful practices, but that the work of the holy ghost, so manifest during the foregoing winter, especially in the hearts of some of the women, had made farther progress. they had become better acquainted with the natural depravity of their own hearts, and the wretched state of a soul without christ, which made them cry to him for mercy; and they had truly experienced grace and the forgiveness of sin in his precious blood, by which their hearts were filled with joy and comfort in believing. out of the abundance of their hearts, therefore, their mouths spake of the love and power of jesus, by which a very serious impression was made on the whole inhabitants of the settlement, and all longed to be partakers of the same grace. this spark of the lord's own kindling spread rapidly; and the missionaries had daily visits, either from inquirers crying out, what shall we do to be saved? or from those who had obtained peace, to tell them what the lord had done for them. a widow, in reference to a conversation she had with one of the missionaries the day before, expressed herself thus: "now i rejoice that i can again visit the meetings, where i hear of him who, notwithstanding all my worthlessness, has _so_ loved me! when we are assembled, i will ever pray to jesus that he would put such words in your mouth as will speak to my heart." another said, "i am often moved to tears when i consider what god my saviour has done for me. i start back with terror when i reflect upon my former wicked life. i have been an abominable sinner; and that jesus should have received me in mercy, and granted me to believe that his blood can wash away all my sins, and deliver me from the power of evil, is a favour so great that i am amazed at it, and sink down with shame and gratitude. i can do nothing but look to him. i am as one walking upon a smooth sheet of ice, and obliged at every step to guard against falling. he must uphold me, and for this my heart is constantly lifted up in prayer to him." the observation of a third was, "i am convinced that i have hitherto failed in truly hungering and thirsting after the love of the saviour; since my baptism i have been as one standing where the road is divided." several others made similar declarations. while this heavenly flame was in full blaze at hopedale, two young esquimaux, siksigak and kapik, arrived there from nain, february . their parents were both baptized; they were as wild as the wildest of the heathen. the former had separated from his wife, who was baptized, for some time and meant to convey her back to her mother, to get rid of an incumbrance, intending to marry another at nain, who promised to second him better in his heathenish abominations--to leave the believers altogether, and along with his companion, to enjoy his freedom, and live with him in the gratification of every evil lust. but they were both arrested by the power of the lord. siksigak, as soon as they reached hopedale, took his wife, benigna, to her mother, the widow rachel's, and pushing her in said, "never come more in my sight." he then went to his own mother's house, on entering which he found the esquimaux engaged in prayer, as was their custom before they went to rest; for she had been converted, joined the church, and was married to a second husband. the family did not allow themselves to be disturbed by his arrival, and he sat down quite astonished at what he saw and heard, till prayer was ended, when he informed them for what purpose he had come. the whole company then began to entreat him most earnestly not to part from his wife, but rather to turn with his whole heart to jesus. the missionaries likewise added their exhortations, but without avail; he still persisted in his determination. his relations perceiving that he was immoveably fixed, resorted to prayer; and, on the following day, they all assembled around him in his mother's house, kneeled down, and cried unto our saviour that he would convert him. the mother expressed herself thus, "o! my lord jesus! behold this is my child, i now give him up to thee! o accept of him, and suffer him not to be lost forever!" such a scene, so unprecedented and so unexpected, had an immediate effect on the young man; he was filled with concern for his soul's salvation. he burst from them, and in the greatest distress ran to brother kohlmeister's, where kapik was waiting for him with the greatest impatience. provisions being placed before them, kohlmeister sat down to write at a table with his back turned to them. while attempting to eat, siksigak repeatedly sighed deeply, and at length began bitterly to lament his wretched state in disjointed exclamations: "o! how agonizing the thought! i am so wicked! i am lost!" "what is it? what do you want?" asked his companion in a rude and angry tone. "o! i am so wicked! i am lost!" replied the tortured siksigak. kohlmeister, who thought some accident had befallen him, turned round in an indifferent manner and asked him what is your name? kapik, supposing the question addressed to him, answered, "kapik." "and will you always continue to be kapik?" said kohlmeister. "i will always be kapik," returned the other.[h] "wilt thou go away then and be quiet?" said the missionary, sharply. meanwhile, he was observing siksigak, who, in his agony and confusion, was turning the spoon in his hand, and bringing it to his mouth empty, apparently without knowing what he was about. kapik, still more distracted than his companion, threw his spoon from him and rushed out of the house. he was met at the door by another missionary who, seeing his wild appearance, asked him, "will you never change your life--never be converted?" "i know nothing about conversion," replied kapik, and went off in a rage. coming to his cousin's where he was to sleep, he found the whole family engaged in their evening worship, and at the instant he entered, he heard his relative praying for his conversion. that night he retired silently to bed. siksigak, so soon as his companion was gone, broke out, and like one in despair, paced the room with quick and hurried steps, tearing his clothes and his hair, and crying aloud, "o! unhappy man! i am so wicked! i am lost! i am lost!" kohlmeister now asked him affectionately who told him that he was so wicked and must be lost? siksigak related what had taken place at his mother's, and how her words had pierced him; and with much compunction ingenuously confessed the abominations of which he had been guilty, and the sins in which he had still intended to indulge. the missionary then asked him, whether he sincerely resolved to amend his life? and being answered in the affirmative, told him, he had put away his wife, that was a great sin, wholly contrary to the will of god; and if he would be delivered from his present agony, he must, in the first place, openly take her back. "that," cried out siksigak, "i will gladly do; my wife is good, but i am bad! very bad!" immediately he ran to his mother and told her all; and with such humility, that his countenance indicated the change that had taken place in his mind, and the begun answer to her prayer. they then proceeded together to his wife, of whom he begged forgiveness for all the ill usage she had received from him, and promised, by the assistance of god, never more to give her cause to complain, if she would consent to come and live again with him. agreeably surprised at so sudden and unlooked for a change, she cheerfully and readily agreed to return. siksigak having given this proof of his sincerity, went to the missionary--for still he had got no rest to his soul; and he preached to him the saviour who receiveth sinners, and called upon him to turn to jesus and pray to him, though he could say nothing else but, "jesus, thou son of god, have mercy upon me!" he followed this counsel, and that same night was delivered from all his distress, and could believe that his sins were forgiven. kapik had spent the same night restless and almost hopeless--convinced that he deserved, and afraid that he would be everlastingly lost. ere the morning had scarcely broken he came to kohlmeister, who presented to him the same saviour and redeemer, who would not reject him, and in whom he shortly found peace to his soul. these two now joyfully thanked and praised god their saviour, who had redeemed them; and, filled with life and spirit, set out on their return to nain, where they testified with boldness of what they had heard, seen, and experienced at hopedale. they related to the missionaries with an ingenuousness and sincerity, which the latter say they had never before known among esquimaux, how the almighty power of jesus had awakened them, by giving them a proper sense of the wickedness of their ways, and caused them to resolve to turn to him in truth as their saviour. now they began earnestly to declare to their countrymen the necessity of a thorough conversion of heart, representing how they ought to believe and acknowledge themselves sinners, confess and repent of their sins, and flee to jesus for pardon and deliverance from the power of sin; for without this, all, so called conversion, was ineffectual, and no fruits of righteousness would appear. some of the baptized received their exhortations in the true spirit of the pharisees of old, and in a rage upbraided them, saying, "ye wicked and abandoned fellows, will ye speak to us?" "that we are wicked we well know," was the meek reply; "but yonder, in hopedale, we learned that there is a jesus who came to die for sinners, who receives such even as we, and saves them." their old acquaintance heard them with astonishment--some mocked, and others hated them for it; but several, who had been admitted members of the congregation, became gradually convinced, and began to doubt whether their cold formal christianity were of the right kind, and whether they had not been deceiving themselves and others. they came spontaneously to their teachers, and with tears, and in a manner the latter had never before witnessed, confessed their sins, wept on account of the deceit they had so often practised; and declared that the more they were led to consider their former life, the more deeply they were convinced of the treachery of their own hearts. the sensations of the missionaries are thus described by themselves. "though we could not but feel pain on account of their former hypocrisy, our grief was counterbalanced by the joy we felt at the amazing power of our saviour's grace, by which their hearts were thus broken and melted. our faith and courage, which in some of us was indeed very weak, revived; and we saw clearly, that with god, nothing is impossible. thus the many prayers offered up, and tears shed by our brethren and sisters in labrador, on account of the conversion of the esquimaux nation, began, after _thirty-four_ years, to shew their fruit. and we now often encourage each other to pray our saviour to give us the needful grace, strength, and gifts to declare the gospel unto them; and so to fill our hearts with his love, that we may lead and serve those, his sheep, so as to promote their growth in grace, and in his love and knowledge." the awakening here, as at hopedale, extended to the children. the frequent visits of the hopedale esquimaux were made very useful to the congregation at nain; many of whom moved to hopedale, among whom were siksigak and kapik, who wished to reside where they had been so powerfully laid hold of by the grace of jesus; "and," to use their own expressions, "be there thoroughly converted to him"--hoping to receive much advice and assistance from the believers at hopedale; and being afraid that their old heathen associates might hinder their progress at nain; nor could they bear the thought of remaining longer at a place where they had spent their former lives in sin, and might again be led into temptation. by means of these two converts the report of the awakening among the hopedale esquimaux spread to okkak, and even farther north, creating a very considerable sensation among the heathen, three families of whom arrived at that settlement with the avowed determination of becoming obedient to the gospel, and turning to jesus with their whole heart. the schools were also attended with the blessing of god, and both children and adults made good progress in their learning; and the missionaries remark, "that it was very edifying to hear them exercising themselves in their own dwellings, in reading and singing hymns." morning and evening prayer, ere the close of the year, had been set up in every family; and while the melody of praise ascended from every dwelling, tears of holy gratitude mingled with the brethren's prayers for the stability and increase of the redeemer's kingdom among the esquimaux. the intercourse between the settlements became now more frequent, interesting, and profitable; the converted natives, particularly the sisters, when on these visits, showed such an ardent desire to describe to their countrymen the love and mercy of god, which they themselves had so savingly experienced, that they went about from tent to tent, and particularly to their own sex spoke so powerfully and movingly of the compassion of jesus, and his desire to save them from sin and perdition, that many were convinced of their dangerous state, and earnestly inquired what they should do to be saved? the zeal of the newly baptized had often likewise a powerful effect on the old, in rekindling the dying embers of their profession. several of these expressed their surprise at their former indifference, and seemed to doubt if they had ever truly given themselves to jesus; and old and young now declared, weeping, that their only desire was to obtain peace and rest in their souls, and to be enabled to live in the undisturbed enjoyment of the saviour. with their emotions of love were mixed deep shame and abasement, that they had not before perceived their true happiness; but by their lifeless profession, and inconsistent conduct, had crucified the saviour afresh, and put him to open shame. nor were they less assiduous with the heathen who visited the settlements, and their love for the truth was manifested in the gladness they expressed at every new accession to the congregation from among them, the kindness they showed, and the eagerness with which they endeavoured to retain them. some of these new comers, at hopedale, having expressed their desire to receive the gospel, and to submit to the rules of the place, young and old instantly ran to help them with their baggage, to arrange their little affairs, and cheerfully built new winter houses for their reception. another party, however, refusing to stop, left a man with his wife and child, who were disinclined to go, wishing, as he said, to be converted. he had pitched his tent at some distance, but no sooner did the baptized esquimaux learn his determination, than they immediately went, took it down, and set it up in the midst of their own dwellings, with such demonstrations of welcome, that he exclaimed, he had never met with any thing like it before; nor could he understand why they should shew such disinterested love to him, a stranger. in visiting the sick, the missionaries had much satisfaction; there was now no horror at the thought of death--no disposition to return to their sorcerers; but calm, peaceful resignation to the divine will, or holy joy in the prospect of soon seeing their redeemer, face to face. magdalene, in the view of departure, said, "i weep not over the pain i feel, though that is very great, but for joy that my saviour is near my heart. o would but jesus come and take me to himself! i long to go to him, as a child longs for its parent, to behold him, and to embrace his feet. i feel no gloom; my heart is filled with joy in believing on him." benigna, upon her recovery from a dangerous illness, thus expressed herself: "i think that it pleased the lord to afflict so many in our house with illness, and to restore them again, that he might prove us, to know whether we could place all our hopes in him, even in perplexity and pain; and i have now found that he is able, not only to bring us safe through the most distressing circumstances, but to establish us more and more in full reliance upon his help alone. during this illness, the lord has given me to feel his presence so sweetly, that if it had been his will, i should have rejoiced to go and be with him for ever; but since it has pleased him to restore me to health, my heart is filled with gratitude towards him." among the strangers, the power of god was no less wonderfully displayed in awakening them from the deep sleep of sin and death: they came and confessed their sins and their crimes, which, though formerly deemed light matters, now heavily burdened their consciences. "human nature shudders and starts back," says the missionary diary, "on hearing the horrid detail of the abominations practised among the heathen;" and they themselves would often exclaim, "o! how shocking the way in which we lived in sin; but we were quite blind, and chained down by the fetters of satan; we will serve him no longer, but belong only to jesus." one instance deserves more particular notice, that of a young man named angukualak, the son of a most noted sorcerer, uiverunna. his parents had instructed him in all the secrets of their art, and his confession gives at least plausibility to the opinion, that the influence of satan is permitted to be sometimes visibly exercised, in the dark places of the earth, though, while the effects of that influence are palpable in the perpetration of the grossest vices and most barbarous cruelty, it is very immaterial whether it assumes a perceptible form, or merely acts upon the imagination. his own account to the missionaries, was as follows: "my parents told me, that their familiar spirit, or torngak, lived in the water; if i wished to consult him, i must call upon him, as the spirit of my parents, to come forth out of the water, and remember this token, that i should observe, in some part of the house, a vapour ascending, soon after which, the spirit would appear, and grant what i asked. some years ago, when my little brother was very ill, i tried this method for the first time, and called upon the torngak, when i really thought i saw a small vapour arising, and shortly after, the appearance of a man in a watery habit stood before me. i was filled with horror, my whole frame shook with fear, and i covered my face with my hands." his brother recovered, and the impression of this strange occurrence appears to have been forgotten, when a terrible dream overwhelmed his mind with anguish and terror. "i thought," to resume his own language, "i thought i saw a very deep, dark cavern, the descent to which was a narrow, steep chasm. in this horrible place, i discovered my mother, my relations, and many others whom i had known, and who had led a very wicked life upon earth, sitting in great torments, and exhibiting a dreadful appearance. i was already with my feet slipping down the chasm; and it seemed as if somebody said to me, 'unto that dark place thou must likewise depart!' from that moment i found no rest anywhere, but having heard that true believers lived at hopedale, i resolved to come hither, and with my whole family to be converted to jesus, that i may not likewise descend into the place of torment, and be lost for ever. but alas! i know not how to get released from evil, for i still feel as if i was bound with the chains of sin." to this account, the brethren added the following pertinent remark: "we often hear the esquimaux relate dreams; and certain it is, that several of our esquimaux have been led to very serious reflections, by occasion of a remarkable, and, perhaps, terrifying dream, and been convinced of their lost and wretched state. we do not encourage a belief in the fulfilment of dreams, nor pay any regard to them in general; but yet we find the words of scripture true, job xxxiii. - . 'god speaketh once, yea, twice, but man perceiveth it not. in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men; in slumberings upon the bed: then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may withdraw them from their purpose.'" towards the end of this remarkable year, the missionaries, in their diary, thus exultingly break forth: "o! that we were able, by words, to convey to our dear brethren and sisters, some faint idea of our sensations, and of the joy and gratitude we feel in beholding this work of the lord among our dear esquimaux. could they but see the marvellous change wrought in the minds and conduct of some of these people, who were lately such avowed enemies of the truth, led captive by satan at his will, and delighting in the most filthy and outrageous practices, they would mingle their tears of joy with us. we now hear backsliders as well as heathen, those who have long heard, but never believed in the gospel, speaking the same language as those who have never, till now, heard of a saviour; all confess themselves most vile and unworthy, weep over their sins, and cry for mercy through the atonement of jesus. thus, in labrador also, the word of the cross is the power of god unto salvation. we regard this gracious work of the saviour, as the blossoming of a precious plant, which has been long germinating in the earth, and on whose growth we have been waiting with the utmost anxiety;--now that it has at last sprung up, and is bearing beautiful flowers, may he cause it to prosper and bring forth fruit unto eternal life!" footnotes: [footnote h: the esquimaux always receive a new name at baptism, and most of them have such an abhorrence at the recollection of their early life as heathens, that it sickens them when any one calls them by their old esquimaux names. they regard the days past, in which they fulfilled the lusts of the flesh, as almost literally a state of death.] chapter vi. mutual affection of the christian esquimaux and greenlanders--their correspondence--letter from timothy, a baptized greenlander.--delight of the esquimaux in religious exercises.--order of the congregations--distressing events, apostasy of kapik--awful end of jacob--peaceful death of believers--judith, joanna.--revival among the communicants.--a feast by a christian brother, to the esquimaux.--winter arrangements.--childrens' meetings--schools.--the brethren's settlements contrasted with the heathen.--progress of religion at the different stations.--books printed in the esquimaux language.--number of the settled esquimaux.--epidemic at nain--its consequences.--general view of the mission. love to all the members of the body of christ, is the visible token of the vitality and truth of a christian profession; and as it rises or falls, the progress of an individual or a community waxes or wanes. at this period, the converted esquimaux felt a lively interest, not only in their countrymen, but likewise in their fellow-christians in greenland; the affection was reciprocal, and though they had never seen each other in the flesh, they rejoiced over each other's welfare, and communicated their feelings in affectionate letters. jonathan had dictated an epistle to the baptized greenlanders, in ; the annexed was from the christian greenlander, timothy, an assistant at lichtenfels, in return. "my beloved, ye who live just opposite us, on the other side of the great water!--you have the same mode of living that we have; you go out in your kaiaks as we do; you have the same method of procuring your livelihood as we have; our saviour has given you teachers, as he has given us: be thankful to him that they make known to you his precious words, and all his deeds, which are full of life and happiness. i have, from my earliest infancy, been instructed in this blessed doctrine, for i have grown up in the congregation. when you read this, you may very likely think that i have always lived to the joy of our saviour; but, alas, i have been, particularly in my youth, very often ungrateful towards him who died for me. but when this was the case, i was never happy, and i found no rest for my soul, until i cast myself at the feet of jesus, and implored his forgiveness; and even now i can do nothing else, when i am distressed about myself and my great sinfulness. when i am in my kaiak procuring provisions, or on other occasions alone, and i call to mind that my saviour was for my sake nailed to the cross, and suffered for my sins, which are numberless, i acknowledge myself the chief of sinners; i then pray to our saviour with deep abasement, and often with loud weeping. at such times i feel that he draws nigh, and fills my heart with such comfort that i am quite melted by his love. this is also the reason why i make our saviour my most important object; i cleave to him as a child does to its mother, and i will never turn away from him. nothing is more profitable to me than the contemplation of his sufferings. of this alone i speak to my fellow-men. "my dear brethren and sisters, i must still tell you that i have been four times in danger of my life when running in my kaiak, for so often have i been overset when i was quite alone. when almost suffocated in the water, i prayed to our saviour for deliverance. each time i raised myself up by means of the bladder, but it was god my saviour who saved me from these dangers. in him alone i trust, and provide for myself, my wife and children with pleasure. although, as long as i am upon earth i shall feel my weakness and corruption, yet i go with it all to our saviour, as a child does for help to its parent. i pray thus: 'o! my jesus! thou lover of my soul, let me feel thy nearness, impress thy sufferings and death upon my heart, melt it and make it tender through the power of thy blood, and according to thy good pleasure, make me well-pleasing unto thee. thou hast bought me with thy blood, that i might be saved; throughout my whole life will i rely upon thee, my god and redeemer! i will place thee before my heart, as thou for my sake in agony and sore distress in the garden of gethsemane wast weighed down to the ground with my guilt, until sweat mixed with blood, forced itself through thy body, and fell in great drops to the ground.' at such times my heart grows warm, and my eyes overflow. this alone is able to soften our hard hearts--this i experience, and your hearts cannot be subdued and softened by any thing else. you must go to jesus' cross, for there is no other way to happiness.--take these my imperfect words to heart, which i write out of love to you, as a people related to us. your jonathan's words which he caused to be written to us, we have received to our joy; we have not forgotten them. it is very pleasing to hear such accounts. o that we all, as one people, might put in practice what our saviour has commanded in his word, love him above all things, give him joy by our conduct, and never again cause him grief. i write to encourage the heathen in your country, of whom there are still many, to be converted to the creator. let them hear much of his incarnation, sufferings, and death, and relate it to them when you are with them. remember us also, and pray for us to our saviour. we will also pray for you, and when we do this we shall also reap those blessings which our saviour has promised to those who pray to him.--i am your brother, timothy." diligence in the improvement of the means of grace, particularly in not forsaking the assembling of themselves together, is another evidence of the reality and health of the christian life in any community: this awakening bore that stamp also of the genuineness of its nature; and from the frequency of their meetings, which were punctually and cheerfully attended by the people, some idea may be formed of the hungering and thirsting after divine things which marked the esquimaux congregations. the order of the different meetings of the congregation at hopedale during winter--and in the other settlements it was pretty much the same--was as follows:--sunday. public service in the fore and afternoon. in the morning the litany was read. the children then met. after the afternoon's service the communicants sung a liturgical hymn, or the candidates for the lord's supper held a meeting for instruction.--monday evening. all the baptized had a meeting, when a suitable discourse was delivered to them. after a short pause, a singing-meeting was held.--this is a service peculiar to the brethren's church, in which some doctrinal subject, commonly that contained in the scripture-text appointed for the day, is contemplated by singing verses or hymns relating to it, so as in their connection to form, as it were, a homily on the text, according to the words of the apostle, "speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs."--tuesday evening: a public meeting, with a discourse.--wednesday morning. the children had a meeting, the one wednesday for all the children, and the next, for the baptized only. on the evening, there was a public service, when a portion of the harmony of the four evangelists was read and explained.--thursday evening: the same.--friday. both the baptized and the candidates for baptism met, where, after a discourse on the text, a hymn treating of the saviour's passion was sung.--on saturday there was no service in the church. besides these meetings, the believing esquimaux had the worship of god regularly morning and evening in their own houses. but the crowning sheaf in this harvest of mercy, was the permanence of the awakening; the impressions were lasting, not like a momentary blaze occasioned by some temporary excitement, but a pure and steady flame, which in a majority increased in brightness, till it was lost in glory. lovely however, and heart-cheering as this delightful period was, it is not to be imagined that it was a period of unmingled joy; there were several instances in which strong and violent emotions were succeeded by coldness, formality, and hypocrisy, and in some cases by open apostasy, or by unequivocal marks of reprobation. the most remarkable were kapik and jacob; the former had been baptized by the name of thomas, and his declarations breathed, or seemed to breathe, the very essence of a more than ordinary spirituality. "i have no other desire," said he upon one occasion to the missionaries, "but jesus my saviour, who has had mercy even upon me, the very worst of men; and i pray, that i may now give him joy, and cleave to him to the end. alas! alas! that i have known him so late! formerly i could not believe one word of what your predecessors and yourselves told us of jesus, and of the necessity of believing on him, and becoming his property. i only laughed, and mocked, and gave pain and trouble to my teachers. but how is this? i now believe it all, and our saviour has so powerfully drawn my heart towards himself, that i can find no words to describe what i feel." by this and similar speeches he so far imposed upon the brethren, that they believed him a humble follower of the good shepherd, and a true child of god. but being attacked, autumn , by a malignant disorder somewhat resembling the smallpox and measles, which raged in the settlement, the severe pain he suffered from the virulence of the disorder, as the irruption in his face struck inward, and assuming a cancerous form destroyed his upper jaw bone, he became impatient, forsook his professions of confidence in the saviour, and sought for help in heathenish practices, and if he had had opportunity would have proceeded to greater lengths in these abominations, than ever before. his behaviour in his family too, had become very oppressive, and all the kind exhortations, as well as the serious remonstrances of the missionaries, produced no effect; even after he recovered, he remained quite hardened. he some years afterwards professed sincere repentance, but his artifice had been so deep before, that the missionaries could only say, that nothing was impossible to god. jacob came first to the brethren at nain. he was in the beginning apparently very earnest in seeking his soul's salvation and was baptized in . but he afterwards fell into temptation, and again took refuge in his old practices, playing at the same time the part of a most consummate hypocrite: being discovered, he was excluded; yet when his health began to decline, the missionaries waited upon him, and as they saw him drawing apparently near his end, were the more earnest in exhorting him to turn to jesus, who alone could deliver him from the bondage of sin and satan. for some time he seemed to attend to their advice, but his last days and final exit out of the world, gave sufficient proof that his heart was untouched. as his pains increased, his impatience increased with them. he demanded with violent cries that a knife might be given him to stab himself, which being refused, he called for a rope, and persisted with such vehemence that his wife and son, wearied out by his constant shrieking, gave him one, with which he put an end to his own existence. lamentable as these awful examples of the deceitfulness and depravity of the human heart were, yet they operated more powerfully than many exhortations, in inculcating upon the baptized the solemn warning, "let him that standeth take heed lest he fall." at the same time there wanted not instances of an opposite description, to prove the reality of god's work, and the power of divine grace, to recall and establish the deluded wanderer, and to preserve the humble believer amid the strongest temptations and the sorest trials; to enable him to maintain a consistent conduct through life, and to seal the sincerity of his faith by a peaceful, if not a triumphant death. early in the year, judith, a full communicant, died. she had come to hopedale with her husband, tuglavina, and always conducted herself with great propriety. after his death she married abel in , and with him came to live at hopedale, . when the awakening took place she was greatly enlivened; but like many of the old baptized people, who thought themselves converted because they had some knowledge, and a fluent way of expressing themselves on religious subjects, she did not at first shew much of the divine life in her soul; till by the powerful work of the holy ghost she was brought to see and acknowledge herself an unworthy sinner, and no better than those who were just then alarmed and brought from darkness unto light, and from the power of satan to the living god. before partaking for the last time of the lord's supper, she was much affected. "i perceive now," said she, "that i am a great sinner, and am so ashamed that i dare hardly open my lips, for it is clear to me that i am far behind others in love to our saviour. it appears as if he and i were yet strangers to each other, and i can do nothing but weep for him." afterwards she became composed, and earnestly longed after communion with god. in her last illness, however, she showed much uneasiness of mind, as if something disturbed her peaceful expectation of dismissal. brother kohlmeister, who visited her very faithfully, encouraged her to look up to jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; and on one occasion, particularly, offered up a most fervent prayer to the lord that he would remove all her doubts by a full assurance that her sins were forgiven through the merits of his precious blood, during which the poor patient and all present melted into tears, and felt that their prayer was heard and answered. then she unbosomed herself to her teachers, and confessed that she had hitherto concealed some deviations which burdened her conscience, and which she must make known before she departed. having done so, she declared her firm trust that god her saviour would wash away all her sins and remember them no more; after which she exclaimed, "now i am ready, and will go to jesus. he will receive me in mercy just as i am, for he has died for me." she now lay still in the joyful hope of being soon released. both the missionaries' wives and esquimaux sisters visited her frequently, to whom she declared the happiness of her soul; and on the night previous to her departure, conversed in a most edifying manner with those that watched with her of the near prospect she had of seeing her saviour face to face. she requested her husband to bring her clean white dress, which she always wore at the lord's supper, and to dress her in it after her decease. her two youngest children she earnestly recommended to his care, and that they might be instructed in the ways of the lord; and sent a message as her last will, to the two eldest who live at nain, that they should remain with the congregation, and devote their whole hearts to jesus. when the sisters took leave of her with a kiss, she exclaimed with joy in her countenance, "i shall now go to jesus and kiss his feet, adoring him for all his love to me, and that he has redeemed me also, a vile sinner, and called me to eternal life." joanna, who died in child-bed, was another example of the faithfulness and rich mercy of the redeemer; in the autumn, a wild ignorant savage, she came to the settlement with her husband aulak, and when asked what was her intention in coming--if she wished to be converted? answered, "that's more than i know. i follow my husband, and as he chooses to live here, i will live here too!" but soon after she learned to know what true conversion of heart means, and would not be satisfied with any thing of a superficial nature. "she cried to the lord for mercy, and obtained," says the diary, "real saving faith; it was surprising to observe how well she comprehended the meaning of the gospel, and in how clear a light the mystery of the cross of christ was revealed to her soul, insomuch that she could apply to herself the sufferings of jesus, as meritorious and allsufficient for the remission of sin, and the sanctification of soul and body. she adored the crucified jesus in truth, as her redeemer, and nothing was so delightful to her, as to hear of him, and all he had done and suffered, to save her from sin and destruction. she sought him with earnestness, and found rest for her soul in his sufferings and death. her whole walk and conversation, from the time she joined the church, testified of the new birth which had taken place within her, and of a total change of heart and sentiment. immediately after her delivery, there appeared symptoms of inward inflammation. she lay still and resigned to the will of the lord, and seemed to take no more notice of any thing that was said; but towards morning, raising herself up in the bed, she exclaimed, 'jesus is coming, and i am ready to meet him; a very short time will bring me to him. jesus' bleeding love is not cold toward those who are longing for him.' so composed was she, that, observing the place dark, she desired them to 'trim the lamps, and make the room light and pleasant,' and when the company present proposed to join in a hymn, but could not immediately remember a suitable one, she herself pointed out that hymn of praise, 'unto the lamb of god,' at page . of the hymn book. after it was ended, she fainted, and sunk down upon the bed; her sight and hearing failed, and she fell gently asleep in jesus." during her short christian career, she had become universally beloved; and the happy manner in which she left the world, made a deep impression upon the minds of the esquimaux, "stronger," say the missionaries, "than all our words could do." previously to the administration of the lord's supper, the missionaries usually have some conversation with the communicants, and at this time they were greatly refreshed by their simple, artless declarations. one said, "i am struck with astonishment when i reflect that jesus can, and does receive such abominable creatures as i am. indeed i am one of the worst, but his love is infinite. he bled and died for me, that i might be saved. oh! how often have i crucified him afresh by my sins, and bid defiance to his mercy. but now he has forgiven me, and granted me to hunger and thirst after him. i pray to him continually that he would not forsake me, for i can do nothing of myself as i ought. the holy communion is, every time that i enjoy it, more valuable to me, because i feel the power of my saviour's death, more than i can express in words." another: "i have now only one object, and that is jesus; may i never more part with him. since i have had the favour to partake of his holy body and blood in the sacrament, i continually cry to him to keep me under his direction, and to preserve me from the evil one, for i am indeed weak. he alone is my strength and refuge." a peculiar blessing also attended the administration of the ordinance, not only to those who partook, but to those, likewise, who were permitted to be spectators. at nain, in the month of february, when that holy feast was celebrated, three esquimaux, joseph, lydia, and kitura, were present as candidates, and sarah with a view to confirmation; the three women were so much affected that they cried and sobbed aloud, and after the service was concluded were so overpowered that they could hardly stand, and still continued weeping. being brought into the mission-house, when they recovered themselves they said they were so overcome by a sense of the presence of the lord jesus, that they knew not where they were nor what they did. they wept on account of their unworthiness, and would now give their whole hearts to him who died for them. on the following day sarah came, and brought all the metal rings with which she had decorated her fingers after the esquimaux fashion, and wished to part with them, and assigned as her reason, that she wished to delight herself in nothing now but jesus. lydia, louisa, and others followed, and brought their pearl ornaments to dispose of, as they thought it improper for christian women to be gaudily decked out in costly pearls; and this they did spontaneously, without being spoken to by the missionaries, who never begin with finding fault with the dress or ornaments of inquirers. before the esquimaux set out for their fishing or hunting stations, the members of the church usually partook of a love feast together, and united in thanksgiving and prayer for the mercies they had received, and for the continuance of the divine blessing. siksigak, now named mark, and joseph, at their return, having been remarkably successful, treated all the inhabitants of nain with a meal of seals' flesh. the entertainment was given in the open air, and mark opened it in an edifying manner by singing some verses of a hymn expressive of thanks to their heavenly father, for providing for their bodily wants, in which all the esquimaux joined most devoutly, exhibiting a very different scene from the riotous gluttony of the heathen. after the people reassembled at the end of the season, the winter arrangements were made. the communicants were divided into classes, male and female, the former under the care of the missionaries, and the latter under that of their wives. in their meetings the conversation was unrestrained and profitable, many little grievances were done away, and brotherly love promoted. "that of the communicant sisters," the diary of dec remarks, "was remarkably lively; their conversation treated of the great love of the saviour in dying on the cross to save them from death, and their own unworthiness to be so highly favoured as to be permitted to approach unto his table, and there to feed on him by faith, and to experience the power of his sufferings and death in the quickening of their souls." they added, that upon that occasion they sometimes felt a desire to depart out of the world, to see him face to face, and thank him for his mercy revealed to them. mark thus addressed his countrymen: "if we who belong to this class are with our whole hearts converted to jesus, and determine, by his help, to put aside all the old deceitful and evil ways, and give ourselves up entirely to him, then we shall feel his power within us. it has been a very painful thing for me to leave my brethren at hopedale, but i shall live here with pleasure if i perceive that we are come together with a view to belong to our saviour, and in truth to believe on him, and to become his faithful followers. i am indeed not fit to teach you, but yet i wished to say what i hope from your love, and our being bound together in one mind, to live unto the praise of god. you all know that formerly i led a very wicked life, but at hopedale jesus christ called me by his powerful voice, saved me from death, and forgave my sins. as my conversion to him began at that place, i feel a peculiar attachment to it." he was heard with great attention, and all exclaimed, "yes! we all desire to become such people, over whom jesus may rejoice, and pray him to grant us all true conversion." the children likewise had their meetings, in which they sung hymns and prayed, during which they were frequently so sensibly affected that they would burst out into weeping. a boy who gave evidence of being truly awakened, called upon the missionaries and told them, "we boys have been sitting together by ourselves and speaking, both of our own sinfulness and of the mercy we have experienced from our saviour. at the close of our conversation we kneeled down and prayed to him in fellowship, that he would deliver us from all power of sin, during which my heart grew so warm that i felt it penetrate to my feet"--a phrase used by the esquimaux to express great inward joy. "jesus," continued he, "was very near us. i will give him my whole heart as his property." the schools were diligently attended, both by young and old, whose improvement in christian knowledge, and in the facility of reading, advanced steadily, while several among the scholars evinced a strong desire to know jesus, and live to him. but at okkak in the following year an unusual emotion appeared among the scholars. one day, while the teachers were closing the schools as usual by singing a verse, there arose such an affection of heart, that all melted into tears, and at last without any direction they all fell on their knees. the missionary, therefore, who was keeping the school knelt down also, and was powerfully excited to fervent prayer for these dear little ones, commending them to the grace of the saviour, that he would preserve them from the many snares of satan, and sanctify and build them up in the faith. some of the more advanced youths gave the missionaries much pleasure by their simplicity and frankness in speaking of their hearts; two of them--companions--conversing with one of the brethren, said, "when we are out together hunting we speak of jesus and pray to him, and often feel such power and happiness in thinking of him that we weep for joy. but how is it that we have so long heard of him, and he is but just now become precious to us?" they could not explain the phenomenon; but they felt that a long train of historical proof, or of external evidence, was unnecessary to establish the authenticity of the gospel-message. "how is it," added one of them, "that formerly i used to think--it is all fiction! there is no jesus! and now i know in truth that jesus lives and loves me, and sometimes draws so near to me that i weep for gratitude and delight. to him i will give myself both soul and body." in the back ground, at the distance, stand out in horrible and melancholy contrast the effects of satanic influence on the conduct of his votaries. the wife of the old sorcerer, uiverunna, having died, the old monster seized a poor orphan child, whom they had formerly adopted, and murdered him; then cut him across all the joints of his fingers and toes, ripped open his belly, and threw the body naked into the sea, an offering to appease the wrath of the water-devil he worshipped, and by whose aid he pretended to work great wonders, but who now required a greater sacrifice than usual, as he had not saved his wife's life. but his day of retribution did not long linger. having boasted that his torngak had killed a man, kullugak's two wives, who died suddenly within a few hours of each other at okkak, where the family had obtained leave to settle, kullugak, in company with another esquimaux, assassinated the poor wretch within eight days after he had sacrificed the unfortunate infant. for several succeeding years the progress of the awakening continued to advance at all the three settlements, both among the heathen by whom they were visited, and among the residents, while the believers grew in grace and in the knowledge of the lord their saviour; and the decided nature of the change which had taken place was evidenced by the professing esquimaux declining their pernicious intercourse with the europeans, while their heathen countrymen, who were determined to retain the abominations of their forefathers, were as unwilling to reside among them; so much so, indeed, that the missionaries at hopedale, writing to europe in , remarked, "no heathen families have lived near us, and it appears as if that old den of satan at avertok would remain unoccupied. three europeans lived about half a day's journey from hence, but as none of our esquimaux went to them they did not call here." the report of the brethren in was: "concerning our dear esquimaux congregation, we may truly and thankfully declare that we have perceived a continued work of the holy spirit within their souls, leading them to a better acquaintance with themselves as depraved creatures, who stand in daily need of the saving grace of our almighty saviour. they are earnest in prayer to him that he would preserve them from falling back into their former wicked and superstitious courses." the accounts from nain were to the same effect: "our communicants," say they, "have made a perceptible advance both in the knowledge of themselves as sinners, and of jesus as their saviour. they have been taught to know how needful constant dependance on, and communion with him is, if they would walk worthy of their heavenly calling." it is a melancholy and stumbling remark, that as the converted esquimaux advanced in knowledge and in decency of conduct, so in proportion those who formed an intimate connexion with the europeans in the south increased in enmity to the word of god, and to the saviour's name in particular, declaring they would hear or listen to nothing about him. oral instruction has, from the beginning, been the principal, and most efficient means, which god has employed in propagating the gospel; but the written word has been always necessary for establishing and building up the churches in their most holy faith. never did satan employ a more effectual method for covering the earth with thick darkness, than by instigating his servants, under pretence of a high reverence for the holy word, to shut it up from the people; and when god wills mercy to a nation, he removes all the hindrances which obstruct its diffusion. as the esquimaux advanced in their course, they were furnished, by means of the press, with portions of the scriptures as they could be got translated. the brethren, however, wisely prepared the way for this important work, by translating hymns and tracts, and a harmony of the gospels, where any deficiency in the language could be more easily rectified than in a book, destined to be left as a permanent legacy to future generations. the joy of the esquimaux on receiving the hymn books in , was inexpressibly great. "we wish," the missionaries write, "our dear brethren had been present at the distribution, to see the fervent gratitude with which they were received. they entreated us, with tears, to express their thankfulness to their fathers and brethren in the east, for this present." in , they received the harmony of the gospels, also printed by the brethren's society in london for the furtherance of the gospel, and the gospel of john and part of luke, printed at the expense of the british and foreign bible society, who undertook to print the other parts as they could be got ready. meanwhile the superintendant, burghardt, finished the translation of the acts, and the epistles to the romans and ephesians, which were read from the ms to the esquimaux congregation, who were highly delighted to hear the words and exhortations of our saviour's apostles, and particularly struck with the character and writings of the apostle paul. along with their activity in the christian life, the activity of the converted esquimaux, in their temporal concerns, increased. the missionaries in the different settlements had erected saw mills; the esquimaux, under their direction, kept them frequently in employment, and built substantial store-houses for themselves, for preserving their winter's stores; and when the scarcity of food in their own neighbourhood obliged them to go to a distance in search of seals or whales, or to the cod-fishing, their anxiety to return, to enjoy the benefits of instruction from their teachers, and of communion with their fellow-christians, quickened their diligence in their necessary avocations. at the close of , the number of the inhabitants at the three settlements amounted to , of whom belonged to the different classes of communicants, baptized and candidates for baptism. hitherto the settlements, though occasionally visited by the contagious diseases that periodically afflicted the country, had never known more than a partial sickness; but in , the small society at hopedale suffered severely from an epidemic, which, so far as we are able to judge from the symptoms mentioned in the diary, quoted below, bore some distant resemblance to the spasmodic cholera. "on the evening of the th of july, we were all suddenly thrown into the greatest confusion, by the arrival of a boat, with our people, from tikkerarsuk, one of their provision-places in the south: mark--formerly siksigak--was dead, and several others dangerously ill. when they went out in the morning, they were all in good health, but were suddenly seized with a nervous affection, which, in a very short time, terminated fatally; notwithstanding every assistance, samuel died in the night. next morning another boat arrived, and brought adam and isaac, both dead, though they had yesterday been both fishing in their kaiaks; the four dead bodies were obliged to be immediately buried, as they quickly showed signs of corruption. the same evening, daniel brought in his boat four dying persons; at five o'clock the younger, mark, died. on the th, early in the morning, the widow rebecca, and in the forenoon, young philip departed; before twelve o'clock, the bodies became so offensive, that it was necessary to inter them. all were filled with alarm and terror, but to our comfort we also remarked submission to the will of the lord. the sick, in general, declared they were willing to go to the saviour when he should call them; some said they felt their unworthiness to appear before him, and yet expressed their reliance upon his sufferings as their only refuge; but from total debility and oppression they could speak very little: they complained of great weakness, lameness, blindness, and a feeling of suffocation. at four in the afternoon little abel, and in the same tent, the widow salome, and at six o'clock old thomas, (kapik,) died. th, there was little improvement; besides those who remained ill many more began to complain, and cried out to us for assistance, so that we knew not where to go or who to help first. at eleven o'clock the four dead were buried, which made ten. on the th a great many were taken ill; at four in the afternoon, magdalene departed comfortable and happy. father abel, who had willingly assisted in burying the dead, followed the same evening. his wife, benigna, who had faithfully attended the sick, was prevented from nursing him, being herself laid up. the dead bodies were laid in their place of rest next day. we now felt that all of us were more or less worn out by this great affliction, some of us actually sick, and none certain but he might be seized the next moment. to add to our distress, many children were rendered orphans by the loss of both father and mother, which called forth our sighs to our gracious and merciful god and lord for his compassion and assistance, and felt revived with the hope that he would hear and help us. some of the sick began to recover: but on the evening of the st the saviour took abel's wife, benigna, home to her blessed rest, and on the following morning, august , she was laid in her grave; at seven o'clock in the evening we held a meeting with the esquimaux, especially with regard to improve the solemn warning given in that harvest the lord had gathered from this church. from conversations held with several of the sisters on the th, we clearly perceived that the removal of so many of our number had made a deep impression on them, and had brought them to reflect on the necessity of constantly depending on the saviour, and being ever ready to meet him when he shall come to gather them also into his garner." but to their great grief the missionaries discovered that this was not the happy state of all. when the disease abated they learned with the utmost pain, that some, even of their communicants, in their agony and terror, had had recourse to their old heathenish practices; and what was worse, had endeavoured to appease their consciences by attempting to assimilate them to old testament rites imperfectly understood. they had killed a dog, and cut the ears off many others, that by sprinkling themselves with the blood of the dog they might prevent death from approaching them. under the influence of a fanatical delusion, they compared this with the offerings of the jews, and particularly with the slaying of the paschal lamb, and sprinkling the blood on the lintel and posts of the door. "our situation we feel very difficult," complained the anxious missionaries, "as the enemy uses all his ingenuity to blind the poor people, and knows how to employ their fear and distress to harden their hearts, and to prevent them from discerning their sins and repenting. it appears as if he exerted every power to destroy this little congregation, but we hope that god will shortly bruise satan under our feet, and not allow his attempts to prosper." they found it necessary to exclude several from partaking of the holy supper, and this severity was the blessed mean of soon bringing them to repentance and sorrow for their sins. others who had fainted, but not fallen in the day of trial, expressed themselves now convinced of the necessity of watching over their hearts, that they might not be seduced to seek false comfort or unlawful assistance: they had, during the time of this awful visitation, as well as they could, kept close to jesus and prayed to him; but they were nevertheless troubled with fearful thoughts--as that they might all perish, and how sad it would be if their teachers should turn away from them, when there was no one to come to their assistance, and when they could not help themselves. but they now saw that they had greatly erred in indulging these hard thoughts, for jesus had delivered them in their necessity. they felt that they ought to be thankful, but they came far short of that gratitude they owed to him. nain and okkak were mercifully spared this year, and in the grand object of their labours the brethren had still occasion to bless the lord that he graciously owned the preaching of the glad tidings of salvation, and accompanied it with power and the demonstration of his spirit: often was his presence powerfully felt, particularly when, from time to time, individuals were added to the church by baptism, or when they partook of the holy sacrament of our lord's body and blood, in fellowship together. the outward circumstances of the missions in labrador this year were uncommonly prosperous--they sent to england upwards of tons of blubber, seals' skins, and fox skins. chapter vii. desire of the heathen to hear the gospel.--brethren meditate a new settlement--voyage to explore the country.--quiet course of the mission--advantages of their church discipline.--death of burghardt.--exertions of the aged survivors.--schreiber, superintendant, arrives.--anxiety of the native christians to attend the ordinances of religion.--advantages of the bible as a school-book.--four missionaries unexpectedly carried to england.--baptized esquimaux seduced by traders.--perilous voyage of the returning missionaries.--striking accident.--schreiber retires from the superintendance--kohlmeister succeeds--his journeyings to okkak, to nain.--stability of the work of god at nain--hopeful deaths--conversion and recovery of a young native.--remarkable preservation of an esquimaux youth. ever since the settlement of the brethren on the east coast of labrador, scarcely a year had passed, without their being visited by great numbers of esquimaux from the north, either for the purposes of traffic or curiosity; and latterly, to visit their friends and acquaintances who had become residents. from these strangers, the missionaries obtained much interesting information respecting the inhabitants along the coast; they were told that the most considerable part of the nation dwelt beyond cape chudleigh, lat. deg. m., called by them killineck; that accounts of the settlement had reached them, and that they were desirous of teachers to instruct them in the good words. when some of these natives were asked by the brethren to remain and settle with them, they expressed a great inclination to have done so, but urged as an objection, the difficulty of procuring food for their families, and requested the missionaries rather to come to them, where they could be easily able to obtain a comfortable supply. the brethren, in consequence, had long meditated a new settlement, and the society for the furtherance of the gospel had repeatedly consulted with them about the best plan for carrying their wishes into execution. various obstacles had, however, always prevented any effectual steps being taken, till, in consequence of repeated invitations, it became a subject of serious consideration, by what means a more correct idea of the extent and dwelling places of the esquimaux nation might be obtained, and a general wish was expressed, that one or more of the missionaries would undertake the perilous task of visiting such places as were reported to contain more inhabitants than the southern coast, but remained unknown to european navigators. when brother kohlmeister was in europe, it was arranged with the synodal committee for the management of the missions of the united brethren, that an exploratory voyage should be undertaken, for which kohlmeister made preparation on his return to labrador, and on the th of june, he and brother kmoch set out from okkak. the vessel engaged for the arduous undertaking, was a two masted shallop, feet long, broad, and deep, belonging to jonathan, (vide p. ) who also accompanied them as their captain. jonathan was a man of superior understanding and skill, possessed of uncommon intrepidity, and looked up to, at hopedale, as the chief of his nation. it was therefore no small sacrifice on his part, to agree to leave, for an indefinite time, the place where he was so much respected; but he was ready to forsake all, and enter on an expedition of unknown length and peril, in the hope that it would be a means of introducing the gospel among his countrymen. the greater part of the other esquimaux thought the voyage impracticable, and an old angekok predicted that if the adventurers did not perish in the violent currents that set in round cape chudleigh, they most certainly would never return. but none of these dark forebodings made any impression on the mind of jonathan. when told that the wild heathen would kill him, he generally answered, "well we will try, we shall know better when we get there;" and once, when conversing with the missionaries, who were not altogether without apprehension, remarked, "when i hear people talking about the danger of being killed, i think--jesus went to death out of love to us; what great matter would it be, if we were to be put to death in his service, should that be his good pleasure concerning us." nor did his conduct belie his profession: under all circumstances, during the voyage, his firm, cheerful faithfulness, proved honourable to his character as a true convert. besides the missionaries, the expedition consisted of four esquimaux families from hopedale, and one from okkak, who attended with a skin, or woman's boat, in case of any accident befalling the shallop, and to be used in landing, as the larger vessel could never safely be brought close to the shore--in all eighteen persons. as they coasted along, they met several christian esquimaux, who were scattered at different summer provision places. at kangerlualuksoak, sixty miles north of okkak, a fishing station, with a fine strand and excellent harbour, where they rested on the th, [lord's day,] the missionaries went on shore, and visited the christian families, whom they assembled together for public worship. the congregation amounted to about fifty, including the boat's company. brother kohlmeister addressed them, and expressed his hope that they were all walking worthy of their christian profession--presenting a good example to their heathen neighbours. a number of strangers sat as listeners, and the missionaries felt their hearts dilate with joy, to hear the cheerful voices of converted heathen melodiously sounding forth the praises of god, and giving glory to the name of jesus their redeemer, in a place which had but lately been a den of murderers, and dedicated by sorcerers to the service of the devil. proceeding northward, they soon found their progress obstructed by drift ice, which forced them, after two days of incessant labour, to seek shelter in the estuary of a river, nullatartok, where being blocked up, they went on shore, and pitched their tents on a beautiful valley, enamelled with potentilla aurea in full bloom, resembling a european meadow covered with butter-cups. the river abounded with salmon-trout; and their hunters killed two rein-deer, a seasonable supply, as they were detained here twelve days. on the th july, they reached nachvak, where the high rocky mountains, glowing in the splendour of the morning sun, presented a most magnificent prospect. about fifty heathen esquimaux, who had encamped here, received them with loud shouts and the firing of muskets, and while they remained, behaved with great modesty, neither annoying them by impertinent curiosity, nor harassing them by importunate begging; they also attended their morning and evening prayers with great silence, and apparent devotion. they heard the discourses of the missionaries with respectful stillness, but they listened with much greater eagerness to the exhortations of their own countrymen. jonas, a son of jonathan, addressed them thus: "we were but lately as ignorant as you are now; we were long unable to understand the comfortable words of the gospel; we had neither ears to hear, nor hearts to receive them, till jesus by his power, opened our hearts and ears. now we know what jesus did for us, and how great the happiness of those is, who come unto him--love him as their saviour, and know that they shall not be lost, when this life is past. without this, we live in constant fear of death. you will enjoy the same happiness, if you turn and believe on jesus. we are not surprised that you do not yet understand us. we were once like you, but now we thank jesus our redeemer with tears of joy, that he has revealed himself unto us." this address, delivered with great energy, produced, at least, a temporary effect, for one of the leading men of the party, onalik, exclaimed, "i am determined to be converted to jesus;" and another, tallagaksoak, made the same declaration, adding, "he would no longer live among the heathen." having spent two days with these people, the expedition proceeded on their voyage, and passing nennoktok, were constrained by tempestuous weather to anchor in kummaktorvik-bay. here they met with four esquimaux families, of whom john, and mary his mother, had once been residents at okkak, but had left the brethren, and retired to the heathen; with them kohlmeister spoke very seriously, representing the danger of their state as apostates from the faith, but they showed no symptoms of compunction, and seemed determined to persist in their ways. when the storm ceased, they resumed their course, and after a providential escape from shipwreck on a sunken rock, they arrived it oppernavik, where they found uttakyak, a chief of superior understanding, and of great influence among his countrymen, with his two wives and youngest brother, waiting to receive them. he had, while on a voyage to okkak in , given the brethren particular accounts of these regions, and as he had learned that the missionaries intended to take a voyage to ungava-bay, he had waited during the whole spring for them, and put up signals on all heights surrounding his tent, that they might not miss him. successive storms, and accumulating ice, prevented the progress of our adventurers till the st of august, when they left their harbour, and entered ikkerasak, a narrow channel between cape chudleigh islands, and the continent; it is ten miles in length, and dangerous from the currents and whirlpools occasioned by the flowing and ebbing of the tide, but the missionaries passed through in safety at low water with a fair wind. on quitting the channel, the coast ran s.s.w. low, with gently sloping hills, and the sea [hudson's straits] appeared studded with small islands. here they saw the ungava country at a distance, stretching to the south before them. three skin boats, filled with esquimaux, came to bid them welcome, and followed them to omanek, a small island, where they pitched their tents; brother kohlmeister visited them on shore, and explained to them the design of their voyage: they listened, but could not comprehend the scope of his discourse; they shouted, however, with joy, when he told them that he would come and see them in their own country. many among them had never seen a european before, and not content with accurately inspecting them on every side, came close up to the travellers, and "pawed" them all over. dismissing them highly grateful with some trifling presents, the voyagers proceeded, and on the th reached the entering of the great river kangerlualuksoak, miles s.s.w. of cape chudleigh, lat. deg. m. sailing up the bay, they found a fine slope or terrace facing the south, covered with shrubs, from whence a wooded valley extended to the left, which they fixed upon as the most suitable place for a settlement. uttakisk, who had spent more than one winter in the ingura country, assured them that there was an ample supply of native provisions both summer and winter, and that many of the esquimaux would resort to them from every quarter, if they were once fairly settled. and the missionaries were satisfied that europeans might find the means of existence, as the place was accessible to ships, and had wood and water in plenty. before departing therefore, they set up high marks of stones on two opposite hills at the entrance of the bay, and placed a board on the declivity of a hill to the right, on one side of which they cut g. iii. r. and s.u.f.--georgius iii rex, societas unitatis fratrum; and on the other, the initials of the missionaries, with the date of their arrival. this tablet was raised with some solemnity in presence of uttakisk and his family, as representatives of the people of ungava; and the missionaries informed them, that they had taken possession of the place, in case they or their brethren should think proper to settle there, and called all present to bear witness; they then proclaimed that the name of the river should henceforth be called george river, after which three vollies were fired by those on shore, and answered from the boat.--the texts of scripture for the day, were very encouraging:--"from the rising of the sun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the gentiles, saith the lord of hosts," mal. ii . "at the name of jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and every tongue shall confess that jesus christ is lord, to the glory of god the father," phil. ii , . after the ceremony, pease and bread and beer were distributed among the esquimaux, which enabled them to make a splendid feast, and the day was spent in the most agreeable manner. next day [aug. th] they left george river, and after beating about till the th, they cast anchor near a point of land, kernertut, where they expected to lie in safety [the whole of the crew, except jonas and his children and two boys, had gone on shore in the skin boat;] but during the night, the wind blew a gale, which increased in violence till daybreak; the sea rose to a tremendous height, and the rain fell in torrents. notwithstanding the shallop had three anchors out, she was tossed about dreadfully, the sea frequently breaking quite over her, insomuch that they expected every moment to be swallowed up in the abyss. jonathan, and the rest of their company, were obliged to be passive spectators from the beach, where they waited the event in silent anguish, looking every moment when the vessel should break from her moorings, and be driven on the rocks. about noon, the rope by which the small boat was fastened brake; she was immediately carried up the bay, and thrown, by the violence of the surf, on the top of a rock, where she stuck fast, keel upwards. when the tide turned, the raging of the sea and the wind began to abate, and jonathan and the other men, as soon as it was practicable, came to the assistance of the distressed and worn-out brethren. he was quite overcome with joy, unable to utter a word; he held out his hand, and shed tears of gratitude at meeting with them alive, for he had given them up as irremediably lost. the little boat was brought down from her pinnacle, to the great surprise of all, without material injury. since leaving george's river, the expedition had made little more than fourteen or fifteen miles, and were at least seventy or eighty, as far as they could judge, from the river koksoak, the western boundary of the ungava country, which they had fixed upon as the final object of their voyage. the season was far advanced, and the esquimaux represented to them, that if they proceeded farther, it would be impossible to return to okkak before winter. in this dilemma, the missionaries, unable to decide, retired to their hut, and after weighing all the circumstances maturely, determined to commit their case to him in whose name they had entered upon this voyage, and kneeling down entreated him to hear their prayers in their embarrassing situation, and to make known to them his will concerning their future proceedings, whether they should persevere in fulfilling the whole aim of their voyage, or give up a part and return home.--"the peace of god," add the missionaries, "which filled our hearts on this memorable occasion, and the strong conviction wrought in us both, that we should persevere in his name to fulfil the whole of our commission, relying without fear on his help and preservation, no words can describe; but those who believe in the fulfilment of the gracious promises of jesus given to his poor followers and disciples, will understand us when we declare, that we were assured that it was the will of god our saviour, that we should not now return and leave our work unfinished, but proceed to the end of our proposed voyage. each of us communicated to his brother the conviction of his heart--all fears and doubts vanished--and we were filled anew with courage and willingness to act in obedience to it in the strength of the lord." when they made known their determination to jonathan, and the reasons which swayed them, he without hesitation replied, "yes! that is also my conviction! we will go whither jesus directs us. he will bring us safe to our journey's end, and safe home again." with renewed strength and spirits, the missionaries set forward, and their companions, who had been wonderfully refreshed and invigorated by their success among the seals and the rein-deer, willingly followed. they encountered a severe storm, and escaped many hidden dangers, as they coasted along a dangerous and unknown shore; but, guided by his hand in whom they trusted, they had the pleasure of reaching the mouth of the koksoak, august th, deg. m. n.l. about miles from okkak--cape chudleigh half way. to the west the country is called by the natives assokak, the coast turning again w.n.w. the koksoak here is about the breadth of the thames at gravesend, and with its various windings, much resembles that river for twenty-four miles inland. as they sailed upwards, they were hailed by the natives in their kaiaks, with "_innuit, innuit!_ man, man;" and when they hoisted their colours there was a general cry of "kablunat, kablunat! europeans! europeans!" about one p.m. they cast anchor close to an encampment, containing fourteen families, some from a distant district called rivektok. at first they appeared shy, but upon receiving a few trifling presents became quite familiar; and as many of them had never seen a european, walked round them, and inspected them narrowly to see what manner of animals they were, having previously received some account of them from uttakiyok's brother, who had joined them. proceeding farther up the river, accompanied by most of the men and some women, they arrived at a bay, which by the winding of the stream appears like a lake surrounded on all sides with gently rising grounds, well planted with woods of moderate size, chiefly birch. behind the woods are some low hills. this place they named unity's bay. here they found another good situation for a missionary settlement--a fine slope, extending for about half an english mile, bounded on each extremity by a hill, on both of which they erected high signals. juniper, currants, and other berries, were growing in abundance--and some rivulets of water at no great distance. this spot they named pilgerruh, pilgrim's rest. the view of the interior was in general flat, with a few low hills and ponds in some places full of wild geese; the largest trees were not more than eight inches in diameter, and fifteen or twenty feet high. the esquimaux informed them that farther up the trees were larger. the inhabitants were poor, and miserably equipped in comparison of the esquimaux near the brethren's settlement; as those who accompanied the expedition, and who, from their intercourse with the europeans, had obtained many conveniences by barter, and from the teaching of the missionaries had acquired a knowledge of the gospel. these advantages the latter did not fail to expatiate upon to their heathen countrymen; and once the brethren met with sybilla, jonathan's wife, surrounded by a company of women under the shadow of a skin boat, set on edge, exhorting them with great simplicity and fervour to hear and believe the gospel. even uttakiyok occasionally engaged in advocating the same cause, explained as well as he could the reason of the brethren's living in labrador, and exclaimed, "my friends, let us all be converted to jesus." having finished their observations on this quarter, the missionaries resolved to return, as, from the account given by their able and faithful conductor, uttakiyok, whose information they had hitherto found correct, the western coast on the opposite side of the bay was bare and without any proper landing place, and at this season of the year uninhabited, the esquimaux being generally employed in the interior in hunting the rein-deer; they, therefore, sept. ., left the river and shaped their course homeward. the natives shewed the greatest reluctance to part with them, and called after them, "come soon again; we shall always be wishing to see you." several of them, and among these their disinterested friend, uttakiyok, followed them for some miles, repeating their entreaties for their speedy return, and promising to settle beside them when they came. at parting, they presented uttakiyok with their skin boat and several useful articles, as a recompense for the important, essential, and affectionate services he had rendered them. on the th october they reached okkak in safety, after an absence of three months and ten days, having performed a voyage of from twelve to thirteen hundred miles. an account of their expedition was transmitted home,[i] but circumstances prevented the mission from being undertaken for several years. no very remarkable alteration took place at any of the different stations, during the two succeeding years. the increase of their number was gradual, and their advance in the christian course quiet but perceptible; and at okkak they had the pleasure of readmitting, upon their repentance and acknowledgment of their sin, the members they had been forced to exclude for their misconduct during the past season; and it is not the least among the mercies of god towards the brethren, nor one which ought to be passed over in silence, the benefit which their congregations derive from the kind and judicious, yet firm administration of church discipline; in a majority of instances it answers the ends for which it was instituted--the brother is gained instead of being driven away to associate with the world, and to nourish a spirit of dislike, if not of hatred, towards those with whom he was formerly in fellowship--a melancholy consequence when this ordinance of the saviour is not attended to in the spirit of love. in , the superintendant, burghardt, was called to his reward; he had been able to fulfil the duties of his office till within three days of his departure. he was obliged to take to his bed on the th of july, and had appointed the th to confer with his brethren on various subjects, but when that day came, he was so much exhausted, that this was found impracticable. he had done with active service upon earth. he now lay quiet, in peaceful expectation of the happy moment when his lord and master would call him to rest. about three o'clock in the afternoon, he breathed his last in a most gentle and peaceful manner, in presence of the family gathered around his bed. "during this transaction," the missionaries add, in their letter announcing the event, "a powerful feeling of divine peace prevailed among us, and many tears were shed by us who are left behind, to follow the example of this devoted servant of jesus. he had attained to the age of seventy nine years." his removal brought forward, in a very prominent point of view, the unwearied diligence of the moravian missionaries, who unite so much active exertion in temporal affairs, with such devotedness to spiritual exercises, and, in a pre-eminently apostolic conduct, exhibit the import of the injunctions, "not slothful in business,"--"fervent in spirit,"--"serving the lord." "in consequence of this vacancy," they continue, "and the age of two others of us, who are fast approaching their seventieth year, we are not able to do any great things by manual labour; however, we contrive to perform what is absolutely requisite, and intend, with the lord's blessing, to prepare for the building of a new church, as the present is much too small, and gone to decay, we thank you for your readiness to assist us with the necessary help." next year, , brother schreiber arrived to succeed the late lamented burghardt as superintendant, and brought with him two efficient missionaries. the general course of the mission for some time continued pretty uniform, the meetings were always well attended, and so great was the desire of the people to be present, that some came at the hazard of their lives; especially the sisters, who, when they had no boat of their own, would venture across bays some miles in breadth, sitting behind their husbands on their narrow kaiaks. the number of printed books circulated in the congregations, and now constantly increasing, kept alive the desire to learn to read and understand the holy scriptures. the schools were thronged by young and old. it has sometimes been asserted that the sacred writings are ill adapted for school books; that they are above the capacity of children, and do not possess those attractions which little stories, extracts from entertaining writers, histories of our own and other countries present.[j] without entering upon any argument, it may be sufficient to remark, that at no time did our native scotland produce a more intelligent, acute, and moral race, than that generation which was educated in schools where the bible and the shorter catechism were the chief, if not the sole, medium of their instruction. at the moravian settlements the same effects flow from a similar mode of tuition, and the mind that has been early exercised in searching out the meaning of the divine oracles of truth, comes well prepared to estimate the realities of life, and form a true and correct judgment upon common topics and matters of daily occurrence: they have been taught that the present ought to be improved with a reference to the future, not only in spiritual but in temporal matters, and the natural consequence is, that the converted esquimaux and their children become at once an intelligent and a provident race. so long as they continued heathen their intellect in general appeared incapable of comprehending any thing beyond the immediate and grosser cravings of nature, but now they understood and could converse upon more rational subjects; then no arguments could induce them, not even their own necessities, to build store houses, but now they willingly assisted the missionaries in erecting these buildings for public use, while in some of the settlements they erected new ones for themselves. along with reading, the natives were taught writing and arithmetic, in which many of them made no inconsiderable proficiency. yet, notwithstanding all their care and watchfulness, the brethren were not without their trials from the members of their congregations, and they, commonly sum up their accounts of the prosperous state of their people with some such conclusion as this:--"we must after all confess that much imperfection is yet seen, and some of those living here are not what they ought to be. the enemy is not idle, but endeavours to sift those who believe on jesus; and we grieve to be obliged to mention, that even of our communicants there are who have fallen into temptation and sin. this shall not damp our courage, but we will continue to direct them to jesus." hitherto little interruption had taken place in the communication between labrador and england; the vessel had sailed in safety amid enemies and storms, and although in some voyages had been in jeopardy, and in others detained, had always made it out to visit all the stations; but in the jemima was not only prevented from reaching hopedale, but carried four of the missionaries on an involuntary trip to england. the ship arrived at the drift ice on the labrador coast on the th of july, which captain fraser found extending about two hundred miles from the land, and after attempting to get in first to hopedale, then to nain, and last of all to okkak, he was at length completely surrounded by it and in the most imminent danger during six days and nights, expecting every moment that the ship would be crushed to pieces, till after very great exertions he got towards the outer part of the ice. nevertheless he was still beset with it, and did not reach okkak before august . the very next day the whole coast, as far as the eye could reach, was entirely choked up by ice, and after laying at okkak nearly three weeks, he was twice forced back by it on his passage to nain, which place he did not reach till sept . after staying the usual time the captain proceeded, oct ., from nain for hopedale with fine weather; yet, on account of the lateness of the season, and a great deal of drift ice, with but little prospect of reaching that settlement. this circumstance he mentioned to the brethren at nain, notwithstanding which, however, brother kmoch and his wife, and two single brethren, korner and christensan, who were going to hopedale, went on board and they set sail; but the same evening it came on to blow exceedingly hard, with an immense fall of snow and very thick weather, so that they could not see the length of the ship, and being within half a mile of a dangerous reef of rocks, the captain was obliged to carry a press of sail to clear them, which he did but just accomplish, for after that the gale increased to such a degree, the wind being right on shore, that he could not carry sail any longer, and was obliged to lay the ship to, when the sea broke often over her, and he was at last forced, seeing every attempt to reach hopedale vain, to bear away for england. he again experienced a gale equal to a hurricane, on the th, th, and th of october, which, during the evening between the th and th, was so violent that the captain expected the vessel would have foundered. she was at one time struck by a sea that twisted her in such a manner that the seams on her larboard side opened, and the water gushed into the cabin and into the mate's birth as if it came from a pump, and every body at first thought her side was stove in; however the lord was pleased to protect every one from harm, nor was the ship very materially damaged, neither was any thing lost. winter set in severely on the labrador coast, but this proved an advantage to the missions, as those at nain were enabled to forward supplies by sledges to their brethren at hopedale, who, although curtailed of some of their comforts, acknowledged with cheerful thankfulness that they had suffered no essential deprivation. the esquimaux were also deprived of their usual supply of food by the early winter, which prevented them from taking many seals, either by the net or in kaiaks; but, as not unfrequently happened in their times of extremity, they were successful in killing a whale, which preserved from suffering much from famine, and for which they joined their teachers in returning thanks to their heavenly father. their number was reduced by the death of a venerable brother, sueb andersen, who had served the mission forty years, as well as christensan, who had been carried to england; but nevertheless, besides their usual daily labour, they were able to erect for their own use a building containing rooms for holding provisions and fuel, and a bakehouse. easily contented, however, as they were with their stinted fare, and pleasantly as they could undergo both privation and manual labour; they could not see, without the most poignant sorrow, those who had begun to run well, hindered in their progress, and the greatest affliction they felt, and the only one which extorted from them a complaint in this trying season, was the seduction of several of their congregation. four traders from the south, with an esquimaux family in company, spent that winter in their neighbourhood. they sent european provisions to the native inhabitants, and invited them to come and traffic, which proved a great snare, and disturbed the peaceful course of the congregation; for many of the baptized had lived formerly in the south, and contracted a taste for european indulgences, particularly for strong liquors, from which they had been weaned since their settling at hopedale; but these propensities revived when temptation was presented. the brethren spared no pains, by friendly exhortations and affectionate remonstrances, to avert the calamity, yet they had the grief to see three families of eighteen persons desert the station; among whom were six communicants and several hopeful young people. the women and children wept bitterly at parting, and even the men seemed affected, but the latter, led captive by the wiles of the seducer, forced their families to follow. "we cannot describe," say the missionaries, "the pain we felt in seeing these poor deluded people running headlong into danger, and we cried to our saviour to keep his hand over them in mercy, and not to suffer them to become a prey to the enemy of their souls." kmoch and his wife, and the single brother korner, who had so unexpectedly visited england, returned to labrador in the brig jemima in , accompanied by single brother beck, a descendant of the greenland missionary, who in the third generation inherited the same spirit. their voyage was perilous, and their preservation afforded a new display of the mercy of god towards his devoted servants, engaged to proclaim salvation to the utmost ends of the earth. on the d of june the jemima left london, and after stopping at the orkneys, they reached within miles of the labrador coast before the th of july; the weather had been remarkably fine, and they were pleasing themselves with speedily arriving at their destination, when the ice-birds gave notice of their approaching the ice.[k] now the wind shifted, and on the th the drift was seen in every direction: for six days they made several attempts to penetrate through different openings, but in vain; fields of ice beset the ship on all sides, and towards the evening of the th they discovered an immense ice-berg approaching. they were sailing before the wind, and just when they neared it, became enveloped in so thick a fog that they could not see a yard from the ship, nor use any means to avoid a concussion which threatened instant ruin. after an hour of helpless anxiety the fog dispersed, and they perceived that they had providentially passed at a very short distance. next morning land was discovered a-head, which the captain endeavoured to reach, but was forced to seek shelter by fastening the vessel to a large field of ice three hundred feet in diameter, elevated about six above the water, and between fifty and sixty in thickness below. here they lay with little variation from the th to the th; when they attempted with a fine breeze to get clear out. in the evening, the sky lowered, and it grew very dark. at midnight the passengers were roused by a noise on deck, and hastening to learn the cause, found they were driving fast towards a huge ice-mountain, on which they expected every moment to suffer shipwreck. the night was excessively cold with rain, and the sailors suffered much before they could again bring the vessel to her moorings. but this was only the prelude to greater terrors: shortly after mid-day on the st, the wind having risen to a tempest, the missionaries were alarmed by a tremendous outcry; they instantly ran upon deck, and saw the ship with the field to which she was fastened, rapidly driving towards another immense mountain, nor did there appear the smallest hope of escaping being crushed to pieces between it and the field. they all cried fervently to the lord for speedy help in this most perilous situation--for if they had but touched the mountain they must have been instantly destroyed. and he heard them: the ship got to such a distance that the mountain passed between them and the field, but one of their cables was broken and they lost an anchor; and were left to the mercy of the storm and the current, in the midst of large masses of ice from ten to twenty feet thick. the following night was dreadfully dark and tempestuous, and the howling of the wind, and the roaring of the ice, as the fields were dashed against each other by its fury, rendered it truly terrific; while the fragments, as they were dispersing by the storm, struck violently against the vessel, and each blow sounded like the harbinger of instant fate. such shocks were repeated every five or ten minutes and sometimes oftener; nor was there any possibility of avoiding them. in this awful situation they offered up earnest prayers to him who alone is able to save, and about six in the morning they were carried into open water not far from the coast, after having spent ten long hours in a state more easily to be conceived than described. during the remainder of their voyage they encountered several heavy gales, and were threatened occasionally with the gathering ice, and their vessel was leaky, but they happily arrived at their desired haven in safety. on the th of august they cast anchor at hopedale. amid the trials which the brethren had to encounter, they acknowledge, with gratitude, the mercies that intervened: they witnessed many instances of the faithful leading of the holy spirit among the esquimaux, particularly in the return of many to the good shepherd, from whom they had strayed--and during the winter, the station of hopedale was preserved from moral contagion by a striking providence. some heathen who had set out to seduce their countrymen to go to the south, were overtaken at sea by a violent storm, which dashed their large boat in pieces, and being thrown on an unknown desert region, where no assistance could be obtained, perished miserably by cold and hunger. at the close of , brother schreiber returned to europe, and brother kohlmeister succeeded him as superintendant of the labrador missions, for which he was well adapted, both by his knowledge of the country and the language. in the former year he had performed a voyage from okkak to nain, very different from that remarkable journey in . the weather was fine and warm, with a gentle favourable breeze, and the varied scenery was delightful. he doubled the promontory of the kiglapeit mountains with the greatest ease, and was wafted through the narrow channel to nain, charmed with the verdure that decked the shores, the woods in foliage, the hills covered with grass, and the vallies spangled with innumerable flowers. early next year he visited hopedale, and the weather being again fine, he accomplished the journey in two days. the dogs drew the sledge over the frozen snow with great rapidity; no english post-horses could have done better. he had formerly ministered in this settlement, and the inhabitants came out to some distance to meet, and bid him welcome. "i was deeply affected," says he, in a letter to mr latrobe, "on again entering this place, in which i had spent so many happy days in the year , when it pleased the lord to send forth his spirit, and awaken in the hearts of the esquimaux, that hunger and thirst after righteousness and salvation, the fruits of which have been so manifest and encouraging ever since. i was then eye-witness of astonishing proofs of his power and love, and my heart and spirit revived in the recollection of the all-conquering and superabounding grace which then prevailed, and by which he drew all hearts unto himself." to the continuance and advancement of this blessed work, the brethren were able to bear joyful testimony in the succeeding year. july , , they thus write: "the lord is graciously pleased to cause his power to be made manifest in the conversion of sinners, and in the building up our dear esquimaux flock in the faith by which we are saved. this we may truly testify to his praise. the father draws them to the son, and the holy spirit leads them in the way of life everlasting. we find open ears and hearts when we declare to them the love of jesus as their saviour, and his blessing rests upon our feeble testimony of his atoning death and passion. many a heart, by nature hard as the surrounding rocks, has been broken by the divine power of the word of the cross." they had, however, to mourn over the loss of three of their most approved native esquimaux brethren, in the prime of life; they were suddenly seized with a mortal illness, which, after a short suffering of twelve hours, brought them to the grave; but the joyful hope of seeing their saviour face to face, and celebrating the praises of his redeeming love, supported them in their dying moments, and comforted the hearts of their teachers. their widows, also, distinguished themselves by their resignation to the lord under this severe dispensation, which rendered them desolate, placing their whole trust in him who is the faithful friend of the widow and the fatherless. a young married man, a candidate for baptism, was seized with the same complaint, and brought to the brink of the grave. in his extremity, he complained to one of the missionaries that he had never been truly converted to jesus. "o!" exclaimed he, "if but one drop of the precious atoning blood of jesus would flow upon my soul to cleanse me from guilt, that i might be assured in my inward parts, of the forgiveness of my many sins!" he was baptized on his sickbed--it was an affecting scene--a sense of the presence of the lord was felt on the occasion by all present, by the peace and grace that accompanied the administration of the ordinance. the answer to the sick penitent's fervent prayer, seemed like that given to the poor repenting thief on the cross when he cried, "lord remember me"--it was immediate. to the surprise of all, he recovered, and remained an instance of the love of jesus, even to the chief of sinners. a remarkable preservation of another esquimaux youth, was likewise the cause of much joy at hopedale. on the th of june, , this lad had been carried out to sea upon a flake of ice, which separated from the main mass in a terrible storm, and was given up for lost. he, however, after having, for some time, been driven about, gained the larger body of drift ice, and was carried towards an island, on which he landed. here he staid about two months. he had only a gun, a small knife, and a few pieces of cord with him, but neither powder nor shot. of the cord he made nooses and caught eider-ducks, by which, and their eggs, he kept himself alive; in the night, he crept under an overhanging rock to sleep. at length he discovered a piece of wood floating to the shore; of this he made an oar, and, getting on a flake of ice, rowed himself to an island nearer the main land, whence he reached two more islands nearer still. about the beginning of august, he observed two boats steering towards the south, and made signals: these were not noticed by the first, which passed on; but the second approached and took him in. they were southlanders from kippolak, with whom he was obliged to go on to the south, and remain there till the ice was strong enough to admit of his travelling to hopedale. he removed thence to okkak, where he most unexpectedly arrived, to the astonishment of all his relations, who received him as one from the dead. he declared that in his banishment from human society, jesus had been his hope and refuge, though the prospect before him was indeed terrific. while he gave this account of his escape, his eyes overflowed with tears of joy and gratitude; and at the conclusion of his narrative, he said to brother kohlmeister--"benjamin! i declare to you that i was never alone; jesus was always with me, and i will ever follow jesus, and belong to him in time and eternity." footnotes: [footnote i: the journal of the voyage, illustrated with a map, was published in a separate form. london, .] [footnote j: "the children and young people have given us much pleasure; they have made good progress in reading, and often speak to us of the pleasure it affords them to be able to read the scriptures at home."--periodical accounts, vol. p. .] [footnote k: this bird is about the size of a starling, black, with white and yellow spots, flies about a ship chiefly in the night, and is known by its singular notes, which resemble a loud laugh.] chapter viii. fiftieth anniversary of the missionary vessel's first arrival in labrador--jubilee of the mission celebrated at nain.--summary view of the success of the gospel in labrador during that period.--instance of maternal affection.--esquimaux contribute to the bible society.--british sloop of war, clinker, visits hopedale.--captain martin's testimony to the good effect of the brethren's labours--visits nain and okkak--consequences of his favourable report. fifty years had now elapsed since the first ship arrived at nain, th august , with missionaries on board for the service of the esquimaux, and in the morning of the same day of the same month, august the th, , at eight o'clock, the harmony cast anchor in the same bay, bringing stores and provisions for a christian settlement containing one hundred and sixty-eight inhabitants, chiefly gathered from among the heathen, and exercising the habits of civilized life, instead of roaming the wilds as rude savages, or infesting the seas as ruthless pirates. the day of the vessel's arrival was always a day of gladness, as she brought tidings from their christian friends in europe to the missionaries; and good tidings from a far country, especially when brought to such a secluded spot, were doubly welcome. that this communication should, notwithstanding all risks, have been uninterrupted, afforded much subject for thanksgiving, which the brethren expressed by hymns, and likewise endeavoured to show by some little external tokens. they hoisted two old small flags and a white one, on which the sisters had marked, in large figures, the number , surrounded by a wreath of green laurel; their small cannon fired several shot, which were answered by the ship, and the esquimaux fired their pieces as long as their powder lasted. meanwhile, some tunes of hymns, expressing thanksgiving to god for his mercies, were played on wind instruments, which altogether made a good impression on the esquimaux, and gave them an idea of a jubilee rejoicing. brother kohlmeister explained to them the meaning of the number on the flag, and made them understand that it was the fifteenth time that a ship had come safely to nain for their sakes, and how it had been preserved, by the wonder-working hand of god, from all harm in these dangerous seas, and that this was the cause of these extraordinary demonstrations of a joyful gratitude; they listened with great attention, and then exclaimed, "yes! jesus is worthy of thanks!" nor were the sailors unmoved. next year, , completed half a century which the brethren had spent in labrador, and was celebrated as the jubilee year at the three settlements. at nain the commemoration day was the th of august, in all the services of which a spirit of joy and thanksgiving prevailed throughout the whole congregation. the baptism of two adults tended much to solemnize the festival. "we praised the lord," say the missionaries, "with heart and voice, for all the wonders he has wrought in behalf of the mission in labrador during half a century, in which he has led, preserved, and blessed us abundantly. his mighty arm has protected us in many dangers, and the preaching of his cross has been attended with power and the demonstration of his spirit in many hearts; and many heathen have been brought in as a reward for the travail of his soul." an account of the beginning of the mission, and of all the remarkable incidents and proofs of the mercy and grace of our saviour during that period, was read to all the congregations in their native tongue, and heard with the greatest attention and surprise. since the commencement, brethren and sisters had been employed, and at this time there were brethren and sisters at the three mission stations of nain, okkak and hopedale. of the esquimaux nation, there had been baptized adults and children; and at the end of this year, there were residing in the different settlements, baptized, candidates for baptism, and new people, making a total of persons. truly it might be said of the esquimaux nation, that for them who sat in the shadow of death, under the cruel bondage of satan, god our saviour wrought deliverance, and brought many of them into the glorious liberty of the children of god. many had, during that period, departed full of hope, and in the preceding summer, among others, a sister of much worth, joanna, had been taken away at hopedale, under very interesting circumstances. while on the ice with her daughter, it gave way, and they both fell in. the mother made great exertions to save her child, and with much difficulty succeeded, but, her strength failing, she was unable to extricate herself, and was drowned. she had led a humble, consistent, and exemplary life, and her last words, when in the act of sinking, was to commend her departing spirit to the mercy of her saviour. this happy year was likewise marked as that on which the esquimaux received complete copies of the new testament in their own language, printed at the expense of the british and foreign bible society, and also for the proof they gave of the value they set upon the holy scriptures, by the desire they express that other nations should enjoy similar advantage. having been informed of the nature and aim of the bible society, and of its labours in the distribution of the scriptures, the esquimaux of their own accord, began to collect seals' blubber, as a contribution towards the expenses of the society. some brought whole seals, or half seals, or pieces, as they could afford it. others brought portions of blubber in the name of their children, requesting that their poor gifts might be accepted. and when they heard that other converted heathen, even poorer than they, had contributed to spread the word of god, they exclaimed: "how long have not _we_ heard the pleasant and comfortable words concerning jesus christ our saviour, and how many books have _we_ not received, treating of him, and yet we have never known and considered whence they come. we have indeed sometimes spoken together, and observed that these many books given to us without pay, must cost a great deal somewhere; but we never have before now known, that even poor people bring their money out of pure love, that we may get these comfortable words of god. we are indeed poor, but yet might now and then bring some blubber, that others who are as ignorant as we were formerly, may receive the same gospel which has been so sweet to our souls, and thereby be taught to find the way to jesus and believe on him." the donations of these poor esquimaux were accompanied with expressions of thanks for the favours they had received, and earnest requests to the society, that more heathen might be presented with "that book, so far more precious than any thing else in the world." various hindrances had prevented the formation of a fourth settlement, and during this interval, the tongue of slander had not been silent. mercenary traders had represented to the british authorities, the brethren's conduct as hostile to the interest of the colony and their traffic with the natives: but fortunately the authorities were not disposed to receive implicitly these reports, and the governor of newfoundland, sir charles hamilton, dispatched a sloop of war, the clinker, captain william martin, to examine the coast of labrador, and with an express direction to visit the different moravian stations. he arrived a few days after the celebration of the jubilee, and the missionaries, in their diary, give the following account of his visit: "august th, in the afternoon, we received a letter from william martin, esq., commander of a british ship of war, which lay at anchor four hours from this, informing us that the governor of newfoundland had ordered him to take a survey of that part of the coast of labrador where the brethren's settlements were situated, and to visit the settlements. on hearing this, the captain (fraser) of the mission vessel, at present lying at anchor here, sent the pilot in a boat, to bring the clinker into the harbour, and at three o'clock p.m. a ship of war, with three masts and fourteen cannon, anchored in our harbour, not far from us. immediately two of us, with captain fraser, went on board to welcome the commander, who repeated his commission, and conversed with us in the most friendly manner. we expressed our happiness at his arrival, and invited him on shore to examine minutely into every thing of which he wished to obtain information. he accordingly landed in the evening, and came to the mission-house. "soon after his arrival, our usual meeting was held with the esquimaux, whose good conduct, quietness, and piety, seemed to strike him; and he afterwards confessed his expectation in this respect had been greatly exceeded. he asked us several questions--first, what means we had used to civilize such rude and savage men? we answered that whatever good he observed in the esquimaux, was entirely to be ascribed to the power of the gospel, the preaching of which was the only purpose of our being here; besides this, we possessed no other power, nor did we believe any other could deliver savage men, accustomed to murder, and given up to every vice, from their detestable habits, and introduce them into the circle of social order. nothing but the operation of the spirit of god on their hearts, convincing them of the truth of the gospel, and the happiness of true christians, could induce them to deny their evil propensities, and incline them to receive instruction, and walk according to the commandments of jesus; it is this, we said, that causes them to live in peaceful and happy society together. "he next wished to be informed of the reason of our conduct with regard to merchandize, as he had heard that we did not wish our esquimaux to trade with the europeans in the south; and when they did so, if we did not drive them away from our settlements? to this we replied as follows: 'nothing is so painful to us, as when any of the members of our congregation fall back into heathenism, which easily happens when they go to the south to trade with the europeans, where they are exposed to many temptations. on this account we find it necessary to warn them against such journeys, and if they pay no attention to these admonitions, intended chiefly for their own advantage, we cannot regard them as any longer belonging to us. and our conduct is the same towards those who reside among us, who have not received the gospel, when we find all our affectionate and serious exhortations in vain, and they persist in returning thither to trade. but no esquimaux is driven away from our settlements on this account, for he does not sell his merchandize to us alone, but to any person with whom he chooses to trade. it must, however, be remarked, that many esquimaux when pressed by hunger in winter, take refuge with us, to whom we give every possible assistance; there are also some, who, during their harvest, save a portion against a time of need, which we lay up for them, and they receive the full value, when their necessities require it. now, when these, regardless of their obligations to us, take their articles elsewhere to barter, we frankly tell them our opinion of their conduct, and endeavour to impress their minds with a sense of their ingratitude, not only to us, but to the society in england, who from love to them, sends every year a ship with the necessary supplies. if any one take offence at our reproofs, and leave us in anger for the south, we cannot help it, but we are certain he dare not affirm any such falsehood to the europeans, as to say, that he was driven from our settlement because he treated with them.' captain martin replied that he had not the least doubt of what we said, and was perfectly satisfied, by what he had seen and heard, that we laboured to promote the best interests of the esquimaux." on sunday, th, "all the officers and forty of the crew of the ship of war, assembled with us in our meeting for public worship, when we recommended them to the gracious protection of our almighty lord and god; and we have much pleasure in being able to say, that, during the whole time they remained here, their behaviour was as orderly and friendly as we could have wished. the captain having lodged a night with us, at taking leave together with the surgeon, shook us heartily by the hand, and thanked us for our kind attention, and expressed his delight at the happy results of our endeavours to improve the esquimaux. all the officers likewise bade us farewell in the most friendly manner, and said they would always reflect with pleasure on their visit to us. after they went on board captain martin sent us a letter, in which he thus expressed himself: 'my dear friends--i cannot leave this place without expressing my thanks in a few lines to the worthy brethren who received me in so friendly a manner, and by their attention rendered my stay here so pleasant. i regret that it has been so short, but it has been sufficiently long, to convince me that your labours have been crowned by a blessed success; this must animate you under many difficulties, to continue to devote yourselves with zeal to the service of our lord, your great example. one must be an eye-witness to judge of the mighty change that has already taken place in these esquimaux, both in regard to body and mind. it will give me the most heart-felt joy, to communicate this to his excellency, the governor of st john's, and also to bear testimony in england, to the happy progress of your labours.' next day, at a.m. the ship of war set sail, when we, with our esquimaux, ascended the height nearest the shore, and by signs took our last farewell of the crew. "continuing her course, the clinker reached nain on the st, where captain martin behaved in the same friendly manner. he was frequently on shore at the mission-house, and likewise attended worship in the church. on the d he invited the missionaries aboard, and shewed them the arrangement in a sloop of war. his vessel was decorated with fifty flags of different nations, in honour of the commemoration of the jubilee. the day after, he furnished a feast of boiled pease and biscuit, for all the esquimaux living on the missionaries' land, and was himself present at the entertainment. the esquimaux sat on pieces of timber, placed in a square. before they began their meal, they sang a hymn, 'now let us praise the lord, &c.' and at the close, 'praise god for ever.' all of them expressed great thankfulness for this condescending mark of the captain's good will; and each of them had a goodly portion of biscuit left to carry home." from nain the clinker sailed for hopedale in company with the harmony, on board of which were the superintendant kohlmeister and his wife. the latter thus speaks of the excursion, which she appears to have highly enjoyed: "we had the pleasure to sail in company with his sloop [captain martin's] to hopedale, and had a most agreeable voyage. he came twice on board the harmony to pay us a visit. as we approached hopedale, the brethren and the esquimaux not having received any account of the arrival of the sloop of war, were rather alarmed at its appearance, but we found means before we cast anchor, to send them word that all was peace and friendship, upon which the music began to play a hymn of praise, and the esquimaux afterwards fired a salute with their pieces. the sloop answered with the great guns, but the esquimaux were determined to have the last word, and went on firing after the cannon had ceased to roar. it was a calm night without moon, but the brilliant display of numberless stars, and a glorious aurora borealis, increased the enjoyment. the brethren, stock and haller, coming on board, we could not quit the deck till midnight; sleep was not thought of. captain martin also displayed a number of blue lights, to the great astonishment and gratification of the esquimaux." the captain having here also given a feast of bread and pease, she adds, "we were present, and were pleased to hear how the esquimaux expressed their thankfulness, and afterwards sung the anthem, 'glory to god in the highest,' and 'hosanna.'" when he had accomplished the object of his cruise, captain martin returned to st john's. by this extraordinary and friendly visit, the brethren remarked, "the celebration of the jubilee of the mission acquired a peculiar and new feature, as we were at the same time assured of the favour of those, whom god has appointed to rule over us, and may hope in future also to experience a continuance of that protection we have hitherto enjoyed. the lord has also caused his work to be glorified in the sight of men." but this visit was still further important, as it tended to accelerate the formation of a fourth settlement. chapter ix. the brethren obtain a further grant of land on the east coast of labrador.--projected fourth settlement delayed.--progress of the three settlements in the interval.--instances of wonderful preservation--ephraim--of conrad, peter, and titus.--report of the superintendant, kohlmeister, on the general state of the mission.--commencement and progress of hebron, the fourth station. much as the brethren desired to establish a settlement on the ungava country, and anxious as the esquimaux there were, that they should reside among them, providential difficulties, as above alluded to, prevented what appeared so urgent a call from being complied with, and, in a manner, forced upon the brethren's consideration the propriety of forming a fourth station on the east coast. they had, therefore, applied to the british government for a further grant of land; and the report of captain martin having been so highly favourable, all obstructions were removed, and next year the order which had been granted by the prince regent in council, th may , securing to them the possession of the coast from okkak to the th deg n.l., including the bays of napartok, kangertluksoak, and saeglak, was transmitted to nain through governor hamilton, accompanied by a letter written under his own hand, wishing them every success in their christian undertaking. from the great increase of the population at okkak, the attention of the missionaries was principally directed to kangertluksoak as the fittest place for a new station; as, in the spring, a great many of their own esquimaux went thither to obtain a livelihood, the distance being about sixty miles yet several years elapsed before they were able to carry their plan into execution. during this interval, the missionaries had the pleasure of seeing the work of the lord continue to prosper in the three settlements, and a spirit of love spread abroad among their flocks. "our saviour's grace and power," say they, july , "have been made manifest in young and old, and the word of his cross, sufferings, and death, performs the same miracles, as in the earliest periods of christianity. when we met to celebrate the holy communion, as well as on the different festival and memorial days of the church, the grace and presence of our lord and saviour revived our hearts and filled us with joy, and with praise and thanksgiving to him for all the good which he has done unto this people."--procuring their food almost always at the hazard of their lives, instances of wonderful preservations were not uncommon among the esquimaux, and their observations on their deliverances had generally a pious simplicity, which rendered them extremely pleasant. this year, ephraim, a communicant, went with five others to catch seals at the edge of the ice, about sixty miles from nain. being at some distance from his party, the ice broke under him, and he had only time to grasp the rim of the hole made in the ice to prevent his sinking under it. in this situation, hanging over the sea, the cold being intense, his fingers froze fast to the ice, which helped to support him; for his immediate cries for assistance were not heard, and he remained for a quarter of an hour in dreadful suspense. at length, just when his voice failed him, he was perceived by his companions and his life saved. though his fright and anxiety were in the beginning very great, he said, that he committed himself to our saviour, and felt resigned to his will; and when the danger seemed most imminent, help was afforded, for which he gave thanks to him who alone could deliver in such distress. but an interposition of providence, which rescued two christian esquimaux, belonging to the congregation at hopedale, who were carried out to sea on a field of ice, and were nine days driven about at the mercy of the waves, is not the least extraordinary among the many which occurred. a party of three, conrad, peter, and titus, being engaged in fishing on the ice, that part on which they were standing broke loose from the shore, and was driven by a strong south-west wind out to sea. conrad having a sledge with him, fastened some seal-skins and bladders to it to keep him buoyant, and turning it upside down used it as a raft; in this he paddled a full english mile back to the firm ice, being commissioned by his companions to procure a boat, and send it to their assistance. the sea, by god's mercy, being calm, he reached the shore in safety, but before he could procure the boat, the field of ice with his two companions on it had drifted nearly out of sight, and there was no possibility of overtaking it. the size and strength of the ice was such that it afforded them the means of building a snow-house upon it, in which they took shelter during the night, and in rainy weather. they had caught eight seals on the day of their departure, which afforded them nourishment, though for want of fuel they could make no fire, but ate the meat raw and drank the blood. of their feelings during nine dreadful days of anxiety and suspense, they wrote the following affecting account. peter for himself says, "when on the th of june ( ,) we were driven off the coast upon the field of ice, i was not much alarmed, for i did not apprehend much danger. at night when we lay down to rest we commended ourselves in prayer to god our saviour, and gave up our lives into his hands, which we always continued to do. on the th, as we were floating pretty near to the point of tikkerarsuk, i hoped that our brother conrad, who had been with us, would come to help us with kaiaks. we repeatedly thought we heard the report of fire-arms, and therefore fired off our pieces, but towards evening, we perceived that we had been mistaken. now i began to feel great fears about the preservation of my life, and thinking of my poor family, i wept much. with many tears i cried fervently to jesus to save me. i could speak with him as if he stood by me, and said; 'i pray that i may not be carried to the other side of the water, nor to the south, nor too far to the north among the unbelievers, but that my body may have a decent burial in the earth. o! shew mercy to me, and do thou, the only helper in need, take care of my poor family!' then these words occurred to my mind, 'hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown,' which made me shed tears of gratitude and love to our saviour, like a child, though at so great a distance from home. i entered our snow-house weeping, and we both joined in calling upon jesus for help and comfort. this we did every morning and evening. on the th, in the morning, finding ourselves carried far away from the land into the ocean, we again looked for comfort to jesus, and prayed to him with many tears to help us, and direct our course. we sung that verse together, 'o lift up thy countenance upon us,' and these words were impressed upon my mind, 'i am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.' i felt my unworthiness deeply, and nothing but the words of jesus could give me joy. i prayed fervently to him, that he would give his angels charge over me. i spent the whole day in prayer, and as i walked about alone, several parts of scripture occurred to my recollection, especially the account of my saviour's being taken captive. the prayer he offered up for his disciples, john xvii. was peculiarly precious to me, and gave me great comfort. frequently i felt joy in my heart on remembering our saviour's words, and that he said to his disciples, 'receive ye the holy ghost.' on the th, the fog was so dense that we could not see whither we were driven. i cried to jesus, 'o! help,' and his words came sweetly into my mind, 'come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, and i will give you rest. take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for i am meek and lowly in heart.' then i felt comforted. on the th, th, and th, we could see nothing on account of the fog. i wept, and longed only to enjoy the inexpressible love of jesus. i remembered how the apostle peter was frightened in the storm, and was comforted by our saviour. thus also he comforted us in our dreadful situation. i cried continually to him to bring us again to the shore, for the thought of my poor bereaved family caused many tears to flow from my eyes." at length, on the th, the field of ice on which they were, was driven nearer the shore, and on the th, they reached home by travelling over the drift. this year the superintendant, kohlmeister, who had served the labrador mission thirty-four years, was constrained, by his increased infirmities, and by the severe indisposition both of himself and his wife, to return to europe. his last report respecting the state of the settlements, is therefore too important to be abridged or omitted--it is as follows: "the work of god in the hearts of our dear esquimaux, proceeds in the power of the spirit, and with rich blessing; and i may with truth assert, that they grow in grace, and in the love and knowledge of our lord and saviour jesus christ. their number is likewise on the increase. the congregation at okkak, in particular, obtains a great increase from year to year, by the arrival of heathen from the coast to the north of the settlement; the number of heathen esquimaux in their neighbourhood is indeed decreasing, but okkak may yet be called a mission among the heathen. nain and hopedale are now christian settlements, all the inhabitants being initiated into the christian church by holy baptism, except a few children, and no heathen live in their neighbourhood. their increase, therefore, depends upon the rising generation, and upon the accession of persons coming from a distance to reside among them. on this account the endeavours of the missionaries, in these two settlements, are particularly directed to instil into the minds of the youth the principles and precepts of vital christianity; and to see to it, that by the grace of our saviour, all the souls committed to their care become more firmly grounded and established in faith and love, and walk worthy of their high and heavenly calling. this is done by faithful admonition, accompanied with watchfulness and prayer. the most efficacious means of promoting their growth in grace, is the reading of the new testament, which they have now in their hands through the generosity of the venerable british and foreign bible society. they read therein daily in their houses and tents with the greatest earnestness, delight, and edification. we have, indeed, ever since the arrival of this most precious gift, observed a great change. their understanding of the word of god, and the doctrines which it contains, has greatly increased; and the influence upon their moral conduct is manifest, for they now more than ever desire to regulate their walk and conversation in conformity to truly christian principles. "the schools, which are held, with both children and adults, from november to april, are a most powerful means of forwarding their improvement in every thing good and profitable for them. most of the people attend them with great diligence, and with an earnest desire to be soon able to read the new testament for themselves. there are among the children some of five, and even of four years of age, who read well. the severest punishment than can be inflicted on a child is to keep him from school. the new hymn book is a truly valuable present. the whole number of christian esquimaux under the care of the brethren, at present, is , old and young." excepting that their numbers continued gradually to increase, the above report may be considered as a correct view of the state of the moravian settlements in labrador for several succeeding years. some ladies in scotland, who had admired the exertions of the moravians in labrador, had about this time sent as a token of their christian affection a small present to the beloved labourers in that distant inhospitable clime; they were gratified, nearly under the above date [at the close of ,] by the following letter from two aged servants of the lord, the venerable missionary kmoch and his wife, who, after nearly half a century of active exertion, reluctantly retired from the heat of the day--it was addressed to a friend in edinburgh, and shortly but sweetly corroborates the account of kohlmeister. "the saviour continues," say they, "to bless his own work in labrador. in okkak, during the last winter, eight adults and thirteen children were baptized, and six persons are longing for the enjoyment of the holy supper for the first time. in the harvest of a malignant cold and cough raged in okkak, of which eighteen persons died, but last winter the weather was very mild. i have been and my wife years in labrador. i would willingly have remained among our dear esquimaux much longer, but old age and sickness are the cause of our return. the parting with our esquimaux, and our dear fellow-labourers, was very affecting." at length the obstacles in the way of a new settlement began to dissipate; and in the mean time, to secure possession of the bounds allotted to them by the british government, the missionaries, kmoch and sturman, in , erected a block-house twelve feet long and eight broad, which the summer before had been prepared at okkak, and sent to kangertluksoak by some esquimaux returning to the north. they completed the journey on sledges in fifteen hours, of which they transmitted the following notes--"may th, at eight in the evening we arrived at apparnaviarsak, in the neighbourhood of kangertluksoak; here we found four tents of our esquimaux, and in three, others of the nain people who had resolved the next summer to go to okkak: all expressed the greatest joy at our coming, and all frankly reached out their hands to welcome us. immediately a tent was erected for us, and the floor covered with bears' skins. as we had not tasted any thing warm the whole day, we got some coffee, after which we put our beds in order--these consist of a sack of rein-deers' skin with the hair inmost, and a sack of seals' skin drawn over it--it is just large enough to admit one person, who first slips in his feet, and gradually inserts the whole body, which, when fairly in, soon gets comfortably warm. the day after, we invited the esquimaux to a meeting, when, after singing a hymn, brother sturman saluted them in the most affectionate manner; assured them of our constant remembrance and prayers; then begged them to consider their present happy circumstances, and reminded them that but a few years since they were heathens, living in deplorable ignorance of their creator and redeemer, and without hope of that eternal happiness which he hath purchased for us. the tears of many shewed the joy of their hearts in believing. we intimated to them that, during our stay, we would have prayers morning and evening." the promontory of apparnaviarsak, where our esquimaux were, is joined to the continent of kangertluksoak, on which their winter houses were built. between the rocks, the ground is everywhere covered with grass, the snow was already melted, and the young grass began most beautifully to shoot up. the spring appeared to be much earlier here than at okkak, where, at present, every thing was covered with deep snow; the mountains are not so steep, the land lies lower and nearer the open sea: but the flat where the houses of the esquimaux are, is surrounded by numerous small islands. from the declivity behind, in many places the open sea can be seen, with the promontory of saeglak, the distance to which is only about or hours, with a good sledge path; consequently, it appeared admirably adapted for a mission station. saeglak would afford excellent fishing ground for our people, should the heathen leave it, which must very soon happen, as within these last few years, the inhabitants of these parts have greatly diminished, many of them coming to reside among us. upon the whole, from all that we have heard or seen, kangertluksoak is one of the best fishing places, and as some remain here the whole year, we can have the esquimaux more with us than at any of the other settlements. there are, however, many other advantages we must give up here; the nearest forest lies to the south of nappartok, and is about eighteen or twenty miles distant, the nearest road by land; by water it is greater. while we sent the esquimaux for the frame of our little house, which lay about half an hour's journey from this, we went to take a view of the place, near the winter houses of the esquimaux. adjoining these, at a little distance from the beach, we found a plain sufficiently large for buildings, gardens, &c.; and after we had examined all the country round the river, we resolved to erect our little dwelling here, and our esquimaux having brought the wood, it was soon erected. all the natives who were present willingly assisted in laying the foundation with stones, and filling it up with sand--part of the boards were nailed on the same day. the house stands on an eminence, in the neighbourhood of a small lake, which the esquimaux assured us had water in it during the greater part of the summer, and probably, by a little labour, it may be formed into a good reservoir. we continued our building, without intermission, till the st, when we finished. on the nd we floored the house, prepared the bed-rooms, fixed a table and bench between two windows, and set up a little oven. in the evening, brother kmoch held a meeting to take leave, and affectionately exhorted our esquimaux to approve themselves the children of god under every circumstance, to give themselves up at all times to be led by the spirit of the lord, and faithfully to follow his admonitions. on the th inst. at o'clock, a.m., we set out on our return, but the newly fallen snow mixing with the water on the ice, so obstructed our path, that we were nine hours longer on the way than we were before, but we reached okkak on the th, at three in the morning, full of gratitude to the saviour, whose presence had so comforted us on this visit, and filled us with the joyful conviction, that he also had left a blessed impression on the esquimaux. preparations were now commenced at the different stations for forwarding the erection of the new settlement, and early in the year , rafters, boards, and shingles, were transported to kangertluksoak from okkak by sledges, which performed no less than one hundred and five journies, and seldom spent more than a day upon the road, the tract having been extraordinarily fine, beyond what the oldest inhabitant remembered to have seen, and which the brethren considered as the mark of a kind providence smiling on their new undertaking. when the frame work of the mission-house was finished, on the th of april brother mentzel and beck, with six young esquimaux, set out for the spot. on the th of july the frame was set up, and on the st it was covered with weather boarding on three sides. the society in london in the meantime had not been idle; they had, in addition to the ordinary vessel, hired a consort, the oliver, which they sent out with materials, to enable the missionaries to go on with their new settlement, named _hebron_, and which opportunely arrived, just when the house was made ready to receive, and place the stores under cover. another missionary, ferdinand, arrived with the harmony to assist brother beck. immediately they commenced unloading the oliver, in which they were stoutly assisted by about thirty esquimaux, with their wives and children. in less than a week, the whole was landed, and after consulting with the brethren at okkak, the resident missionaries proceeded with their labour: notwithstanding several interruptions, first by the loss of their assistants for a time, who went to the rein-deer hunt, and afterwards by a violent storm, which carried away the scaffolding, and part of their materials, they got so far finished, that on the th of september, one room was habitable, and they could quit the small and uncomfortable hut, in which they had hitherto lived. during the winter months their work was suspended, but in spring, , they recommenced with fresh diligence, and on the th of may, the second story of their house was floored, and likewise habitable. they had constructed besides some outhouses as cellars and store houses; and when the vessels from europe again visited the settlement in july, bringing a further supply of building materials, brother mentzel, who had gone to england and returned in her, was much surprised to see the premises so far advanced, and thus reported: "our dear brethren," says he, "must have laboured diligently to effect what they have done. it is true every thing is in a rude and unfinished state; chairs, tables, bedsteads, and the like, have still to be made. our fellow traveller, brother freytag has his bed at present upon a heap of shavings. the reading table in the temporary church, is a box set on end, upon which a flat board has been nailed, and the whole is covered with a piece of coarse cloth, but in due time we hope all will be in order." in the course of the winter, nine persons came to reside at the settlement, professing to enquire for rest to their souls; the missionaries gladly received them, and directed their attention to our saviour's invitation to the weary and heavy laden. among them an esquimaux woman came from saeglak, and requested leave to reside at the station; the missionaries informed her that she was welcome to do so, but that she must give up all heathenish practices. she replied that for some time past, both her husband and herself had discontinued these things, and had been long thinking about their conversion, and therefore they had come to them. about a week after, the husband himself came, and confirmed what his wife had said. on the th of july three boats' companies arrived from the north, and several of the esquimaux paid the brethren a visit, but seemed little disposed to listen to the gospel. only one young man remained with his mother. many esquimaux arrived in the following year [ ] for the sake of trade; but when the brethren advised them to make the salvation of their soul their chief concern, they all began to offer excuses, yet on being spoken to about the consequences of death, they did not, as formerly, treat it with levity; some even appeared thoughtful after such conversations, and five persons removed from the heathen to the settlement. of those who had resided with them for some time, they had the pleasure, on easter sunday, to baptize four adults and one child, being the first accession to the church at hebron from among the heathen. the number of their congregation in august, the date of their latest accounts, amounted in all, to persons, of whom had joined from okkak, and from nain. printed by j. ritchie, . east adam street. * * * * * +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | typographical errors corrected in text: | | | | page iii: draehart corrected to drachart | | page iii: quinport corrected to quirpont | | page iv: diastrous corrected to disastrous | | page iv: anake corrected to anauke | | page iv: leisbisch corrected to liebisch | | page vi: schrieber corrected to schreiber (two cases) | | page vii: connnection corrected to connection | | page vii: belisle corrected to bellisle | | page ix: farnheit corrected to fahrenheit | | page xx: sowing corrected to sewing | | page xxiv: belisle corrected to bellisle | | page : zinzendorf corrected to zinzendorff | | page : lous corrected to louis | | page : demonaical corrected to demoniacal | | page : liesbisch corrected to liebisch | | page : sppear corrected to appear | | page : leibisch corrected to liebisch | | page : tikkeronsuk corrected to tikkerarsuk | | page : surprized corrected to surprised | | page : esquimanx corrected to esquimaux | | page : lichtenfells corrected to lichtenfels | | page : recal corrected to recall | | page : uverunna corrected to uiverunna | | page : tikkerarsuck corrected to tikkerarsuk | | page : schrieber corrected to schreiber (two cases) | | page : chudliegh corrected to chudleigh | | page : kangertlualuksoak corrected to kangerlualuksoak | | page : koksock corrected to koksoak | | page : screiber corrected to schreiber | | page : burghart corrected to burghardt | | page : saeglek corrected to saeglak | | page : tikkerarsoak corrected to tikkerarsuk | | page : kangerluksoak corrected to kangertluksoak | | page : kangerluksoak corrected to kangertluksoak | | page : saeglek corrected to saeglak | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ fast in the ice, adventures in the polar regions, by r.m. ballantyne. ________________________________________________________________________ this little book describes a visit up to the arctic regions, that was supposed to have taken place long before the book was written, in other words in the early part of the nineteenth century. the purpose of the journey was to get near to the north pole, which was considered to be surrounded by a large area of ice-free water. the vessel in which they sailed became beset by ice, and could not be moved. they met with esquimaux, and saw how they survived, how they killed walrus, how they caught birds, and how they lived in their ice-houses, or igloos. they also had several encounters with polar bears, and musk-ox. eventually they have been in the ice for a couple of years, and some of the men are suffering from scurvy. europeans get scurvy from lack of fruit and vegetables, but this condition doesn't seem to affect the esquimaux, whose meat and fat diet does not cause them to have heart disorders, either. the crew eventually abandon the vessel, which has been crushed suddenly and totally by a stream of ice-floes, and are obliged to walk out of where they had spent so much time. luckily, when at their last gasp, they find an esquimaux village, where they learn that there is a danish settlement not too far away, and that from it they can take ship for europe, and eventually make their way back to britain. ________________________________________________________________________ fast in the ice, adventures in the polar regions, by r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. one day, many years ago, a brig cast off from her moorings, and sailed from a british port for the polar seas. that brig never came back. many a hearty cheer was given, many a kind wish was uttered, many a handkerchief was waved, and many a tearful eye gazed that day as the vessel left old england, and steered her course into the unknown regions of the far north. but no cheer ever greeted her return; no bright eyes ever watched her homeward-bound sails rising on the far-off horizon. battered by the storms of the arctic seas, her sails and cordage stiffened by the frosts, and her hull rasped and shattered by the ice of those regions, she was forced on a shore where the green grass has little chance to grow, where winter reigns nearly all the year round, where man never sends his merchandise, and never drives his plough. there the brig was frozen in; there, for two long years, she lay unable to move, and her starving crew forsook her; there, year after year, she lay, unknown, unvisited by civilised man, and unless the wild eskimos [see note ] have torn her to pieces, and made spears of her timbers, or the ice has swept her out to sea and whirled her to destruction, there she lies still--hard and fast in the ice. the vessel was lost, but her crew were saved, and most of them returned to tell their kinsfolk of the wonders and the dangers of the frozen regions, where god has created some of the most beautiful and some of the most awful objects that were ever looked on by the eye of man. what was told by the fireside, long ago, is now recounted in this book. imagine a tall, strong man, of about five-and-forty, with short, curly black hair, just beginning to turn grey; stern black eyes, that look as if they could pierce into your secret thoughts; a firm mouth, with lines of good-will and kindness lurking about it; a deeply-browned skin, and a short, thick beard and moustache. that is a portrait of the commander of the brig. his name was harvey. he stood on the deck, close by the wheel, looking wistfully over the stern. as the vessel bent before the breeze, and cut swiftly through the water, a female hand was raised among the gazers on the pier, and a white scarf waved in the breeze. in the forefront of the throng, and lower down, another hand was raised; it was a little one, but very vigorous; it whirled a cap round a small head of curly black hair, and a shrill "hurrah!" came floating out to sea. the captain kissed his hand and waved his hat in reply; then, wheeling suddenly round, he shouted, in a voice of thunder: "mind your helm, there; let her away a point. take a pull on these foretopsail halyards; look alive, lads!" "aye, aye, sir!" replied the men. there was no occasion whatever for these orders. the captain knew that well enough, but he had his own reasons for giving them. the men knew that, too, and they understood his reasons when they observed the increased sternness of his eyes, and the compression of his lips. inclination and duty! what wars go on in the hearts of men--high and low, rich and poor--between these two. what varied fortune follows man, according as the one or the other carries the day. "please, sir," said a gruff, broad-shouldered, and extremely short man, with little or no forehead, a hard, vacant face, and a pair of enormous red whispers; "please, sir, sam baker's took very bad; i think it would be as well if you could give him a little physic, sir; a tumbler of epsom, or some-think of that sort." "why, mr dicey, there can't be anything very far wrong with baker," said the captain, looking down at his second mate; "he seems to me one of the healthiest men in the ship. what's the matter with him?" "well, i can't say, sir," replied mr dicey, "but he looks 'orrible bad, all yellow and green about the gills, and fearful red round the eyes. but what frightens me most is that i heard him groanin' very heavy about a quarter of an hour ago, and then i saw him suddenly fling himself into his 'ammock and begin blubberin' like a child. now, sir, i say, when a grow'd-up man gives way like that, there must be some-think far wrong with his inside. and it's a serious thing, sir, to take a sick man on such a voyage as this." "does he not say what's wrong with him?" asked the captain. "no, sir; he don't. he says it's nothin', and he'll be all right if he's only let alone. i did hear him once or twice muttering some-think about his wife and child; you know, sir, he's got a young wife, and she had a baby about two months 'fore we came away, but i can't think that's got much to do with it, for _i've_ got a wife myself, sir, and six children, two of 'em bein' babies, and that don't upset _me_, and baker's a much stronger man." "you are right, mr dicey, he is a much stronger man than you," replied the captain, "and i doubt not that his strength will enable him to get over this without the aid of physic." "very well, sir," said mr dicey. the second mate was a man whose countenance never showed any signs of emotion, no matter what he felt. he seldom laughed, or, if he did, his mouth remained almost motionless, and the sounds that came out were anything but cheerful. he had light grey eyes which always wore an expression of astonishment; but the expression was accidental; it indicated no feeling. he would have said, "very well, sir," if the captain had refused to give poor baker food instead of physic. "and hark'ee, mr dicey," said the captain, "don't let him be disturbed till he feels inclined to move." "very well, sir," replied the second mate, touching his cap as he turned away. "so," murmured the captain, as he gazed earnestly at the now distant shore, "i'm not the only one who carries a heavy heart to sea this day and leaves sorrowing hearts behind him." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note . this word is here spelled as pronounced. it is usually spelled esquimaux. chapter two. at sea--the first storm. it is now hundreds of years since the north polar regions began to attract general attention. men have long felt very inquisitive about that part of the earth, and many good ships, many noble lives have been lost in trying to force a passage through the ice that encumbers the arctic seas, summer and winter. britain has done more than other nations in the cause of discovery within the arctic circle. the last and greatest of her arctic heroes perished there--the famous sir john franklin. were i writing a history of those regions i would have much to say of other countries as well as of our own. but such is not my object in this book. i mean simply to follow in the wake of one of britain's adventurous discoverers, and thus give the reader an idea of the fortunes of those gallant men who risk life and limb for the sake of obtaining knowledge of distant lands. there have always been restless spirits in this country. there have ever been men who, when boys, were full of mischief, and who could "settle to nothing" when they grew up. lucky for us, lucky for the world, that such is the case! many of our "restless spirits," as we call them, have turned out to be our heroes, our discoverers, our greatest men. no doubt many of them have become our drones, our sharpers, our blacklegs. but that is just saying that some men are good, while others are bad--no blame is due to what is called the restlessness of spirit. our restless men, if good, find rest in action; in bold energetic toil; if bad, they find rest, alas! in untimely graves. captain harvey was one of our restless spirits. he had a deeply learned friend who said to him one day that he felt sure "_there was a sea of open water round the north pole_!" hundreds of ships had tried to reach that pole without success, because they always found a barrier of thick ice raised against them. this friend said that if a ship could only cut or force its way through the ice to a certain latitude north, open water would be found. captain harvey was much interested in this. he could not rest until he had proved it. he had plenty of money, so had his friend. they resolved to buy a vessel and send it to the seas lying within the arctic circle. other rich friends helped them; a brig was bought, it was named the _hope_, and, as we have seen in the last chapter, it finally set sail under command of captain harvey. many days and nights passed, and the _hope_ kept her course steadily toward the coast of north america. greenland was the first land they hoped to see. baffin's bay was the strait through which they hoped to reach the open polar sea. the _hope_ left england as a whaler, with all the boats, lances, harpoons, lines, and other apparatus used in the whale fishery. it was intended that she should do a little business in that way if captain harvey thought it advisable, but the discovery of new lands and seas was their chief end and aim. at first the weather was fine, the wind fair, and the voyage prosperous. but one night there came a deep calm. not a breath of air moved over the sea, which was as clear and polished as a looking-glass. the captain walked the deck with the surgeon of the ship, a nephew of his own, named gregory. tom gregory was a youth of about nineteen, who had not passed through the whole course of a doctor's education, but who was a clever fellow, and better able to cut and carve and physic poor suffering humanity than many an older man who wrote m.d. after his name. he was a fine, handsome, strapping fellow, with a determined manner and a kind heart. he was able to pull an oar with the best man aboard, and could even steer the brig in fine weather, if need be. he was hearty and romantic, and a great favourite with the men. he, too, was a restless spirit. he had grown tired of college life, and had made up his mind to take a year's run into the polar regions, by way of improving his knowledge of the "outlandish" parts of the world. "i don't like the look of the sky to-day, tom," said the captain, glancing at the horizon and then at the sails. "indeed!" said tom, in surprise. "it seems to me the most beautiful afternoon we have had since the voyage began. but i suppose you seamen are learned in signs which we landsmen do not understand." "perhaps we are," replied the captain; "but it does not require much knowledge of the weather to say that such a dead calm as this, and such unusual heat, is not likely to end in a gentle breeze." "you don't object to a stiff breeze, uncle?" said the youth. "no, tom; but i don't like a storm, because it does us no good, and may do us harm." "storms do you no good, uncle!" cried tom; "how can you say so? why, what is it that makes our sailors such trumps? the british tar would not be able to face danger as he does if there were no storms." "true, tom, but the british tar would not require to face danger at all if there were no storms. what says the barometer, mr mansell?" said the captain, looking down the skylight into the cabin, where the first mate--a middle-sized man of thirty-five, or thereabouts--was seated at the table writing up the ship's log-book. "the glass has gone down an inch, sir, and is still falling," answered the mate. "reef the topsail, mr dicey," cried the captain, on hearing this. "why such haste?" inquired gregory. "because such a sudden fall in the barometer is a sure sign of approaching bad weather," answered the captain. the first man on the shrouds and out upon the main-topsail yard was sam baker, whose active movements and hearty manner showed that he had quite recovered his health without the use of physic. he was quickly followed by some of his shipmates, all of whom were picked men--able in body and ready for anything. in a few minutes sail was reduced. soon after that clouds began to rise on the horizon and spread over the sky. before half an hour had passed the breeze came--came far stronger than had been expected--and the order to take in sail had to be repeated. baker was first again. he was closely followed by joe davis and jim croft, both of them sturdy fellows--good specimens of the british seaman. davy butts, who came next, was not so good a specimen. he was nearly six feet high, very thin and loosely put together, like a piece of bad furniture. but his bones were big, and he was stronger than he looked. he would not have formed one of such a crew had he not been a good man. the rest of the crew, of whom there were eighteen, not including the officers, were of all shapes, sizes, and complexions. the sails had scarcely been taken in when the storm burst on the brig in all its fury. the waves rose like mountains and followed after her, as if they were eager to swallow her up. the sky grew dark overhead as the night closed in, the wind shrieked through the rigging, and the rag of canvas that they ventured to hoist seemed about to burst away from the yard. it was an awful night. such a night as causes even reckless men to feel how helpless they are--how dependent on the arm of god. the gale steadily increased until near midnight, when it blew a perfect hurricane. "it's a dirty night," observed the captain, to the second mate, as the latter came on deck to relieve the watch. "it is, sir," replied mr dicey, as coolly as if he were about to sit down to a good dinner on shore. mr dicey was a remarkably matter-of-fact man. he looked upon a storm as he looked upon a fit of the toothache--a thing that had to be endured, and was not worth making a fuss about. "it won't last long," said the captain. "no, sir; it won't," answered mr dicey. as mr dicey did not seem inclined to say more, the captain went below and flung himself on a locker, having given orders that he should be called if any change for the worse took place in the weather. soon afterward a tremendous sea rose high over the stern, and part of it fell on the deck with a terrible crash, washing mr dicey into the lee-scuppers, and almost sweeping him overboard. on regaining his feet, and his position beside the wheel, the second mate shook himself and considered whether he ought to call the captain. having meditated some time, he concluded that the weather was no worse, although it had treated him very roughly, so he did not disturb the captain's repose. thus the storm raged all that night. it tossed the _hope_ about like a cork; it well-nigh blew the sails off the masts, and almost blew mr dicey's head off his shoulders! then it stopped as it had begun-- suddenly. chapter three. in the ice--dangers of arctic voyaging. next morning the _hope_ was becalmed in the midst of a scene more beautiful than the tongue or the pen of man can describe. when the sun rose that day, it shone upon what appeared to be a field of glass and a city of crystal. every trace of the recent storm was gone except a long swell, which caused the brig to roll considerably, but which did not break the surface of the sea. ice was to be seen all round as far as the eye could reach. ice in every form and size imaginable. and the wonderful thing about it was that many of the masses resembled the buildings of a city. there were houses, and churches, and monuments, and spires, and ruins. there were also islands and mountains! some of the pieces were low and flat, no bigger than a boat; others were tall, with jagged tops; some of the fields, as they are called, were a mile and more in extent, and there were a number of bergs, or ice-mountains, higher than the brig's topmasts. these last were almost white, but they had, in many places, a greenish-blue colour that was soft and beautiful. the whole scene shone and sparkled so brilliantly in the morning sun, that one could almost fancy it was one of the regions of fairyland! when young gregory came on the quarter-deck, no one was there except jim croft, a short, thick-set man, with the legs of a dwarf and the shoulders of a giant. he stood at the helm, and although no steering was required, as there was no wind, he kept his hands on the spokes of the wheel, and glanced occasionally at the compass. the first mate, who had the watch on deck, was up at the masthead, observing the state of the ice. "how glorious!" exclaimed the youth, as he swept his sparkling eye round the horizon. "ah, croft! is not this splendid?" "so it is, sir," said the seaman, turning the large quid of tobacco that bulged out his left cheek. "it's very beautiful, no doubt, but it's comin' rather thick for my taste." "how so?" inquired gregory. "there seems to me plenty of open water to enable us to steer clear of these masses. besides, as we have no wind, it matters little, i should think, whether we have room to sail or not." "you've not seed much o' the ice yet, that's plain," said croft, "else you'd know that the floes are closin' round us, an' we'll soon be fast in the pack, if a breeze don't spring up to help us." as the reader may not, perhaps, understand the terms used by arctic voyagers in regard to the ice in its various forms, it may be as well here to explain the meaning of those most commonly used. when ice is seen floating in small detached pieces and scattered masses, it is called "floe" ice, and men speak of getting among the floes. when these floes close up, so that the whole sea seems to be covered with them, and little water can be seen, it is called "pack" ice. when the pack is squeezed together, so that lumps of it are forced up in the form of rugged mounds, these mounds are called "hummocks." a large mass of flat ice, varying from one mile to many miles in extent, is called a "field," and a mountain of ice is called a "berg." all the ice here spoken of, except the berg, is sea-ice; formed by the freezing of the ocean in winter. the berg is formed in a very different manner. of this more shall be said in a future chapter. "well, my lad," said gregory, in reply to jim croft's last observation, "i have not seen much of the ice yet, as you truly remark, so i hope that the wind will not come to help us out of it for some time. you don't think it dangerous to get into the pack, do you?" "well, not exactly dangerous, sir," replied croft, "but i must say that it aint safe, 'specially when there's a swell on like this. but that'll go down soon. d'ye know what a nip is, dr gregory?" "i think i do; at least i have read of such a thing. but i should be very glad to hear what you have to say about it. no doubt you have felt one." "felt one!" cried jim, screwing up his face and drawing his limbs together, as if he were suffering horrible pain, "no, i've never felt one. the man what _feels_ a nip aint likely to live to tell what his feelin's was. but i've _seed_ one." "you've seen one, have you? that must have been interesting. where was it?" "not very far from the greenland coast," said croft, giving his quid another turn. "this was the way of it. you must know that there was two ships of us in company at the time. whalers we was. we got into the heart of the pack somehow, and we thought we'd never get out of it again. there was nothin' but ice all round us as far as the eye could see. the name of our ship was the _nancy_. our comrade was the _bullfinch_. one mornin' early we heard a loud noise of ice rubbin' agin the sides o' the ship, so we all jumped up, an' on deck as fast as we could, for there's short time given to save ourselves in them seas sometimes. the whole pack, we found, was in motion, and a wide lead of water opened up before us, for all the world like a smooth river or canal windin' through the pack. into this we warped the ship, and hoistin' sail, steered away cheerily. we passed close to the _bullfinch_, which was still hard and fast in the pack, and we saw that her crew were sawin' and cuttin' away at the ice, tryin' to get into the lead that we'd got into. so we hailed them, and said we would wait for 'em outside the pack, if we got through. but the words were no sooner spoken, when the wind it died away, and we were becalmed about half a mile from the _bullfinch_. "`you'd better go down to breakfast, boys,' says our captain, says he, `the breeze won't be long o' comin' again.' "so down the men went, and soon after that the steward comes on deck, and, says he to the captain, `breakfast, sir.' `very good,' says the captain, and down he went too, leavin' me at the wheel and the mate in charge of the deck. he'd not been gone three minutes when i noticed that the great field of ice on our right was closin' in on the field on our left, and the channel we was floatin' in was closin' up. the mate noticed it, too, but he wouldn't call the captain 'cause the ice came so slowly and quietly on that for a few minutes we could hardly believe it was movin' and everything around us looked so calm and peaceful like that it was difficult to believe our danger was so great. but this was only a momentary feelin', d'ye see. a minute after that the mate he cries down to the captain:-- "`ice closin' up, sir!' "and the captain he runs on deck. by this time there was no mistake about it; the ice was close upon us. it was clear that we were to have a nip. so the captain roars down the hatchway, `tumble up there! tumble up! every man alive! for your lives!' and sure enough they did tumble up, as i never seed 'em do it before--two or three of 'em was sick; they came up with their clothes in their hands. the ice was now almost touchin' our sides, and i tell _you_, sir, i never did feel so queerish in all my life before as when i looked over the side at the edge of that great field of ice which rose three foot out o' the water, and was, i suppose, six foot more below the surface. it came on so slow that we could hardly see the motion. inch by inch the water narrowed between it and our sides. at last it touched on the left side, and that shoved us quicker on to the field on our right. every eye was fixed on it--every man held his breath. you might have heard a pin fall on the deck. it touched gently at first, then there was a low grindin' and crunchin' sound. the ship trembled as if it had been a livin' creetur, and the beams began to crack. now, you must know, sir, that when a nip o' this sort takes a ship the ice usually eases off, after giving her a good squeeze, or when the pressure is too much for her, the ice slips under her bottom and lifts her right out o' the water. but our _nancy_ was what we call wall-sided. she was never fit to sail in them seas. the consequence was that the ice crushed her sides in. the moment the captain heard the beams begin to go he knew it was all up with the ship; so he roared to take to the ice for our lives! you may be sure we took his advice. over the side we went, every man jack of us, and got on the ice. we did not take time to save an article belongin' to us; and it was as well we did not, for the ice closed up with a crash, and we heard the beams and timbers rending like a fire of musketry in the hold. her bottom must have been cut clean away, for she stood on the ice just as she had floated on the sea. then the noise stopped, the ice eased off, and the ship began to settle. the lead of water opened up again; in ten minutes after that the _nancy_ went to the bottom and left us standing there on the ice. "it was the mercy of god that let it happen so near the _bullfinch_. we might have been out o' sight o' that ship at the time, and then every man of us would have bin lost. as it was, we had a hard scramble over a good deal of loose ice, jumpin' from lump to lump, and some of us fallin' into the water several times, before we got aboard. now that was a bad nip, sir, warn't it?" "it certainly was," replied gregory; "and although i delight in being among the ice, i sincerely hope that our tight little brig may not be tried in the same way. but she is better able to stand it, i should think." "that she is, sir," replied croft, with much confidence. "i seed her in dock, sir, when they was a-puttin' of extra timbers on the bow, and i do believe she would stand twice as much bad usage as the _nancy_ got, though she is only half the size." jim croft's opinion on this point was well founded, for the _hope_ had indeed been strengthened and prepared for her ice battles with the greatest care, by men of experience and ability. as some readers may be interested in this subject, i shall give a brief account of the additions that were made to her hull. the vessel was nearly two hundred tons burden. she had originally been built very strongly, and might even have ventured on a voyage to the polar seas just as she was. but captain harvey resolved to take every precaution to insure the success of his voyage, and the safety and comfort of his men. he, therefore, had the whole of the ship's bottom sheathed with thick hardwood planking, which was carried up above her water-line, as high as the ordinary floe-ice would be likely to reach. the hull inside was strengthened with stout cross-beams, as well as with beams running along the length of the vessel, and in every part that was likely to be subjected to pressure iron stanchions were fastened. but the bow of the vessel was the point where the utmost strength was aimed at. inside, just behind the cutwater, the whole space was so traversed by cross-beams of oak that it almost became a solid mass, and outside the sharp stem was cased in iron so as to resemble a giant's chisel. the false keel was taken off, the whole vessel, in short, was rendered as strong, outside and in, as wood and iron and skill could make her. it need scarcely be said that all the other arrangements about her were made with the greatest care and without regard to expense, for although the owners of the brig did not wish to waste their money, they set too high a value on human life to risk it for the sake of saving a few pounds. she was provisioned for a cruise of two years and a half. but this was in case of accidents, for captain harvey did not intend to be absent much longer than one year. but, to return to our story: jim croft's fear that they would be set fast was realised sooner than he expected. the floes began to close in, from no cause that could be seen, for the wind was quite still, and in a short time the loose ice pressed against the _hope_ on all sides. it seemed to young gregory as if the story that the seaman had just related was about to be enacted over again; and, being a stranger to ice, he could not help feeling a little uneasy for some time. but there was in reality little or no danger, for the pressure was light, and the brig had got into a small bay in the edge of an ice-field, which lay in the midst of the smaller masses. seeing that there was little prospect of the pack opening up just then, the captain ordered the ice-anchors to be got out and fixed. the appearance of the sea from the brig's deck was now extremely wintry, but very bright and cheerful. not a spot of blue water was to be seen in any direction. the whole ocean appeared as if it had been frozen over. it was now past noon, and the sun's rays were warm, although the quantity of ice around rendered the air cold. as the men were returning from fixing the anchors, the captain looked over the side, and said: "it's not likely that we shall move out of this for some hours. what say you, lads, to a game of football?" the proposal was received with a loud cheer. the ball had been prepared by the sail-maker, in expectation of some such opportunity as this. it was at once tossed over the side; those men who were not already on the field scrambled out of the brig, and the entire crew went leaping and yelling over the ice with the wild delight of schoolboys let loose for an unexpected holiday. they were in the middle of the game when a loud shout came from the brig, and the captain's voice was heard singing out: "all hands ahoy! come aboard. look alive!" instantly the men turned, and there was a general race toward the brig, which lay nearly a quarter of a mile distant from them. in summer, changes in the motions of the ice take place in the most unexpected manner. currents in the ocean are, no doubt, the chief cause of these; the action of winds has also something to do with them. one of these changes was now taking place. almost before the men got on board the ice had separated, and long canals of water were seen opening up here and there. soon after that a light breeze sprang up, the ice-anchors were taken aboard, the sails trimmed, and soon the _hope_ was again making her way slowly but steadily to the north. chapter four. difficulties, troubles, and dangers. for some hours the brig proceeded onward with a freshening breeze, winding and turning in order to avoid the lumps of ice. many of the smaller pieces were not worth turning out of the way of, the mere weight of the vessel being sufficient to push them aside. up to this time they had succeeded in steering clear of everything without getting a thump; but they got one at last, which astonished those among the crew who had not been in the ice before. the captain, gregory, and dicey were seated in the cabin at the time taking tea. ned dawkins, the steward, an active little man, was bringing in a tea-pot with a second supply of tea. in his left hand he carried a tray of biscuit. the captain sat at the head of the table, dicey at the foot, and the doctor at the side. suddenly a tremendous shock was felt! the captain's cup of tea leaped away from him and flooded the centre of the table. the doctor's cup was empty; he seized the table with both hands and remained steady; but dicey's cup happened to be at his lips at the moment, and was quite full. the effect on him was unfortunate. he was thrown violently on his back, and the tea poured over his face and drenched his hair as he lay sprawling on the floor. the steward saved himself by dropping the bread-tray and grasping the handle of the cabin door. so violent was the shock that the ship's bell was set a-ringing. "beg pardon, gentlemen," cried the first mate, looking down the skylight. "i forgot to warn you. the ice is getting rather thick around us, and i had to charge a lump of it." "it's all very well to beg pardon," said the captain, "but that won't mend my crockery!" "or dry my head," growled mr dicey; "it's as bad as if i'd been dipped overboard, it is." before mr dicey's grumbling remarks were finished all three of them had reached the deck. the wind had freshened considerably, and the brig was rushing in a somewhat alarming manner among the floes. it required the most careful attention to prevent her striking heavily. "if it goes on like this, we shall have to reduce sail," observed the captain. "see, there is a neck of ice ahead that will stop us." this seemed to be probable, for the lane of water along which they were steering was, just ahead of them, stopped by a neck of ice that connected two floe-pieces. the water beyond was pretty free from ice, but this neck or mass seemed so thick that it became a question whether they should venture to charge it or shorten sail. "stand by the fore- and main-topsail braces!" shouted the captain. "aye, aye, sir!" "now, mr mansell," said he, with a smile, "we have come to our first real difficulty. what do you advise; shall we back the topsails, or try what our little _hope_ is made of, and charge the enemy?" "charge!" answered the mate. "just so," said the captain, hastening to the bow to direct the steersman. "port your helm." "steady." the brig was now about fifty yards from the neck of ice, tearing through the water like a race-horse. in another moment she was up to it and struck it fair in the middle. the stout little vessel quivered to her keel under the shock, but she did not recoil. she split the mass into fragments, and, bearing down all before her, sailed like a conqueror into the clear water beyond. "well done the _hope_!" said the captain, as he walked aft, while a cheer burst from the men. "i think she ought to be called the _good hope_ ever after this," said tom gregory. "if she cuts her way through everything as easily as she has cut through that neck of ice, we shall reach the north pole itself before winter." "if we reach the north pole _at all_," observed mr dicey, "i'll climb up to the top of it and stand on my head, i will!" the second mate evidently had no expectation of reaching that mysterious pole, which men have so long and so often tried to find, in vain. "heavy ice ahead, sir," shouted mr mansell, who was at the masthead with a telescope. "where away?" "on the weather bow, sir, the pack seems open enough to push through, but the large bergs are numerous." the _hope_ was now indeed getting into the heart of those icy regions where ships are in constant danger from the floating masses that come down with the ocean-currents from the far north. in sailing along she was often obliged to run with great violence against lumps so large that they caused her whole frame to tremble, stout though it was. "shall we smash the lump, or will it stave in our bows?" was a question that frequently ran in the captain's mind. sometimes ice closed round her and squeezed the sides so that her beams cracked. at other times, when a large field was holding her fast, the smaller pieces would grind and rasp against her as they went past, until the crew fancied the whole of the outer sheathing of planks had been scraped off. often she had to press close to ice-bergs of great size, and more than once a lump as large as a good-sized house fell off the ice-fields and plunged into the sea close to her side, causing her to rock violently on the waves that were raised by it. indeed the bergs are dangerous neighbours, not only from this cause, but also on account of their turning upside down at times, and even falling to pieces, so that captain harvey always kept well out of their way when he could; but this was not always possible. the little brig had a narrow escape one day from the falling of a berg. it was a short time after that day on which they had the game of football. they passed in safety through the floes and bergs that had been seen that evening, and got into open water beyond, where they made made good progress before falling in with ice; but at last they came to a part of baffin's bay where a great deal of ice is always found. here the pack surrounded them, and compelled them to pass close to a berg which was the largest they had fallen in with up to that time. it was jagged in form, and high rather than broad. great peaks rose up from it like the mountain tops of some wild highland region. it was several hundred yards off the weather-beam when the brig passed, but it towered so high over the masts that it seemed to be much nearer than it was. there was no apparent motion in this berg, and the waves beat and rolled upon its base just as they do on the shore of an island. in fact it was as like an island as possible, or, rather, like a mountain planted in the sea, only it was white instead of green. there were cracks and rents and caverns in it, just as there are on a rugged mountain side, all of which were of a beautiful blue colour. there were also slopes and crags and precipices, down which the water of the melted ice constantly flowed in wild torrents. many of these were equal to small rivulets, and some of the waterfalls were beautiful. the berg could not have measured less than a mile round the base, and it was probably two hundred feet high. it is well known that floating ice sinks deep, and that there is about eight or ten times as much of it below as there is above water. the reader may therefore form some idea of what an enormous mass of ice this berg was. the crew of the _hope_ observed, in passing, that lumps were continually falling from the cliffs into the sea. the berg was evidently in a very rotten and dangerous state, and the captain ran the brig as close to the pack on the other side as possible, in order to keep out of its way. just as this was done, some great rents occurred, and suddenly a mass of ice larger than the brig fell from the top of a cliff into the sea. no danger flowed from this, but the mass thus thrown off was so large as to destroy the balance of the berg, and, to the horror of the sailors, the huge mountain began to roll over. fortunately it fell in a direction away from the brig. had it rolled toward her, no human power could have saved our voyagers. the mighty mass went over with a wild hollow roar, and new peaks and cliffs rose out of the sea, as the old ones disappeared, with great cataracts of uplifted brine pouring furiously down their sides. apart from its danger, this was an awful sight. those who witnessed it could only gaze in solemn silence. even the most careless among them must have been forced to recognise the might and majesty of god in the event, as well as his mercy in having led them to the _right_ side of the berg at such a dangerous moment. but the scene had not yet closed. for some time the ice mountain rocked grandly to and fro, raising a considerable swell on the sea, which, all round, was covered with the foam caused by this tremendous commotion. in a few minutes several rents took place, sounding like the reports of great guns. rotten as it was, the berg could not stand the shock of its change of position, for it had turned fairly upside down. crack after crack took place, with deafening reports. lumps of all sizes fell from its sides. then there was a roar, long continued like thunder; a moment after, the whole berg sank down in ruins, and, with a mighty crash, fell flat upon the sea! the _hope_ was beyond the reach of danger, but she rose and sank on the swell, caused by the ruin of this berg, for some time after. it was on the afternoon of the same day that the brig received her first really severe "nip" from the ice. she had got deep into the pack, and was surrounded on all sides by large bergs, some of these being high, like the one that has just been described, others low and flat but of great extent. one, not far off, was two miles long, and its glittering walls rose about fifteen feet above the sea. the sky was brighter than usual at the time. this was owing to one of those strange appearances which one sees more of in the arctic regions than in any other part of the world. the sun shone with unclouded splendour, and around it there were three mock suns almost as bright as the sun itself, one on each side and one directly above it. learned men call these bright spots _parhelia_. sailors call them sun-dogs. they were connected together with a ring of light which entirely encircled the sun, but the lower edge of it was partly lost on the horizon. although this was the first time that these mock suns had been seen by gregory and some others of the crew of the _hope_, little attention was paid to them at the time, because of the dangerous position into which the brig had been forced. the pack had again closed all around her, obliging her to take shelter in the lee of a small berg, which, from its shape, did not seem likely to be a dangerous protector. there was a small bay in the berg. into this the brig was warped, and for some time she lay safely here. it was just large enough to hold her, and a long tongue of ice, projecting from the foot of it, kept off the pressure of the sea-ice. nevertheless a look of anxiety rested on the captain's face after the ice-anchors had been made fast. "you don't seem to like our position, captain," said young gregory, who had been watching the doings of the men and now and then lent them a hand. "i don't, tom. the pack is closing tight up, and this berg may prove an enemy instead of a friend, if it forces into our harbour here. let us hear what our mate thinks of it. what say you, mr mansell, shall we hold on here, or warp out and take our chance in the pack?" "better hold on, sir," answered the mate gravely. "the pack is beginning to grind; we should get a tight embrace, i fear, if we went out. here we may do well enough; but everything depends on that tongue." he looked as he spoke toward the point of ice which extended in front of the brig's stern, and guarded the harbour from the outer ice in that direction. the tongue was not a large one, and it was doubtful whether it could stand the pressure that was increasing every minute. the pack was indeed beginning to "grind," as the mate had said, for, while they were looking at it, the edges of two floes came together with a crash about fifty yards from the berg. they ground together for a moment with a harsh growling sound, and then the two edges were suddenly forced up to a height of about fifteen or twenty feet. next moment they fell on the closed-up ice, and lay there in a mound, or _hummock_, of broken masses. "that's how a 'ummuck is formed, dr gregory," said mr dicey, looking uncommonly wise. "you'll see more things here in five minutes, by means of your own eyes, than ye could learn from books in a year. there's nothin' like seein'. seein' is believin', you know. i wouldn't give an ounce of experience for a ton of hearsay." "come, mr dicey, don't run down book-learning," said gregory. "if a man only knew about things that he had seen, he would know very little." before the second mate could reply the captain shouted to the men to "bear a hand with the ice-poles." the whole crew answered to the call, and each man, seizing a long pole, stood ready for action. the tongue to which i have referred more than once had broken off, and the ice was rushing in. the bay was full in a minute, and although the men used their ice-poles actively, and worked with a will, they could not shove the pieces past them. the _hope_ was driven bow on to the berg. then there was a strain, a terrible creaking and groaning of the timbers, as if the good little vessel were complaining of the pressure. all at once there was a loud crack, the bow of the brig lifted a little, and she was forced violently up the sloping side of the berg. twice this happened, and then she remained stationary--high and dry out of the water! chapter five. a gale--narrow escapes--signs of winter--set fast. during the rest of that day and the whole of that night did the brig remain fixed on the berg. early next morning the ice began to move. it eased off, and the vessel slid gently down the slope on which she had been forced, and was re-launched safely into the water. the satisfaction of the crew, on being thus delivered from a position of much danger, was very great; but they had no sooner escaped from one peril than they were overtaken by another. a sharp breeze sprang up from the eastward, and drove them out into the pack, which began to heave about in a terrible manner under the influence of the wind. soon this increased to a gale, and the ice was driven along at great speed by a strong northerly current. while this was going on, land was discovered bearing to the northeast. here was new danger, for although it was not a lee-shore, still there was some risk of the vessel being caught among grounded ice-bergs--of which a few were seen. the gale increased to such a degree before night that captain harvey began to think of taking shelter under the lee of one of these bergs. he therefore stood toward one, but before reaching it the vessel received one or two severe shocks from passing floes. a large berg lay within half a mile of them. they reached it in safety, and getting under its lee, lowered a boat and fixed their ice-anchors. just after they were fixed, a mass of ice, the size of a ship's long-boat and many tons in weight, came suddenly up out of the sea with great violence, the top of it rising above the bulwarks. one corner of it struck the hull just behind the mainmast, and nearly stove in the bottom of the brig. this lump was what arctic voyagers term a "calf." when masses of ice break off from the bergs far below the surface of the water, they rise with extreme violence, and ships run great risk of being destroyed by these calves when they anchor too near to the bergs. had this calf struck the _hope_ a fair blow she must certainly have gone down with all on board. they were not yet freed from their troubles, however. in half an hour the wind shifted a few points, but the stream of the loose ice did not change. the brig was, therefore, blown right in among the rushing masses. the three cables that held her were snapped as if they had been pieces of packthread, and she was whirled out into the pack, where she drove helplessly, exposed to the fury of the howling storm and the dangers of the grinding ice. captain harvey now felt that he could do nothing to save his vessel. he believed that if god did not mercifully put forth his hand to deliver them by a miracle, he and his companions would certainly perish. in this the captain was wrong. nothing is impossible to the almighty. he can always accomplish his purposes without the aid of a miracle. there did, indeed, seem no way of escape; for the driving masses of ice were grinding each other to powder in nearly every direction, and the brig only escaped instant destruction by being wedged between two pieces that held together from some unknown cause. presently they were carried down toward a large berg that seemed to be aground, for the loose ice was passing it swiftly. this was not the case, however. an undercurrent, far down in the depths of the sea, was acting on this berg, and preventing it from travelling with the ice that floated with the stream at the surface. in its passing, the mass of ice that held them struck one of the projecting tongues beneath the surface, and was split in two. the brig was at once set free. as they passed they might almost have leaped upon the berg. captain harvey saw and seized his opportunity. "stand by to heave an anchor," he shouted. sam baker, being the strongest man in the ship, sprang to one of the small ice-anchors that lay on the deck with a line attached to it, and, lifting it with both hands, stood ready. the brig passed close to the end of the berg, where the lee-side formed a long tail of sheltered water. she was almost thrust into this by the piece of ice from which she had just escaped. she grazed the edge of the berg as she drove past. "heave!" shouted the captain. sam baker swung the anchor round his head as if it had been a feather, and hurled it far upon the ice. for a few yards it rattled over the slippery surface; then it caught a lump, but the first strain broke it off. just after that it fell into a crack and held on. the brig was checked, and swung round into the smooth water; but they had to ease off the line lest it should snap. at last she was brought up, and lay safely under the shelter of that berg until the storm was over. some weeks flew by after this without anything occurring worthy of particular notice. during this time the _hope_ made good progress into the polar regions, without again suffering severely either from ice or storm, although much retarded by the thick fogs that prevail in the arctic regions. she was indeed almost always surrounded by ice, but it was sufficiently open to allow of a free passage through it. many whales and seals had been seen, also one or two bears, but not in circumstances in which they could be attacked without occasioning much delay. the brief summer had now passed away, and the days began to shorten as winter approached. still captain harvey hoped to get farther north before being obliged to search for winter quarters. one morning early in september, however, he found to his sorrow that pancake-ice was forming on the sea. when the sea begins to freeze it does so in small needle-like spikes, which cross and recross each other until they form thin ice, which the motion of the waves breaks up into flat cakes about a foot or so across. these, by constantly rubbing against each other, get worn into a rounded shape. sailors call this "pancake-ice." it is the first sign of coming winter. the cakes soon become joined together as the frost increases. the place where this occurred was near to those wild cliffs that rise out of the sea in the channels or straits that lie at the head of baffin's bay. the vessel was now beyond the farthest point of land that had been discovered at the time of which i am writing, and already one or two of the headlands had been named by captain harvey and marked on his chart. "i don't like to see pancake-ice so early in the season," remarked the captain to mr mansell. "no more do i, sir," answered the mate. "this would be a bad place to winter in, i fear." "land ahead!" was shouted at that moment by the look-out at the masthead. "keep her away two points," said the captain to the man at the helm. "how does it lie?" "right ahead, sir." "any ice near it?" "no; all clear." the brig was kept a little more out to sea. soon she came to more open water, and in the course of four hours was close to the land, which proved to be a low, barren island, not more than a mile across. here the wind died away altogether, and a sharp frost set in. the pancakes became joined together, and on the following morning, when our friend gregory came on deck, he found that the whole ocean was covered with ice! it did not, indeed, look very like ice, because, being so thin, it did not prevent the usual swell from rolling over the sea. a light breeze was blowing, and the brig cut her way through it for some time; but the breeze soon died away, leaving her becalmed within a quarter of a mile of the island. for some time the voyagers hoped that a thaw would take place, or that wind would break up the ice. but they were disappointed. this was the first touch of the cold hand of winter, and the last day of the _hope's_ advance northward. seeing this, captain harvey set energetically to work to cut his way into winter quarters, for it would not do to remain all winter in the exposed position in which his vessel then lay. on his right was the island, already referred to, about a quarter of a mile off. beyond this, about five miles distant, were the high steep cliffs of the western coast of greenland. everywhere else lay the open sea, covered here and there with floes and bergs, and coated with new ice. this ice became so thick in the course of another night that the men could walk on it without danger. by means of saws and chisels made for the purpose, they cut a passage toward the island, and finally moored the brig in a small bay which was sheltered on all sides except the east. this, being the land side, required no protection. they named the place "refuge harbour." everyone was now full of activity. the voyagers had reached the spot where they knew they were destined to spend the winter and much had to be done before they could consider themselves in a fit state to face that terrible season. winter in the polar regions extends over eight months of the year--from september to may. but so much of ice and snow remains there all the summer that winter can scarcely be said to quit those regions at all. it is difficult to imagine what the arctic winter is. we cannot properly understand the tremendous difficulties and sufferings that men who go to the polar seas have to fight against. let the reader think of the following facts, and see if he does not draw his chair closer to the fire and feel thankful that he has not been born an eskimo, and is not an arctic seaman! winter within the arctic circle, as i have said, is fully eight months long. during that time the land is covered with snow many feet deep, and the sea with ice of all degrees of thickness--from vast fields of ten or fifteen feet thick to bergs the size of islands and mountains-- all frozen into one solid mass. there is no sunlight there, night or day, for three out of these eight winter months, and there is not much during the remaining five. in summer there is perpetual sunlight, all night as well as all day, for about two months--for many weeks the sun never descends below the horizon. it is seen every day and every night sweeping a complete circle in the bright blue sky. having been so free of his light in summer, the sun seems to think he has a right to absent himself in winter, for the three months of darkness that i have spoken of are not months of _partial_ but of _total_ darkness--as far, at least, as the sun is concerned. the moon and stars and the "northern lights" do, indeed, give their light when the fogs and clouds will allow them; but no one will say that these make up for the absence of the sun. then the frost is so intense that everything freezes solid except pure spirits of wine. unless you have studied the thermometer you cannot understand the intensity of this frost; but for the sake of those who do know something about extreme cold, i give here a few facts that were noted down during the winter that my story tells of. on the th of september these ice-bound voyagers had eighteen degrees of frost, and the darkness had advanced on them so rapidly that it was dark about ten at night. by the st of october the ice round the brig was a foot and a half thick. up to this time they had shot white hares on the island, and the hunting parties that crossed the ice to the mainland shot deer and musk oxen, and caught white foxes in traps. gulls and other birds, too, had continued to fly around them; but most of these went away to seek warmer regions farther south. walrus and seals did not leave so soon. they remained as long as there was any open water out at sea. the last birds that left them, (and the first that returned in spring) were the "snow-birds"--little creatures about the size of a sparrow, almost white, with a few brown feathers here and there. the last of these fled from the darkening winter on the th of november, and did not return until the st of the following may. when they left it was dark almost all day. the thermometer could scarcely be read at noon, and the stars were visible during the day. from this time forward thick darkness set in, and the cold became intense. the thermometer fell _below_ zero, and after that they never saw it _above_ that point for months together-- degrees, degrees, and degrees below were common temperatures. the ice around them was ten feet thick. on the st of december noon was so dark that they could not see fifty yards ahead, and on the th the fingers could not be counted a foot from the eyes. the thermometer stood at degrees below zero. the darkness could not now become greater, but the cold still continued to grow more intense. it almost doubled in severity. in january it fell to degrees below zero! so great was this cold that the men felt impelled to breathe gradually. the breath issued from their mouths in white clouds of steam and instantly settled on their beards and whiskers in hoar-frost. in the cabin of the _hope_ they had the utmost difficulty in keeping themselves moderately warm at this time. things had now reached their worst, and by slow degrees matters began to mend. on the nd of january the first faint sign of returning day appeared--just a blue glimmer on the horizon. by the middle of february the light tipped the tops of the mountains on shore, and the highest peaks of the ice-bergs on the sea, and on the st of march it bathed the deck of the _hope_. then the long-imprisoned crew began to feel that spring was really coming. but there was little heat in the sun's rays at first, and it was not till the month of may that the ice out at sea broke up and summer could be said to have begun. during all this long winter--during all these wonderful changes, our arctic voyagers had a hard fight in order to keep themselves alive. their life was a constant struggle. they had to fight the bears and the walrus; to resist the cold and the darkness; to guard against treachery from the natives; and to suffer pains, sickness, and trials, such as seldom fall to the lot of men in ordinary climates. how they did and suffered all this i shall try to show in the following pages. in attempting this i shall make occasional extracts from the journal of our friend tom gregory, for tom kept his journal regularly, and was careful to note down only what he heard and saw. chapter six. preparations for wintering--remarkable adventures with a bear. the first care of captain harvey, after getting his brig securely laid up in her icy cradle for the winter was to remove some of the stores to the island, where he had them carefully secured in a little hut which the crew built of loose stones. this relieved the strain on the vessel, and permitted the free circulation of air. the fitting up of the interior of the brig was then begun. the wooden partition between the cabin and the hold was taken down, and the whole space thrown into one apartment. the stove was put up in the centre of it, and moss was piled round the walls inside about a foot thick. moss was also spread on the deck, and above it the snow was allowed to gather, for snow, although so cold itself, keeps things that it covers warm, by not permitting the heat to escape. the brig was banked up all round with snow, and a regular snowy staircase was built from the ice to her bulwarks. they changed their time, now, from what is called sea-time to that which we follow on land. that is to say, they reckoned the day to commence just after twelve, midnight, instead of dividing it into watches, as they were wont to do at sea. journals were begun, and careful notes made of everything that occurred, or that might in any way further the object for which they had gone there. every man in the ship had his appointed duty and his post. if the native eskimos should arrive in a warlike temper, each man had his cutlass and pistols in readiness. if a bear should pay them a visit, each could lay hands on his musket in an instant; and if a fire should break out on board, every man had his bucket ready and his particular post fixed. some were to run to the water-hole, which it was the duty of one man to keep open. others were to station themselves from the hole to the ship to pass the buckets, while the rest were to remain on board to convey them to the point of danger. captain harvey fixed all the arrangements, and superintended the carrying out of his orders in a general way, making his two officers and the young doctor responsible for the overseeing of details. each of these foremen furnished him with a report every night of what had been done during the day, and the result was noted down by himself in a journal. thus everything went smoothly and pleasantly along during the first weeks of their sojourn in their frozen home. in regard to fresh provisions they were fortunate at first, for they obtained sufficient supplies of deer and other game. this was in the early part of winter, while there was still plenty of daylight. in tom gregory's journal i find it thus written: "_september th_.--the days are beginning to shorten now, and we are all busily occupied in preparing for the long, dark winter that is before us. sam baker, who is the best shot among us, brought in a deer to-day. this is fortunate, for we stand in need of fresh meat. our greatest enemy this winter, i fear, will be scurvy. unless we obtain a large supply of fresh provisions we cannot hope to escape it. crofts brought in two arctic hares. they are beautiful creatures--pure white-- and each weighs about seven pounds. these, with the four deer shot by myself last week and the ten hares got by baker, will keep us going for some time. "_september th_.--i had an adventure with a polar bear last night, which has amused the men very much, and given them food for jocularity for a few days. some days back davy butts set a trap on the island, in which he has caught a few foxes. last night his long legs were so tired that he did not care to visit his trap, so i offered to go instead of him. it was while i was out on this errand that i happened to meet with bruin. our meeting was sudden and unexpected on both sides, i believe. it was midnight when i set off to the trap, which was not more than half a mile from the ship, and it was quite dark when i reached it. "davy is an ingenious fellow. his trap is made of four blocks of hard snow, with a sort of wooden trigger that goes off the moment the bait is touched, and allows a heavy log to fall down on the poor fox's back. there was no fox there, however, when i reached it. i went down on my knees and was examining the bait, when i heard a low growl. i leaped up, and felt for the knife which i usually carried in my belt. it was not there! in the haste of my departure from the ship i had forgotten to buckle it on. i had no gun, of course. it was too dark to shoot, and i had not counted on meeting with any dangerous enemy. i could only crouch down behind a lump of ice and hope that the bear would go away, but another growl, much louder than the first, and close at hand, showed that i had been seen. it was so dark that i could hardly see fifty yards ahead. there was a great chasm or hole just in front of me. this was the place where the main body of the sea-ice had been separated from the shore-ice that was aground. here every rise and fall of the tide had broken it afresh, so that the rent was twenty yards wide, and full of large blocks that had been tossed about in confusion. across this i gazed into the gloom, and thought i saw an object that looked like a large block of rounded ice. before i could make up my mind how to act, the block of ice rose up with a furious roar and charged me. the chasm checked him for a moment. but for this i should have been caught immediately. while he was scrambling over it i took to my heels, and ran along the edge of the ice at the top of my speed. "there was a narrow part of the chasm which i had looked at in daylight, and wondered whether i might venture to leap across it. i had made up my mind that it was too wide and dangerous to be attempted. but it is wonderful how quickly a man changes his mind on such a point when a polar bear is roaring at his heels. i came to the gap in the ice. it was ten feet deep and thirteen or fourteen feet across. the jagged lumps of ice at the bottom lay there in horrible confusion. there was barely light enough to see where the hole was when i came within ten yards of it, but i did not hesitate. a rush! a bound! and i went over like a cat. not so the bear. he had not measured the place with his eye in daylight, as i had done. he made a gallant leap, it is true, but fell short, as i knew from the bursting sound and the growl of rage with which he came against the edge of the ice, and fell back among the broken blocks. i did not wait to see how he got out, you may be sure, but ran as i never ran before in all my life! i reached the brig quite out of breath. the bear had not followed me up, for i did not see him that night again. long davy laughed at me a good deal, and said he was sure i had been frightened at a shadow. it gave a wonderfully loud roar for a shadow! i hope that davy himself may get a chase before the winter is over, just to convince him of his error in not believing me!" the kind wish thus expressed in the young doctor's journal was gratified sooner than might have been expected. only two days after the incident above described, poor davy butts met with the same bear, face to face, and had a run for his life, that turned the laugh from tom gregory to himself. it was on the afternoon of a clear, cold day, just about sunset. the men had finished dinner and were smoking their pipes on deck, stamping their feet and slapping their hands and arms, to keep them warm. "hallo, davy! where are you bound for?" inquired the captain, on observing that butts was wrapping himself carefully in his fur-coat, tightening his belt, and putting on his mittens as if bent on a long journey. "i'm only goin' to take a look at my fox-trap, sir, if you'll allow me." "certainly, my lad. if you get a fox it's well worth the trouble. and hark'ee, davy, take your axe and make one or two more of these snow-traps of yours. it will be a well-spent hour." "why, butts," exclaimed gregory, "what do you mean to do with that big horse-pistol? surely you are not afraid of bears after laughing so much at the one that chased me?" "oh, no, not _afraid_, you know," replied davy. "but there's no harm in being armed." "mind you shoot him straight in the eye, or send a bullet up his nose. them's the vulnerable parts of him," cried joe davis, with a laugh, as butts went down the snow-steps and got upon the ice. "i say," cried pepper, as he was moving away. "well?" "bring his tongue aboard with you, and i'll cook it for supper." "ah, and a bit of fat to fry it in," added the steward. "there's nothin' like tongue fried in bear's grease." "no, no, dawkins," said mr dicey. "hallo! davy; bring the 'ams. bear's 'ams are considered fustrate heatin'." "no, _don't_ bring the hams," shouted jim croft, "fetch the tongue; that's the thing for supper of a cold night--fetch the tongue, lad." "hold your own tongue," shouted davy, in reply, as he went off amid the laughter of his comrades. the sun sank soon after, and before the ingenious seaman had finished two new traps the short twilight had gradually deepened into night. still there was plenty of light, for the sky was clear, and studded with a host of stars. in addition to this the aurora borealis was sending its beautiful flashes of pale-green light all across the western sky. the aurora--which also goes by the names of "northern lights," and "streamers," and "merry-dancers," is seen in great splendour in these northern skies. when the seaman had finished his traps, and looked up for a minute or two at the sky, before starting on his return to the ship, he beheld the aurora extending over the heavens in the form of an irregular arch. it was extremely bright, but the brightness was not the same in all parts. it moved and waved gently about like a band of thin green fire. every now and then long tongues or streamers darted up from it, and these were brighter than the rest. they were yellowish white, and sometimes became pale pink in colour. the light from this beautiful object was equal to that of the moon in her quarter, and the stars that were behind it shone dimly through, as if they were covered with a thin gauze veil. while davy was gazing in wonder at the splendid lights above him, a deep growl fell upon his ear. if the man had been a jack-in-the-box he could not have leaped more quickly round. his pistol was out and cocked in a moment! the growl was followed by a roar, which drove all the blood back into davy's heart, and seemed to freeze it there--solid. the man was no coward, as was quite clear, for at first he boldly stood his ground. but he would have been more than mortal if he had not felt some strange qualms about his heart when he saw a large white bear rushing furiously toward him. the animal came this time from the interior of the small island. the seaman knew well the place over which young gregory had jumped when he had been chased. after wavering for a moment or two he turned and fled. another tremendous roar helped him over the ice like a deer, and he took the chasm with a bound like an india-rubber ball. it must certainly have been the same animal that chased gregory, for, instead of trying to leap the chasm, it went to another part of the rent and scrambled across. this gave butts time to increase the distance between them, but a man is no match for a polar bear in a race. the monster was soon close up with him, and the ship still far off. the man knew his danger; he turned, took a quick aim, and fired. he missed, of course; flung the pistol in desperation in the bear's face, and ran on. the pistol happened to stick in the snow, with the butt in the air, and when the bear came up to it he stopped to smell it! it it well known, nowadays, that polar bears are full of curiosity, and will stop for a few minutes to examine anything that comes in their way, even when they are in full chase of a man. davy butts knew nothing of this at the time; but he was a quick-witted fellow. he observed this stopping of the bear, and determined to give him something more to stop at. when bruin was close at his heels he threw down his cap. the bear at once pulled up, smelt it all round, tossed it into the air with his snout, pawed it once or twice, then tore it to pieces with one wrench, and continued the chase. very little time was lost in this operation. he was soon up with the man again; then a mitten was thrown down for his inspection. after that the other mitten went, the cravat followed, and the axe went next. all that i have just related happened in a very few minutes. davy was still a good quarter of a mile from the brig; everything that he could tear off his person in haste and throw down was gone, and the bear was once more coming up behind. as a last hope he pulled off his heavy fur-coat and dropped it. this seemed to be a subject of great interest to the bear, for it was longer in inspecting it than the other things. and now poor butts went tearing along like a maniac, in his flannel shirt and trousers. he was a miserable and curious object, for his body, besides being very long, was uncommonly lanky, and his legs and arms seemed to go like the wings of a windmill. never, since the day of his birth, had davy butts run at such a pace, in such light clothing, and in such severe frost! a long line of low hummocks hid him from the brig. the moment he passed these he came in sight of her and began to yell. "wot on airth is yon?" exclaimed joe davis, who chanced to be looking over the gangway when this remarkable object appeared. "the wild man o' the north himself, or my name aint jim," said crofts, turning pale. "why, it's davy butts, i do believe," cried sam baker, who came on deck at that moment. just then the bear came tearing round the end of the hummocks in full chase. "hurrah! hallo! ho!" roared the men, who had crowded on deck at the first note of alarm. sam baker seized a heavy ash handspike about five feet long, and was on his way to meet his comrade before the others had gained the ice. they were not slow, however. some with muskets, some with pistols and cutlasses, and some with nothing but their fists--all followed sam, who was now far ahead. baker passed davy without a remark, and ran straight at the bear, which stopped on seeing such a big, powerful man running so furiously at him, and flourishing a bludgeon that would almost have suited the hand of a giant. but polar bears are not timid. he rose on his hind legs at once, and paid no attention whatever to the tremendous crack that sam dealt him over the skull. the blow broke the handspike in two, and the fool-hardy seaman would soon have paid for his rashness with his life had not friendly and steady hands been near. nothing daunted, he was about to repeat the blow with the piece of the handspike that was still in his grasp, and the bear was about to seize him with its claws, each of which were full two inches long, when the first mate and gregory came running toward him, side by side, the first armed with a rifle, the doctor with pistols. "too late," gasped gregory. "we must fire," said mansell, "and risk hitting sam. here, doctor, you are a good shot; take the rifle." the young man obeyed, dropped on one knee, and took aim, but did not fire. sam was between him and the bear. a sudden movement changed their positions. the side of the monster came into view, and in another instant it was stretched on the ice with a bullet in his brain. chapter seven. a great battle with the walrus. it need scarcely be said that there was a jovial feast that night at supper. the bear's tongue was cooked after all, but the impudent tongues of the party were not silenced, for they almost worried the life out of poor davy for having run away from a bear. soon after this event the preparations for spending the winter were completed; at least as far as the fitting up of the vessel was concerned. "this morning," writes gregory, in his journal, "we finished housing over our arctic home. the _hope_ is very snug, lined with moss, and almost covered with snow. a sail has been spread over the quarter-deck like an awning; it is also covered with moss and snow. this, we hope, will give much additional warmth to our house below. we all live together now, men and officers. it will require our united strength to fight successfully against that terrible enemy, john frost. john is king of the arctic regions, undoubtedly! "dawkins got a cold-bath yesterday that amused the men much and did him no harm. for some time past we have been carrying moss from the island in large bundles. dawkins got leave to help, as he said he was sick-tired of always working among stores. he was passing close to the fire-hole with a great bundle of moss on his back, when his foot slipped, and down he went. this hole is kept constantly open. it is baker's duty night and morning to break the ice and have it ready in case of fire. the ice on the surface was therefore thin; in a moment nothing was to be seen of poor dawkins but his bundle! fortunately he held tight on to it, and we hauled him out, soaked to the skin. the thermometer stood at degrees below zero, the coldest day we have had up to this time; and in two minutes the unfortunate man's clothes were frozen so stiff that he could scarcely walk! we had to break the ice on his legs and arms at the joints, and even then he had to be half hoisted on board and carried below. we all dress in seal-skin and fox-skin garments now. dawkins had on a rough coat, made of white and grey foxes; trousers of the same; boots of seal-skin, and mittens ditto. when all this was soaked and frozen he was truly a humbling sight! "the undressing of him was a labour of difficulty as well as of love. however, when he was rubbed dry, and re-clothed, he was none the worse. indeed, i am inclined to think he was much the better of his ducking. "to-morrow we are to make some curious experiments with boats, sledges, and kites. the captain is anxious to take our largest boat over the ice as far to the south as possible, and leave her there with a quantity of provisions, so that we may have her to fall back upon if any misfortune should befall the brig, which i earnestly pray that god may forbid. "davy butts, who is an ingenious fellow in his way, says that we can sail a boat on the ice almost as well as on the water, and that we may drag sledges by means of kites, if we choose. the captain means to attempt a journey to the north with sledges in spring, so, if the kites answer, butts will have done us good service. but i have my doubts. "the nights are closing in fast; very soon we shall be without the sun altogether. but the moon is cheering us. last night, ( th october) she swept in a complete circle round the sky _all day_ as well as all night. she only touched the horizon, and then, instead of setting, she rose again, as if the frozen sea had frightened her. "_october th_.--baker came in to-day and reported open water about six miles off, and walrus sporting in it. i shall set out to-morrow on a hunt." the hunt which the young doctor here wrote of came off the following day, but it was a very different one from what any of the men had expected. early in the morning, baker, davy butts, and gregory set off on foot, armed with a rifle and two muskets, besides a couple of harpoons, a whale-lance, and a long line. they also took a small sledge, which was intended to be used in hauling home the meat if they should be successful. three hours' hard walking brought the party to the edge of the solid ice, after which they travelled on the floes that were being constantly broken by the tides, and were only joined together by ice of a night or two old. this was little more than an inch thick, so they had to advance with caution. presently the loud mooing of a bull walrus was heard. its roar was something between the lowing of a bull and the bark of a large dog, but much louder, for the walrus resembles an elephant in size more than any other animal. soon after they came in sight of their game. five walrus were snorting and barking in a hole which they had broken in the ice. the way in which this huge monster opens a hole when he wants to get out of the sea is to come up from below with considerable violence and send his head crashing through the ice. the three men now became very wary. they crept on their hands and knees behind the ice-hummocks until within about a hundred yards of the brutes. then they ascended a small hummock to take a look round and decide on their plan of operations. while lying there, flat on their faces, they took particular care to keep their heads well concealed, just raising them high enough to observe the position of the walrus. there was a sheet of flat ice between them and the hole, so that it was impossible to advance nearer without being seen. this perplexed them much, for although their bullets might hit at that distance, they would not be able to run in quick enough to use their lances, and the harpoons would be of no use at all. while thus undecided what to do, they were unexpectedly taught a lesson in walrus-hunting that surprised them not a little. "hallo! there's a bear!" whispered davy butts, as a hairy object crawled out from behind an ice-hummock about two hundred yards from the place where they lay, and made toward the walrus in a sly, cat-like manner. "more like a seal," observed baker. "a seal! why, it's a _man_!" said gregory, in a low, excited whisper. "so it is, sure enough," said baker; "it must be an eskimo, though his hairy garments make him look more like a bear than a man, and as the fellow has got here before us, i suppose we must give up our claim to the brutes." "time enough to talk of that when the brutes are killed," said gregory with a smile. "but lie still, lads. we will take a lesson from this fellow, who has been so earnestly staring at the walrus that he has not noticed us." the three men lay perfectly motionless watching the native, who crept as near to the hole as he could without being seen, and then waited for a few minutes until the creatures should dive. this they were constantly doing; staying down a few moments at a time, and then coming up to breathe--for the walrus cannot live without air. he is not a fish, and although he can stay down a long time, he _must_ come to the surface occasionally to breathe. in this he resembles the seal and the whale. presently, down they all went with a tremendous splash. now was the moment! the eskimo rose, ran at full speed for a few yards, then fell flat on his face, and lay quite still as if he had been shot dead. the reason of this was soon apparent. he understood the habits of the walrus, and knew that they would rise again. this they did almost the moment after, and began their snorting, bellowing, and rolling again. once more they dived. up got the eskimo, ran a few yards further forward, and then fell flat down as before. in this way he got near to the hole without being seen. the watchers observed that he carried a harpoon and a coil of thick line. the next time the walrus dived he ran to the edge of the hole, but now, instead of falling down, he stood quite still with the harpoon raised above his head ready to be thrown. in a few moments the monsters reappeared. two rose close at the edge of the hole; one was a male, the other a female. they were frightfully ugly to look at. shaking the water from his head and shoulders, the bull at once caught sight of the man who had thus suddenly appeared. at that instant the eskimo threw up his left arm. this action, instead of frightening the brutes away, caused them to raise themselves high out of the water, in order to have a good look at the strange creature who had thus dared to disturb them in their watery home. this was just what the native wanted. it gave him a chance of driving the harpoon under the flipper of the male. the instant this was done he caught up the end of his coil and ran quickly back to the full length of the line. the battle that now begun was perhaps one of the fiercest that was ever fought in the arctic regions. the walrus lashed the water furiously for a second or two and dived. this checked the native, who at once stopped running, drove the sharp point of a little piece of wood into the ice, and put the loop at the end of his line over it. he pressed the loop close down to the ice with his feet, so that he could hold on when it tightened, which it did with great force. but the line was a stout one. it had been cut from the hide of a walrus, and prepared in a peculiar way for the purpose of standing a heavy strain. the eskimo now played the monster as an angler plays a trout. at one moment he held on, the next he eased off. the line was sometimes like a bar of iron, then it was slackened off as the animal rose and darted about. after this had happened once or twice the bull came to the surface, blowing tremendously, and began to bark and roar in great fury. the female came up at the same time. she evidently meant to stick by her partner and share his danger. the others had dived and made off at the first sign of war. the wounded walrus was a little flurried and very angry; the female was not at all frightened, she was passionately furious! both of them tore up the ice tables with their great ivory tusks, and glared at their enemy with an expression that there was no mistaking. the walrus is well known to be one of the fiercest animals in the world. woe to the poor native if he had been caught by these monsters at that time. after some minutes spent in uselessly smashing the ice and trying to get at the native, they both dived. now came into play the eskimo's knowledge of the animal's habits and his skill in this curious kind of warfare. before diving they looked steadily at the man for a second, and then swam under the ice straight for the spot where he stood. the eskimo of course could not see this, but he knew it from past experience. he therefore changed his position instantly; ran a few yards to one side, and planted his stick and loop again. this had hardly been done when the ice burst up with a loud crash; a hole of more than fifteen feet wide was made on the exact spot which the man had quitted, and the walrus appeared with a puff like that of a steam-engine, and a roar that would have done credit to a lion. the great lumpish-looking heads and square-cut faces of the creatures looked frightful at this point in the fight. there was something like human intelligence in their malicious and brutal faces, as the water poured down their cheeks and over their bristling beards, mingled with blood and foam. at this moment there was a shout close at hand, and two other eskimos ran out from behind the ice-hummocks and joined their comrade. they were armed with long lances, the handles of which were made of bone, and the points of beautiful white ivory tipped with steel. it was afterwards discovered that these natives obtained small pieces of iron and steel from the eskimos further south, who were in the habit of trading at the settlements on the coast of greenland. the strangers at once ran to the edge of the pool and gave the bull walrus two deep wounds with their lances. they also wounded the female. this seemed to render them more furious than ever. they dived again. the first eskimo again shifted his position, and the others ran back a short distance. they were not a moment too soon in these changes, for the ice was again burst upward at the spot they had just quitted, and the enraged beasts once more came bellowing to the surface and vented their fury on the ice. it may seem almost incredible to the reader, _but it is a fact_, that this battle lasted fully four hours. at the end of the third hour it seemed to the sailors who were watching it, that the result was still doubtful, for the eskimos were evidently becoming tired, while the monsters of the polar seas were still furious. "i think we might help them with a butlet," whispered baker. "it might frighten them, perhaps, but it would save them a good deal of trouble." "wait a little longer," replied gregory. "i have it in my mind to astonish them. you see they have wounded the female very badly, but when the male dies, which he cannot now be long of doing, she will dive and make off, and so they'll lose her, for they don't seem to have another harpoon and line." "perhaps they have one behind the hummocks," suggested davy butts, whose teeth were chattering in his head with cold. "if they had they would have used it long ago," said gregory. "at any rate i mean to carry out my plan--which is this. when the bull is about dead i will fire at the female and try to hit her in a deadly part, so as to kill her at once. then, sam, you will run out with our harpoon and dart into her to prevent her sinking, or diving if she should not be killed. and you, davy, will follow me and be ready with a musket." this plan had just been settled when the bull walrus began to show signs of approaching death. gregory therefore took a deliberate aim with the rifle and fired. the result was startling! the female walrus began to roll and lash about furiously, smashing the ice and covering the sea around with bloody foam. at first the eskimos stood motionless--rooted to the spot, as if they had been thunderstruck. but when they saw sam baker dart from behind the hummock, flourishing his harpoon, followed by gregory and butts, their courage deserted them; they turned in terror and fled. on getting behind the hummocks, however, they halted and peeped over the ledges of ice to see what the seamen did. sam baker, being an old whaleman, darted his harpoon cleverly, and held fast the struggling animal. at the same time davy butts seized the end of the line which the natives had thrown down in terror, and held on to the bull. it was almost dead, and quite unable to show any more fight. seeing that all was right, gregory now laid down his rifle and advanced slowly to the hummock, behind which the eskimos had taken refuge. he knew, from the reports of previous travellers, that holding up both arms is a sign of peace with the eskimos. he therefore stopped when within a short distance of the hummocks and held up his arms. the signal was understood at once. the natives leaped upon the top of the hummock and held up their arms in reply. again gregory tossed up his, and made signs to them to draw near. this they did without hesitation, and the doctor shook them by the hand and patted their hairy shoulders. they were all of them stout, well-made fellows, about five feet seven or eight inches high, and very broad across the shoulders. they were fat, too, and oily-faced, jolly-looking men. they smiled and talked to each other for a few moments and then spoke to gregory, but when he shook his head, as much as to say, "i don't understand you," they burst into a loud laugh. then they suddenly became grave, and ran at full speed toward the hole where the walrus floated. davy butts made the usual sign of friendship and handed them the end of their line, which they seized, and set about securing their prize without taking any farther notice of their new friends. the manner in which these wild yet good-natured fellows hauled the enormous carcass out of the water was simple and ingenious. they made four cuts in the neck, about two inches apart from each other, and raised the skin between these cuts, thus making two bands. through one of these bands they passed a line, and carried it to a stick made fast in the ice, where they passed it through a loop of well-greased hide. it was then carried back to the animal, made to pass under the second band, and the end was hauled in by the eskimos. this formed a sort of double purchase, that enabled them to pull out of the hole a carcass which double their numbers could not have hauled up. some idea of the bull's weight may be formed when i say that the carcass was eighteen feet long and eleven feet in circumference at the thickest part. there were no fewer than sixty deep lance-wounds in various parts of its body. when seen close at hand the walrus is a very ugly monster. it is something like a gigantic seal, having two large flippers, or fins, near its shoulders, and two others behind, that look like its tail. it uses these in swimming, but can also use them on land, so as to crawl, or rather to bounce forward in a clumsy fashion. by means of its fore-flippers it can raise itself high out of the water, and get upon the ice and rocks. it is fond of doing this, and is often found sleeping in the sunshine on the ice and on rocks. it has even been known to scramble up the side of an island to a height of a hundred feet, and there lie basking in the sun. nevertheless, the water is the proper element of the walrus. all its motions are clumsy and slow until it gets into the sea; there it is "at home." its upper face has a square, bluff look, and its broad muzzle and cheeks are covered by a coarse beard of bristles, like quills. the two white tusks point downward. in this they are unlike to those of the elephant. the tusks of the bull killed on this occasion were thirty inches long. the hide of the walrus is nearly an inch thick, and is covered with close, short hair. beneath the skin he has a thick layer of fat, and this enables him to resist the extreme cold in the midst of which he dwells. the walrus is of great value to the eskimos. but for it and the seal these poor members of the human family could not exist at all in those frozen regions. as it is, it costs them a severe struggle to keep the life in their bodies. but they do not complain of what seems to us a hard lot. they have been born to it. they know no happier condition of life. they wish for no better home, and the all-wise creator has fitted them admirably, both in mind and body, to live and even to enjoy life in a region where most other men could live only in great discomfort, if they could exist at all. the eskimos cut the walrus' thick hide into long lines with which they hunt--as we have seen. they do not cut these lines in strips and join them in many places; but, beginning at one end of the skin, they cut round and round without break to the centre, and thus secure a line of many fathoms in length. it is truly said that "necessity is the mother of invention." these natives have no wood. not a single tree grows in the whole land of which i am writing. there are plenty of plants, grasses, mosses, and beautiful flowers in summer--growing, too, close beside ice-fields that remain unmelted all the year round. but there is not a tree large enough to make a harpoon of. consequently the eskimos are obliged to make sledges of bones; and as the bones and tusks of the walrus are not big enough for this purpose, they tie and piece them together in a remarkably neat and ingenious manner. sometimes, indeed, they find pieces of drift-wood in the sea. wrecks of whale-ships, too, are occasionally found by the natives in the south of greenland. a few pieces of the precious wood obtained in this way are exchanged from one tribe to another, and so find their way north. but the further north we go the fewer pieces of this kind of wood do we find; and in the far north, where our adventurous voyagers were now ice-bound, the eskimos have very little wood, indeed. food is the chief object which the eskimo has in view when he goes out to do battle with the walrus. its flesh is somewhat coarse, no doubt, but it is excellent, nourishing food notwithstanding, and although a well-fed englishman might turn up his nose at it, many starving englishmen have smacked their lips over walrus-beef in days gone by-- aye, and have eaten it raw, too, with much delight! let not my reader doubt the truth of this. well-known and truth-loving men have dwelt for a time in those regions, and some of these have said that they actually came to _prefer_ the walrus flesh raw, because it was more strengthening, and fitted them better for undertaking long and trying journeys in extremely cold weather. one of the most gallant men who ever went to the polar seas, (dr kane, of the american navy), tells us, in his delightful book, "arctic explorations", that he frequently ate raw flesh and liked it, and that the eskimos often eat it raw. in fact, they are not particular. they will eat it cooked or raw--just as happens to be most convenient for them. when the animals, whose killing i have described, were secured, the eskimos proceeded to skin and cut them up. the sailors, of course, assisted, and learned a lesson. while this was going on one of their number went away for a short time, and soon returned with a sledge drawn by about a dozen dogs. this they loaded with the meat and hide of the bull, intending evidently to leave the cow to their new friends, as being their property. but gregory thought they were entitled to a share of it, so, after loading his sledge with a considerable portion of the meat, he gave them the remainder along with the hide. this pleased them mightily, and caused them to talk much, though to little purpose. however, gregory made good use of the language of signs. he also delighted them with the gift of a brass ring, an old knife, and a broken pencil-case, and made them understand that his abode was not far distant, by drawing the figure of a walrus in a hole in the snow, and then a thing like a bee-hive at some distance from it, pointing northward at the same time. he struck a harpoon into the outline of the walrus, to show that it was the animal that had just been killed, and then went and lay down in the picture of the bee-hive, to show that he dwelt there. the natives understood this quite well. they immediately drew another bee-hive, pointed to the south and to the sun, and held up five fingers. from this it was understood that their village was five days distant from the spot where they then were. he next endeavored to purchase three of their dogs, but they objected to this, and refused to accept of three knives as a price for them. they were tempted, however, by the offer of a whale harpoon and a hemp line, and at last agreed to let him have three of their best dogs. this the young doctor considered a piece of great good fortune, and being afraid that they would repent, he prepared to leave the place at once. the dogs were fastened by lines to the sledge of their new masters. a whip was made out of a strip of walrus hide, a bone served for a handle, and away they went for the brig at a rattling pace, after bidding the natives farewell, and making them understand that they hoped to meet again in the course of the winter. thus happily ended their first meeting with the eskimos. it may well be believed that there were both astonishment and satisfaction on board the _hope_ that night, when the hunting party returned, much sooner than had been expected, with the whip cracking, the men cheering, the dogs howling, and the sledge well laden with fresh meat. chapter eight. the cause of ice-bergs--fox-chase--a bear. one day, long after the walrus-hunt just described, joe davis stood on the deck of the _hope_, leaning over the side and looking out to sea--at least in the direction of the sea, for, although mid-day, it was so dark that he could not see very far in any direction. joe was conversing with mr dicey on the appearance of things around him. "do you know, mr dicey," said he, "wot it is as causes them there ice-bergs?" mr dicey looked very grave and wise for a few seconds without answering. then he said, in rather a solemn tone, "well, davis, to tell you the real truth, i _don't_ know!" now, as this question is one of considerable interest, i shall endeavour to answer it for the benefit of the reader. the whole of the interior of greenland is covered with ice and snow. this snowy covering does not resemble that soft snow which falls on our own hills. it is hard, and _never_ melts entirely away. the snow there is in some places a thousand feet thick! it covers all the hill-tops and fills up all the valleys, so that the country may be said to be a buried land. since the world began, perhaps, snow has been falling on it every winter; but the summers there have been so short that they could not melt away the snow of one winter before that of another came and covered it up and pressed it down. thus, for ages, the snow of one year has been added to that which was left of the preceding, and the pressure has been so great that the mass has been squeezed nearly as hard as pure ice. the ice that has been formed in this way is called _glacier_; and the glaciers of greenland cover, as i have said, the whole country, so that it can never be cultivated or inhabited by man unless the climate change. there are glaciers of this kind in many other parts of the world. we have them in switzerland and in norway, but not on nearly so large a scale as in greenland. now, although this glacier-ice is clear and hard, it is not quite so solid as pure ice, and when it is pushed down into the valleys by the increasing masses above it, actually _flows_. but this flowing motion cannot be seen. it is like the motion of the hour hand of a watch, which cannot be perceived however closely it may be looked at. you might go to one of the valleys of greenland and gaze at a glacier for days together, but you would see no motion whatever. all would appear solid, frozen up, and still. but notice a block of stone lying on the surface of the glacier, and go back many months after and you will find the stone lying a little further down the valley than when you first saw it. thus glaciers are formed and thus they slowly move. but what has all this to do with ice-bergs? we shall see. as the great glaciers of the north, then, are continually moving down the valleys, of course their ends are pushed into the sea. these ends, or tongues, are often hundreds of feet thick. in some places they present a clear glittering wall to the sea of several hundreds of feet in height, with perhaps as much again lost to view down in the deep water. as the extremities of these tongues are shoved farther and farther out they chip off and float away. _these chips are ice-bergs_! i have already said that ice-bergs are sometimes miles in extent--like islands; that they sink seven or eight hundred feet below the surface, while their tops rise more than a hundred feet above it--like mountains. if these, then, are the "chips" of the greenland glaciers, what must the "old blocks" be? many a long and animated discussion the sailors had that winter in the cabin of the _hope_ on the subject of ice and ice-bergs! when the dark nights drew on, little or nothing could be done outside by our voyagers, and when the ice everywhere closed up, all the animals forsook them except polar bears, so that they ran short of fresh provisions. as months of dreary darkness passed away, the scurvy, that terrible disease, began to show itself among the men, their bodies became less able to withstand the cold, and it was difficult for them at last to keep up their spirits. but they fought against their troubles bravely. captain harvey knew well that when a man's spirits go he is not worth much. he therefore did his utmost to cheer and enliven those around him. one day, for instance, he went on deck to breathe a mouthful of fresh air. it was about eleven in the forenoon, and the moon was shining brightly in the clear sky. the stars, too, and the aurora borealis, helped to make up for the total absence of the sun. the cold air cut like a knife against his face when he issued from the hatchway, and the cold nose of one of the dogs immediately touched his hand, as the animal gambolled round him with delight; for the extreme severity of the weather began to tell on the poor dogs, and made them draw more lovingly to their human companions. "ho! hallo!" shouted the captain down the hatchway. "a fox-chase! a fox-chase! tumble up, all hands!" the men were sitting at the time in a very dull and silent mood. they were much cast down, for as it had been cloudy weather for some weeks past, thick darkness had covered them night and day, so that they could not tell the one from the other, except by the help of their watches, which were kept carefully going. their journals, also, were written up daily, otherwise they must certainly have got confused in their time altogether! in consequence of this darkness the men were confined almost entirely to the cabin for a time. those who had scurvy, got worse; those who were well, became gloomy. even pepper, who was a tremendous joker, held his tongue, and joe davis, who was a great singer, became silent. jim crofts was in his bunk "down" with the scurvy, and stout sam baker, who was a capital teller of stories, could not pluck up spirit enough to open his mouth. "in fact," as mr dicey said, "they all had a most 'orrible fit o' the blues!" the captain and officers were in better health and spirits than the men, though they all fared alike at the same table, and did the same kind of work, whatever that might chance to be. the officers, however, were constantly exerting themselves to cheer the men, and i have no doubt that this very effort of theirs was the means of doing good to themselves. "he that watereth others shall be watered," says the word of god. i take this to mean--he that does good to others shall get good to himself. so it certainly was with the officers of the _hope_. when the captain's shout reached the cabin jim crofts had just said: "i'll tell 'ee what it is, messmates, if this here state of things goes on much longer, i'll go out on the floes, walk up to the first polar bear i meet, and ask him to take his supper off me!" there was no laugh at this, but pepper remarked, in a quiet way, that "he needn't put himself to so much trouble, for he was such a pale-faced, disagreeable looking object that no bear would eat him unless it was starving." "well, then, i'll offer myself to a starvin' bear--to one that's a'most dead with hunger," retorted jim gloomily. "what's that the cap'en is singin' out?" said davy butts, who was mending a pair of canvas shoes. the men roused themselves at once; for the hope of anything new turning up excited them. "hallo! ho!" roared the captain again, in a voice that might have started a dead walrus. "tumble up, there!--a fox-chase! i'll give my second-best fur-coat to the man that catches foxey!" in one instant the whole crew were scrambling up the ladder. even jim crofts, who was really ill, rolled out of his bunk and staggered on deck, saying he would have a "go after foxey if he should die for it!" the game of fox is simple. one man is chosen to be the fox. he runs off and the rest follow. they are bound to go wherever the fox leads. in this case it was arranged that the fox should run round the deck until he should be caught; then the man who caught him should become fox, and continue running on with all the rest following, until he, in turn, should be caught, and so on until the one who could run longest and fastest should break down all the rest. the warm fur-coat was a prize worth running for in such a cold climate, so the game began with spirit. young gregory offered to be fox first, and away they went with a yell. mr mansell was a little lame, and soon gave in. mr dicey fell at the second round, and was unable to recover distance. gregory would certainly have gained the coat, for he was strong, and had been a crack racer at school; but he did not want the coat, so allowed sam baker to catch him. sam held on like a deer for a few minutes, and one after another the men dropped off as they were blown. jim crofts, poor fellow, made a gallant burst, but his limbs refused to help his spirit. he fell, and was assisted below by the captain and replaced in his bunk, where, however, he felt the benefit of his efforts. the race was now kept up by sam baker, joe davis, and butts. these three were struggling on and panting loudly, while their comrades danced about, clapped their mittened hands, and shouted, "now then, sam!--go in and win, joe!--butts, forever!" and such-like encouraging cries. to the surprise of everyone davy butts came off the winner, and for many a day after that enjoyed the warm coat which he said his long legs had gained for him. this effort of the captain to cheer the men was very successful, so he resolved to follow it up with an attempt at private theatricals. accordingly this thing was proposed and heartily agreed to. next day everyone was busy making preparations. tom gregory agreed to write a short play. sam baker, being the healthiest man on board, was willing to act the part of an invalid old lady, and jim crofts consented to become a gay young doctor for that occasion. meanwhile the captain arranged a piece of real work, for he felt that the attempt to keep up the spirits alone would not do. they had been for a long time living on salt provisions. nothing could restore the crew but fresh meat--yet fresh meat was not to be had. the walrus and deer were gone, and although foxes and bears were still around them, they had failed in all their attempts to shoot or trap any of these animals. a visit to the eskimo camp, therefore, (if such a camp really existed), became necessary; so, while the theatricals were in preparation, a small sledge was rigged up, gregory and sam baker were chosen to go with him; the dogs were harnessed, and, on a fine, starry forenoon, away they went to the south at full gallop, with three hearty cheers from the crew of the brig, who were left in charge of the first mate. the journey thus undertaken was one full of risk. it was not known how far distant the natives might be, or where they were likely to be found. the weather was intensely cold. only a small quantity of preserved meat could be taken--for the rest, they trusted in some measure to their guns. but the captain's great hope was to reach the eskimo village in a day or two at the farthest. if he should fail to do so, the prospect of himself and his crew surviving the remainder of the long winter was, he felt, very gloomy indeed. success attended this expedition at the very beginning. they had only been eight hours out when they met a bear sitting on its haunches behind a hummock. "hallo! look out!" cried gregory, on catching sight of him. "fire, lads," said the captain, "i'm not quite ready." gregory fired and the bear staggered. baker then fired and it fell! this was a blessing which filled their hearts so full of thankfulness that they actually shook hands with each other, and then gave vent to three hearty cheers. their next thoughts were given to their comrades in the _hope_. "you and baker will camp here, tom," said the captain, "and i will return to the brig with a sledge-load of the meat. when i've put it aboard i'll come straight back to you. we'll keep a ham for ourselves, of course. now then, to work." to work the three men went. a hind leg of the bear was cut off, the rest was lashed firmly on the sledge, and the dogs enjoyed a feed while this was being done. then the captain cracked his whip. "good-bye, lads", "good-bye, captain," and away he and the dogs and sledge went, and were soon lost to view among the hummocks of the frozen sea. chapter nine. a visit to the eskimos--wonderful doings--a mystery. the proceedings of this sledge party were so interesting that i give them in the words of tom gregory's journal: "_sunday_.--we have indeed cause to rejoice and to thank god for his mercies this morning. last night we shot a bear, and the captain is away with the carcass of it to our poor scurvy-smitten friends in the _hope_. this sunday will be a real day of rest for me and sam baker, though our resting-place is a very queer one. after the captain left us, we looked about for a convenient place to encamp, and only a few yards from the spot where we killed the bear we found the ruins of an old eskimo hut made partly of stones, partly of ice. we set to work to patch it up with snow, and made it perfectly air-tight in about two hours. "into this we carried our bear-skins and things, spread them on the snowy floor, put a lump of bear's fat into our tin travelling lamp, and prepared supper. we were not particular about the cookery. we cut a couple of huge slices off our bear's ham, half roasted them over the lamp, and began. it was cut, roast, and come again, for the next hour and a half. i positively never knew what hunger was until i came to this savage country! and i certainly never before had any idea of how much i could eat at one sitting! "this hearty supper was washed down with a swig of melted snow-water. we had some coffee with us, but were too tired to infuse it. then we blocked up the door with snow, rolled our bear-skins round us, and were sound asleep in five minutes. "lucky for us that we were so careful to stop up every hole with snow, for, during the night the wind rose and it became so intensely cold that baker and i could scarcely keep each other warm enough to sleep, tired though we were. at this moment my fingers are so stiff that they will hardly hold the pencil with which i write, and the gale is blowing so furiously outside that we dare not open the door. this door, by the way, is only a hole big enough to creep through. the captain cannot travel to-day. he knows we are safe, so i will not expect him. i have brought my small testament with me. it has hitherto been my constant travelling companion. i am thus provided with mental food. but, in truth, i shall not want much of that for the next twelve hours. rest! rest! rest! is what we require. no one can imagine how a man can enjoy rest, after he has been for many months exposed to constant, exhausting, heart-breaking toil, with the thermometer _always_ below zero, and with nothing but salt food to keep him alive. "_tuesday night_.--here we are at last--among the eskimos! and what a queer set they are, to be sure. all fat and fur! they look as broad as they are long. they wear short fox and seal-skin coats, or shirts, with hoods to then; no trousers, but long boots, that come up and meet the coats. women, men, and babies, all dressed alike, or nearly so. the only difference is that the women's boots are longer and wider than those of the men. but i forgot--yes, there is one other difference; the women have _tails_ to their coats; the men have none! real tails--not like the broad skirts of our dress-coats, but long, narrow tails, something like the tail of a cow, with a broadish flap at the end of it. this they evidently look upon as a handsome ornament, for i observe that when they go off on a journey, each woman buttons her tail up to her waist, to keep it out of the way, and when she returns she unbuttons it, and comes into camp with her tail flowing gracefully behind her! "we had a terrible journey of it down here. the captain returned to us on monday morning early, and the next two days we spent struggling over the hummocks and out upon the floes. it was so cold that the wind cut into our very marrow. we have all had our faces frozen, more or less, but not badly. baker will have an ugly spot on the end of his nose for some weeks to come. it is getting black now, and as the nose itself is bright red and much swelled, his appearance is not improved. i foolishly tried to eat a little snow yesterday morning, and the consequence is that my lips are sore and bloody. on monday afternoon the dogs and sledge went head over heels into a deep rut in the ice, and it cost us two hours to get them out again. luckily no damage was done, although the captain was on the sledge at the time. "we had almost despaired of finding the village when we came upon a sledge track that led us straight up to it. i shall never forget the beauty of the scene on our arrival. the sky was lighted up with the most beautiful aurora i have yet seen in these regions. stars spangled the sky in millions. great ice-bergs rose in wild confusion in the distance, and all along the shore for a few hundred yards were clusters of snow-huts. they looked exactly like bee-hives. i have seen many a strange house, but the strangest of all is certainly a house of snow! to-day i was fortunate enough to see one built. it was done very neatly. the hard snow was cut into slabs with a wooden knife. these were piled one above another in regular order, and cemented with snow-- as bricks are with lime. the form of the wall was circular, and the slabs were so shaped that they sloped inwards, thus forming a dome, or large bee-hive, with a key-stone slab in the top to keep all firm. a hole was then cut in the side for a door--just large enough to admit of a man creeping through. in front of this door a porch or passage of snow was built. the only way of getting into the hut is by creeping on hands and knees along the passage. a hole was also cut in the roof, into which was inserted a piece of clear ice, to serve for a window. "the natives received us with wild surprise, and i found my old friends, the walrus-hunters, among them. they were remarkably friendly. one stout, middle-aged fellow invited us to his hut. i am now seated in it beside the eskimo's wife, who would be a good-looking woman if she were not so fat, dirty, and oily! but we cannot expect people living in this fashion, and in such a country, to be very clean. although the hut is white outside, it is by no means white inside. they cook all their food over an oil-lamp, which also serves to heat the place; and it is wonderful how warm a house of snow becomes. the cold outside is so great as to prevent the walls melting inside. besides myouk, our host, and his wife, there are two of the man's sisters, two lads, two girls, and a baby in the hut. also six dogs. the whole of them--men, women, children, and dogs, are as fat as they can be, for they have been successful in walrus-hunting of late. no wonder that the perspiration is running down my face! the natives feel the heat, too, for they are all half-naked--the baby entirely so; but they seem to like it! "what a chattering, to be sure! i am trying to take notes, and myouk's wife is staring at me with her mouth wide open. it is a wonder she can open her eyes at all, her cheeks are so fat. the captain is trying, by the language of signs, to get our host to understand that we are much in want of fresh meat. sam baker is making himself agreeable to the young people, and the plan he has hit upon to amuse them is to show them his watch, and let them hear it tick. truly, i have seldom seen a happier family group than this eskimo household, under their snowy roof! "there is to be a grand walrus-hunt to-morrow. we shall accompany them, and see whether our endurance on a long march, and our powers with the rifle, cannot impress them with some respect for us. at present they have not much. they seem to think us a pale-faced set of helpless creatures. "_wednesday night_.--we have just returned from the hunt; and a tremendous hunt it was! six walrus and two bears have been killed, and the whole village is wild with delight. cooking is going on in every hut. but they have no patience. nearly everyone is munching away at a lump of raw walrus flesh. all their faces are more or less greasy and bloody. even myouk's baby--though not able to speak--is choking itself with a long, stringy piece of blubber. the dogs, too, have got their share. an eskimo's chief happiness seems to be in eating, and i cannot wonder at it, for the poor creatures have hard work to get food, and they are often on the verge of starvation. "what a dirty set they are! i shall never forget the appearance of myouk's hut when we entered it this evening after returning from the hunt. the man's wife had made the wick of her stone lamp as long as possible in order to cook a large supper. there were fifteen people crowded together in this hive of snow, and the heat had induced them to throw off the greater part of their clothing. every hand had a greasy lump of bear or walrus meat in it; every mouth was in full occupation, and every fat face, of man, woman, and child, was beaming with delight and covered with dirt and oil! "the captain and i looked at each other and smiled as we entered, and sam baker laughed outright. this set all the natives laughing, too. we did not much relish the idea of supping and sleeping in such a place-- but necessity has no law. we were hungry as hawks, desperately tired, and the temperature outside is degrees below zero. the first duty of the night is now over. we have supped. the natives will continue to eat the greater part of the night. they eat till they fall asleep; if they chance to awake they eat again. half of them are asleep now, and snoring. the other half are eating slowly, for they are nearly full. the heat and smell are awful! i am perspiring at every pore. we have taken off as much of our clothes as decency will permit. sam has on a pair of trousers--nothing more. i am in the same state! there is little room, as may be supposed. we have to lie huddled up as we best can, and a strange sight we are as the red light of the flaring lamp falls on us. at this moment myouk's wife is cutting a fresh steak. the youngest boy is sound asleep with a lump of fat between his teeth. the captain is also sound, with his legs sprawling over the limbs of half a dozen slumbering natives. he is using the baby as a pillow. it is curious to think that these poor creatures always live in this way. sometimes feasting, sometimes starving. freezing out on the floes; stewing under their roofs of snow. usually fat; for the most part jolly; always dirty! "it is sad, too, to think of this; for it is a low condition for human beings to live in. they seem to have no religion at all. certainly none that is worthy of the name. i am much puzzled when i think of the difficulties in the way of introducing christianity among these northern eskimos. no missionary could exist in such a climate and in such circumstances. it is with the utmost difficulty that hardy seamen can hold out for a year, even with a ship-load of comforts. but this is too deep a subject to write about to-night! i can't keep my eyes open. i will, therefore, close my note-book and lie down to sleep--perhaps to be suffocated! i hope not!" accordingly, our young friend the doctor did lie down to sleep, and got through the night without being suffocated. indeed, he slept so soundly that captain harvey could scarcely rouse him next morning. "hallo! tom! tom!" cried he loudly, at the same time shaking his nephew's arm violently. "aye, eh!" and a tremendous yawn from tom. "what now, uncle? time to rise, is it? where am i?" "time to rise!" replied the captain, laughing. "i should think it is. why, it's past eleven in the forenoon. the stars are bright and the sky clear. the aurora, too, is shining. come, get up! the natives are all outside watching sam while he packs our sledge. the ladies are going about the camp whisking their tails and whacking their babies in great glee, for it is not every day they enjoy such a feed as they had last night." in half an hour they were ready. the whole village turned out to see them start. myouk, with his wife oomia, and the baby, and his son meetek, accompanied them to refuge harbour. oomia's baby was part of herself. she could not move without it! it was always naked, but being stuffed into the hood of its mother's fur-coat, it seemed always warm. "i say, tom, what's that up in the sky?" said captain harvey suddenly, after they had been driving for a couple of hours. "it's the strangest looking thing i ever did see." "so it is," replied gregory, gazing intently at the object in question, which seemed high up in the air. "it can't be a comet, because it gives no light." "perhaps not, but it has got a tail, that's a fact," said baker, in a voice of surprise. "who ever heard of a dark, four-cornered star with a tail? if i had seen it in daylight, and in merry england, i would have said it was a kite!" "a kite! nonsense," cried the captain; "what in the world _can_ it be?" reader, you shall find that out in the next chapter. chapter ten. the tale of a kite--a great bear-fight. when mr mansell was left in charge of the brig a heavy weight lay on his heart, and he could by no means take part in the preparations for the theatricals which occupied the rest of the crew. he felt that life or death depended on the success of the captain in his search for fresh meat. already most of the men were ill with scurvy, and some of them were alarmingly low. nothing could save them but fresh meat, and when the first mate thought of the difficulties and dangers of a journey on the floes in such weather, and the uncertainty of the eskimos being discovered, his heart misgave him. about an hour after the departure of captain harvey on the monday morning he took davy butts aside. "davy," said he, "you've been at work on these kites a long time. are they nearly finished?" "quite finished, sir," answered butts. "then get them up, for there is a good breeze. i shall try them on our small sledges. it will at least stir up and amuse the men." ten minutes after this the crew were summoned on deck to witness an experiment. a small dog sledge lay on the hard snow beside the vessel, and near to this davy butts and mr dicey were holding on to a stout line, at the end of which an enormous kite was pulling. this kite was square in shape, made of the thickest brown paper, and nearly six feet across. that its power was great was evident from the difficulty with which the two men held it. the end of the line was fastened to the sledge. "now, boys, ease off line till it is taut, and then wait for the word," said davy butts, jumping on to the sledge. "now! let go!" away went the sledge over the hard snow at the rate of three miles an hour, which soon increased to double that rate. davy cheered and waved his arms. the men gave one loud "hurrah" of surprise and delight, and set off in mad pursuit. they were soon left behind. "hold on, davy!" "good-bye, butts." "look out, mind the ridge!" the last warning was needful. the sledge was rushing furiously toward a long ridge of ice which rose in a sharp slope to a height of three feet, and descended on the other side to an equal depth, but without any slope. davy saw his danger, but he did not dare to put out foot or hand to check his progress. even if he had it would have been of no use. up the slope he went as a sea-gull skims over a wave; for one moment he was in the air--the next, he came down with a crash that nearly dislocated all his joints, and his teeth came together with a loud snap. (by good fortune his tongue was not between them!) the sledge was a strong one, and the thing was done so quickly and neatly that it did not upset. but now a large and rugged hummock lay right before him. to go against that would have been certain death, so davy made up his mind at once, and jumped off at the smoothest part of the floe he could find. the lightened sledge sprang away like a rocket, and was brought up with a sudden jerk by the hummock. of course the line broke, and the kite commenced to descend. it twirled and circled violently round, and at last went crash into an ice-berg, where it was broken to pieces! "not so bad for a beginning," said mansell, as poor davy came back, looking very crest-fallen. "now, butts, come below. you have proved that the thing will do. mr dicey, get yourself ready for a trip over the ice. let three men prepare to accompany you. i shall send you off to-morrow." dicey, much surprised, went off to obey these orders; and mansell, with the assistance of butts, fitted the second kite for the intended journey. he made a rough guess at the strength of its pull, and loaded the sledge accordingly. two tail ropes were fastened to the last bar of the sledge for the men to hold on by and check its speed. a sort of anchor was made by which it could be stopped at any moment, and two stout poles, with iron claws at the end of them, were prepared for scraping over the snow and checking the pace. next day all was ready. a trial was made and the thing found to work admirably. the trial trip over, they bade their comrades farewell, and away they went due south, in the direction where the native village was supposed to be. it was this remarkable tow-horse that had filled captain harvey and his companions with so much surprise. the appearance of the sledge immediately after, with a shout and a cheer from dicey and the men, explained the mystery. being so near the eskimo camp they at once returned to it, in order to allow the newly arrived party to rest, as well as to load their sledge with as much fresh meat as it could carry; for which supplies the captain took care to pay the natives with a few knives and a large quantity of hoop-iron--articles that were much more valuable to them than gold. as the wind could not be made to turn about to suit their convenience, the kite was brought down and given to davy to carry, and a team of native dogs were harnessed to the sledge instead. on the following day the united party set out on their return to the brig, which they reached in safety. tom gregory's account of the eskimos who accompanied them to their wooden home is amusing. his journal runs thus: "the amazement of our visitors is very great. myouk, his wife and baby, and his son meetek, are now our guests. when they first came in sight of the brig they uttered a wild shout--the men did so, at least--and tossed their arms and opened their eyes and mouths. they have never shut them since. they go all round the vessel, staring and gaping with amazement. we have given them a number of useful presents, and intend to send them home loaded with gifts for their friends. it is necessary to make a good impression on them. our lives depend very much on the friendship of these poor people. we find that they are terrible thieves. a number of knives and a hatchet were missed--they were found hidden in myouk's sledge. we tried to prevail on oomia to sell her long boots. to our surprise she was quite willing to part with _one_, but nothing would induce her to give up the _other_. one of the men observed her steal a knife out of the cabin and hide it in the leg of her boot. the reason was now plain. we pulled off the boot without asking leave, and found there a large assortment of articles stolen from us. two or three knives, a spoon, a bit of hoop-iron, and a marline spike. i have tried to make them understand, by signs, that this is very wicked conduct, but they only laugh at me. they are not in the least ashamed, and evidently regard stealing as no sin. "we have shot a musk ox. there are many of these creatures in other parts of the arctic regions, but this is the first we have seen here. he fell to my rifle, and is now being devoured by ourselves and our dogs with great relish. he is about the size of a very small cow; has a large head and enormously thick horns, which cover the whole top of his head, bend down toward his cheeks, and then curve up and outward at the point. he is covered with long, brown hair, which almost reaches the ground, and has no tail worthy of the name. he seems to be an active and an angry creature. when i wounded him he came at me furiously, but had not pluck to charge home. as he turned away i gave him the shot that killed him. the meat is not bad, but it smells strongly of musk. walrus is better. "myouk and his son meetek and i have had a most exciting bear-hunt since we returned. i followed these men one day, as i thought them bold, active-looking fellows, who would be likely to show me good eskimo sport. and i was not disappointed. "about two miles from the brig we came on fresh bear tracks. a glow of the aurora gave us plenty of light. `what is yon round white lump?' thought i. `a bear? no, it must be a snow-wreath!' myouk did not think so, for he ran behind a lump of ice, and became excited. he made signs to me to remain there while he and his son should go and attack the bear. they were armed each with a long lance. i must say, when i remembered the size and strength of the polar bear, that i was surprised to find these men bold enough to attack him with such arms. i had my rifle, but determined not to use it except in case of necessity. i wished to see how the natives were accustomed to act. "they were soon ready. gliding swiftly from one lump of ice to another, they got near enough to make a rush. i was disobedient! i followed, and when the rush was made i was not far behind them. the bear was a very large one. it uttered an angry growl on seeing the men running toward it, and rose on its hind legs to receive them. it stood nearly eight feet high when in this position, and looked really a terrible monster. i stood still behind a hummock at a distance of about fifty yards, with my rifle ready. "on coming close up the father and son separated, and approached the bear one on each side. this divided his attention, and puzzled him very much; for, when he made a motion as if he were going to rush at myouk, meetek flourished his spear, and obliged him to turn--then myouk made a demonstration, and turned him back again. thus they were enabled to get close to its side before it could make up its mind which to attack. but the natives soon settled the question for it. myouk was on the bear's right side, meetek on its left. the father pricked it with the point of his lance. a tremendous roar followed, and the enraged animal turned towards him. this was just what he wanted, because it gave the son an opportunity of making a deadly thrust. meetek was not slow to do it. he plunged his lance deep into the bear's heart, and it fell at once at full length, while a crimson stream poured out of the wound upon the snow. "while this fight was going on i might have shot the animal through the heart with great ease, for it was quite near to me, and when it got up on its hind legs its broad chest presented a fine target. it was difficult to resist the temptation to fire, but i wished to see the native manner of doing the thing from beginning to end, so did not interfere. i was rewarded for my self-denial. "half an hour later, while we were dragging the carcass toward the brig, we came unexpectedly upon another bear. myouk and meetek at once grasped their lances and ran forward to attack him. i now resolved to play them a trick. besides my rifle i carried a large horse-pistol in my belt. this i examined, and, finding it all right, i followed close at the heels of the eskimos. bruin got up on his hind legs as before, and the two men advanced close to him. i stopped when within thirty yards, cocked my rifle, and stood ready. myouk was just going to thrust with his lance when--_bang_! went my rifle. the bear fell. it was shot right through the heart, but it struggled for some time after that. the natives seemed inclined to run away when they heard the shot, but i laughed and made signs of friendship. then i went close up and shot the bear through the head with my pistol. this affair has filled my savage companions with deep respect for me!" these two bears were the last they obtained that winter; but as a good supply of meat had been obtained from the eskimos, they were relieved from anxiety for the time, and the health of the men began to improve a little. but this happy state of things did not last till spring. these sorely tried men were destined to endure much suffering before the light of the sun came back to cheer their drooping spirits. chapter eleven. christmas time--death--return of light and hope--disasters and final deliverance. christmas came at last, but with it came no bright sun to remind those ice-bound men of our saviour--the "sun of righteousness"--whose birth the day commemorated. it was even darker than usual in refuge harbour on that christmas-day. it was so dark at noon that one could not see any object more than a few yards distant from the eyes. a gale of wind from the nor'-west blew the snow-drift in whirling ghost-like clouds round the _hope_, so that it was impossible to face it for a moment. so intense was the cold that it felt like sheets of fire being driven against the face! truly it was a day well fitted to have depressed the heartiest of men. but man is a wonderful creature, not easy to comprehend! the very things that ought to have cast down the spirits of the men of the _hope_ were the things that helped to cheer them. about this time, as i have said, the health of the crew had improved a little, so they were prepared to make the most of everything. those feelings of kindliness and good-will which warm the breasts of all right-minded men at this season of the year, filled our arctic voyagers to overflowing. thoughts of "home" came crowding on them with a power that they had not felt at other times. each man knew that on this day, more than any other day of that long, dark winter, the talk round a well-known hearth in merry england would be of one who was far, far away in the dark regions of ice and snow. a tear or two that could not be forced back tumbled over rough cheeks which were not used to _that_ kind of salt water; and many a silent prayer went up to call down a blessing on the heads of dear ones at home. it blew "great guns outside," as baker said, but what of that? it was a dead calm in the cabin! it was dark as a coal-hole on the floes. what then? it was bright as noon-day in the _hope_! no sun blazed through the skylight, to be sure, but a lamp, filled with fat, glared on the table, and a great fire of coal glowed in the stove. both of these together did not make the place too warm, but there were fur-coats and trousers and boots to help defy the cold. the men were few in number and not likely to see many friends on that christmas-day. all the more reason why they should make the most of each other! besides, they were wrong in their last idea about friends, for it chanced, on that very day, that myouk the eskimo paid them a visit--quite ignorant of its being christmas, of course. meetek was with him, and so was oomia, and so was the baby--that remarkably fat, oily, naked baby, that seemed rather to enjoy the cold than otherwise! they had a plum-pudding that day. butts said it was almost as big as the head of a walrus. they had also a roast of beef--walrus-beef, of course--and first-rate it was. but before dinner the captain made them go through their usual morning work of cleaning, airing, making beds, posting journals, noting temperatures, opening the fire-hole, and redding up. for the captain was a great believer in the value of discipline. he knew that no man enjoys himself so much as he who has got through his work early--who has done his duty. it did not take them long, and when it was done the captain said, "now, boys, we must be jolly to-day. as we can't get out we must take some exercise indoors. we shall need extra appetite to make away with that plum-pudding." so, at it they went! every sort of game or feat of strength known to sailors was played, or attempted. it was in the middle of all this that myouk and his family arrived, so they were compelled to join. even the fat baby was put into a blanket and swung round the cabin by jim croft, to the horror of its mother, who seemed to think it would be killed, and to the delight of its father, who didn't seem to care whether it was killed or not. then came the dinner. what a scene that was, to be sure! it would take a whole book to describe all that was said and done that day. the eskimos ate till they could hardly stand--that was their usual custom. then they lay down and went to sleep--that was their usual custom, too. the rest ate as heartily, poor fellows, as was possible for men not yet quite recovered from scurvy. they had no wine, but they had excellent coffee, and with this they drank to absent friends, sweethearts, and wives, and many other toasts, the mere mention of which raised such strong home-feelings in their breasts that some of them almost choked in the attempt to cheer. then came songs and stories--all of them old, very old indeed--but they came out on this occasion as good as new. the great event of the evening, however, was a fancy ball, in which our friends butts, baker, gregory, and pepper distinguished themselves. they had a fiddle, and dawkins the steward could play it. he knew nothing but scotch reels; but what could have been better? they could all dance, or, if they could not, they all tried. myouk and meetek were made to join and they capered as gracefully as polar bears, which animals they strongly resembled in their hairy garments. late in the evening came supper. it was just a repetition of dinner, with the remains of the pudding fried in bear's grease. thus passed christmas-day; much in the same way passed new year's day. then the men settled down to their old style of life; but the time hung so heavy on their hands that their spirits began to sink again. the long darkness became intolerable and the fresh meat began to fail. everything with life seemed to have forsaken the place. the captain made another trip to the eskimo village and found the huts empty--the whole race had flown, he knew not whither! the private theatricals were at first very successful; but by degrees they lost their interest and were given up. then a school was started and gregory became head master. writing and arithmetic were the only branches taught. some of the men were much in need of instruction, and all of them took to the school with energy and much delight. it lasted longer than the theatricals did. as time wore on the fresh meat was finished, scurvy became worse; and it was as much as the men who were not quite knocked down could do to attend to those who were. day after day tom and gregory and sam baker went out to hunt, and each day returned empty-handed. sometimes an arctic hare or a fox was got; but not often. at last rats were eaten as food. these creatures swarmed in the hold of the brig. they were caught in traps and shot with a bow and a blunt-headed arrow. but few of the men would eat them. the captain urged them to do so in vain. those who did eat kept in better health than those who did not. at last death came. mr mansell sank beneath the terrible disease and was buried on the island. no grave could be dug in that hard frozen soil. the burial service was read by his sorrowing comrades over his body, which was frozen quite hard before they reached the grave, and then they laid it in a tomb of ice. time hung heavier than ever after that. death is at all time a terrible visitant, but in such a place and under such circumstances it was tenfold more awful than usual. the blank in so small a band was a great one. it would perhaps have depressed them more than it did had their own situation been less desperate. but they had too fierce a battle to fight with disease, and the midnight gloom, and the bitter frost, to give way to much feeling about him who was gone. thus the long winter passed heavily away. the sun came back at last, and when he came his beams shone upon a pale, shattered, and heart-weary band of men. but with his cheering light came also _hope_, and health soon followed in his train. let young gregory's journal tell the rest of our story, little of which now remains to be told. "_february st_.--i have to record, with joy and gratitude, that the sun shone on the peaks of the ice-bergs to-day. the first time it has done so since october last. by the end of this month we shall have his rays on deck. i climbed to the top of a berg and actually bathed in sunshine this forenoon! we are all quite excited by the event, some of us even look jolly. ah! what miserable faces my comrades have! so pale, so thin! we are all as weak as water. the captain and i are the strongest. baker is also pretty well. crofts and davis are almost useless, the rest being quite helpless. the captain cooks, baker and i hunt, crofts and davis attend to the sick. another month of darkness would have killed the half of us. "_march th_.--i shot a bear to-day. it did my heart good to see the faces of the men when i brought them the news and a piece of the flesh! the cold is not quite so intense now. our coldest day this year has been the th of january. the glass stood at degrees below zero on that morning. what a winter we have had! i shudder when i think of it. but there is more cause to be anxious about what yet lies before us. a single bear will not last long. many weeks must pass before we are free. in june we hope to be released from our ice-prison. fresh meat we shall then have in abundance. with it strength will return, and then, if god permits, we shall attempt to continue our voyage northward. the captain is confident on the point of open water round the pole. the men are game for anything in spite of their sad condition." thus wrote gregory at that date. many weeks later we find him writing as follows: "_june th_.--free at last! the ice has been breaking up out at sea for some time past. it gave way in refuge harbour yesterday, and we warped out in the night. everything is ready to push north again. we have been feeding heartily for many weeks on walrus, seals, wild-fowl, and last, but not least, on some grasses which make bad greens, but they have put scurvy to flight. all the men are well and strong and fit for hard work--though nothing like what they were when we first came here. could it be otherwise? there are some of us who will carry the marks of this winter to our graves. the bright beautiful sunshine shines now, all day and all night, cheering our hearts and inspiring hope. "_june th_.--all is lost! how little we know what a day may bring forth! our good little brig is gone, and we are here on the ice without a thing in the world except the clothes on our backs. i have saved my note-book, which chanced to be in my breast-pocket when the nip took place. how awfully sudden it was! we now appreciate the wise forethought of captain harvey in sending the large boat to forlorn-hope bay. this boat is our last and only hope. we shall have to walk forty miles before we reach it. "our brig went down at three o'clock this afternoon. we had warped out into the floes to catch a light breeze that was blowing outside. for some time we held on steadily to the northward, but had not got out of sight of our winter quarters when a stream of ice set down upon us and closed in all around. at first we thought nothing of this, having escaped so many dangers of the kind last autumn, but by degrees the pressure increased alarmingly. we were jammed against a great ice-field which was still fast to the shore. in a few moments the sides of our little vessel began to creak and groan loudly. the men laboured like tigers at the ice-poles, but in vain. we heard a loud report in the cabin. no one knows what it was, but i suppose it must have been the breaking of a large bolt. at any rate it was followed by a series of crashes and reports that left no doubt in our minds as to what was going on. the ice was cracking the brig as if she had been a nut-shell. `save yourselves, lads!' cried the captain. one or two of the men made a rush to the hatchway, intending to run below and save some of their things. i ran to the cabin-ladder in the hope of saving our log-book and journals, but we all started back in horror, for the deck at that moment burst open almost under our feet. i cast one glance down through the opening into the hold. that glance was sufficient. the massive timbers and beams were being crushed together, doubled up, split, and shivered, as if they had been rotten straws! in another moment i was on the ice, where the whole crew were assembled, looking on at the work of destruction in solemn silence. "after bursting in the vessel's sides the ice eased off, and she at once began to settle down. we could hear the water rushing furiously into the hold. ten minutes later she was gone! thus end our hopes of farther discovery, and we are now left to fight our way in an open boat to the settlements on the south coast of greenland. we have little time to think. prompt action must be our watchword now, if we would escape from this world of ice. "_july th_.--i have not entered a line in this journal since our vessel was lost. our work has been so severe, and our sufferings so great, that i have had no heart for writing. our walk to the place where we left the boat was a hard one, but we were cheered by finding the boat all safe, and the provisions and stores just as we left them. there was not enough to last out the voyage, but we had guns and powder. it is in vain to attempt to describe the events of the last few weeks. constant, and hard, and cold work--at the oars, with the ice-poles-- warping, hauling, and shoving. beset by ice; driving before storms; detained by thick fogs; often wet to the skin; always tired, almost starving--such has been our fate since that sad day when our brig went down. and yet i don't think there is one of our party who would not turn about on the spot and renew our voyage of discovery, if he only got a chance of going in a well-appointed vessel. as it is, we must push on. home! home! is our cry now. "_august st_.--we are now in clover, after having been reduced to think of roasting our shoes for breakfast. for three days last week we ate nothing at all. our powder has been expended for some weeks past. on monday we finished our last morsel of the gull that pepper managed to bring down with a stone. tuesday was a terrible day. the agony of hunger was worse than i had expected it to be. nevertheless, we tried hard to cheer each other as we laboured at the oars. our only hope was to fall in with natives. signs of them were seen everywhere, and we expected to hear their shouts at every point of land we doubled. the captain suggested that we should try _shoe-soup_ on wednesday morning! he was more than half in earnest, but spoke as if he were jesting. pepper cocked his ears as if there was some hope still of work for him to do in his own line. jim crofts pulled off his shoe, and, looking at it earnestly, wondered if the sole would make a very tough chop. we all laughed, but i cannot say that the laugh sounded hearty. on the thursday i began to feel weak, but the pangs of hunger were not so bad. our eyes seemed very large and wolfish. i could not help shuddering when i thought of the terrible things that men have done when reduced to this state. "that evening, as we rounded a point, we saw an eskimo boy high on a cliff, with a net in his hand. he did not see us for some time, and we were so excited that we stopped rowing to watch him in breathless silence. thousands of birds were flying round his head among the cliffs. how often we had tried to kill some of these with sticks and stones, in vain! the net he held was a round one, with a long handle. suddenly he made a dashing sweep with it and caught two of the birds as they passed! we now saw that a number of dead birds lay at his feet. in one moment our boat was ashore and we scrambled up the cliffs in eager haste. the boy fled in terror, but before he was well out of sight every man was seated on a ledge of rock with a bird at his mouth, sucking the blood! hunger like ours despises cookery! it was fortunate that there were not many birds, else we should have done ourselves harm by eating too much. i have eaten many a good meal in my life, but never one so sweet, or for which i was so thankful, as that meal of raw birds, devoured on the cliffs of greenland! "that night we reached the eskimo village, where we now lie. we find that it is only two days' journey from this place to the danish settlements. there we mean to get on board the first ship that is bound for europe--no matter what port she sails for. meanwhile we rest our weary limbs in peace, for our dangers are past, and--thanks be to god-- we are saved." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ reader, my tale is told. a little book cannot be made to contain a long story, else would i have narrated many more of the strange and interesting events that befell our adventurers during that voyage. but enough has been written to give some idea of what is done and suffered by those daring men who attempt to navigate the polar seas. the end. the giant of the north, or, pokings round the pole, by r.m. ballantyne. ________________________________________________________________________ robert michael ballantyne was born in and died in . he was educated at the edinburgh academy, and in he became a clerk with the hudson bay company, working at the red river settlement in northen canada until , arriving back in edinburgh in . the letters he had written home were very amusing in their description of backwoods life, and his family publishing connections suggested that he should construct a book based on these letters. three of his most enduring books were written over the next decade, "the young fur traders", "ungava", "the hudson bay company", and were based on his experiences with the h.b.c. in this period he also wrote "the coral island" and "martin rattler", both of these taking place in places never visited by ballantyne. having been chided for small mistakes he made in these books, he resolved always to visit the places he wrote about. with these books he became known as a great master of literature intended for teenagers. he researched the cornish mines, the london fire brigade, the postal service, the railways, the laying down of submarine telegraph cables, the construction of light-houses, the light-ship service, the life-boat service, south africa, norway, the north sea fishing fleet, ballooning, deep-sea diving, algiers, and many more, experiencing the lives of the men and women in these settings by living with them for weeks and months at a time, and he lived as they lived. he was a very true-to-life author, depicting the often squalid scenes he encountered with great care and attention to detail. his young readers looked forward eagerly to his next books, and through the s and s there was a flow of books from his pen, sometimes four in a year, all very good reading. the rate of production diminished in the last ten or fifteen years of his life, but the quality never failed. he published over ninety books under his own name, and a few books for very young children under the pseudonym "comus". for today's taste his books are perhaps a little too religious, and what we would nowadays call "pi". in part that was the way people wrote in those days, but more important was the fact that in his days at the red river settlement, in the wilds of canada, he had been a little dissolute, and he did not want his young readers to be unmindful of how they ought to behave, as he felt he had been. some of his books were quite short, little over pages. these books formed a series intended for the children of poorer parents, having less pocket-money. these books are particularly well-written and researched, because he wanted that readership to get the very best possible for their money. they were published as six series, three books in each series. while ballantyne had some acqaintance with the eskimo during his years with the hudson bay company, this book runs a little into the fantastical. the head of the family who are the heroes of the book has the belief that there is a sea of ever-warm water surrounding the north pole, and that there are islands there abounding in animal life, and colonised by the eskimos. the plan is to visit these islands, and stand upon the actual north pole, which they find to be a low eminence near to the hut of a descendant of a seaman of the original hudson expedition in . the story is very well-told, and you find yourself almost believing the captain's logic. the tension is maintained right up to the last chapter, so much so that we do not learn whether the family, who have by this time all become endeared to us, ever get home to england, and what the father and mother of the captain's nephews have to say about their sons' adventures. created as an e-text by nick hodson, august . ________________________________________________________________________ the giant of the north, or, pokings round the pole, by r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. introduces our hero and his kindred. the giant was an eskimo of the arctic regions. at the beginning of his career he was known among his kindred by the name of skreekinbroot, or the howler, because he howled oftener and more furiously than any infant that had ever been born in arctic land. his proper name, however, was chingatok, though his familiars still ventured occasionally to style him skreekinbroot. now it must not be supposed that our giant was one of those ridiculous myths of the nursery, with monstrous heads and savage hearts, who live on human flesh, and finally receive their deserts at the hands of famous giant-killing jacks. no! chingatok was a real man of moderate size-- not more than seven feet two in his sealskin boots--with a lithe, handsome figure, immense chest and shoulders, a gentle disposition, and a fine, though flattish countenance, which was sometimes grave with thought, at other times rippling with fun. we mention the howling characteristic of his babyhood because it was, in early life, the only indication of the grand spirit that dwelt within him--the solitary evidence of the tremendous energy with which he was endowed. at first he was no bigger than an ordinary infant. he was, perhaps, a little fatter, but _not_ larger, and there was not an oily man or woman of the tribe to which he belonged who would have noticed anything peculiar about him if he had only kept moderately quiet; but this he would not or could not do. his mouth was his safety-valve. his spirit seemed to have been born big at once. it was far too large for his infant body, and could only find relief from the little plump dwelling in which it was at first enshrined by rushing out at the mouth. the shrieks of pigs were trifles to the yelling of that eskimo child's impatience. the caterwauling of cats was as nothing to the growls of his disgust. the angry voice of the polar bear was a mere chirp compared with the furious howling of his disappointment, and the barking of a mad walrus was music to the roaring of his wrath. every one, except his mother, wished him dead and buried in the centre of an iceberg or at the bottom of the polar sea. his mother--squat, solid, pleasant-faced, and mild--alone put up with his ways with that long-suffering endurance which is characteristic of mothers. nothing could disturb the serenity of toolooha. when the young giant, (that was to be), roared, she fondled him; if that was ineffectual, she gave him a walrus tusk or a seal's flipper to play with; if that did not suffice, she handed him a lump of blubber to suck; if that failed, as was sometimes the case, she gambolled with him on the floor of her snow-hut, and rubbed his oily visage lovingly over her not less oleaginous countenance. need we enlarge on this point? have not all mothers acted thus, or similarly, in all times and climes? from pole to pole a mother's soul is tender, strong, and true; whether the loved be good or bad-- white, yellow, black, or blue. but toolooha's love was wise as well as strong. if all else failed, she was wont to apply corporal punishment, and whacked her baby with her tail. be not shocked, reader. we refer to the tail of her coat, which was so long that it trailed on the ground, and had a flap at the end which produced surprising results when properly applied. but the howling condition of life did not last long. at the age of five years little chingatok began to grow unusually fast, and when he reached the age of seven, the tribe took note of him as a more than promising youth. then the grand spirit, which had hitherto sought to vent itself in yells and murderous assaults on its doting mother, spent its energies in more noble action. all the little boys of his size, although much older than himself, began to look up to him as a champion. none went so boldly into mimic warfare with the walrus and the bear as chingatok. no one could make toy sledges out of inferior and scanty materials so well as he. if any little one wanted a succourer in distress, skreekinbroot was the lad to whom he, or she, turned. if a broken toy had to be mended, chingatok could do it better than any other boy. and so it went on until he became a man and a giant. when he was merely a big boy--that is, bigger than the largest man of his tribe--he went out with the other braves to hunt and fish, and signalised himself by the reckless manner in which he would attack the polar bear single-handed; but when he reached his full height and breadth he gave up reckless acts, restrained his tendency to display his great strength, and became unusually modest and thoughtful, even pensive, for an eskimo. the superiority of chingatok's mind, as well as his body, soon became manifest. even among savages, intellectual power commands respect. when coupled with physical force it elicits reverence. the young giant soon became an oracle and a leading man in his tribe. those who had wished him dead, and in the centre of an iceberg or at the bottom of the polar sea, came to wish that there were only a few more men like him. of course he had one or two enemies. who has not? there were a few who envied him his physical powers. there were some who envied him his moral influence. none envied him his intellectual superiority, for they did not understand it. there was one who not only envied but hated him. this was eemerk, a mean-spirited, narrow-minded fellow, who could not bear to play what is styled second fiddle. eemerk was big enough--over six feet--but he wanted to be bigger. he was stout enough, but wanted to be stouter. he was influential too, but wanted to reign supreme. this, of course, was not possible while there existed a taller, stouter, and cleverer man than himself. even if eemerk had been the equal of chingatok in all these respects, there would still have remained one difference of character which would have rendered equality impossible. it was this: our young giant was unselfish and modest. eemerk was selfish and vain-glorious. when the latter killed a seal he always kept the tit-bits for himself. chingatok gave them to his mother, or to any one else who had a mind to have them. and so in regard to everything. chingatok was not a native of the region in which we introduce him to the reader. he and the tribe, or rather part of the tribe, to which he belonged, had travelled from the far north; so far north that nobody knew the name of the land from which they had come. even chingatok himself did not know it. being unacquainted with geography, he knew no more about his position on the face of this globe than a field-mouse or a sparrow. but the young giant had heard a strange rumour, while in his far-off country, which had caused his strong intellect to ponder, and his huge heart to beat high. tribes who dwelt far to the south of his northern home had told him that other tribes, still further south, had declared that the people who dwelt to the south of them had met with a race of men who came to them over the sea on floating islands; that these islands had something like trees growing out of them, and wings which moved about, which folded and expanded somewhat like the wings of the sea-gull; that these men's faces were whiter than eskimo faces; that they wore skins of a much more curious kind than sealskins, and that they were amazingly clever with their hands, talked a language that no one could understand, and did many wonderful things that nobody could comprehend. a longing, wistful expression used to steal over chingatok's face as he gazed at the southern horizon while listening to these strange rumours, and a very slight smile of incredulity had glimmered on his visage, when it was told him that one of the floating islands of these kablunets, or white men, had been seen with a burning mountain in the middle of it, which vomited forth smoke and fire, and sometimes uttered a furious hissing or shrieking sound, not unlike his own voice when he was a skreekinbroot. the giant said little about these and other subjects, but thought deeply. his mind, as we have said, was far ahead of his time and condition. let us listen to some of the disjointed thoughts that perplexed this man. "who made me?" he asked in a low tone, when floating alone one day in his kayak, or skin canoe, "whence came i? whither go i? what is this great sea on which i float? that land on which i tread? no sledge, no spear, no kayak, no snow-hut makes itself! who made all that which i behold?" chingatok looked around him, but no audible answer came from nature. he looked up, but the glorious sun only dazzled his eyes. "there _must_ be one," he continued in a lower tone, "who made all things; but who made _him_? no one? it is impossible! the maker must have ever been. _ever been_!" he repeated this once or twice with a look of perplexed gravity. the northern savage had grasped the grand mystery, and, like all true philosophers savage or civilised who have gone before him, relapsed into silence. at last he resolved to travel south, until he should arrive at the coasts where these strange sights before described were said to have been seen. having made up his mind, chingatok began his arrangements without delay; persuaded a few families of his tribe to accompany him, and reached the north-western shores of greenland after a long and trying journey by water and ice. here he spent the winter. when spring came, he continued his journey south, and at last began to look out, with sanguine expectation, for the floating islands with wings, and the larger island with the burning mountain on it, about which he had heard. of course, on his way south, our giant fell in with some members of the tribes through whom the rumours that puzzled him had been transmitted to the far north; and, as he advanced, these rumours took a more definite, also a more correct, form. in time he came to understand that the floating islands were gigantic kayaks, or canoes, with masts and sails, instead of trees and wings. the burning mountain, however, remained an unmodified mystery, which he was still inclined to disbelieve. but these more correct views did not in the least abate chingatok's eager desire to behold, with his own eyes, the strange men from the unknown south. eemerk formed one of the party who had volunteered to join chingatok on this journey. not that eemerk was influenced by large-minded views or a thirst for knowledge, but he could not bear the thought that his rival should have all the honour of going forth on a long journey of exploration to the mysterious south, a journey which was sure to be full of adventure, and the successful accomplishment of which would unquestionably raise him very much in the estimation of his tribe. eemerk had volunteered to go, not as second in command, but as an independent member of the party--a sort of free-lance. chingatok did not quite relish having eemerk for a companion, but, being a good-humoured, easy-going fellow, he made no objection to his going. eemerk took his wife with him. chingatok took his mother and little sister; also a young woman named tekkona, who was his wife's sister. these were the only females of the exploring party. chingatok had left his wife behind him, because she was not robust at that time; besides, she was very small--as is usually the case with giants' wives--and he was remarkably fond of her, and feared to expose her to severe fatigue and danger. the completed party of explorers numbered twenty souls, with their respective bodies, some of which latter were large, some small, but all strong and healthy. four of the men were friends of eemerk, whom he had induced to join because he knew them to be kindred spirits who would support him. "i go to the ice-cliff to look upon the sea," said chingatok one morning, drawing himself up to his full height, and unconsciously brushing some of the lamp-black off the roof of his hut with the hood of his sealskin coat. at this point it may be well to explain, once for all, that our giant did not speak english, and as it is highly improbable that the reader understands the eskimo tongue, we will translate as literally as possible--merely remarking that chingatok's language, like his mind, was of a superior cast. "why goes my son to the ice-cliff?" asked toolooha in a slightly reproachful tone. "are not the floes nearer? can he not look on the great salt lake from the hummocks? the sun has been hot a long time now. the ice-cliffs are dangerous. their edges split off every day. if my son goes often to them, he will one day come tumbling down upon the floes and be crushed flat, and men will carry him to his mother's feet like a mass of shapeless blubber." it is interesting to note how strong a resemblance there is in sentiment and modes of thought between different members of the human family. this untutored savage, this polar giant, replied, in the eskimo tongue, words which may be freely translated--"never fear, mother, i know how to take care of myself." had he been an englishman, he could not have expressed himself more naturally. he smiled as he looked down at his stout and genial mother, while she stooped and drew forth a choice morsel of walrus flesh from one of her boots. eskimo ladies wear enormous sealskin boots the whole length of their legs. the tops of these boots are made extremely wide, for the purpose of stowing away blubber, or babies, or other odd articles that might encumber their hands. chingatok seemed the personification of savage dignity as he stood there, leaning on a short walrus spear. evidently his little mother doted on him. so did oblooria, a pretty little girl of about sixteen, who was his only sister, and the counterpart of her mother, hairy coat and tail included, only a few sizes smaller. but chingatok's dignity was marred somewhat when he went down on his hands and knees, in order to crawl through the low snow-tunnel which was the only mode of egress from the snow-hut. emerging at the outer end of the tunnel, he stood up, drew the hood of his sealskin coat over his head, shouldered his spear, and went off with huge and rapid strides over the frozen billows of the arctic sea. spring was far advanced at the time of which we write, and the sun shone not only with dazzling brilliancy, but with intense power on the fields of ice which still held the ocean in their cold unyielding embrace. the previous winter had been unusually severe, and the ice showed little or no sign of breaking up, except at a great distance from land, where the heaving of the waves had cracked it up into large fields. these were gradually parting from the main body, and drifting away with surface-currents to southern waters, there to be liquefied and re-united to their parent sea. the particular part of the greenland coast to which the giant went in his ramble is marked by tremendous cliffs descending perpendicularly into the water. these, at one part, are divided by a valley tilled with a great glacier, which flows from the mountains of the interior with a steep declivity to the sea, into which it thrusts its tongue, or extreme end. this mighty river of ice completely fills the valley from side to side, being more than two miles in width and many hundred feet thick. it seems as solid and motionless as the rocks that hem it in, nevertheless the markings on the surface resemble the currents and eddies of a stream which has been suddenly frozen in the act of flowing, and if you were to watch it narrowly, day by day, and week by week, you would perceive, by the changed position of objects on its surface, that it does actually advance or flow towards the sea. a further proof of this advance is, that although the tongue is constantly shedding off large icebergs, it is never much decreased in extent, being pushed out continuously by the ice which is behind. in fact, it is this pushing process which causes the end of the tongue to shed its bergs, because, when the point is thrust into deep water and floats, the motion of the sea cracks the floating mass off from that pail which is still aground, and lets it drift away. now it was to these ice-cliffs that the somewhat reckless giant betook himself. although not well acquainted with that region, or fully alive to the extent of the danger incurred, his knowledge was sufficient to render him cautious in the selection of the position which should form his outlook. and a magnificent sight indeed presented itself when he took his stand among the glittering pinnacles. far as the eye could reach, the sea lay stretched in the sunshine, calm as a mill-pond, and sparkling with ice-jewels of every shape and size. an arctic haze, dry and sunny, seemed to float over all like golden gauze. not only was the sun encircled by a beautiful halo, but also by those lovely lights of the arctic regions known as parhelia, or mock-suns. four of these made no mean display in emulation of their great original. on the horizon, refraction caused the ice-floes and bergs to present endless variety of fantastic forms, and in the immediate foreground--at the giant's feet-- tremendous precipices of ice went sheer down into the deep water, while, away to the right, where a bay still retained its winter grasp of an ice-field, could be seen, like white bee-hives, the temporary snow-huts of these wandering eskimos. well might the eye, as well as the head, of the so-called savage rise upwards while he pondered the great mystery of the maker of all! as he stood on the giddy ledge, rapt in contemplation, an event occurred which was fitted to deepen the solemnity of his thoughts. not twenty yards from the point on which he stood, a great ice-cliff--the size of an average house--snapped off with a rending crash, and went thundering down into the deep, which seemed to boil and heave with sentient emotion as it received the mass, and swallowed it in a turmoil indescribable. chingatok sprang from his post and sought a safer but not less lofty outlook, while the new-born berg, rising from the sea, swayed majestically to and fro in its new-found cradle. "it is not understandable," muttered the giant as he took up his new position and gazed with feelings of awe upon the grand scene. "i wonder if the pale-faced men in the floating islands think much about these things. perhaps they dwell in a land which is still more wonderful than this, and hunt the walrus and the seal like us. it is said they come for nothing else but to see our land and find out what is in it. why should i not go to see their land? my kayak is large, though it has no wings. the land may be far off, but am i not strong? they are pale-faced; perhaps the reason is that they are starved. that must be so, else they would not leave their home. i might bring some of the poor creatures to this happy land of ours, where there is always plenty to eat. they might send messengers for their relations to come and dwell with us. i will speak to mother about that; she is wise!" like a dutiful son, the giant turned on his heel, descended the cliffs, and went straight home to consult with his mother. chapter two. unexpected meetings, alarms, and confidences. "mother, i have been thinking," said chingatok, as he crept into his hut and sat down on a raised bench of moss. "that is not news, my son; you think much. you are not like other men. they think little and eat much." the stout little woman looked up through the smoke of her cooking-lamp and smiled, but her big son was too much absorbed in his thoughts to observe her pleasantry, so she continued the cooking of a walrus chop in silence. "the kablunets are not to be seen, mother," resumed chingatok. "i have looked for them every day for a long time, and begin to weary. my thought is now to launch my kayak when we come to open water, load it with meat, take four spears and more lines than a strong hunter needs for a whole season; then paddle away south to discover the land of the kablunets. they must be poor; they may be starving. i will guide them to our home, and show them this land of plenty." he paused abruptly, and looked at his mother with solemn anxiety, for he was well aware that he had given her food for profound reflection. we feel tempted here to repeat our remark about the strong resemblance between different members of the human family, but refrain. this untutored woman of the arctic lands met her son's proposition with the well-known reply of many civilised persons. "of what use would it be, my son? no good can come of searching out these poor lands. you cannot benefit the miserable kablunets. perhaps they are savage and fierce; and you are sure to meet with dangers by the way. worse--you may die!" "mother," returned chingatok, "when the white bear stands up with his claws above my head and his mouth a-gape, does my hand tremble or my spear fail?" "no, my son." "then why do you speak to me of danger and death?" toolooha was not gifted with argumentative powers. she relapsed into silence and lamp-smoke. but her son was not to be so easily dissuaded. he adopted a line of reasoning which never failed. "mother," he said, sadly, "it may be that you are right, and i am of too fearful a spirit to venture far away from you by myself; i will remain here if you think me a coward." "don't say so, chingatok. you know what i think. go, if you must go, but who will hunt for your poor old mother when you are gone?" this was an appeal which the astute little woman knew to be very powerful with her son. she buried her head in the smoke again, and left the question to simmer. chingatok was tender-hearted. he said nothing, but, as usual, he thought much, as he gazed in a contemplative manner at his oily parent, and there is no saying to what lengths of self-sacrifice he would have gone if he had not been aroused, and his thoughts scattered to the winds, by a yell so tremendous that it might well have petrified him on the spot. but it did nothing of the kind. it only caused him to drop on his knees, dart through the tunnel like an eel, spring into the open air like an electrified rabbit from its burrow, and stand up with a look of blazing interrogation on his huge countenance. the cry had been uttered by his bosom friend and former playmate oolichuk, who came running towards him with frantic gesticulations. "the kablunets!" he gasped, "the white-faces have come!--on a floating island!--alive!--smoking!--it is all true!" "where?" demanded our giant, whose face blazed up at once. "there!" cried oolichuk, pointing seaward towards the ice-hummocks with both hands, and glaring up at his friend. without another word chingatok ran off in the direction pointed out, followed hotly by his friend. oolichuk was a large and powerful man, but, his legs were remarkably short. his pace, compared with that of chingatok, was as that of a sparrow to an ostrich. nevertheless he kept up, for he was agile and vigorous. "have you seen them--have you spoken?" asked the giant, abruptly. "yes, all the tribe was there." "no one killed?" "no, but terribly frightened; they made me run home to fetch you." chingatok increased his speed. so did oolichuk. while they run, let us leap a little ahead of them, reader, and see what had caused all the excitement. the whole party had gone off that morning, with the exception of chingatok and his mother, to spear seals in a neighbouring bay, where these animals had been discovered in great numbers. dogs and sledges had been taken, because a successful hunt was expected, and the ice was sufficiently firm. the bay was very large. at its distant southern extremity there rose a great promontory which jutted far out into the sea. while the men were busy there making preparations to begin the hunt, oblooria, chingatok's little sister, amused herself by mounting a hummock of ice about thirty feet high. when there, she chanced to look towards the promontory. instantly she opened her eyes and mouth and uttered a squeal that brought her friends running to her side. oolichuk was the first to reach her. he had no need to ask questions. oblooria's gaze directed his, and there, coming round the promontory, he beheld an object which had never before filled his wondering eyes. it was, apparently, a monstrous creature with a dark body and towering wings, and a black thing in its middle, from which were vomited volumes of smoke. "kablunets! white men!" he yelled. "kablunets!--huk! huk!" echoed the whole tribe, as they scrambled up the ice-hill one after another. and they were right. a vessel of the pale-faces had penetrated these northern solitudes, and was advancing swiftly before a light breeze under sail and steam. despite the preparation their minds had received, and the fact that they were out in search of these very people, this sudden appearance of them filled most of the eskimos with alarm--some of them with absolute terror, insomuch that the term "pale-face" became most appropriate to themselves. "what shall we do?" exclaimed akeetolik, one of the men. "fly!" cried ivitchuk, another of the men, whose natural courage was not high. "no; let us stay and behold!" said oolichuk, with a look of contempt at his timid comrade. "yes, stay and see," said eemerk sternly. "but they will kill us," faltered the young woman, whom we have already mentioned by the name of tekkona. "no--no one would kill _you_," said eemerk gallantly; "they would only carry you off and keep you." while they conversed with eager, anxious looks, the steam yacht--for such she was--advanced rapidly, threading her way among the ice-fields and floes with graceful rapidity and ease, to the unutterable amazement of the natives. although her sails were spread to catch the light breeze, her chief motive power at the time was a screw-propeller. "yes, it must be alive," said oolichuk to akeetolik, with a look of solemn awe. "the white men do not paddle. they could not lift paddles big enough to move such a great oomiak," [see note ], "and the wind is not strong; it could not blow them so fast. see, the oomiak has a tail--and wags it!" "oh! _do_ let us run away!" whispered the trembling oblooria, as she took shelter behind tekkona. "no, no," said the latter, who was brave as well as pretty, "we need not fear. our men will take care of us." "i wish that chingatok was here!" whimpered poor little oblooria, nestling closer to tekkona and grasping her tail, "he fears nothing and nobody." "ay," assented tekkona with a peculiar smile, "and is brave enough to fight everything and everybody." "does oblooria think that no one can fight but the giant?" whispered oolichuk, who stood nearest to the little maid. he drew a knife made of bone from his boot, where it usually lay concealed, and flourished it, with a broad grin. the girl laughed, blushed slightly, and, looking down, toyed with the sleeve of tekkona's fur coat. meanwhile the yacht drew near to the floe on which our eskimos were grouped. the ice was cracked right across, leaving a lane of open water about ten feet wide between its inner edge and the shore ice. the eskimos stood on the land side of this crack, a hundred yards or so from it. on nearing the floe the strange vessel checked her speed. "it moves its wings!" exclaimed eemerk. "and turns its side to us," said akeetolik. "and wags its tail no more," cried oolichuk. "oh! do, _do_ let us run away," gasped oblooria. "no, no, we will not run," said tekkona. at that moment a white cloud burst from the side of the yacht. "hi! hee! huk!" shouted the whole tribe in amazement. a crash followed which not only rattled like thunder among the surrounding cliffs, but went like electric fire to the central marrow of each eskimo. with a united yell of terror, they leaped three feet into the air--more or less--turned about, and fled. tekkona, who was active as a young deer, herself took the lead; and oblooria, whose limbs trembled so that she could hardly run, held on to oolichuk, who gallantly dragged her along. the terror was increased by a prolonged screech from the steam-whistle. it was a wild scramble in sudden panic. the eskimos reached their sledges, harnessed their teams, left their spears on the ice, cracked their whips, which caused the dogs to join in the yelling chorus, and made for the land at a furious gallop. but their fear began to evaporate in a few minutes, and oolichuk was the first to check his pace. "ho! stop," he cried. eemerk looked back, saw that they were not pursued, and pulled up. the others followed suit, and soon the fugitives were seen by those on board the yacht grouped together and gazing intently at them from the top of another ice-hummock. the effect of the cannon-shot on board the yacht itself was somewhat startling. the gun had been loaded on the other side of the promontory for the purpose of being fired if eskimos were not visible on the coast beyond, in order to attract them from the interior, if they should chance to be there. when, however, the natives were discovered on the ice, the gun was, of course, unnecessary, and had been forgotten. it therefore burst upon the crew with a shock of surprise, and caused the captain, who was in the cabin at the moment, to shoot up from the hatchway like a jack-in-the-box. "who did that?" he demanded, looking round sternly. the crew, who had been gazing intently at the natives, did not know. "i really cannot tell, sir," said the chief mate, touching his cap. two strapping youths--one about sixteen, the other eighteen--leaned over the side and paid no regard to the question; but it was obvious, from the heaving motion of their shoulders, that they were not so much absorbed in contemplation as they pretended to be. "come, leo, alf, you know something about this." the captain was a large powerful man of about forty, with bushy iron-grey curls, a huge beard, and an aquiline nose. the two youths turned to him at once, and leo, the eldest, said respectfully, "we did not see it done, uncle, but--but we think--" "well, what do you think?" at that moment a delicate-looking, slender lad, about twelve years of age, with fair curly hair, and flashing blue eyes, stepped out from behind the funnel, which had hitherto concealed him, and said boldly, though blushingly-- "i did it, father." "ha! just like you; why did you do it? eh!" "i can hardly tell, father," said the boy, endeavouring to choke a laugh, "but the eskimos looked so funny, and i--i had a box of matches in my pocket, and--and--i thought a shot would make them look so very much funnier, and--and--i was right!" "well, benjamin, you may go below, and remain there till further orders." when captain vane called his son "benjamin," he was seriously displeased. at other times he called him benjy. "yes, father," replied the boy, with a very bad grace, and down he went in a state of rebellious despair, for he was wildly anxious to witness all that went on. his despair was abated, however, when, in the course of a few minutes, the yacht swung round so as to present her stern to the shore, and remained in that position, enabling him to observe proceedings from the cabin windows almost as well as if he had been on deck. he was not aware that his father, knowing his son's nature, and wishing to temper discipline with mercy, had placed the vessel in that position for his special benefit! the difficulty now was, how to attract the natives, and inspire them with confidence in the good intentions of their visitors. in any case this would have been a difficult matter, but the firing of that unlucky gun had increased the difficulty tenfold. when, however, captain vane saw the natives cease their mad flight, and turn to gaze at the vessel, his hopes revived, and he set about a series of ingenious efforts to attain his end. first of all, he sent a boat in charge of his two nephews, leonard and alphonse vandervell, to set up a small table on the ice, on which were temptingly arranged various presents, consisting of knives, beads, looking-glasses, and articles of clothing. having done this, they retired, like wary anglers, to watch for a bite. but the fish would not rise, though they observed the proceedings with profound attention from the distant hummock. after waiting a couple of hours, the navigators removed the table and left an eskimo dog in its place, with a string of blue beads tied round its neck. but this bait also failed. "try something emblematic, uncle," suggested leonard, the elder of the brothers before mentioned. "and get benjy to manufacture it," said alphonse. as benjy was possessed of the most fertile imagination on board, he was released from punishment and brought on deck. the result of his effort of genius was the creation of a huge white calico flag, on which were painted roughly the figure of a sailor and an eskimo sitting on an iceberg, with a kettle of soup between them. on one side were a pair of hands clasped together; on the other a sprig of heath, the only shrub that could be seen on the shore. "splendid!" exclaimed leo and alf in the same breath, as they held the flag up to view. "you'll become a royal academician if you cultivate your talents, benjy," said the captain, who was proud, as well as fond, of this his only child. the boy said nothing, but a pleased expression and a twinkle in his eyes proved that he was susceptible to flattery, though not carried off his legs by it. the banner with the strange device was fixed to a pole which was erected on an ice-hummock between the ship and the shore, and a bag containing presents was hung at the foot of it. still these eskimo fish would not bite, though they "rose" at the flag. oolichuk's curiosity had become so intense that he could not resist it. he advanced alone, very warily, and looked at it, but did not dare to touch it. soon he was joined by eemerk and the others. seeing this, captain vane sent to meet them an interpreter whom he had procured at one of the greenland settlements in passing. just as this man, whose name was anders, stepped into the boat alongside, it occurred to the eskimos that their leader should be sent for. oolichuk undertook to fetch him; he ran back to the sledges, harnessed a small team, and set off like the wind. thus it came to pass that chingatok and his mother were startled by a yell, as before mentioned. meanwhile anders was put on the ice, and advanced alone and unarmed towards the canal, or chasm, which separated the parties. he carried a small white flag and a bag containing presents. innocent-looking and defenceless though he was, however, the eskimos approached him with hesitating and slow steps, regarding every motion of the interpreter with suspicion, and frequently stooping to thrust their hands into their boots, in which they all carried knives. at last, when within hearing, anders shouted a peaceful message, and there was much hallooing and gesticulation among the natives, but nothing comprehensible came of it. after a time anders thought he recognised words of a dialect with which he was acquainted, and to his satisfaction found that they understood him. "kakeite! kakeite!--come on, come on," he cried, holding up the present. "nakrie! nakrie!--no, no, go away--you want to kill us," answered the doubtful natives. thereupon anders protested that nothing was further from his thoughts, that he was a man and a friend, and had a mother like themselves, and that he wanted to please them. at this eemerk approached to the edge of the canal, and, drawing a knife from his boot, said, "go away! i can kill you." nothing daunted, anders said he was not afraid, and taking a good english knife from his bag threw it across the canal. eemerk picked it up, and was so pleased that he exclaimed, "heigh-yaw! heigh-yaw!" joyously, and pulled his nose several times. anders, understanding this to be a sign of friendship, immediately pulled his own nose, smiled, and threw several trinkets and articles of clothing to the other natives, who had by that time drawn together in a group, and were chattering in great surprise at the things presented. ivitchuk was perhaps the most excited among them. he chanced to get hold of a round hox, in the lid of which was a mirror. on beholding himself looking at himself, he made such an awful face that he dropt the glass and sprang backward, tripping up poor oblooria in the act, and tumbling over her. this was greeted with a shout of laughter, and anders, now believing that friendly relations had been established, went to the boat for a plank to bridge the chasm. as leo and alf assisted him to carry the plank, the natives again became grave and anxious. "stop!" shouted eemerk, "you want to kill us. what great creature is that? does it come from the moon or the sun? does it eat fire and smoke?" "no, it is only a dead thing. it is a wooden house." "you lie!" cried the polite eemerk, "it shakes its wings. it vomits fire and smoke. it has a tail, and wags it." while speaking he slowly retreated, for the plank was being placed in position, and the other natives were showing symptoms of an intention to fly. just then a shout was heard landwards. turning round they saw a dog-sledge flying over the ice towards them, with oolichuk flourishing the long-lashed whip, and the huge form of their leader beside him. in a few seconds they dashed up, and chingatok sprang upon the ice. without a moment's hesitation he strode towards the plank and crossed it. walking up to anders he pulled his own nose. the interpreter was not slow to return the salutation, as he looked up at the giant with surprise, not unmingled with awe. in addition, he grasped his huge hand, squeezed, and shook it. chingatok smiled blandly, and returned the squeeze so as to cause the interpreter to wince. then, perceiving at once that he had got possession of a key to the affections of the strangers, he offered to shake hands with leonard and his brother, stooping with regal urbanity to them as he did so. by this time the captain and first mate, with benjy and several of the crew, were approaching. instead of exhibiting fear, chingatok advanced to meet them, and shook hands all round. he gazed at captain vane with a look of admiration which was not at first quite accountable, until he laid his hand gently on the captain's magnificent beard, and stroked it. the captain laughed, and again grasped the hand of the eskimo. they both squeezed, but neither could make the other wince, for captain vane was remarkably powerful, though comparatively short of limb. "well, you _are_ a good fellow in every way," exclaimed the captain. "heigh, yah!" returned chingatok, who no doubt meant to be complimentary, though we confess our inability to translate. it was obvious that two sympathetic souls had met. "come across," shouted chingatok, turning abruptly to his companions, who had been gazing at his proceedings in open-mouthed wonder. the whole tribe at once obeyed the order, and in a few minutes they were in the seventh heaven of delight and good-will, receiving gifts and handshakings, each pulling his own nose frequently by way of expressing satisfaction or friendship, and otherwise exchanging compliments with the no less amiable and gratified crew of the steam yacht _whitebear_. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note. the oomiak is the open boat of skin used by eskimo _women_, and is capable of holding several persons. the kayak, or man's canoe, holds only one. chapter three. shows how the eskimos were entertained by the white men. the _whitebear_ steam yacht, owned and commanded by captain jacob vane, had sailed from england, and was bound for the north pole. "i'll find it--i'm bound to find it," was the captain's usual mode of expressing himself to his intimates on the subject, "if there's a north pole in the world at all, and my nephews leo and alf will help me. leo's a doctor, _almost_, and alf's a scientific jack-of-all-trades, so we can't fail. i'll take my boy benjy for the benefit of his health, and see if we don't bring home a chip o' the pole big enough to set up beside cleopatra's needle on the thames embankment." there was tremendous energy in captain vane, and indomitable resolution; but energy and resolution cannot achieve all things. there are other factors in the life of man which help to mould his destiny. short and sad and terrible--ay, we might even say tremendous--was the _whitebear's_ wild career. up to the time of her meeting with the eskimos, all had gone well. fair weather and favouring winds had blown her across the atlantic. sunshine and success had received her, as it were, in the arctic regions. the sea was unusually free of ice. upernavik, the last of the greenland settlements touched at, was reached early in the season, and the native interpreter anders secured. the dreaded "middle passage," near the head of baffin's bay, was made in the remarkably short space of fifty hours, and, passing cape york into the north water, they entered smith's sound without having received more than a passing bump--an arctic kiss as it were--from the polar ice. in smith's sound fortune still favoured them. these resolute intending discoverers of the north pole passed in succession the various "farthests" of previous explorers, and the stout brothers vandervell, with their cousin benjy vane, gazed eagerly over the bulwarks at the swiftly-passing headlands, while the captain pointed out the places of interest, and kept up a running commentary on the brave deeds and high aspirations of such well-known men as frobisher, davis, hudson, ross, parry, franklin, kane, mcclure, rae, mcclintock, hayes, hall, nares, markham, and all the other heroes of arctic story. it was an era in the career of those three youths that stood out bright and fresh--never to be forgotten--this first burst of the realities of the arctic world on minds which had been previously well informed by books. the climax was reached on the day when the eskimos of the far north were met with. but from that time a change took place in their experience. fortune seemed to frown from that memorable day. we say "seemed," because knitted brows do not always or necessarily indicate what is meant by a frown. after the first fears of the eskimos had been allayed, a party of them were invited to go on board the ship. they accepted the invitation and went, headed by chingatok. that noble savage required no persuasion. from the first he had shown himself to be utterly devoid of fear. he felt that the grand craving of his nature--a thirst for knowledge--was about to be gratified, and that would have encouraged him to risk anything, even if he had been much less of a hero than he was. but if fear had no influence over our giant, the same cannot be said of his companions. oolichuk, indeed, was almost as bold, though he exhibited a considerable amount of caution in his looks and movements; but eemerk, and one or two of his friends, betrayed their craven spirits in frequent startled looks and changing colour. ivitchuk was a strange compound of nervousness and courage, while akeetolik appeared to have lost the power of expressing every feeling but one--that of blank amazement. indeed, surprise at what they saw on board the steam yacht was the predominant feeling amongst these children of nature. their eyebrows seemed to have gone up and fixed themselves in the middle of their foreheads, and their eyes and mouths to have opened wide permanently. none of the women accepted the invitation to go aboard except tekkona, and oblooria followed her, not because she was courageous, but because she seemed to cling to the stronger nature as a protection from undefined and mysterious dangers. "tell them," said captain vane to anders, the eskimo interpreter, "that these are the machines that drive the ship along when there is no wind." he pointed down the hatchway, where the complication of rods and cranks glistened in the hold. "huk!" exclaimed the eskimos. they sometimes exclaimed hi! ho! hoy! and hah! as things were pointed out to them, but did not venture on language more intelligible at first. "let 'em hear the steam-whistle," suggested the mate. before the captain could countermand the order, benjy had touched the handle and let off a short, sharp _skirl_. the effect on the natives was powerful. they leaped, with a simultaneous yell, at least a foot off the deck, with the exception of chingatok, though even he was visibly startled, while oblooria seized tekkona round the waist, and buried her face in her friend's jacket. a brief explanation soon restored them to equanimity, and they were about to pass on to some other object of interest, when both the steam-whistle and the escape-valve were suddenly opened to their full extent, and there issued from the engine a hissing yell so prolonged and deafening that even the captain's angry shout was not heard. a yard at least was the leap into the air made by the weakest of the eskimos--except our giant, who seemed, however, to shrink into himself, while he grasped his knife and looked cautiously round, as if to guard himself from any foe that might appear. eemerk fairly turned and fled to the stern of the yacht, over which he would certainly have plunged had he not been forcibly restrained by two stout seamen. the others, trembling violently, stood still, because they knew not what to do, and poor oblooria fell flat on the deck, catching tekkona by the tail, and pulling her down beside her. "you scoundrel!" exclaimed the captain, when the din ceased, "i--i--go down, sir, to--" "oh! father, don't be hard on me," pleaded benjy, with a gleefully horrified look, "i really could _not_ resist it. the--the temptation was too strong!" "the temptation to give you a rope's-ending is almost too strong for _me_, benjamin," returned the captain sternly, but there was a twinkle in his eye notwithstanding, as he turned to explain to chingatok that his son had, by way of jest, allowed part of the mighty power imprisoned in the machinery to escape. the eskimo received the explanation with dignified gravity, and a faint smile played on his lips as he glanced approvingly at benjy, for he loved a jest, and was keenly alive to a touch of humour. "what power is imprisoned in the machinery?" asked our eskimo through the interpreter. "what power?" repeated the captain with a puzzled look, "why, it's boiling water--steam." here he tried to give a clear account of the nature and power and application of steam, but, not being gifted with capacity for lucid explanation, and the mind of anders being unaccustomed to such matters, the result was that the brain of chingatok was filled with ideas that were fitted rather to amaze than to instruct him. after making the tour of the vessel, the party again passed the engine hatch. chingatok touched the interpreter quietly, and said in a low, grave tone, "tell blackbeard," (thus he styled the captain), "to let the power yell again!" anders glanced up in the giant's grave countenance with a look of amused surprise. he understood him, and whispered to the captain, who smiled intelligently, and, turning to his son, said-- "do it again, benjy. give it 'em strong." never before did that lad obey his father with such joyous alacrity. in another instant the whistle shrieked, and the escape-valve hissed ten times more furiously than before. up went the eskimo--three feet or more--as if in convulsions, and away went eemerk to the stern, over which he dived, swam to the floe, leaped on his sledge, cracked his whip, and made for home on the wings of terror. doubtless an evil conscience helped his cowardice. meanwhile chingatok laughed, despite his struggles to be grave. this revealed the trick to some of his quick-witted and humour-loving companions, who at once burst into loud laughter. even oblooria dismissed her fears and smiled. in this restored condition they were taken down to the cabin and fed sumptuously. that night, as chingatok sat beside his mother, busy with a seal's rib, he gradually revealed to her the wonders he had seen. "the white men are very wise, mother." "so you have said four times, my son." "but you cannot understand it." "but my son can make me understand," said toolooha, helping the amiable giant to a second rib. chingatok gazed at his little mother with a look of solemnity that evidently perplexed her. she became restless under it, and wiped her forehead uneasily with the flap at the end of her tail. the youth seemed about to speak, but he only sighed and addressed himself to the second rib, over which he continued to gaze while he masticated. "my thoughts are big, mother," he said, laying down the bare bone. "that may well be, for so is your head, my son," she replied, gently. "i know not how to begin, mother." "another rib may open your lips, perhaps," suggested the old woman, softly. "true; give me one," said chingatok. the third rib seemed to have the desired effect, for, while busy with it, he began to give his parent a graphic account of the yacht and its crew, and it was really interesting to note how correctly he described all that he understood of what he had seen. but some of the things he had partly failed to comprehend, and about these he was vague. "and they have a--a power, mother, shut up in a hard thing, so that it can't get out unless they let it, and it drives the big canoe through the water. it is very strong--terrible!" "is it a devil?" asked toolooha. "no, it is not alive. it is dead. it is _that_," he pointed with emphasis to a pot hanging over the lamp out of which a little steam was issuing, and looked at his mother with awful solemnity. she returned the look with something of incredulity. "yes, mother, the power is not a beast. it lives not, yet it drives the white man's canoe, which is as big as a little iceberg, and it whistles; it shrieks; it yells!" a slightly sorrowful look rested for a moment on toolooha's benign countenance. it was evident that she suspected her son either of derangement, or having forsaken the paths of truth. but it passed like a summer cloud. "tell me more," she said, laying her hand affectionately on the huge arm of chingatok, who had fallen into a contemplative mood, and, with hands clasped over one knee, sat gazing upwards. before he could reply the heart of toolooha was made to bound by a shriek more terrible than she had ever before heard or imagined. chingatok caught her by the wrist, held up a finger as if to impose silence, smiled brightly, and listened. again the shriek was repeated with prolonged power. "tell me, my son," gasped toolooha, "is oblooria--are the people safe? why came you to me alone?" "the little sister and the people are safe. i came alone to prevent your being taken by surprise. did i not say that it could shriek and yell? this is the white man's big canoe." dropping the old woman's hand as he spoke, chingatok darted into the open air with the agility of a polar bear, and toolooha followed with the speed of an arctic hare. chapter four. a catastrophe and a bold decision. two days after her arrival at the temporary residence of the northern eskimos, the steam yacht _whitebear_, while close to the shore, was beset by ice, so that she could neither advance nor retreat. everywhere, as far as the eye could reach, the sea was covered with hummocks and bergs and fields of ice, so closely packed that there was not a piece of open water to be seen, with the exception of one small basin a few yards ahead of the lead or lane of water in which the vessel had been imprisoned. "no chance of escaping from this, i fear, for a long time," said alf vandervell to his brother, as they stood near the wheel, looking at the desolate prospect. "it seems quite hopeless," said leo, with, however, a look of confidence that ill accorded with his words. "i do believe we are frozen in for the winter," said benjy vane, coming up at the moment. "there speaks ignorance," said the captain, whose head appeared at the cabin hatchway. "if any of you had been in these regions before, you would have learned that nothing is so uncertain as the action of pack ice. at one time you may be hard and fast, so that you couldn't move an inch. a few hours after, the set of the currents may loosen the pack, and open up lanes of water through which you may easily make your escape. sometimes it opens up so as to leave almost a clear sea in a few hours." "but it is pretty tight packed just now, father, and looks wintry-like, doesn't it?" said benjy in a desponding tone. "looks! boy, ay, but things are not what they seem hereaway. you saw four mock-suns round the real one yesterday, didn't you? and the day before you saw icebergs floating in the air, eh?" "true, father, but these appearances were deceptive, whereas this ice, which looks so tightly packed, is a reality." "that is so, lad, but it is not set fast for the winter, though it looks like it. well, doctor," added the captain, turning towards a tall cadaverous man who came on deck just then with the air and tread of an invalid, "how goes it with you? better, i hope?" he asked this with kindly interest as he laid his strong hand on the sick man's shoulder; but the doctor shook his head and smiled sadly. "it is a great misfortune to an expedition, captain, when the doctor himself falls sick," he said, sitting down on the skylight with a sigh. "come, come, cheer up, doctor," returned the captain, heartily, "don't be cast down; we'll all turn doctors for the occasion, and nurse you well in spite of yourself." "i'll keep up all heart, captain, you may depend on't, as long as two of my bones will stick together, but--well, to change the subject; what are you going to do now?" "just all that can be done in the circumstances," replied the captain. "you see, we cannot advance over ice either with sail or steam, but there's a basin just ahead which seems a little more secure than that in which we lie. i'll try to get into it. there is nothing but a neck of ice between us and it, which i think i could cut by charging in under full steam, and there seems a faint gleam of something far ahead, which encourages me. tell the steward to fetch my glasses, benjy." "butterface!" shouted the boy. "yis, massa." "fetch the captain's glasses, please." "yis, massa." a pair of large binoculars were brought up by a huge negro, whose name was pre-eminently unsuggestive of his appearance. after a long steady gaze at the horizon, the captain shut up the glass with an air of determination, and ordered the engineer to get up full steam, and the crew to be ready with the ice-poles. there was a large berg at the extremity of the lakelet of open water into which captain vane wished to break. it was necessary to keep well out of the way of that berg. the captain trusted chiefly to his screw, but got out the ice-poles in case they should be required. when all the men were stationed, the order was given to go ahead full steam. the gallant little yacht charged the neck of ice like a living creature, hit it fair, cut right through, and scattered the fragments right and left as she sailed majestically into the lakelet beyond. the shock was severe, but no harm was done, everything on board having been made as strong as possible, and of the very best material, for a voyage in ice-laden seas. an unforeseen event followed, however, which ended in a series of most terrible catastrophes. the neck of ice through which they had broken had acted as a check on the pressure of the great body of the floe, and it was no sooner removed than the heavy mass began to close in with slow but irresistible power, compelling the little vessel to steam close up to the iceberg--so close that some of the upper parts actually overhung the deck. they were slowly forced into this dangerous position. with breathless anxiety the captain and crew watched the apparently gentle, but really tremendous grinding of the ice against the vessel's side. even the youngest on board could realise the danger. no one moved, for nothing whatever could be done. "everything depends, under god, on the ice easing off before we are crushed," said the captain. as he spoke, the timbers of the yacht seemed to groan under the pressure; then there was a succession of loud cracks, and the vessel was thrust bodily up the sloping sides of the berg. while in this position, with the bow high and dry, a mass of ice was forced against the stern-post, and the screw-propeller was snapped off as if it had been made of glass. poor captain vane's heart sank as if he had received his death-blow, for he knew that the yacht was now, even in the event of escaping, reduced to an ordinary vessel dependent on its sails. the shock seemed to have shaken the berg itself, for at that moment a crashing sound was heard overhead. the terror-stricken crew looked up, and for one moment a pinnacle like a church spire was seen to flash through the air right above them. it fell with an indescribable roar close alongside, deluging the decks with water. there was a momentary sigh of relief, which, however, was chased away by a succession of falling masses, varying from a pound to a ton in weight, which came down on the deck like cannon-shots, breaking the topmasts, and cutting to pieces much of the rigging. strange to say, none of the men were seriously injured, though many received bruises more or less severe. during this brief but thrilling period, the brothers vandervell and benjy vane crouched close together beside the port bulwarks, partially screened from the falling ice by the mizzen shrouds. the captain stood on the quarter-deck, quite exposed, and apparently unconscious of danger, the picture of despair. "it can't last long," sighed poor benjy, looking solemnly up at the vast mass of the bluish-white berg, which hung above them as if ready to fall. presently the pressure ceased, then the ice eased off, and in a few minutes the _whitebear_ slid back into the sea, a pitiable wreck! now had come the time for action. "out poles, my lads, and shove her off the berg!" was the sharp order. every one strained as if for life at the ice-poles, and slowly forced the yacht away from the dreaded berg. it mattered not that they were forcing her towards a rocky shore. any fate would be better than being crushed under a mountain of ice. but the danger was not yet past. no sooner had they cleared the berg, and escaped from that form of destruction, than the ice began again to close in, and this time the vessel was "nipped" with such severity, that some of her principal timbers gave way. finally, her back was broken, and the bottom forced in. "so," exclaimed the captain, with a look of profound grief, "our voyage in the _whitebear_, lads, has come to an end. all that we can do now is to get the boats and provisions, and as much of the cargo as we can, safe on the ice. and sharp's the word, for when the floes ease off, the poor little yacht will certainly go to the bottom." "no, massa," said the negro steward, stepping on deck at that moment, "we can't go to de bottom, cause we's dare a-ready!" "what d'ye mean, butterface?" "jus' what me say," replied the steward, with a look of calm resignation. "i's bin b'low, an' seed de rocks stickin' troo de bottom. der's one de size ob a jolly-boat's bow comed right troo my pantry, an' knock all de crockery to smash, an' de best teapot, he's so flat he wouldn't know hisself in a lookin'-glass." it turned out to be as butterface said. the pack had actually thrust the little vessel on a shoal, which extended out from the headland off which the catastrophe occurred, and there was therefore no fear of her sinking. "well, we've reason to be thankful for that, at all events," said the captain, with an attempt to look cheerful; "come, lads, let's to work. whatever our future course is to be, our first business is to get the boats and cargo out of danger." with tremendous energy--because action brought relief to their overstrained feelings--the crew of the ill-fated yacht set to work to haul the boats upon the grounded ice. the tide was falling, so that a great part of the most valuable part of the cargo was placed in security before the rising tide interrupted the work. this was fortunate, for, when the water reached a certain point the ice began to move, and the poor little vessel was so twisted about that they dared not venture on board of her. that night--if we may call it night in a region where the sun never quite went down--the party encamped on the north-western coast of greenland, in the lee of a huge cliff just beyond which the tongue of a mighty glacier dipped into the sea. for convenience the party divided into two, with a blazing fire for each, round which the castaways circled, conversing in subdued, sad tones while supper was being prepared. it was a solemn occasion, and a scene of indescribable grandeur, with the almost eternal glacier of greenland--the great humboldt glacier-- shedding its bergs into the dark blue sea, the waters of which had by that time been partially cleared to the northward. on the left was the weird pack and its thousand grotesque forms, with the wreck in its iron grasp; on the right the perpendicular cliffs, and the bright sky over all, with the smoke of the campfires rising into it from the foreground. "now, my friends," said captain vane to the crew when assembled after supper, "i am no longer your commander, for my vessel is a wreck, but as i suppose you still regard me as your leader, i assemble you here for the purpose of considering our position, and deciding on what is best to be done." here the captain said, among other things, it was his opinion that the _whitebear_ was damaged beyond the possibility of repair, that their only chance of escape lay in the boats, and that the distance between the place on which they stood and upernavik, although great, was not beyond the reach of resolute men. "before going further, or expressing a decided opinion," he added, "i would hear what the officers have to say on this subject. let the first mate speak." "it's my opinion," said the mate, "that there's only one thing to be done, namely, to start for home as soon and as fast as we can. we have good boats, plenty of provisions, and are all stout and healthy, excepting our doctor, whom we will take good care of, and expect to do no rough work." "thanks, mate," said the doctor with a laugh, "i think that, at all events, i shall keep well enough to physic you if you get ill." "are you willing to take charge of the party in the event of my deciding to remain here?" asked the captain of the mate. "certainly, sir," he replied, with a look of slight surprise. "you know i am quite able to do so. the second mate, too, is as able as i am. for that matter, most of the men, i think, would find little difficulty in navigating a boat to upernavik." "that is well," returned the captain, "because i do not intend to return with you." "not return!" exclaimed the doctor; "surely you don't mean to winter here." "no, not here, but further north," replied the captain, with a smile which most of the party returned, for they thought he was jesting. benjy vane, however, did not think so. a gleeful look of triumph caused his face, as it were, to sparkle, and he said, eagerly-- "we'll winter at the north pole, father, eh?" this was greeted with a general laugh. "but seriously, uncle, what do you mean to do?" asked leonard vandervell, who, with his brother, was not unhopeful that the captain meditated something desperate. "benjy is not far off the mark. i intend to winter at the pole, or as near to it as i can manage to get." "my dear captain vane," said the doctor, with an anxious look, "you cannot really mean what you say. you must be jesting, or mad." "well, as to madness," returned the captain with a peculiar smile, "you ought to know best, for it's a perquisite of your cloth to pronounce people mad or sane, though some of yourselves are as mad as the worst of us; but in regard to jesting, nothing, i assure you, is further from my mind. listen!" he rose from the box which had formed his seat, and looked earnestly round on his men. as he stood there, erect, tall, square, powerful, with legs firmly planted, and apart, as if to guard against a lurch of his ship, with his bronzed face flushed, and his dark eye flashing, they all understood that their leader's mind was made up, and that what he had resolved upon, he would certainly attempt to carry out. "listen," he repeated; "it was my purpose on leaving england, as you all know, to sail north as far as the ice would let me; to winter where we should stick fast, and organise an over-ice, or overland journey to the pole with all the appliances of recent scientific discovery, and all the advantages of knowledge acquired by former explorers. it has pleased god to destroy my ship, but my life and my hopes are spared. so are my stores and scientific instruments. i intend, therefore, to carry out my original purpose. i believe that former explorers have erred in some points of their procedure. these errors i shall steer clear of. former travellers have ignored some facts, and despised some appliances. these facts i will recognise; these appliances i will utilise. with a steam yacht, you, my friends, who have shown so much enthusiasm and courage up to this point, would have been of the utmost service to me. as a party in boats, or on foot, you would only hamper my movements. i mean to prosecute this enterprise almost alone. i shall join myself to the eskimos." he paused at this point as if in meditation. benjy, whose eyes and mouth had been gradually opening to their widest, almost gasped with astonishment as he glanced at his cousins, whose expressive countenances were somewhat similarly affected. "i have had some long talks," continued the captain, "with that big eskimo chingatok, through our interpreter, and from what he says i believe my chances of success are considerable. i am all the more confirmed in this resolution because of the readiness and ability of my first mate to guide you out of the arctic regions, and your willingness to trust him. anders has agreed to go with me as interpreter, and now, all i want is one other man, because--" "put me down, father," cried benjy, in a burst of excitement--"_i'm_ your man." "hush, lad," said the captain with a little smile, "of course i shall take you with me and also your two cousins, but i want one other man to complete the party--but he must be a heartily willing man. who will volunteer?" there was silence for a few moments. it was broken by the doctor. "i for one won't volunteer," he said, "for i'm too much shaken by this troublesome illness to think of such an expedition. if i were well it might be otherwise, but perhaps some of the others will offer." "you can't expect me to do so," said the mate, "for i've got to guide our party home, as agreed on; besides, under any circumstances, i would not join you, for it is simple madness. you'll forgive me, captain. i mean no disrespect, but i have sailed many years to these seas, and i know from experience that what you propose is beyond the power of man to accomplish." "experience!" repeated the captain, quickly. "has your experience extended further north than this point?" "no, sir, i have not been further north than this--nobody has. it is beyond the utmost limit yet reached, so far as i know." "well, then, you cannot speak from _experience_ about what i propose," said the captain, turning away. "come, lads, i have no wish to constrain you, i merely give one of you the chance." still no one came forward. every man of the crew of the _whitebear_ had had more or less personal acquaintance with arctic travel and danger. they would have followed captain vane anywhere in the yacht, but evidently they had no taste for what he was about to undertake. at last one stepped to the front. it was butterface, the steward. this intensely black negro was a bulky, powerful man, with a modest spirit and a strange disbelief in his own capacities, though, in truth, these were very considerable. he came forward, stooping slightly, and rubbing his hands in a deprecating manner. "'scuse me, massa capting. p'r'aps it bery presumsheeous in dis yer chile for to speak afore his betters, but as no oder man 'pears to want to volunteer, i's willin' to go in an' win. ob course i ain't a man-- on'y a nigger, but i's a willin' nigger, an' kin do a few small tings-- cook de grub, wash up de cups an' sarsers, pull a oar, clean yer boots, fight de eskimos if you wants me to, an' ginrally to scrimmage around a'most anything. moreover, i eats no more dan a babby--'sep wen i's hungry--an' i'll foller you, massa, troo tick and tin--to de nort pole, or de sout pole, or de east pole, or de west pole--or any oder pole wotsomediver--all de same to butterface, s'long's you'll let 'im stick by you." the crew could not help giving the negro a cheer as he finished this loyal speech, and the captain, although he would have preferred one of the other men, gladly accepted his services. a few days later the boats were ready and provisioned; adieus were said, hats and handkerchiefs waved, and soon after captain vane and his son and two nephews, with anders and butterface, were left to fight their battles alone, on the margin of an unexplored, mysterious polar sea. chapter five. left to their fate. there are times, probably, in all conditions of life, when men feel a species of desolate sadness creeping over their spirits, which they find it hard to shake off or subdue. such a time arrived to our arctic adventurers the night after they had parted from the crew of the wrecked _whitebear_. nearly everything around, and much within, them was calculated to foster that feeling. they were seated on the rocky point on the extremity of which their yacht had been driven. behind them were the deep ravines, broad valleys, black beetling cliffs, grand mountains, stupendous glaciers, and dreary desolation of greenland. to right and left, and in front of them, lay the chaotic ice-pack of the arctic sea, with lanes and pools of water visible here and there like lines and spots of ink. icebergs innumerable rose against the sky, which at the time was entirely covered with grey and gloomy clouds. gusts of wind swept over the frozen waste now and then, as if a squall which had recently passed, were sighing at the thought of leaving anything undestroyed behind it. when we add to this, that the wanderers were thinking of the comrades who had just left them--the last link, as it were, with the civilised world from which they were self-exiled, of the unknown dangers and difficulties that lay before them, and of the all but forlorn hope they had undertaken, there need be little wonder that for some time they all looked rather grave, and were disposed to silence. but life is made up of opposites, light and shade, hard and soft, hot and cold, sweet and sour, for the purpose, no doubt, of placing man between two moral battledores so as to drive the weak and erring shuttlecock of his will right and left, and thus keep it in the middle course of rectitude. no sooner had our adventurers sunk to the profoundest depths of gloom, than the battledore of brighter influences began to play upon them. it did not, however, achieve the end at once. "i'm in the lowest, bluest, dreariest, grumpiest, and most utterly miserable state of mind i ever was in in all my life," said poor little benjy vane, thrusting his hands into his pockets, sitting down on a rock, and gazing round on the waste wilderness, which had only just ceased howling, the very personification of despair. "so's i, massa," said butterface, looking up from a compound of wet coal and driftwood which he had been vainly trying to coax into a flame for cooking purposes; "i's most 'orribly miserable!" there was a beaming grin on the negro's visage that gave the lie direct to his words. "that's always the way with you, benjy," said the captain, "either bubblin' over with jollity an' mischief, or down in the deepest blues." "blues! father," cried the boy, "don't talk of blues--it's the blacks i'm in, the very blackest of blacks." "ha! jus' like me," muttered butterface, sticking out his thick lips at the unwilling fire, and giving a blow that any grampus might have envied. the result was that a column of almost solid smoke, which had been for some time rising thicker and thicker from the coals, burst into a bright flame. this was the first of the sweet influences before referred to. "mind your wool, flatnose," cried benjy, as the negro drew quickly back. it may be remarked here that the mysterious bond of sympathy which united the spirits of benjy vane and the black steward found expression in kindly respect on the part of the man, and in various eccentric courses on the part of the boy--among others, in a habit of patting him on the back, and giving him a choice selection of impromptu names, such as black-mug, yellow-eyes, square-jaws, and the like. "what have you got in the kettle?" asked leo vandervell, who came up with some dry driftwood at the moment. "bubble-um-squeak," replied the cook. "what sort o' squeak is that?" asked leo, as he bent his tall strong frame over the fire to investigate the contents of the kettle. "what am it, massa? why, it am a bit o' salt pork, an' a bit o' dat bear you shooted troo de nose yes'rday, an' a junk o' walrus, an' two puffins, an' some injin corn, a leetil pepper, an' a leetil salt." "good, that sounds well," said leo. "i'll go fetch you some more driftwood, for it'll take a deal of boiling, that will, to make it eatable." the driftwood referred to was merely some pieces of the yacht which had been cast ashore by the hurly-burly of ice and water that had occurred during the last tide. no other species of driftwood was to be found on that coast, for the neighbouring region was utterly destitute of trees. "where has alf gone to?" asked the captain, as leo was moving away. "oh, he's looking for plants and shells, as usual," answered leo, with a smile. "you know his heart is set upon these things." "he'll have to set his heart on helping wi' the cargo after supper," said the captain, drawing a small notebook and pencil from his pocket. a few more of the sweet and reviving influences of life now began to circle round the wanderers. among them was the savoury odour that arose from the pot of bubble-um-squeak, also the improved appearance of the sky. it was night, almost midnight, nevertheless the sun was blazing in the heavens, and as the storm-clouds had rolled away like a dark curtain, his cheering rays were by that time gilding the icebergs, and rendering the land-cliffs ruddily. the travellers had enjoyed perpetual daylight for several weeks already, and at that high latitude they could count on many more to come. by the time supper was ready, the depressing influences were gone, and the spirits of all had recovered their wonted tone. indeed it was not to the discredit of the party that they were so much cast down on that occasion, for the parting, perhaps for ever, from the friends with whom they had hitherto voyaged, had much more to do with their sadness than surrounding circumstances or future trials. "what plan do you intend to follow out, uncle?" asked alphonse vandervell, as they sat at supper that night round the kettle. "that depends on many things, lad," replied the captain, laying down his spoon, and leaning his back against a convenient rock. "if the ice moves off, i shall adopt one course; if it holds fast i shall try another. then, if you insist on gathering and carrying along with you such pocket-loads of specimens, plants, rocks, etcetera, as you've brought in this evening, i'll have to build a sort of noah's ark, or omnibus on sledge-runners, to carry them." "and suppose i don't insist on carrying these things, what then?" "well," replied the captain, "in that case i would--well, let me see--a little more of the bubble, benjy." "wouldn't you rather some of the squeak?" asked the boy. "both, lad, both--some of everything. well, as i was saying--and you've a right to know what's running in my head, seeing that you have to help me carry out the plans--i'll give you a rough notion of 'em." the captain became more serious as he explained his plans. "the eskimos, you know," he continued, "have gone by what i may call the shore ice, two days' journey in advance of this spot, taking our dogs along with them. it was my intention to have proceeded to the same point in our yacht, and there, if the sea was open, to have taken on board that magnificent eskimo giant, chingatok, with his family, and steered away due north. in the event of the pack being impassable, i had intended to have laid the yacht up in some safe harbour; hunted and fished until we had a stock of dried and salted provisions, enough to last us two years, and then to have started northward in sledges, under the guidance of chingatok, with a few picked men, leaving the rest and the yacht in charge of the mate. the wreck of the _whitebear_ has, however, forced me to modify these plans. i shall now secure as much of our cargo as we have been able to save, and leave it here _en cache_--" "what sort of cash is that, father?" asked benjy. "you are the best linguist among us, leo, tell him," said the captain, turning to his nephew. "`_en cache_' is french for `in hiding,'" returned leo, with a laugh. "why do you speak french to englishmen, father?" said benjy in a pathetic tone, but with a pert look. "'cause the expression is a common one on this side the atlantic, lad, and you ought to know it. now, don't interrupt me again. well, having placed the cargo in security," ("_en cache_," muttered benjy with a glance at butterface.) "i shall rig up the sledges brought from england, load them with what we require, and follow up the eskimos. you're sure, anders, that you understood chingatok's description of the place?" the interpreter declared that he was quite sure. "after that," resumed the captain, "i'll act according to the information the said eskimos can give me. d'ye know, i have a strong suspicion that our arctic giant chingatok is a philosopher, if i may judge from one or two questions he put and observations he made when we first met. he says he has come from a fine country which lies far--very far--to the north of this; so far that i feel quite interested and hopeful about it. i expect to have more talk with him soon on the subject. a little more o' the bubble, lad; really, butterface, your powers in the way of cookery are wonderful." "chingatok seems to me quite a remarkable fellow for an eskimo," observed leo, scraping the bottom of the kettle with his spoon, and looking inquiringly into it. "i, too, had some talk with him--through anders--when we first met, and from what he said i can't help thinking that he has come from the remote north solely on a voyage of discovery into what must be to him the unknown regions of the south. evidently he has an inquiring mind." "much like yourself, leo, to judge from the way you peer into that kettle," said benjy; "please don't scrape the bottom out of it. there's not much tin to mend it with, you know, in these regions." "brass will do quite as well," retorted leo, "and there can be no lack of that while you are here." "come now, benjy," said alf, "that insolent remark should put you on your mettle." "so it does, but i won't open my lips, because i feel that i should speak ironically if i were to reply," returned the boy, gazing dreamily into the quiet countenance of the steward. "what are _you_ thinking of, you lump of charcoal?" "me, massa? me tink dere 'pears to be room for more wittles inside ob me; but as all de grub's eated up, p'r'aps it would be as well to be goin' an' tacklin' suffin' else now." "you're right, butterface," cried the captain, rousing himself from a reverie. "what say you, comrades? shall we turn in an' have a nap? it's past midnight." "i'm not inclined for sleep," said alf, looking up from some of the botanical specimens he had collected. "no more am i," said leo, lifting up his arms and stretching his stalwart frame, which, notwithstanding his youth, had already developed to almost the full proportions of a powerful man. "i vote that we sit up all night," said benjy, "the sun does it, and why shouldn't we?" "well, i've no objection," rejoined the captain, "but we must work if we don't sleep--so, come along." setting the example, captain vane began to shoulder the bags and boxes which lay scattered around with the energy of an enthusiastic railway porter. the other members of the party were not a whit behind him in diligence and energy. even benjy, delicate-looking though he was, did the work of an average man, besides enlivening the proceedings with snatches of song and a flow of small talk of a humorous and slightly insolent nature. chapter six. future plans discussed and decided. away to the northward of the spot where the _whitebear_ had been wrecked there stretched a point of land far out into the arctic ocean. it was about thirty miles distant, and loomed hugely bluff and grand against the brilliant sky, as if it were the forefront of the northern world. no civilised eyes had ever beheld that land before. captain vane knew that, because it lay in latitude north, which was a little beyond the furthest point yet reached by arctic navigators. he therefore named it cape newhope. benjy thought that it should have been named butterface-beak, because the steward had been the first to observe it, but his father thought otherwise. about three miles to the northward of this point of land the eskimos were encamped. according to arrangement with the white men they had gone there, as we have said, in charge of the dogs brought by captain vane from upernavik, as these animals, it was thought, stood much in need of exercise. here the natives had found and taken possession of a number of deserted eskimo huts. these rude buildings were the abodes to which the good people migrated when summer heat became so great as to render their snow-huts sloppily disagreeable. in one of the huts sat chingatok, his arms resting on his knees, his huge hands clasped, and his intelligent eyes fixed dreamily on the lamp-flame, over which his culinary mother was bending in busy sincerity. there were many points of character in which this remarkable mother and son resembled each other. both were earnest--intensely so-- and each was enthusiastically eager about small matters as well as great. in short, they both possessed great though uncultivated minds. the hut they occupied was in some respects as remarkable as themselves. it measured about six feet in height and ten in diameter. the walls were made of flattish stones, moss, and the bones of seals, whales, narwhals, and other arctic creatures. the stones were laid so that each overlapped the one below it, a very little inwards, and thus the walls approached each other gradually as they rose from the foundation; the top being finally closed by slabs of slate-stone. similar stones covered the floor--one half of which floor was raised a foot or so above the other, and this raised half served for a seat by day as well as a couch by night. on it were spread a thick layer of dried moss, and several seal, dog, and bear skins. smaller elevations in the corners near the entrance served for seats. the door was a curtain of sealskin. above it was a small window, glazed, so to speak, with strips of semi-transparent dried intestines sewed together. toolooha's cooking-lamp was made of soapstone, formed like a clam-shell, and about eight inches in diameter; the fuel was seal-oil, and the wick was of moss. it smoked considerably, but eskimos are smoke-proof. the pot above it, suspended from the roof, was also made of soapstone. sealskins hung about the walls drying; oily mittens, socks and boots were suspended about on pegs and racks of rib-bones. lumps of blubber hung and lay about miscellaneously. odours, not savoury, were therefore prevalent--but eskimos are smell-proof. "mother," said the giant, raising his eyes from the flame to his parent's smoke-encircled visage, "they are a most wonderful people, these kablunets. blackbeard is a great man--a grand man--but i think he is--" chingatok paused, shook his head, and touched his forehead with a look of significance worthy of a white man. "why think you so, my son?" asked the old woman, sneezing, as a denser cloud than usual went up her nose. "because he has come here to search for _nothing_." "nothing, my son?" "yes--at least that is what he tried to explain to me. perhaps the interpreter could not explain. he is not a smart man, that interpreter. he resembles a walrus with his brain scooped out. he spoke much, but i could not understand." "could not understand?" repeated toolooha, with an incredulous look, "let not chingatok say so. is there _anything_ that passes the lips of man which he cannot understand?" "truly, mother, i once thought there was not," replied the giant, with a modest look, "but i am mistaken. the kablunets make me stare and feel foolish." "but it is not possible to search for _nothing_," urged toolooha. "so i said," replied her son, "but blackbeard only laughed at me." "did he?" cried the mother, with a much relieved expression, "then let your mind rest, my son, for blackbeard must be a fool if he laughed at _you_." "blackbeard is no fool," replied chingatok. "has he not come to search for new lands _here_, as you went to search for them _there_?" asked toolooha, pointing alternately north and south. "no--if i have understood him. perhaps the brainless walrus translated his words wrongly." "is the thing he searches for something to eat?" "something to drink or wear?" "no, i tell you. it is _nothing_! yet he gives it a name. he calls it _nort pole_!" perhaps it is needless to remind the reader that chingatok and his mother conversed in their native tongue, which we have rendered as literally as possible, and that the last two words were his broken english for "north pole!" "nort pole!" repeated toolooha once or twice contemplatively. "well, he may search for nothing if he will, but that he cannot find." "nay, mother," returned the giant with a soft smile, "if he will search for nothing he is sure to find it!" chingatok sighed, for his mother did not see the joke. "blackbeard," he continued with a grave, puzzled manner, "said that this world on which we stand floats in the air like a bird, and spins round!" "then blackbeard is a liar," said toolooha quietly, though without a thought of being rude. she merely meant what she said, and said what she meant, being a naturally candid woman. "that may be so, mother, but i think not." "how can the world float without wings?" demanded the old woman indignantly. "if it spinned should we not feel the spinning, and grow giddy?" "and blackbeard says," continued the giant, regardless of the questions propounded, "that it spins round upon this _nort pole_, which he says is not a real thing, but only nothing. i asked blackbeard--how can a world spin upon nothing?" "and what said he to that?" demanded toolooha quickly. "he only laughed. they all laughed when the brainless walrus put my question. there is one little boy--the son i think of blackbeard--who laughed more than all the rest. he lay down on the ice to laugh, and rolled about as if he had the bowel-twist." "that son of blackbeard must be a fool more than his father," said toolooha, casting a look of indignation at her innocent kettle. "perhaps; but he is not like his father," returned chingatok meekly. "there are two other chiefs among the kablunets who seem to me fine men. they are very young and wise. they have learned a little of our tongue from the brainless one, and asked me some questions about the rocks, and the moss, and the flowers. they are tall and strong. one of them is very grave and seems to think much, like myself. he also spoke of this nothing--this nort pole. they are all mad, i think, about that thing-- that nothing!" the conversation was interrupted at this point by the sudden entrance of the giant's little sister with the news that the kablunets were observed coming round the great cape, dragging a sledge. "is not the big oomiak with them?" asked her brother, rising quickly. "no, we see no oomiak--no wings--no fire," answered oblooria, "only six men dragging a sledge." chingatok went out immediately, and oblooria was about to follow when her mother recalled her. "come here, little one. there is a bit of blubber for you to suck. tell me, saw you any sign of madness in these white men when they were talking with your brother about this--this--nort pole." "no, mother, no," answered oblooria thoughtfully, "i saw not madness. they laughed much, it is true--but not more than oolichuk laughs sometimes. yes--i think again! there was one who seems mad--the small boy, whom brother thinks to be the son of blackbeard--benjay, they call him." "hah! i thought so," exclaimed toolooha, evidently pleased at her penetration on this point. "go, child, i cannot quit the lamp. bring me news of what they say and do." oblooria obeyed with alacrity, bolting her strip of half-cooked blubber as she ran; her mother meanwhile gave her undivided attention to the duties of the lamp. the white men and all the members of the eskimo band were standing by the sledge engaged in earnest conversation when the little girl came forward. captain vane was speaking. "yes, chingatok," he said, looking up at the tall savage, who stood erect in frame but with bent head and his hands clasped before him, like a modest chief, which in truth he was. "yes, if you will guide me to your home in the northern lands, i will pay you well--for i have much iron and wood and such things as i think you wish for and value, and you shall also have my best thanks and gratitude. the latter may not indeed be worth much, but, nevertheless, you could not purchase it with all the wealth of the polar regions." chingatok looked with penetrating gaze at anders while he translated, and, considering the nature of the communication, the so-called brainless one proved himself a better man than the giant gave him credit for. "does blackbeard," asked chingatok, after a few seconds' thought, "expect to find this nothing--this nort pole, in my country?" "well, i cannot exactly say that i do," replied the captain; "you see, i'm not quite sure, from what you tell me, where your country is. it may not reach to the pole, but it is enough for me that it lies in that direction, and that you tell me there is much open water there. men of my nation have been in these regions before now, and some of them have said that the polar sea is open, others that it is covered always with ice so thick that it never melts. some have said it is a `sea of ancient ice' so rough that no man can travel over it, and that it is not possible to reach the north pole. i don't agree with that. i had been led to expect to fall in with this sea of ancient ice before i had got thus far, but it is not to be found. the sea indeed is partly blocked with ordinary ice, but there is nothing to be seen of this vast collection of mighty blocks, some of them thirty feet high--this wild chaos of ice which so effectually stopped some of those who went before me." this speech put such brains as the brainless one possessed to a severe test, and, after all, he failed to convey its full meaning to chingatok, who, however, promptly replied to such portions as he understood. "what blackbeard calls the sea of old ice does exist," he said; "i have seen it. no man could travel on it, only the birds can cross it. but ice is not land. it changes place. it is here to-day; it is there to-morrow. next day it is gone. we cannot tell where it goes to or when it will come back. the _very_ old ice comes back again and again. it is slow to become like your nort pole--nothing. but it melts at last and more comes in its place--growing old slowly and vanishing slowly. it is full of wonder--like the stars; like the jumping flames; like the sun and moon, which we cannot understand." chingatok paused and looked upwards with a solemn expression. his mind had wandered into its favourite channels, and for the moment he forgot the main subject of conversation, while the white men regarded him with some surprise, his comrades with feelings of interest not unmingled with awe. "but," he continued, "i know where the sea of ancient ice-blocks is just now. i came past it in my kayak, and can guide you to it by the same way." "that is just what i want, chingatok," said the captain with a joyful look, "only aid me in this matter, and i will reward you well. i've already told you that my ship is wrecked, and that the crew, except those you see here, have left me; but i have saved all the cargo and buried it in a place of security with the exception of those things which i need for my expedition. one half of these things are on this sledge,--the other half on a sledge left behind and ready packed near the wreck. now, i want you to send men to fetch that sledge here." "that shall be done," said chingatok. "thanks, thanks, my good fellow," returned the captain, "and we must set about it at once, for the summer is advancing, and you know as well as i do that the hot season is but a short one in these regions." "a moment more shall not be lost," said the giant. he turned to oolichuk, who had been leaning on a short spear, and gazing open-mouthed, eyed, and eared, during the foregoing conversation, and said a few words to him and to the other eskimos in a low tone. oolichuk merely nodded his head, said "yah!" or something similarly significant, shouldered his spear and went off in the direction of the cape of newhope, followed by nearly all the men of the party. "stay, not quite so fast," cried captain vane. "stop!" shouted chingatok. oolichuk and his men paused. "one of us had better go with them," said the captain, "to show the place where the sledge has been left." "i will go, uncle, if you'll allow me," said leo vandervell. "oh! let me go too, father," pleaded benjy, "i'm not a bit tired; do." "you may both go. take a rifle with you, leo. there's no saying what you may meet on the way." in half-an-hour the party under oolichuk had reached the extremity of the cape, and captain vane observed that his volatile son mounted to the top of an ice-block to wave a farewell. he looked like a black speck, or a crow, in the far distance. another moment, and the speck had disappeared among the hummocks of the ice-locked sea. chapter seven. difficulties encountered and faced. they had not quite doubled the cape of newhope, and were about to round the point which concealed the spot that had been named wreck bay, when they suddenly found themselves face to face with a polar bear! bruin was evidently out for an evening stroll, for he seemed to have nothing particular to do. surprise lit up alike the countenances of the men and the visage of the bear. it was an unexpected meeting on both sides. the distance between them was not more than thirty feet. leo was the only one of the party who carried a rifle. more than once during the voyage had leo seen and shot a bear. the sight was not new to him, but never before had he come so suddenly, or so very close, upon this king of the arctic seas. he chanced at the time to be walking a few yards in advance of the party in company with oolichuk and benjy. the three stopped, stared, and stood as if petrified. for one moment, then they uttered a united and half involuntary roar. right royally did that bear accept the challenge. it rose, according to custom, on its hind legs, and immediately began that slow, but deadly war-dance with which the race is wont to preface an attack, while its upper lip curled in apparent derision, exposing its terrible fangs. leo recovered self-possession instantly. the rifle leaped to his shoulder, the centre of the bear's breast was covered, and the trigger pulled. only a snap resulted. leo had forgotten to load! benjy gasped with anxiety. oolichuk, who had held himself back with a sparkling smile of expectation at the prospect of seeing the kablunet use his thunder-weapon, looked surprised and disappointed, but went into action promptly with his spear, accompanied by akeetolik. leo's rifle, being a breech-loader, was quickly re-charged, but as the rest of the party stood leaning on their spears with the evident intention of merely watching the combat, the youth resolved to hold his hand, despite benjy's earnest recommendation to put one ball between the bear's eyes, and the other into his stomach. it was but a brief though decisive battle. those eskimos were well used to such warfare. running towards the animal with levelled spears, the two men separated on coming close, so that bruin was forced to a state of indecision as to which enemy he would assail first. akeetolik settled the point for him by giving him a prick on the right side, thus, as it were, drawing the enemy's fire on himself. the bear turned towards him with a fierce growl, and in so doing, exposed his left side to attack. oolichuk was not slow to seize the opportunity. he leaped close up, and drove his spear deep into the animal's heart--killing it on the spot. next day the party returned to the eskimo camp with the sledge-load of goods, and the bear on the top. while steaks of the same were being prepared by toolooha, captain vane and his new allies were busy discussing the details of the advance. "i know that the difficulties will be great," he said, in reply to a remark from the interpreter, "but i mean to face and overcome them." "ah!" exclaimed alf, who was rather fond of poetry:-- "to dare unknown dangers in a noble cause, despite an adverse nature and her tiresome laws." "just so, alf, my boy, stick at nothing; never give in; victory or death, that's my way of expressing the same sentiment. but there's one thing that i must impress once more upon you all--namely, that each man must reduce his kit to the very lowest point of size and weight. no extras allowed." "what, not even a box of paper collars?" asked benjy. "not one, my boy, but you may take a strait-waistcoat in your box if you choose, for you'll be sure to need it." "oh! father," returned the boy, remonstratively, "you are severe. however, i will take one, if you agree to leave your woollen comforter behind. you won't need that, you see, as long as i am with you." "of course," said alf, "you will allow us to carry small libraries with us?" "certainly not, my lad, only one book each, and that must be a small one." "the only book i possess is my bible," said leo, "and that won't take up much room, for it's an uncommonly small one." "if i only had my robinson crusoe here," cried benjy, "i'd take it, for there's enough of adventure in that book to carry a man over half the world." "ay," said alf, "and enough of mind to carry him over the other half. for my part, if we must be content with one book each, i shall take buzzby's poems." "oh! horrible!" cried benjy, "why, he's no better than a maudlin', dawdlin', drawlin', caterwaulin'--" "come, benjy, don't be insolent; he's second only to tennyson. just listen to this _morceau_ by buzzby. it is an ode to courage-- "`high! hot! hillarious compound of--'" "stop! stop! man, don't begin when we're in the middle of our plans," interrupted benjy, "let us hear what book butterface means to take." "i not take no book, massa, only take my flute. music is wot's de matter wid me. dat is de ting what hab charms to soove de savage beast." "i wouldn't advise you try to soothe a polar bear with it," said leo, "unless you have a rifle handy." "yes--and especially an unloaded one, which is very effective against polar bears," put in the captain, with a sly look. "ah, leo, i could hardly have believed it of you--and you the sportsman of our party, too; our chief huntsman. oh, fie!" "come, uncle, don't be too hard on that little mistake," said leo, with a slight blush, for he was really annoyed by the unsportsmanlike oversight hinted at; "but pray, may i ask," he added, turning sharply on the captain, "what is inside of these three enormous boxes of yours which take up so much space on the sledges?" "you may ask, leo, but you may not expect an answer. that is my secret, and i mean to keep it as a sort of stimulus to your spirits when the hardships of the way begin to tell on you. ask chingatok, anders," continued the captain, turning to the interpreter, "if he thinks we have enough provisions collected for the journey. i wish to start immediately." "we have enough," answered chingatok, who had been sitting a silent, but deeply interested observer--so to speak--of the foregoing conversation. "tell him, then, to arrange with his party, and be prepared to set out by noon to-morrow." that night, by the light of the midnight sun, the eskimos sat round their kettles of bear-chops, and went into the _pros_ and _cons_ of the proposed expedition. some were enthusiastically in favour of casting in their lot with the white men, others were decidedly against it, and a few were undecided. among the latter was akeetolik. "these ignorant men," said that bold savage, "are foolish and useless. they cannot kill bears. the one named lo, (thus was leonard's name reduced to its lowest denomination), is big enough, and looks very fine, but when he sees bear he only stares, makes a little click with his thunder-weapon, and looks stupid." "blackbeard explained that," said oolichuk; "lo made some mistake." "that may be so," retorted akeetolik, "but if you and me had not been there, the _bear_ would not make a mistake." "i will not go with these kablunets," said eemerk with a frown, "they are only savages. they are not taught. no doubt they had a wonderful boat, but they have not been able to keep their boat. they cannot kill bears; perhaps they cannot kill seals or walruses, and they ask us to help them to travel--to show them the way! they can do nothing. they must be led like children. my advice is to kill them all, since they are so useless, and take their goods." this speech was received with marks of decided approval by those of the party who were in the habit of siding with eemerk, but the rest were silent. in a few moments chingatok said, in a low, quiet, but impressive tone: "the kablunets are not foolish or ignorant. they are wise--far beyond the wisdom of the eskimos. it is eemerk who is like a walrus without brains. he thinks that his little mind is outside of everything, and so he has not eyes to perceive that he is ignorant as well as foolish, and that other men are wise." this was the severest rebuke that the good-natured chingatok had yet administered to eemerk, but the latter, foolish though he was, had wisdom enough not to resent it openly. he sat in moody silence, with his eyes fixed on the ground. of course oolichuk was decidedly in favour of joining the white men, and so was ivitchuk, who soon brought round his hesitating friend akeetolik, and several of the others. oblooria, being timid, would gladly have sided with eemerk, but she hated the man, and, besides, would in any case have cast in her lot with her mother and brother, even if free to do otherwise. the fair tekkona, whose courage and faith were naturally strong, had only one idea, and that was to follow cheerfully wherever chingatok led; but she was very modest, and gave no opinion. she merely remarked: "the kablunets are handsome men, and seem good." as for toolooha, she had enough to do to attend to the serious duties of the lamp, and always left the settlement of less important matters to the men. "you and yours are free to do what you please," said chingatok to eemerk, when the discussion drew to a close. "i go with the white men to-morrow." "what says oblooria?" whispered oolichuk when the rest of the party were listening to eemerk's reply. "oblooria goes with her brother and mother," answered that young lady, toying coquettishly with her sealskin tail. oolichuk's good-humoured visage beamed with satisfaction, and his flat nose curled up--as much as it was possible for such a feature to curl-- with contempt, as he glanced at eemerk and said-- "i have heard many tales from anders--the white man's mouthpiece--since we met. he tells me the white men are very brave and fond of running into danger for nothing but fun. those who do not like the fun of danger should join eemerk. those who are fond of fun and danger should come with our great chief chingatok--huk! let us divide." without more palaver the band divided, and it was found that only eight sided with eemerk. all the rest cast in their lot with our giant, after which this arctic house of commons adjourned, and its members went to rest. a few days after that, captain vane and his eskimo allies, having left the camp with eemerk and his friends far behind them, came suddenly one fine morning on a barrier which threatened effectually to arrest their further progress northward. this was nothing less than that tremendous sea of "ancient ice" which had baffled previous navigators and sledging parties. "chaos! absolute chaos!" exclaimed alf vandervell, who was first to recover from the shock of surprise, not to say consternation, with which the party beheld the scene on turning a high cape. "it looks bad," said captain vane, gravely, "but things often look worse at a first glance than they really are." "i hope it may be so in this case," said leo, in a low tone. "good-bye to the north pole!" said benjy, with a look of despondency so deep that the rest of the party laughed in spite of themselves. the truth was that poor benjy had suffered much during the sledge journey which they had begun, for although he rode, like the rest of them, on one of the eskimo sledges, the ice over which they had travelled along shore had been sufficiently rugged to necessitate constant getting off and on, as well as much scrambling over hummocks and broken ice. we have already said that benjy was not very robust, though courageous and full of spirit, so that he was prone to leap from the deepest depths of despair to the highest heights of hope at a moment's notice--or _vice versa_. not having become inured to ice-travel, he was naturally much cast down when the chaos above-mentioned met his gaze. "strange," said the captain, after a long silent look at the barrier, "strange that we should find it here. the experience of former travellers placed it considerably to the south and west of this." "but you know," said leo, "chingatok told us that the old ice drifts about just as the more recently formed does. who knows but we may find the end of it not far off, and perhaps may reach open water beyond, where we can make skin canoes, and launch forth on a voyage of discovery." "i vote that we climb the cliffs and try to see over the top of this horrid ice-jumble," said benjy. "not a bad suggestion, lad. let us do so. we will encamp here, anders. let all the people have a good feed, and tell chingatok to follow us. you will come along with him." a few hours later, and the captain, leo, alf, benjy, chingatok, and the interpreter stood on the extreme summit of the promontory which they had named cape chaos, and from which they had a splendid bird's-eye view of the whole region. it was indeed a tremendous and never-to-be-forgotten scene. as far as the eye could reach, the ocean was covered with ice heaped together in some places in the wildest confusion, and so firmly wedged in appearance that it seemed as if it had lain there in a solid mass from the first day of creation. elsewhere the ice was more level and less compact. in the midst of this rugged scene, hundreds of giant icebergs rose conspicuously above the rest, towering upwards in every shape and of all sizes, from which the bright sun was flashed back in rich variety of form, from the sharp gleam that trickled down an edge of ice to the refulgent blaze on a glassy face which almost rivalled the sun himself in brilliancy. these icebergs, extending as they did to the horizon, where they mingled with and were lost in the pearl-grey sky, gave an impression of vast illimitable perspective. although no sign of an open sea was at first observed, there was no lack of water to enliven the scene, for here and there, and everywhere, were pools and ponds, and even lakes of goodly size, which had been formed on the surface by the melting ice. in these the picturesque masses were faithfully reflected, and over them vast flocks of gulls, eider-ducks, puffins, and other wild-fowl of the north, disported themselves in garrulous felicity. on the edge of the rocky precipice, from which they had a bird's-eye view of the scene, our discoverers stood silent for some time, absorbed in contemplation, with feelings of mingled awe and wonder. then exclamations of surprise and admiration broke forth. "the wonderful works of god!" said the captain, in a tone of profound reverence. "beautiful, beyond belief!" murmured alf. "but it seems an effectual check to our advance," said the practical leo, who, however, was by no means insensible to the extreme beauty of the scene. "not effectual, lad; not effectual," returned the captain, stretching out his hand and turning to the interpreter; "look, anders, d'ye see nothing on the horizon away to the nor'ard? isn't that a bit of water-sky over there?" "ya," replied the interpreter, gazing intently, "there be watter-sky over there. ya. but not possobubble for go there. ice too big an' brokkin up." "ask chingatok what he thinks," returned the captain. chingatok's opinion was that the water-sky indicated the open sea. he knew that sea well--had often paddled over it, and his own country lay in it. "but how ever did he cross that ice?" asked the captain; "what says he to that, anders?" "i did not cross it," answered the eskimo, through anders. "when i came here with my party the ice was not there; it was far off yonder." he pointed to the eastward. "just so," returned the captain, with a satisfied nod, "that confirms my opinion. you see, boys, that the coast here trends off to the east'ard in a very decided manner. now, if that was only the shore of a bay, and the land again ran off to the nor'ard, it would not be possible for such a sea of ice to have come from _that_ direction. i therefore conclude that we are standing on the most northern cape of greenland; that greenland itself is a huge island, unconnected with the polar lands; that we are now on the shores of the great polar basin, in which, somewhere not very far from the pole itself, lies the home of our friend chingatok--at least so i judge from what he has said. moreover, i feel sure that the water-sky we see over there indicates the commencement of that `open sea' which, i hold, in common with many learned men, lies around the north pole, and which i am determined to float upon before many days go by." "we'd better spread our wings then, father, and be off at once," said benjy; "for it's quite certain that we'll never manage to scramble over that ice-jumble with sledges." "nevertheless, i will try, benjy." "but how, uncle?" asked leo. "ay, how?" repeated alf, "_that_ is the question." "come, come, alf, let shakespeare alone," said the pert benjy, "if you _must_ quote, confine yourself to buzzby." "nay, benjy, be not so severe. it was but a slip. besides, our leader has not forbidden our carrying a whole library in our heads, so long as we take only one book in our pockets. but, uncle, you have not yet told us how you intend to cross that amazing barrier which benjy has appropriately styled an ice-jumble." "how, boy?" returned the captain, who had been gazing eagerly in all directions while they talked, "it is impossible for me to say how. all that i can speak of with certainty as to our future movements is, that the road by which we have come to the top of this cliff will lead us to the bottom again, where toolooha is preparing for us an excellent supper of bear-steaks and tea. one step at a time, lads, is my motto; when that is taken we shall see clearly how and where to take the next." a sound sleep was the step which the whole party took after that which led to the bear-steaks. then captain vane arose, ordered the dogs to be harnessed to the sledges, and, laying his course due north, steered straight out upon the sea of ancient ice. chapter eight. difficulties and dangers increase, and the captain expounds his views. the first part of the journey over the rugged ice was not so difficult as had been anticipated, because they found a number of openings--narrow lanes, as it were--winding between the masses, most of which were wide enough to permit of the passage of the sledges; and when they chanced to come on a gap that was too narrow, they easily widened it with their hatchets and ice-chisels. there was, however, some danger connected with this process, for some of the mighty blocks of ice amongst which they moved were piled in such positions that it only required a few choppings at their base to bring them down in ruins on their heads. one instance of this kind sufficed to warn them effectually. captain vane's dog-sledge was leading the way at the time. leo drove it, for by that time the eskimos had taught him how to use the short-handled whip with the lash full fifteen feet long, and leo was an apt pupil in every athletic and manly exercise. beside him sat the captain, alf, benjy, and butterface--the black visage of the latter absolutely shining with delight at the novelty of the situation. behind came the sledge of chingatok, which, besides being laden with bear-rugs, sealskins, junks of meat, and a host of indescribable eskimo implements, carried himself and the precious persons of toolooha and tekkona. next came the sledge of the laughter-loving oolichuk, with the timid oblooria and another woman. then followed the sledges of ivitchuk and akeetolik, laden with the rest of the eskimo women and goods, and last of all came captain vane's two english-made sledges, heavily-laden with the goods and provisions of the explorers. these latter sledges, although made in england, had been constructed on the principle of the native sledge, namely, with the parts fastened by means of walrus-sinew lashings instead of nails, which last would have snapped like glass in the winter frosts of the polar regions, besides being incapable of standing the twistings and shocks of ice-travel. all the dogs being fresh, and the floor of the lanes not too rough, the strangely-assorted party trotted merrily along, causing the echoes among the great ice-blocks, spires, and obelisks, to ring to the music of their chatting, and the cracks of their powerful whips. suddenly, a shout at the front, and an abrupt pull up, brought the whole column to a halt. the captain's dogs had broken into a gallop. on turning suddenly round a spur of a glacier about as big as saint paul's cathedral, they went swish into a shallow pond which had been formed on the ice. it was not deep, but there was sufficient water in it to send a deluge of spray over the travellers. a burst of laughter greeted the incident as they sprang off the sledge, and waded to the dry ice a few yards ahead. "no damage done," exclaimed the captain, as he assisted the dogs to haul the sledge out of the water. "no damage!" repeated benjy, with a rueful look, "why, i'm soaked from top to toe!" "yes, you've got the worst of it," said leo, with a laugh; "that comes of being forward, benjy. you would insist on sitting in front." "well, it is some comfort," retorted benjy, squeezing the water from his garments, "that _alf_ is as wet as myself, for that gives us an opportunity of sympathising with each other. eh, _alf_? does buzzby offer no consolatory remarks for such an occasion as this?" "o yes," replied alf; "in his beautiful poem on melancholy, sixth canto, buzzby says:-- "`when trouble, like a curtain spread, obscures the clouded brain, and worries on the weary head descend like soaking rain-- lift up th'umbrella of the heart, stride manfully along; defy depression's dreary dart, and shout in gleeful song.'" "come, alf, clap on to this tow-rope, an' stop your nonsense," said captain vane, who was not in a poetical frame of mind just then. "dat is mos' boosiful potry!" exclaimed butterface, with an immense display of eyes and teeth, as he lent a willing hand to haul out the sledge. "mos' boosiful. but he's rader a strong rem'dy, massa, don' you tink? not bery easy to git up a gleefoo' shout when one's down in de mout' bery bad, eh!" alf's reply was checked by the necessity for remounting the sledge and resuming the journey. those in rear avoided the pond by going round it. "the weather's warm, anyhow, and that's a comfort," remarked benjy, as he settled down in his wet garments. "we can't freeze in summer, you know, and--" he stopped abruptly, for it became apparent just then that the opening close ahead of them was too narrow for the sledge to pass. it was narrowed by a buttress, or projection, of the cathedral-berg, which jutted up close to a vast obelisk of ice about forty feet high, if not higher. "nothing for it, boys, but to cut through," said the captain, jumping out, and seizing an axe, as the sledge was jammed between the masses. the dogs lay down to rest and pant while the men were at work. "it's cut an' come again in dem regins," muttered the negro steward, also seizing an axe, and attacking the base of the obelisk. a sudden cry of alarm from the whole party caused him to desist and look up. he echoed the cry and sprang back swiftly, for the huge mass of ice having been just on the balance, one slash at its base had destroyed the equilibrium, and it was leaning slowly over with a deep grinding sound. a moment later the motion was swift, and it fell with a terrible crash, bursting into a thousand fragments, scattering lumps and glittering morsels far and wide, and causing the whole ice-field to tremble. the concussion overturned several other masses, which had been in the same nicely-balanced condition, some near at hand, others out of sight, though within earshot, and, for a moment, the travellers felt as if the surrounding pack were disrupting everywhere and falling into utter ruin, but in a few seconds the sounds ceased, and again all was quiet. fortunately, the obelisk which had been overturned fell towards the north--away from the party; but although it thus narrowly missed crushing them all in one icy tomb, it blocked up their path so completely that the remainder of that day had to be spent in cutting a passage through it. need we say that, after this, they were careful how they used their axes and ice-chisels? soon after the occurrence of this incident, the labyrinths among the ice became more broken, tortuous, and bewildering. at last they ceased altogether, and the travellers were compelled to take an almost straight course right over everything, for blocks, masses, and drifts on a gigantic scale were heaved up in such dire confusion, that nothing having the faintest resemblance to a track or passage could be found. "it's hard work, this," remarked the captain to leo one evening, seating himself on a mass of ice which he had just chopped from an obstruction, and wiping the perspiration from his brow. "hard, indeed," said leo, sitting down beside him, "i fear it begins to tell upon poor benjy. you should really order him to rest more than he does, uncle." a grim smile of satisfaction played for a minute on the captain's rugged face, as he glanced at his son, who, a short distance ahead, was hacking at the ice with a pick-axe, in company with alf and butterface and the eskimo men. "it'll do him good, lad," replied the captain. "hard work is just what my benjy needs. he's not very stout, to be sure, but there is nothing wrong with his constitution, and he's got plenty of spirit." this was indeed true. benjy had too much spirit for his somewhat slender frame, but his father, being a herculean man, did not quite perceive that what was good for himself might be too much for his son. captain vane was, however, the reverse of a harsh man. he pondered what leo had said, and soon afterwards went up to his son. "benjy, my lad." "yes, father," said the boy, dropping the head of his pick-axe on the ice, resting his hands on the haft, and looking up with a flushed countenance. "you should rest a bit now and then, benjy. you'll knock yourself up if you don't." "rest a bit, father! why, i've just had a rest, and i'm not tired--that is, not very. ain't it fun, father? and the ice cuts up so easily, and flies about so splendidly--see here." with flashing eyes our little hero raised his pick and drove it into the ice at which he had been working, with all his force, so that a great rent was made, and a mass the size of a dressing-table sprang from the side of a berg, and, falling down, burst into a shower of sparkling gems. but this was not all. to benjy's intense delight, a mass of many tons in weight was loosened by the fall of the smaller lump, and rolled down with a thunderous roar, causing butterface, who was too near it, to jump out of the way with an amount of agility that threw the whole party into fits of laughter. "what d'ye think o' that, father?" "i think it's somewhat dangerous," answered the captain, recovering his gravity and re-shouldering his axe. "however, as long as you enjoy the work, it can't hurt you, so go ahead, my boy; it'll be a long time before you cut away too much o' the polar ice!" reaching a slightly open space beyond this point, the dogs were harnessed, and the party advanced for a mile or so, when they came to another obstruction worse than that which they had previously passed. "there's a deal of ice-rubbish in these regions," remarked benjy, eyeing the wildly heaped masses with a grave face, and heaving a deep sigh. "yes, massa benjy, bery too much altogidder," said butterface, echoing the sigh. "come, we won't cut through this," cried captain vane in a cheery voice; "we'll try to go over it. there is a considerable drift of old snow that seems to offer a sort of track. what says chingatok?" the easy-going eskimo said that it would be as well to go over it as through it, perhaps better! so, over it they went, but they soon began to wish they had tried any other plan, for the snow-track quickly came to an end, and then the difficulty of passing even the empty sledges from one ice mass to another was very great, while the process of carrying forward the goods on the shoulders of the men was exceedingly laborious. the poor dogs, too, were constantly falling between masses, and dragging each other down, so that they gave more trouble at last than they were worth. in all these trying circumstances, the eskimo women were almost as useful as the men. indeed they would have been quite as useful if they had been as strong, and they bore the fatigues and trials of the journey with the placid good humour, and apparent, if not real, humility of their race. at last, one afternoon, our discoverers came suddenly to the edge of this great barrier of ancient ice, and beheld, from an elevated plateau to which they had climbed, a scene which was calculated to rouse in their breasts feelings at once of admiration and despair, for there, stretching away below them for several miles, lay a sea of comparatively level ice, and beyond it a chain of stupendous glaciers, which presented an apparently impassable barrier--a huge continuous wall of ice that seemed to rise into the very sky. this chain bore all the evidences of being very old ice--compared to which that of the so-called "ancient sea" was absolutely juvenile. on the ice-plain, which was apparently illimitable to the right and left, were hundreds of pools of water in which the icebergs, the golden clouds, the sun, and the blue sky were reflected, and on the surface of which myriads of arctic wild-fowl were sporting about, making the air vocal with their plaintive cries, and ruffling the glassy surfaces of the lakes with their dipping wings. the heads of seals were also observed here and there. "these will stop us at last," said alf, pointing to the bergs with a profound sigh. "no, they won't," remarked the captain quietly. "_nothing_ will stop us!" "that's true, anyhow, uncle," returned alf; "for if it be, as chingatok thinks, that we are in search of nothing, of course when we find nothing, nothing will stop us!" "why, alf," said leo, "i wonder that you, who are usually in an enthusiastic and poetical frame of mind, should be depressed by distant difficulties, instead of admiring such a splendid sight of birds and beasts enjoying themselves in what i may style an arctic heaven. you should take example by benjy." that youth did indeed afford a bright example of rapt enthusiasm just then, for, standing a little apart by himself, he gazed at the scene with flushed face, open mouth, and glittering eyes, in speechless delight. "ask chingatok if he ever saw this range before," said the captain to anders, on recovering from his first feeling of surprise. no, chingatok had never seen it, except, indeed, the tops of the bergs-- at sea, in the far distance--but he had often heard of it from some of his countrymen, who, like himself, were fond of exploring. but that sea of ice was not there, he said, when he had passed on his journey southward. it had drifted there, since that time, from the great sea. "ah! the great sea that he speaks of is just what we must find and cross over," muttered the captain to himself. "but how are we to cross over it, uncle?" asked leo. the captain replied with one of his quiet glances. his followers had long become accustomed to this silent method of declining to reply, and forbore to press the subject. "come now, boys, get ready to descend to the plain. we'll have to do it with caution." there was, indeed, ground for caution. we have said that they had climbed to an elevated plateau on one of the small bergs which formed the outside margin of the rugged ice. the side of this berg was a steep slope of hard snow, so steep that they thought it unwise to attempt the descent by what in switzerland is termed glissading. "we'll have to zig-zag down, i think," continued the captain, settling himself on his sledge; but the captain's dogs thought otherwise. under a sudden impulse of reckless free-will, the whole team, giving vent to a howl of mingled glee and fear, dashed down the slope at full gallop. of course they were overtaken in a few seconds by the sledge, which not only ran into them, but sent them sprawling on their backs right and left. then it met a slight obstruction, and itself upset, sending captain vane and his companions, with its other contents, into the midst of the struggling dogs. with momentarily increasing speed this avalanche of mixed dead and living matter went sliding, hurtling, swinging, shouting, struggling, and yelling to the bottom. fortunately, there was no obstruction there, else had destruction been inevitable. the slope merged gradually into the level plain, over which the avalanche swept for a considerable distance before the momentum of their flight was expended. when at length they stopped, and disentangled themselves from the knot into which the traces had tied them, it was found that no one was materially hurt. looking up at the height down which they had come, they beheld the eskimos standing at the top with outstretched arms in the attitude of men who glare in speechless horror. but these did not stand thus long. descending by a more circuitous route, they soon rejoined the captain's party, and then, as the night was far advanced, they encamped on the edge of the ice-plain, on a part that was bathed in the beams of the ever-circling sun. that night at supper captain vane was unusually thoughtful and silent. "you're not losing heart, are you, uncle?" asked leo, during a pause. "no, lad, certainly not," replied the captain, dreamily. "you've not been bumped very badly in the tumble, father, have you?" asked benjy with an anxious look. "bumped? no; what makes you think so?" "because you're gazing at toolooha's lamp as if you saw a ghost in it." "well, perhaps i do see a ghost there," returned the captain with an effort to rouse his attention to things going on around him. "i see the ghost of things to come. i am looking through toolooha's lamp into futurity." "and what does futurity look like?" asked alf. "bright or dark?" "black--black as me," muttered butterface, as he approached and laid fresh viands before the party. it ought to be told that butterface had suffered rather severely in the recent glissade on the snow-slope, which will account for the gloomy view he took of the future at that time. "listen," said the captain, with a look of sudden earnestness; "as it is highly probable that a day or two more will decide the question of our success or failure, i think it right to reveal to you more fully my thoughts, my plans, and the prospects that lie before us. you all know very well that there is much difference of opinion about the condition of the sea around the north pole. some think it must be cumbered with eternal ice, others that it is comparatively free from ice, and that it enjoys a somewhat milder climate than those parts of the arctic regions with which we have hitherto been doing battle. i hold entirely with the latter view--with those who believe in an open polar basin. i won't weary you with the grounds of my belief in detail, but here are a few of my reasons-- "it is an admitted fact that there is constant circulation of the water in the ocean. that wise and painstaking philosopher, maury, of the us navy, has proved to my mind that this grand circulation of the sea-water round the world is the cause of all the oceanic streams, hot and cold, with which we have been so long acquainted. "this circulation is a necessity as well as a fact. at the equator the water is extremely warm and salt, besides lime-laden, in consequence of excessive evaporation. at the poles it is extremely cold and fresh. mixing is therefore a necessity. the hot salt-waters of the equator flow to the poles to get freshened and cooled. those of the poles flow to the equator to get salted, limed, and warmed. they do this continuously in two grand currents, north and south, all round the world. but the land comes in as a disturbing element; it diverts the water into streams variously modified in force and direction, and the streams also change places variously, sometimes the hot currents travelling north as under-currents with the cold currents above, sometimes the reverse. one branch of the current comes from the equator round the cape of good hope, turns up the west coast of africa, and is deflected into the gulf of mexico, round which it sweeps, and then shoots across the atlantic to england and norway. it is known as our gulf stream. "now, the equatorial warm and salt current enters baffin's bay as a submarine current, while the cold and comparatively fresh waters of the polar regions descend as a surface-current, bearing the great ice-fields of the arctic seas to the southward. one thing that goes far to prove this, is the fact that the enormous icebergs thrown off from the northern glaciers have been frequently seen by navigators travelling northward, right _against_ the current flowing south. these huge ice-mountains, floating as they do with seven or eight parts of their bulk beneath the surface, are carried thus forcibly up stream by the under-current until their bases are worn off by the warm waters below, thus allowing the upper current to gain the mastery, and hurry them south again to their final dissolution in the atlantic. "now, lads," continued the captain, with the air of a man who propounds a self-evident proposition; "is it not clear that if the warm waters of the south flow into the polar basin as an _under_ current, they must come up _somewhere_, to take the place of the cold waters that are for ever flowing away from the pole to the equator? can anything be clearer than that--except the nose on benjy's face? well then, that being so, the waters round the pole _must_ be comparatively warm waters, and also, comparatively, free from ice, so that if we could only manage to cross this ice-barrier and get into them, we might sail right away to the north pole." "but, father," said benjy, "since you have taken the liberty to trifle with my nose, i feel entitled to remark that we can't sail in waters, either hot or cold, without a ship." "that's true, boy," rejoined the captain. "however," he added, with a half-humorous curl of his black moustache, "you know i'm not given to stick at trifles. time will show. meanwhile i am strongly of opinion that this is the last ice-barrier we shall meet with on our way to the pole." "is there not some tradition of a mild climate in the furthest north among the eskimos?" asked alf. "of course there is. it has long been known that the greenland eskimos have a tradition of an island in an iceless sea, lying away in the far north, where there are many musk-oxen, and, from what i have been told by our friend chingatok, i am disposed to think that he and his kindred inhabit this island, or group of islands, in the polar basin--not far, perhaps, from the pole itself. he says there are musk-oxen there. but there is another creature, and a much bigger one than any eskimo, bigger even than chingatok, who bears his testimony to an open polar sea, namely, the greenland whale. it has been ascertained that the `right' whale does not, and cannot, enter the tropical regions of the ocean. they are to him as a sea of fire, a wall of adamant, so that it is impossible for him to swim south, double cape horn, and proceed to the north pacific; yet the very same kind of whale found in baffin's bay is found at behring straits. now, the question is, how did he get there?" "was born there, no doubt," answered benjy, "and had no occasion to make such a long voyage!" "ah! my boy, but we have the strongest evidence that he was _not_ born there, for you must know that some whalers have a habit of marking their harpoons with date and name of ship; and as we have been told by that good and true man dr scoresby, there have been several instances where whales have been captured near behring straits with harpoons in them bearing the stamp of ships that were known to cruise on the baffin's bay side of america. moreover, in one or two instances a very short time had elapsed between the date of harpooning on the atlantic and capturing on the pacific side. these facts prove, at all events, a `north-west passage' for whales, and, as whales cannot travel far under ice without breathing, they also tend to prove an open polar sea. "another argument in favour of this basin is the migration of birds to the northward at certain seasons. birds do not migrate to frozen regions, and such migrations northward have been observed by those who, like ourselves, have reached the highest latitudes. "captain nares of the _alert_, in may , when only a little to the southward of this, saw ptarmigan flying in pairs to the north-west, seeking for better feeding-grounds. ducks and geese also passed northward early in june, indicating plainly the existence of suitable feeding-grounds in the undiscovered and mysterious north. "we have now passed beyond the point reached by captain nares. my last observation placed us in parallel degrees minutes, the highest that has yet been reached by civilised man." "the highest, uncle?" interrupted leo. "yes--the highest. scoresby reached degrees minutes in , parry degrees minutes in --with sledges. that unfortunate and heroic american, captain hall, ran his vessel, the _polaris_, in the shortest space of time on record, up to latitude degrees minutes. captain nares reached a higher latitude than had previously been attained by ships, and captain markham, of captain nares' expedition, travelled over this very `sea of ancient ice' with sledges to latitude degrees . minutes--about miles from the pole, and the highest yet reached, as i have said. so, you see, we have beaten them all! moreover, i strongly incline to the belief that the open polar sea lies just beyond that range of huge icebergs which we see before us." the captain rose as he spoke, and pointed to the gigantic chain, behind one of which the sun was just about to dip, causing its jagged peaks to glow as with intense fire. "but how are we ever to pass that barrier, uncle?" asked alf, who was by nature the least sanguine of the party in regard to overcoming difficulties of a geographical nature, although by far the most enthusiastic in the effort to acquire knowledge. "you shall see, to-morrow," answered the captain; "at present we must turn in and rest. see, the eskimos have already set us the example." chapter nine. the captain makes a stupendous effort. disappointments and discoveries. next morning the ice-plain was crossed at a swinging gallop. indeed, the dogs were so fresh and frisky after a good rest and a hearty meal that they ran away more than once, and it became a matter of extreme difficulty to check them. at last the great chain was reached, and the party came to an abrupt halt at the base of one of the largest of the bergs. captain vane gazed up at it as napoleon the first may be supposed to have gazed at the alps he had resolved to scale and cross. the resemblance to alpine scenery was not confined to mere form--such as towering peaks and mighty precipices--for there were lakelets and ponds here and there up among the crystal heights, from which rivulets trickled, streams brawled, and cataracts thundered. it was evident, however, that the old giant that frowned on them was verging towards dissolution, for he was honey-combed in all directions. "impossible to scale that," said alf, with a solemn look. even leo's sanguine temperament was dashed for a moment. "we dare not attempt to cut through it," he said, "for masses are falling about here and there in a very dangerous fashion." as he spoke, a tall spire was seen to slip from its position, topple over, and go crashing down into a dark blue gulf of ice below it. "no chance of success _now_," said benjamin vane, gloomily. "none wotsomediver," muttered butterface, his broad black visage absolutely elongated by sympathetic despair. for, you must know, as far as his own feelings were concerned, sympathy alone influenced him. personally, he was supremely indifferent about reaching the north pole. in fact he did not believe in it at all, and made no scruple of saying so, when asked, but he seldom volunteered his opinion, being an extremely modest and polite man. during these desponding remarks captain vane did not seem to be much depressed. "anders," he said, turning abruptly to the interpreter, "ask chingatok what he thinks. can we pass this barrier, and, if not, what would he advise us to do?" it was observed that the other eskimos drew near with anxious looks to hear the opinion of their chief. toolooha and tekkona, however, seemed quite devoid of anxiety. they evidently had perfect confidence in the giant, and poor little oblooria glanced up in the face of her friend as if to gather consolation from her looks. chingatok, after a short pause, said:-- "the ice-mountains cannot be passed. the white men have not wings; they cannot fly. they must return to land, and travel for many days to the open water near the far-off land--there." he pointed direct to the northward. captain vane made no reply. he merely turned and gave orders that the lashings of one of the large sledges which conveyed the baggage should be cast loose. selecting a box from this, he opened it, and took therefrom a small instrument made partly of brass, partly of glass, and partly of wood. "you have often wondered, benjy," he said, "what i meant to do with this electrical machine. you shall soon see. help me to arrange it, boy, and do you, leo, uncoil part of this copper wire. here, alf, carry this little box to the foot of the berg, and lay it in front of yon blue cavern." "which? that one close to the waterfall or--" "no, the big cavern, just under the most solid part of the berg--the one that seems to grow bluer and bluer until it becomes quite black in its heart. and have a care, alf. the box you carry is dangerous. don't let it fall. lay it down gently, and come back at once. anders," he added, turning round, "let all the people go back with dogs and sledges for a quarter of a mile." there was something so peremptory and abrupt in their leader's manner that no one thought of asking him a question, though all were filled with surprise and curiosity as to what he meant to do. "come here, leo," he said, after his orders had been obeyed. "hold this coil, and pay it out as i walk to the berg with the end in my hand." the coil was one of extremely fine copper wire. leo let it run as the captain walked off. a minute or two later he was seen to enter the dark blue cavern and disappear. "my dear dad is reckless," exclaimed benjy, in some anxiety, "what if the roof o' that cave should fall in. there are bits of ice dropping about everywhere. what _can_ he be going to do?" as he spoke, the captain issued from the cave, and walked smartly towards them. "now then, it's all right," he said, "give me the coil, leo, and come back, all of you. fetch the machine, alf." in a few minutes the whole party had retired a considerable distance from the huge berg, the captain uncoiling the wire as he went. "surely you're not going to try to blow it up piecemeal?" said leo. "no, lad, i'm not going to do that, or anything so slow," returned the captain, stopping and arranging the instrument. "but if the box contains gunpowder," persisted leo, "there's not enough to--" "it contains dynamite," said the captain, affixing the coil to the machine, and giving it a sharp turn. if a volcano had suddenly opened fire under the iceberg the effect could not have been more tremendous. thunder itself is not more deep than was the crash which reverberated among the ice-cliffs. smoke burst in a huge volume from the heart of the berg. masses, fragments, domes, and pinnacles were hurled into the air, and fell back to mingle with the blue precipices that tumbled, slid, or plunged in horrible confusion. only a portion, indeed, of the mighty mass had been actually disrupted, but the shock to the surrounding ice was so shattering that the entire berg subsided. "stu-pendous!" exclaimed alf, with a look of awe-stricken wonder. benjy, after venting his feelings in a shriek of joyful surprise, seemed to be struck dumb. anders and butterface stood still,--speechless. as for the eskimos, they turned with one hideous yell, and fled from the spot like maniacs--excepting chingatok, who, although startled, stood his ground in an attitude expressive of superlative surprise. "so,--it has not disappointed me," remarked the captain, when the hideous din had ceased, "dynamite is indeed a powerful agent when properly applied: immeasurably more effective than powder." "but it seems to me," said leo, beginning to recover himself, "that although you have brought the berg down you have not rendered it much more passable." "that's true, lad," answered the captain with a somewhat rueful expression. "it does seem a lumpy sort of heap after all; but there may be found some practicable bits when we examine it more closely. come, we'll go see." on closer inspection it was found that the ruined berg still presented an absolutely insurmountable obstacle to the explorers, who, being finally compelled to admit that even dynamite had failed, left the place in search of a natural opening. travelling along the chain for a considerable time, in the hope of succeeding, they came at last to a succession of comparatively level floes, which conducted them to the extreme northern end of the chain, and there they found that the floes continued onwards in an unbroken plain to what appeared to be the open sea. "that is a water-sky, for certain," exclaimed captain vane, eagerly, on the evening when this discovery was made. "the open ocean cannot now be far off." "there's a very dark cloud there, father," said benjy, who, as we have before said, possessed the keenest sight of the party. "a cloud, boy! where? um--yes, i see something--" "it is land," said chingatok, in a low voice. "land!" exclaimed the captain, "are you sure?" "yes, i know it well. i passed it on my journey here. we left our canoes and oomiaks there, and took to sledges because the floes were unbroken. but these ice-mountains were not here at that time. they have come down since we passed from the great sea." "there!" said the captain, turning to leo with a look of triumph, "he still speaks of the great sea! if these bergs came from it, we _must_ have reached it, lad." "but the land puzzles me," said leo. "can it be part of greenland?" "scarcely, for greenland lies far to the east'ard, and the latest discoveries made on the north of that land show that the coast turns still more decidedly east--tending to the conclusion that greenland is an island. this land, therefore, must be entirely new land--an island-- a continent perhaps." "but it may be a cape, father," interposed benjy. "you know that capes have a queer way of sticking out suddenly from land, just as men's noses stick out from their faces." "true, benjy, true, but your simile is not perfect, for men's noses don't always stick out from their faces--witness the nose of butterface, which, you know, is well aft of his lips and chin. however, this _may_ be greenland's nose--who knows? we shall go and find out ere long. come, use your whip, leo. ho! chingatok, tell your hairy kinsmen to clap on all sail and make for the land." "hold on, uncle!" cried alf, "i think i see a splendid specimen of--" the crack of leo's whip, and the yelping of the team, drowned the rest of the sentence, and alf was whirled away from his splendid specimen, (whatever it was), for ever! "it is a piece of great good fortune," said the captain, as they swept along over the hard and level snow, "that the eskimos have left their boats on this land, for now i shall have two strings to my bow." "what is the other string?" asked leo, as he administered a flip to the flank of a lazy dog. "ah, that remains to be seen, lad," replied the captain. "why, what a tyrant you are, uncle!" exclaimed alf, who had recovered from his disappointment about the splendid specimen. "you won't tell us anything, almost. who ever before heard of the men of an expedition to the north pole being kept in ignorance of the means by which they were to get there?" the captain's reply was only a twinkle of the eye. "father wants to fill you with bliss, alf," said benjy, "according to your own notions of that sort of thing." "what do you mean, ben?" "why, have we not all heard you often quote the words:--`where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.'" "hear, hear! that's it, benjy," said the captain, with a nod and a short laugh, while his son assumed the satisfied gravity of look appropriate to one who has made a hit; "i won't decrease his bliss by removing his ignorance yet awhile." "hain't buzzby got nuffin' to say on that 'ere pint?" whispered butterface to benjy, who sat just in front of him. "ah! to be sure. i say, alf," said the boy with an earnest look, "hasn't your favourite author got something to say about the bliss of ignorance? i'm almost sure i heard you muttering something in your dreams on that subject the other day." "of course he has. he has a long poem on that subject. here is a bit of it." alf, whose memory was good, immediately recited the following: "how sweet is ignorance! how soothing to the mind, to search for treasures in the brain, and nothing find! consider. when the memory is richly stored, how apt the victim of redundant knowledge to be bored! when nothing fills the chambers of the heart and brain, then negative enjoyment comes with pleasures in her train! descending on the clods of sense like summer rain. "knowledge, 'tis said, gives power, and so it often does; knowledge makes sorrow, too, around our pillows buzz. in debt i am, with little cash; i know it--and am sad. of course, if i were ignorant of this--how glad! a loving friend, whom once i knew in glowing health, has broken down, and also, somehow, lost his wealth. how sad the knowledge makes me! better far in ignorance to live, than hear of things that jar, and think of things that are not,--not of things that are. "`if ignorance is bliss,' the poet saith--why `if?' why doubt a fact so clearly proven, stubborn, stiff? the heavy griefs and burdens of the world around, the hideous tyranny by which mankind is ground, the earthquake, tempest, rush of war, and wail of woe, are all as though they were not--if i do not know! wrapped in my robe of ignorance, what _can_ i miss? am i not saved from all--and more than all--of this? do i not revel in a regal realm of bliss?" "bravo! buzzby," cried the captain, "but, i say, alf, don't it seem to smack rather too much of selfishness?" "of course it does, uncle. i do not think buzzby always sound in principle, and, like many poets, he is sometimes confused in his logic." "you're right, benjy, the land is clear enough now," remarked the captain, whose interest in buzzby was not profound, and whose feelings towards logic bordered on the contemptuous, as is often the case with half-educated men, and, strange to say, sometimes with highly-educated men, as well as with the totally ignorant--so true is it that extremes meet! in the course of a couple of hours the sledges drew near to the island, which proved to be a large but comparatively low one, rising not more than a hundred feet in any part. it was barren and ragged, with patches of reindeer moss growing in some parts, and dwarf willows in others. myriads of sea-birds made it their home, and these received the invaders with clamorous cries, as if they knew that white men were a dangerous novelty, and objected to the innovation. despite their remonstrances, the party landed, and the eskimos hurried over the rocks to that part of the island where they had left their kayaks and women's boats in charge of a party of natives who were resident on the island at the time they passed, and from whom they had borrowed the dogs and sledges with which they had travelled south. meanwhile the white men took to rambling; leo to shoot wild-fowl for supper, alf to search for "specimens," and benjy to scramble among the rocks in search of anything that might "turn up." butterface assisted the latter in his explorations. while the rest were thus engaged, the captain extemporised a flag-staff out of two spears lashed together with a small block at the top for the purpose of running up a flag, and formally taking possession of the island when they should re-assemble. this done, he wrote a brief outline of his recent doings, which he inserted in a ginger-beer bottle brought for that very purpose. then he assisted anders in making the encampment and preparing supper. the two were yet in the midst of the latter operation when a shout was heard in the distance. looking in the direction whence it came they saw chingatok striding over the rocks towards them with unusual haste. he was followed by the other eskimos, who came forward gesticulating violently. "my countrymen have left the island," said chingatok when he came up. "and taken the kayaks with them?" asked captain vane anxiously. "every one," replied the giant. this was depressing news to the captain, who had counted much on making use of the eskimo canoes in the event of his own appliances failing. "where have they gone, think you?" he asked. "tell blackbeard," replied chingatok, turning to anders, "that no one knows. since they went away the lanes of open water have closed, and the ice is solid everywhere." "but where the kayak and the oomiak cannot float the sledge may go," said the captain. "that is true; tell the pale chief he is wise, yet he knows not all things. let him think. when he comes to the great open sea what will he do without canoes?" "huk!" exclaimed oolichuk, with that look and tone which intimated his belief that the pale chief had received a "clincher." the chattering of the other eskimos ceased for a moment or two as they awaited eagerly the captain's answer, but the captain disappointed them. he merely said, "well, we shall see. i may not know all things, chingatok, nevertheless i know a deal more than you can guess at. come now, let's have supper, anders; we can't wait for the wanderers." as he spoke, three of the wanderers came into camp, namely leo, benjy, and butterface. "what's come of alf?" asked the captain. neither leo nor benjy had seen him since they parted, a quarter of an hour after starting, and both had expected to find him in camp, but butterface had seen him. "sawd him runnin'," said the sable steward, "runnin' like a mad kangaroo arter a smallish brute like a mouse. nebber sawd nuffin' like massa alf for runnin'." "well, we can't wait for him," said the captain, "i want to take possession of the island before supper. what shall we call it?" "disappointment isle," said leo, "seeing that the eskimos have failed us." "no--i won't be ungrateful," returned the captain, "considering the successes already achieved." "call it content isle, then," suggested benjy. "but i am not content with partial success. come, butterface, haven't you got a suggestion to make." the negro shook his woolly head. "no," he said, "i's 'orrible stoopid. nebber could get nuffin' to come out o' my brain--sep w'en it's knocked out by accident. you's hard to please, massa. s'pose you mix de two,-- dis'pintment an' content,--an' call 'im half-an'-half island." "home is in sight now," said chingatok, who had taken no interest in the above discussion, as it was carried on in english. "a few days more and we should be there if we only had our kayaks." "there's the name," exclaimed the captain eagerly when this was translated, "`home-in-sight,' that will do." rising quickly, he bent a union jack to the halyards of his primitive flag-staff, ran it up, and in the name of queen victoria took possession of _home-in-sight island_. after having given three hearty british cheers, in which the eskimos tried to join, with but partial success, they buried the ginger-beer bottle under a heap of stones, a wooden cross was fixed on the top of the cairn, and then the party sat down to supper, while the captain made a careful note of the latitude and longitude, which he had previously ascertained. this latest addition to her majesty's dominions was put down by him in latitude degrees minutes, or about geographical miles from the north pole. chapter ten. a sketcher in imminent danger. difficulties increase, and are overcome as usual. the first night on home-in-sight island was not so undisturbed as might have been expected. the noisy gulls did indeed go to sleep at their proper bed-time, which, by the way, they must have ascertained by instinct, for the sun could be no certain guide, seeing that he shone all night as well as all day, and it would be too much to expect that gulls had sufficient powers of observation to note the great luminary's exact relation to the horizon. polar bears, like the eskimo, had forsaken the spot. all nature, indeed, animate and inanimate, favoured the idea of repose when the explorers lay down to sleep on a mossy couch that was quite as soft as a feather bed, and much more springy. the cause of disturbance was the prolonged absence of alf vandervell. that enthusiastic naturalist's failure to appear at supper was nothing uncommon. his non-appearance when they lay down did indeed cause some surprise, but little or no anxiety, and they all dropped into a sound sleep which lasted till considerably beyond midnight. then the captain awoke with a feeling of uneasiness, started up on one elbow, yawned, and gazed dreamily around. the sun, which had just kissed his hand to the disappointed horizon and begun to re-ascend the sky, blinded the captain with his beams, but did not prevent him from observing that alf's place was still vacant. "very odd," he muttered, "alf didn't use to--to--w'at's 'is name in-- this--way--" the captain's head dropped, his elbow relaxed, and he returned to the land of nod for another half-hour. again he awoke with a start, and sat upright. "this'll never do," he exclaimed, with a fierce yawn, "something _must_ be wrong. ho! benjy!" "umph!" replied the boy, who, though personally light, was a heavy sleeper. "rouse up, ben, alf's not come back. where did you leave him?" "don' know, burrerface saw 'im las'--." benjy dropped off with a sigh, but was re-aroused by a rough shake from his father, who lay close to him. "come, ben, stir up butterface! we must go look for alf." butterface lay on the other side of benjy, who, only half alive to what he was doing, raised his hand and let it fall heavily on the negro's nose, by way of stirring him up. "hallo! massa benjamin! you's dreamin' drefful strong dis mornin'." "yer up, ol' ebony!" groaned the boy. in a few minutes the whole camp was roused; sleep was quickly banished by anxiety about the missing one; guns and rifles were loaded, and a regular search-expedition was hastily organised. they started off in groups in different directions, leaving the eskimo women in charge of the camp. the captain headed one party, chingatok another, and leo with benjy a third, while a few of the natives went off independently, in couples or alone. "i was sure alf would get into trouble," said benjy, as he trotted beside leo, who strode over the ground in anxious haste. "that way he has of getting so absorbed in things that he forgets where he is, won't make him a good explorer." "not so sure of that, ben," returned leo; "he can discover things that men who are less absorbed, like you, might fail to note. let us go round this hillock on separate sides. we might pass him if we went together. keep your eyes open as you go. he may have stumbled over one of those low precipices and broken a leg. keep your ears cocked also, and give a shout now and then." we have said that the island was a low one, nevertheless it was extremely rugged, with little ridges and hollows everywhere, like miniature hills and valleys. through one of these latter benjy hurried, glancing from side to side as he went, like a red indian on the war-path--which character, indeed, he thought of, and tried to imitate. the little vale did not, however, as leo had imagined, lead round the hillock. it diverged gradually to the right, and ascended towards the higher parts of the island. the path was so obstructed by rocks and boulders which had evidently been at one time under the pressure of ice, that the boy could not see far in any direction, except by mounting one of these. he had not gone far when, on turning the corner of a cliff which opened up another gorge to view, he beheld a sight which caused him to open mouth and eyes to their widest. for there, seated on an eminence, with his back to a low precipice, not more than three or four hundred yards off, sat the missing explorer, with book on knees and pencil in hand--sketching; and there, seated on the top of the precipice, looking over the edge at the artist, skulked a huge polar bear, taking as it were, a surreptitious lesson in drawing! the bear, probably supposing alf to be a wandering seal, had dogged him to that position just as benjy vane discovered him, and then, finding the precipice too high for a leap perhaps, or doubting the character of his intended victim, he had paused in uncertainty on the edge. the boy's first impulse was to utter a shout of warning, for he had no gun wherewith to shoot the brute, but fear lest that might precipitate an attack restrained him. benjy, however, was quick-witted. he saw that the leap was probably too much even for a polar bear, and that the nature of the ground would necessitate a detour before it could get at the artist. these and other thoughts passed through his brain like the lightning flash, and he was on the point of turning to run back and give the alarm to leo, when a rattling of stones occurred behind him--just beyond the point of rocks round which he had turned. in the tension of his excited nerves he felt as if he had suddenly become red hot. could this be another bear? if so, what was he to do, whither to fly? a moment more would settle the question, for the rattle of stones continued as the steps advanced. the boy felt the hair rising on his head. round came the unknown monster in the form of--a man! "ah, benjy, i--" but the appearance of benjy's countenance caused leo to stop abruptly, both in walk and talk. he had found out his mistake about sending the boy round the hillock, and, turning back, had followed him. "ah! look there," said benjy, pointing at the _tableau vivant_ on the hill-top. leo's ready rifle leaped from his shoulder to his left palm, and a grim smile played on his lips, for long service in a volunteer corps had made him a good judge of distance as well as a sure and deadly shot. "stand back, benjy, behind this boulder," he whispered. "i'll lean on it to make more certain." he was deliberately arranging the rifle while speaking, but never for one instant took his eye off the bear, which still stood motionless, with one paw raised, as if petrified with amazement at what it saw. as for alf, he went on intently with his work, lifting and lowering his eyes continuously, putting in bold dashes here, or tender touches there; holding out the book occasionally at arm's length to regard his work, with head first on one side, then on the other, and, in short, going through all those graceful and familiar little evolutions of artistic procedure which arouse one's home feelings so powerfully everywhere-- even in the arctic regions! little did the artist know who was his uninvited pupil on that sunny summer night! with one knee resting on a rock, and his rifle on the boulder, leo took a steady, somewhat lengthened aim, and fired. the result was stupendous! not only did the shot reverberate with crashing echoes among surrounding cliffs and boulders, but a dying howl from the bear burst over the island, like the thunder of a heavy gun, and went booming over the frozen sea. no wonder that the horrified alf leapt nearly his own height into the air and scattered his drawing-materials right and left like chaff. he threw up his arms, and wheeled frantically round just in time to receive the murdered bear into his very bosom! they rolled down a small slope together, and then, falling apart, lay prone and apparently dead upon the ground. you may be sure that leo soon had his brother's head on his knee, and was calling to him in an agony of fear, quite regardless of the fact that the bear lay at his elbow, giving a few terrific kicks as its huge life oozed out through a bullet-hole in its heart, while benjy, half weeping with sympathy, half laughing with glee, ran to a neighbouring pool to fetch water in his cap. a little of the refreshing liquid dashed on his face and poured down his throat soon restored alf, who had only been stunned by the fall. "what induced you to keep on sketching all night?" asked leo, after the first explanations were over. "all night?" repeated alf in surprise, "have i been away all night? what time is it?" "three o'clock in the morning at the very least," said leo. "the sun is pretty high, as you might have seen if you had looked at it." "but he never looked at it," said benjy, whose eyes were not yet quite dry, "he never looks at anything, or thinks of anything, when he goes sketching." "surely you must allow that at least i look at and think of my work," said alf, rising from the ground and sitting down on the rock from which he had been so rudely roused; "but you are half right, benjy. the sun was at my back, you see, hid from me by the cliff over which the bear tumbled, and i had no thoughts for time, or eyes for nature, except the portion i was busy with--by the way, where is it?" "what, your sketch?" "ay, and the colours. i wouldn't lose these for a sight of the pole itself. look for them, ben, my boy, i still feel somewhat giddy." in a few minutes the sketch and drawing-materials were collected, undamaged, and the three returned to camp, alf leaning on leo's arm. on the way thither they met the captain's party, and afterwards the band led by chingatok. the latter was mightily amused by the adventure, and continued for a considerable time afterwards to upheave his huge shoulders with suppressed laughter. when the whole party was re-assembled the hour was so late, and they had all been so thoroughly excited, that no one felt inclined to sleep again. it was resolved, therefore, at once to commence the operations of a new day. butterface was set to prepare coffee, and the eskimos began breakfast with strips of raw blubber, while steaks of leo's bear were being cooked. meanwhile chingatok expressed a wish to see the drawing which had so nearly cost the artist his life. alf was delighted to exhibit and explain it. for some time the giant gazed at it in silence. then he rested his forehead in his huge hand as if in meditation. it was truly a clever sketch of a surpassingly lovely scene. in the foreground was part of the island with its pearl-grey rocks, red-brown earth, and green mosses, in the midst of which lay a calm pool, like the island's eye looking up to heaven and reflecting the bright indescribable blue of the midnight sky. further on was a mass of cold grey rocks. beyond lay the northern ice-pack, which extended in chaotic confusion away to the distant horizon, but the chaos was somewhat relieved by the presence of lakelets which shone here and there over its surface like shields of glittering azure and burnished gold. "ask him what he thinks of it," said leo to anders, a little surprised at chingatok's prolonged silence. "i cannot speak," answered the giant, "my mind is bursting and my heart is full. with my finger i have drawn faces on the snow. i have seen men put wonderful things on flat rocks with a piece of stone, but this!--this is my country made little. it looks as if i could walk in it, yet it is flat!" "the giant is rather complimentary," laughed benjy, when this was translated; "to my eye your sketch is little better than a daub." "it is a daub that causes me much anxiety," said the captain, who now looked at the drawing for the first time. "d'you mean to tell me, alf, that you've been true to nature when you sketched that pack?" "as true as i could make it, uncle." "i'll answer for its truth," said leo, "and so will benjy, for we both saw the view from the top of the island, though we paid little heed to it, being too much occupied with alf and the bear at the time. the pack is even more rugged than he has drawn it, and it extends quite unbroken to the horizon." the captain's usually hopeful expression forsook him for a little as he commented on his bad fortune. "the season advances, you see," he said, "and it's never very long at the best. i had hoped we were done with this troublesome `sea of ancient ice,' but it seems to turn up everywhere, and from past experience we know that the crossing of it is slow work, as well as hard. however, we mustn't lose heart. `nebber say die,' as butterface is fond of remarking." "yis, massa, nebber say die, but allers say `lib, to de top ob your bent.' dems my 'pinions w'en dey's wanted. also `go a-hid.' dat's a grand sent'ment--was borned 'mong de yankees, an' i stoled it w'en i left ole virginny." "what says chingatok?" asked the captain of the eskimo, who was still seated with the sketch on his knees in profound meditation. "blackbeard has trouble before him," answered the uncompromising giant, without removing his eyes from the paper. "there," he said, pointing to the pack, "you have three days' hard work. after that three days' easy and swift work. after that no more go on. must come back." "he speaks in riddles, anders. what does he mean by the three days of hard work coming to an end?" "i mean," said chingatok, "that the ice was loose when i came to this island. it is now closed. the white men must toil, toil, toil--very slow over the ice for three days, then they will come to smooth ice, where the dogs may run for three days. then they will come to another island, like this one, on the far-off side of which there is no ice-- nothing but sea, sea, sea. our kayaks are gone," continued the giant, sadly, "we must come back and travel many days before we find things to make new ones." while he was speaking, captain vane's face brightened up. "are you sure of what you say, chingatok?" "chingatok is sure," replied the eskimo quietly. "then we'll conquer our difficulties after all. come, boys, let's waste no more time in idle talk, but harness the dogs, and be off at once." of course the party had to travel round the island, for there was neither ice nor snow on it. when the other side was reached the real difficulties of the journey were fully realised. during the whole of that day and the next they were almost continuously engaged in dragging the sledges over masses of ice, some of which rose to thirty feet above the general level. if the reader will try to imagine a very small ant or beetle dragging its property over a newly macadamised road, he will have a faint conception of the nature of the work. to some extent the dogs were a hindrance rather than a help, especially when passing over broken fragments, for they were always tumbling into holes and cracks, out of which they had to be dragged, and were much given to venting their ill-humour on each other, sometimes going in for a free fight, in the course of which they tied their traces into indescribable knots, and drove their eskimo masters furious. on such occasions the whips--both lash and handle--were applied with unsparing vigour until the creatures were cowed. danger, also, as well as toil, was encountered during the journey. on the evening of the second day the sledge driven by oolichuk diverged a little from the line of march towards what seemed an easier passage over the hummocks. they had just gained the top of an ice-block, which, unknown to the driver, overhung its base. when the dogs reached the edge of the mass, it suddenly gave way. down went the team with a united howl of despair. their weight jerked the sledge forward, another mass of the ice gave way, and over went the whole affair. in the fall the lashings broke, and oolichuk, with several of his kindred, including poor little oblooria, went down in a shower of skins, packages, bags, and eskimo cooking utensils. fortunately, they dropped on a slope of ice which broke their fall, and, as it were, shunted them all safely, though violently, to the lower level of the pack. beyond a few scratches and bruises, no evil resulted from this accident to these hardy natives of the north. that night they all encamped, as on the previous night, in the midst of the pack, spreading their skins and furs on the flattest ice they could find, and keeping as far from overhanging lumps as possible. "what does blackbeard mean by coming here?" asked chingatok of anders, as they lay side by side, gazing up at the blue sky awaiting sleep. "we cannot swim over the sea, and we have no boats." "i don't know," answered the interpreter. "our chief is a wonderful man. he does things that seem to be all wrong, but they turn out mostly to be all right." "does he ever speak of a great spirit?" asked the giant in a solemn tone. "not to me," replied the other, "but i hear him sometimes speaking to his little boy about his god." "then he must know his god," returned chingatok. "has he seen him-- spoken to him?" anders was a good deal surprised as well as puzzled by the questions put by his new friend. his extremely commonplace mind had never been exercised by such ideas. "i never asked him about that," he said, "and he never told me. perhaps he will tell you if you ask him." the interpreter turned on his side with a sigh and went to sleep. the giant lay on his back gazing long and steadily with a wistful look at the unbroken vault of sky, whose vast profundity seemed to thrust him mercilessly back. as he gazed, a little cloud, light as a puff of eider-down, and golden as the sun from which its lustre came, floated into the range of his vision. he smiled, for the thought that light may suddenly arise when all around seems blank gave his inquiring spirit rest, and he soon joined the slumbering band who lay upon the ice around him. according to chingatok's prophecy, on the third day the fagged and weary discoverers surmounted their first difficulty, and came upon comparatively smooth ice, the surface of which resembled hard-trodden snow, and was sufficiently free from obstructing lumps to admit of rapid sledge travelling. it was late when they reached it, but as they could now all sit on the sledges and leave the hard work to the dogs, the leader resolved to continue the advance without resting. "it's time enough to stop when we're stopped," he remarked to leo, while making preparations to start. "we will sleep at the first obstruction we meet with, if it's a sufficiently troublesome one. see that the things are well lashed on all the sledges, alf. remember that i hold you responsible for lost articles." "and what am i responsible for, father?" asked benjy with a pert look. "for keeping out of mischief, ben. that's the most i can expect of you." "you are only a sort of negative blessing to us, you see, benjy," said alf, as he stooped to tighten a rope. "it's not so much what you do, as what you don't do, that rejoices us." "i'm glad of that," retorted the boy, arranging himself comfortably on his father's sledge, "because i won't do anything at all for some hours to come, which ought to fill you all with perfect felicity. awake me, leo, if we chance to upset." "now then, all ready?" cried the captain. "off you go, then--clap on all sail!" crack went the mighty whips, howl went the dogs, and the sledges were soon skimming over the sea at the rate of ten miles an hour. of course they did not keep that pace up very long. it became necessary to rest at times, also, to give the dogs a little food. when this latter process had been completed, the teams became so lively that they tried to runaway. "let them run," said the captain to leo. "and help them on," added benjy. leo took the advice of both, applied the lash, and increased the speed so much that the sledge swung from side to side on the smooth places, sometimes catching on a lump of ice, and all but throwing out its occupants. the eskimos entered into the spirit of their leaders. they also plied their lashes, and, being more dexterous than leo, soon converted the journey into a race, in which chingatok--his giant arm flourishing an appropriately huge whip--was rapidly coming to the front when a tremendous shout in the rear caused them to pull up. looking back, alf's sledge was seen inverted and mixed, as it were, with the team, while alf himself and his eskimo friends were sprawling around on the ice. no damage was done to life or limb, but a sledge-runner had been partially broken, and could not be mended,--so said oolichuk--in less than an hour. "this, then," said the captain, "is our first obstruction, so here we will make our beds for the night." chapter eleven. another island discovered--the englishmen and eskimos alike are astonished in more ways than one. as chingatok had predicted, on the sixth day from home-in-sight island the party came to another island, where the great pack abruptly terminated. it was not large, probably ten or twelve miles in length, from the eskimo account, but the ends of it could not be seen from the spot where they landed. at that point it was only two miles wide, and on the opposite side its shores were laved by an open sea, which was quite free from ice, with the exception of a few scattered floes and bergs--a sea whose waves fell in slow regular cadence on a pebbly beach, and whose horizon was an unbroken line barely distinguishable from the sky. close to it a few black rocks showed above the water, around which great numbers of gulls, puffins, and other sea-birds disported themselves in clamorous joy; sometimes flying to the shore as if to have a look at the newcomers, and then sheering off with a scream--it might be a laugh--to tell their comrades what they had seen. "here, then, at last, is the open polar sea," said captain vane, after the first long silent gaze of joy and admiration. "i have no doubt of it whatever. and now we shall proceed, i hope without interruption, to the pole!" "of course you do not intend that we should swim there, do you, uncle?" said leo. "of course not, my boy. in those big cases, which have cost us so much labour to bring here, i have three large and stout india-rubber boats--" "ha! i guessed as much," exclaimed alf. "no doubt," returned the captain, "but you did not guess all." "i hope not," said leo, "for to say truth i don't much relish the idea of rowing over an unknown sea an unknown distance at the rate of three or four miles an hour. i hope you have a patent steam-engine that will drive us along somewhat faster." "no, lad, no, i have no such steam-engine or any other miraculous contrivance that sets the laws of nature at defiance, and appears only in nursery tales. this expedition has been undertaken on no haphazard or insane plan. it was all cut and dry before we left old england, and it is much simpler than you suppose." "what, then, is to be your motive power, if not oars or sails--which last would not work well, i fear, in an india-rubber boat?" asked leo. "kites," replied the captain. "kites!" repeated both alf and leo in surprise. "not paper ones, surely," said benjy, in a tone of disappointment, not unmingled with contempt. "no, ben, not paper ones," said the captain, "but you shall see. let the boxes be unlashed and carried into yonder cave. i'll unpack them presently. meanwhile, anders, i want you to interpret for me. go, tell chingatok i wish to have a talk with him." while the brothers went to obey their leader's order, and benjy to superintend the pitching of the camp, captain vane walked along the shore with anders and the giant. "are you sure, chingatok, that there is no more ice in this sea?" asked the captain. "no more great packs; only a little here and there, and a few ice-mountains," answered the eskimo. "and no more islands?" "no more islands till you come to the land where i and my people dwell. there are more islands beyond that with people on them--people who are not friendly to us." "how far off, now, is your land from this island?" continued the captain, with a grave nod to leo, who joined them at the moment. "about three days with a kayak." the captain pondered for a few minutes. "leo," he said, "the observation which i took yesterday enables me to place this island in latitude degrees minutes. i judge that a kayak may travel at the rate of three miles an hour, which, making allowance for sleep and rests, gives the distance of this island from chingatok's native land approximately at about miles, so that the home of this giant and his tribe is actually in the near neighbourhood of the pole itself. if this be so, we may consider that our success, wind, weather, etcetera, permitting, is absolutely certain." the captain spoke in the deep earnest tones of one under the influence of powerful but suppressed enthusiasm. "now then, leo," he continued, "we will go and take formal possession of this new discovery. what shall we call it? good hope is too familiar as a cape." "why not great hope?" asked leo. "good! that will do well." so captain vane took possession of great hope island; having fixed its position in latitude degrees minutes north, and longitude degrees west. after that he proceeded to open the cases which had so long been objects of interest to his own party, and objects of intense curiosity to the eskimos, who crowded round the entrance of the shallow cavern with eager looks, while their leader went to work with hammer and chisel on the copper fastenings. "wugh! huk! hi! hosh! ho!" were something like the exclamations uttered by the eskimos when the lid of the first case flew up and revealed only a mass of brown paper wrappings. it was interesting to observe the utter self-oblivion of these children of nature! of course the eyes and mouths of all opened wider and wider while the work went on. we can understand this, for it is characteristic of the simple in all nations, but it was not so easy to understand why shoulders should slowly rise and elbows be slightly bent, and the ten fingers gradually expand like claws. anxiety might account for the way in which some of them softly lifted one foot and then the other; but why did little oblooria raise her left foot by imperceptible degrees, and remain poised upon the other as if she were a bird, except on the supposition that she was unconsciously imitating tekkona, who was doing the same thing? it was interesting, also, to note the slight substratum of consciousness that displayed itself in oolichuk, who, while regarding the captain in glaring expectancy, put his arm, inadvertently as it were, round oblooria's waist--also the complete absence of consciousness in the latter, who was so engrossed with the captain, that she did not appear to feel the touch of oolichuk! these little peculiarities, however, although extremely interesting, were not observed by any of the actors on that occasion--except, perhaps, by benjy, who, being sharp-witted, had a knack of seeing round a corner at times! when the contents of the case were turned out, they proved to consist of several coils of rope, and a large square bundle. the uncording of the latter intensified the expectation of the eskimo to boiling point, and when the brown paper was removed, and a roll of something with a strange, not to say bad, smell was displayed, they boiled over in a series of exclamations to which the former "huks" and "hos" were mere child's play. but when the roll was unrolled, and assumed a flat shape not unlike the skin of a huge walrus, they gave a shout. then, when the captain, opening a smaller package, displayed a pair of bellows like a concertina, they gave a gasp. when he applied these to a hole in the flat object, and caused it slowly to swell, they uttered a roar, and when, finally, they saw the flat thing transformed into a goodly-sized boat, they absolutely squealed with delight, and began to caper about in childlike joy. in this manner, three cases were opened, and three boats produced. then the magician, who went about his work in perfect silence, with a knowing smile on his lips, opened several longish boxes, which leo had guessed to be filled with fishing-rods or spare rifles, but which, it turned out, contained oars for the india-rubber boats. after that, the captain opened another large case, which roused the surprise of his white followers as much as that of the natives. "it looks like one of mother's silk dresses," remarked benjy, as the new wonder was dragged forth. "too voluminous for that," said alf. "a balloon!" exclaimed leo. "no, boys, it's only a kite," said the captain, unfolding it. "i confess it does not look very like one, but its appearance will change by and by." and its appearance did change remarkably as it was opened out and put together. the construction of this kite was peculiar. in the first place, it was square in form, or, rather, diamond-shaped, and its size, when fully distended, was eighteen feet by fourteen. "the simplicity of it, you see," said the captain, as he put it together, "is its great recommendation." he ceased to speak for a few moments, while engaged with a troublesome joint, and benjy took advantage of the pause to express a hope that simplicity was not its _greatest_ recommendation, because he had never heard of any one attempting to reach the pole on the strength of simplicity. without noticing this remark, the captain went on-- "you see it would be troublesome to carry distending sticks of great length, because they would be in the way, and apt to get broken. each stick, therefore, has a joint in the middle like that of a fishing-rod. there are four such sticks, fastened to, or radiating from, a strong steel central hinge, so that they can be folded together, or opened out into the form of a cross. a small but very strong cross of bamboo fits on the machine, behind the central hinge, and locks it in a distended position, after the silk has been placed on it. strong cords run round the outer edges of the silk, and there are loops at the corners to attach it to the distenders. thus, you see, the kite can be put up, or folded into a portable form like an umbrella, though not of course as quickly, nor yet as easily, owing to its great size." while he was speaking, the captain was busily putting the several parts of the kite together. as he concluded, he laid the machine on its face, locked it with the little bamboo cross, and then held it up in triumph, to the delight of his white observers, and the blank astonishment of the eskimos. we say blank, because, unlike the boat, the nature of which they understood before it had been quite inflated, this machine was to them an absolute mystery, and seemed to be of no use at all. their opinion of it was not improved when a sudden puff of wind blew it flat on the ground, causing the captain to fall on the top of it. "it's a little awkward in handling," he growled, unlocking the centre-cross. "hold the points down, lads, till i drag it into the umbrella form. there; it's all safe now. the truth is, unmanageableness when in hand is the only fault of my kite. once in the air, it's as tractable as a lamb; getting it up is the chief difficulty, but that is not too great to be overcome." "besides, you know, nothing's perfect in this world, father," said benjy, with a wink at butterface, who, having acute risible tendencies, exploded. some of the eskimos, whose sympathies were strong, joined in the laugh by way of relief to their feelings. when the captain had wound a strap round the closed kite, to restrain its volatile nature, he opened another large case which contained several reels of strong cord, somewhat resembling log-lines, but with this peculiarity, that, alongside of each thick cord there ran a thin red line of twine, connected with though not bound to the other by means of little loops or rings of twine fixed about six feet apart throughout its entire length. "these are the cords to fly the kites," said the captain, taking up one of the reels, which was as large as a man's hat. "you see i have three sets of silk in that box, and six sets of reels and sticks, besides a few spare pieces of the latter, so that we can afford to suffer a little damage. now, the use of this peculiar sort of double line will be clear when in action, but i may as well explain it. the end of this stout line is to be made fast to the band which you saw on the kite, and the end of this thin red line to the top of its upright stick. you remember well enough how independent ordinary kites are. you cannot cause them to descend except by hauling them in by main force, and you cannot moderate their pull. this kite of mine is capable of exerting a pull equal to six horses, with a sufficiently strong wind. so, you see, it would be impossible for a dozen men to hold it without some check on its power. this check is supplied by the thin red line, which is made of the strongest silk. by pulling it gently you bend the head of the kite forward, so that it ceases to present a flat surface to the wind, which flies off it more or less at the tail. by pulling still more on the red line, the traction-power is still further reduced, and, with a good pull, the kite can be made to present its head altogether to the wind, and thus to lie flat on it, when, of course, it will descend slowly to the ground, waving from side to side, like a dropped sheet of paper." "are you going to try it, father?" asked benjy eagerly. the captain looked up at the clouds with a critical glance. "there's hardly enough of wind to-day, boy. nevertheless we will try." in a very short time the kite was again extended, the centre locked, the thick cord fixed to a loop in the band, and the thin cord to the head of the main stick. while this was being done, the corners were held down by leo, benjy, anders, and butterface. "how about a tail, father?" asked benjy, with sudden animation. "ha! i forgot the tail. i've got several tails. it's well you reminded me." "it is indeed," responded the boy, "for i remember well that when my kites lost their tails they used to whirl wildly about until they dashed their heads on the ground. this kite would be little better than a mad elephant without its tail!" a short tail, made of the strongest cat-gut, was now fixed to the lower extremity of the kite. it had a bag at the end, to be weighted with stones as required. "now, then, alf, do you carry the reel away fifty yards or so, and pay out the line as you go. make a dozen of the eskimos hold on with you till i come and regulate the pull. i must remain here to set it off." alf did as he was ordered. when he was far enough out, the captain and leo raised the aerial monster with caution, grasping it by the shoulders, while benjy held on to the tail. their great care was to keep it flat, so that it presented nothing but its thin head to the wind, but this was a difficulty, for it kept fluttering as if anxious to get away, catching a slant of wind underneath now and then, which caused both leo and the captain to stagger. "don't hold down the tail, benjy," cried the captain, looking anxiously over his shoulder. unfortunately ben did not hear the "don't." not only did he hold on with increased vigour, but he gave the tail an energetic pull downwards. the result was that the wind got fairly underneath, and the head was jerked upward. leo, fearing to tear the silk, let go, and the captain was thrown violently off. benjy alone stood to his guns--or to his tail--with loyal heroism for a moment, but when he felt himself lifted off the ground a few inches, a feeling of horror seized him. he let go, and came down with a whack. free at last, the huge kite shot upwards like a rocket, and a terrible howl from the eskimo showed that all was not right at their end of the line. the truth was that none of them were impressed with the importance of the duty required of them. the sudden strain jerked the line out of the hands of some, and threw others to the ground, and alf, who had for greater security taken a turn of the line round his right arm, was dragged forward at full racing speed. indeed he was beginning to take those tremendous bounds called "giant strides," which were sure to terminate in his being dragged along the ground. captain vane saw the danger, and was equal to the occasion. there was little time for thought or action. another moment and alf would be off the beach into the sea. "let go! alf; let go!" cried leo, in an agony of alarm. "no, no! hold on!" shouted the captain. poor alf could not help holding on. the turns of the line round his arm held him fast. another moment, and he was abreast of the captain who sprang at him as he passed like a leopard on his prey and held on. but the pace was little checked with this additional weight. it was beyond the captain's running powers, and both he and alf would have been thrown violently to the ground had it not happened that they had reached the water, into which they plunged with a tremendous splash. they were dragged through it, however, only for a few seconds, for by that time the captain had succeeded in getting hold of the red line and pulling it separately. the result was immediate and satisfactory. the head of the kite was thrown forward, acting somewhat as a sail does when a ship is thrown into the wind, and the two unfortunates came to an anchor in four feet of water. "we must not let it into the water, alf," gasped the captain, clearing the water from his eyes. "how can we prevent it?" spluttered alf, shaking the wet hair off his face. "ease your fingers a bit. there; hold on." as he spoke the captain gave a slight pull on the regulating line. the kite at once caught the wind and soared, giving the two operators an awful tug, which nearly overturned them again. "too much," growled the captain. "you see it takes some experience to regulate the excitable thing properly. there, now, haul away for the shore." by this time they were joined by leo and chingatok, who ran into the water and aided them in dragging the refractory machine ashore. "that's a vigorous beginning, father," remarked benjy as they came to land. "it is, my boy. go and fetch me dry clothes while we haul in the kite and make her snug." "when do you mean to start?" asked leo, as he coiled away the slack of the line on the reel. "the first steady fair wind that blows from the south," answered the captain, "but we must have one or two experimental trials of the kites and boats together, before we set out on the real voyage." "it's a capital idea," returned leo enthusiastically. "there's a sort of neck-or-nothing dash about it that quite suits me. but, uncle, what of the eskimos? the three boats won't carry the half of them." "i know that, lad, and shall get over the difficulty by leaving some of them behind. chingatok says they are quite able to take care of themselves; can easily regain the greenland shore, find their canoes, or make new ones, and return to their own land if they choose." "but, uncle," said alf, who was by no means as reckless as his brother, "don't you think it's rather risky to go off into an unknown sea in open boats, for no one knows how long, to go no one knows exactly where?" "why, alf," returned the captain with a laugh, "if you were as stupid about your scientific pursuits as you are about geographical affairs, you would not be worth your salt. a sea's a sea, isn't it, whether known or unknown, and the laws that affect all seas are pretty much alike. of course it is risky. so is going on a forlorn hope. so is shooting with a set of fellows who don't know how to manage their guns. so is getting on a horse, for it may kick you off or run away. so is eating fish, for you may choke yourself. everything, almost, is more or less risky. you _must_ risk something if you'd discover the north pole, which has baffled adventurers from the days of adam till now. and you are wrong in saying that we shall go off for no one knows how long. the distance from this island to the pole is pretty nearly miles. if our kites carry us along at the rate of ten miles an hour, we shall cover the distance in hours. if we have calms or contrary winds we may take days. if storms come, we have not much to fear, for the weather is warm,--so, too,--is the water. then, our boats are lifeboats--they cannot sink. as to not knowing where exactly we are going, why, man, we're going to the north pole. everybody knows where that is, and we are going to the home of chingatok, which cannot be very far from it." "there, alf, i hope you are sufficiently answered," said leo, as he undid the locking-gear of the kite, which by that time lay prone on its face, as peaceful as a lamb. the next three days were spent in flying the other kites, tying them on the boats, acquiring experience, and making preparations for the voyage. it was found that, with a moderate breeze, the kites towed the boats at the rate of ten miles an hour, which was beyond the most sanguine hopes of the captain. of course they could not beat to windward with them, but they could sail with a considerable slant, and they prevented the boats, while thus advancing, from making much leeway by means of deep _leeboards_, such as are used even at the present day by dutch ships. "but i can't understand," said benjy, after several trials had been made, "why you should not have fitted sails to the boats, instead of kites." "because a sail only a quarter the size of a kite would upset the boat," said the captain, "and one small enough to suit it would be little better than a pair of oars. this kite system is like fitting a gigantic sail to a lilliputian boat, d'ye see?" "i see, father. but i wish it had been a balloon. it would have been greater fun to have gone to the pole in a balloon!" "a balloon will never go there, nor anywhere else, benjy, except where the wind carries it, for a balloon cannot be steered. it's impossible in the nature of things--as much so as that dream of the visionary, perpetual motion." on the fourth day after their arrival at great hope island the wind blew strong and steady from the south, and the explorers prepared to start. the eskimos had been told that they were to remain behind and shift for themselves--a piece of news which did not seem to affect them at all, one way or other. those who were selected to go with the explorers were perfectly willing to do so. chingatok, of course, was particularly ready. so were his corpulent mother and tekkona and oblooria; so also were oolichuk, ivitchuk, and akeetolik. it was a splendid sunny afternoon when the kites were finally flown and attached to the three boats which were commanded respectively by the captain leo, and alf. these three sat at the bow of each boat manipulating the regulators, and keeping the kites fluttering, while the goods and provisions were put on board. then the eskimo women and crews stepped in, and the stern ropes were cast loose. "let go the check-strings!" shouted the captain. this was done. the huge kites began to strain at once, and the india-rubber boats went rushing out to sea, leaving the remainder of the eskimo band speechless on the shore. they stood there motionless, with open mouths and eyes, the very embodiment of unbelieving wonder, till the boats had disappeared on the horizon. chapter twelve. the open polar basin at last! alf washes himself in it. who can imagine or describe the feelings of captain vane and his young relatives on finding themselves sweeping at such a magnificent rate over the great polar basin?--that mysterious sea, which some believe to be a sea of thick-ribbed ice, and others suppose to be no sea at all, but dry land covered with eternal snows. one theorist even goes the length of saying that the region immediately around the pole is absolutely nothing at all!--only empty space caused by the whirling of the earth,--a space which extends through its centre from pole to pole! much amusement did the captain derive from the contemplation of these theories as he crossed over the grand and boundless ocean, and chatted pleasantly with his son, or chingatok, or toolooha, who formed the crew of his little boat. the party consisted of thirteen, all told. these were distributed as follows:-- in the captain's boat were the three just mentioned. in leo's boat were butterface, oolichuk, and oblooria. how it came to pass that oolichuk and oblooria were put into the same boat no one seemed to know, or indeed to care, except oolichuk himself, who, to judge from the expression of his fat face, was much pleased. as for oblooria, her mild visage always betokened contentment or resignation-- save when overshadowed by timidity. in alf's boat were anders, ivitchuk, akeetolik, and tekkona. the interpreter had been given to alf because he was not quite so muscular or energetic as the captain or his brother, while anders was eminently strong and practical. the eskimo women counted as men, being as expert with oar and paddle as they, and very nearly as strong as most ordinary men. what added to the romance of the first day's experience was the fact that, a few hours after they started, a dead calm settled down over the sea, which soon became like a great sheet of undulating glass, in which the rich, white clouds, the clear sky, and the boats with their crews, were reflected as in a moving, oily mirror; yet, strange to say, the kites kept steady, and the pace of ten or twelve miles an hour did not abate for a considerable time. this, of course, was owing to the fact that there was a continuous current blowing northward in the higher regions of the atmosphere. the sun, meantime, glowed overhead with four mock-suns around him, nevertheless the heat was not oppressive, partly because the voyagers were sitting at rest, and partly because a slight current of cool air, the creation of their own progress, fanned their cheeks. still further to add to the charm, flocks of sea-birds circling in the air or dipping in the water, a berg or two floating in the distance, a porpoise showing its back fin now and then, a seal or a walrus coming up to stare in surprise and going down to meditate, perhaps in wonder, with an occasional puff from a lazy whale,--all this tended to prevent monotony, and gave life to the lovely scene. "is it not the most glorious and altogether astonishing state of things you ever heard or dreamed of, father?" asked benjy, breaking a prolonged silence. "out o' sight, my boy, out o' sight," replied the captain. "never heard nor saw nor dreamed of anything like it before." "p'raps it _is_ a dream!" said benjy, with a slightly distressed look. "how are we ever to know that we're _not_ dreaming?" the boy finished his question with a sharp cry and leaped up. "steady, boy, steady! have a care, or you'll upset the boat," said the captain. "what did you do _that_ for, father?" "what, my boy?" "pinch me so hard! surely you didn't do it on purpose?" "indeed i did, ben," replied the captain with a laugh. "you asked how you were to know you were not dreaming. if you had been dreaming that would have wakened you--wouldn't it?" "i dare say it would, father," returned the boy, resuming his seat, "but i'm convinced now. don't do it again, please. i wish i knew what chingatok thinks of it. try to ask him, father. i'm sure you've had considerable experience in his lingo by this time." benjy referred here, not only to the numerous conversations which his father had of late carried on with the giant through the interpreter, but to the fact that, having been a whaler in years past, captain vane had previously picked up a smattering of various eskimo dialects. up to that day he had conversed entirely through the medium of anders, but as that useful man was now in alf's boat, the captain was left to his own resources, and got on much better than he had expected. chingatok turned his eyes from the horizon on which they had been fixed, and looked dreamily at the captain when asked what he was thinking about. "i have been thinking," said he, "of home, _my_ home over there." he lifted his huge right arm and pointed to the north. "and i have been thinking," he continued, "that there must be another home up there." he raised his hand and pointed to the sky. "why do you think so?" asked the captain in some surprise. "because it is so beautiful, so wonderful, so full of light and peace," replied the eskimo. "sometimes the clouds, and the wind, and the rain, come and cover it; but they pass away, and there it is, just the same, always calm, and bright, and beautiful. could such a place have been made for nothing? is there no one up there? not even the maker of it? and if there is, does he stay there alone? men and women die, but surely there is something in us that does not die. if there is no spirit in us that lives, of what use was it to make us at all? i think we shall have a home up there." chingatok had again turned his eyes to the horizon, and spoke the concluding words as if he were thinking aloud. the captain looked at him earnestly for some time in silence. "you are right, chingatok," he said at length, or at least attempted to say as best he could--"you are right. my religion teaches me that we have spirits; that god--your god and mine--dwells up there in what we call heaven, and that his people shall dwell with him after death." "his people!" repeated the eskimo with a perplexed look. "are some men his people and some not?" "undoubtedly," replied the captain, "men who obey a chief's commands are _his_ men--his friends. those who refuse to obey, and do every kind of wickedness, are _not_ his friends, but his enemies. god has given us free-wills, and we may reject him--we may choose to be his enemies." it must not be supposed that captain vane expressed himself thus clearly, but the above is the substance of what he attempted by many a strange and complicated sentence to convey. that he had made his meaning to some extent plain, was proved by chingatok's reply. "but i do not know god's commands; how then can i obey them?" "you may not know them by book," replied the captain promptly; "for you have no books, but there is such a thing as the commands or law of god written in the heart, and it strikes me, chingatok, that you both know and obey more of your maker's laws than many men who have his word." to this the eskimo made no answer, for he did not rightly understand it, and as the captain found extreme difficulty in expressing his meaning on such questions, he was quite willing to drop the conversation. nevertheless his respect for chingatok was immensely increased from that day forward. he tried to explain what had been said to benjy, and as that youth's mind was of an inquiring turn he listened with great interest, but at last was forced to confess that it was too deep for him. thereafter he fell into a mood of unusual silence, and pondered the matter for a long time. awaking from his reverie at last, he said, abruptly, "how's her head, father?" "due north, benjy." he pulled out a pocket-compass about the size of an ordinary watch, which instrument it was his habit to guard with the most anxious care. "north!" repeated the boy, glancing at the instrument with a look of surprise, "why, we're steering almost due east!" "ah! ben, that comes of your judging from appearances without knowledge, not an uncommon state of mind in man and boy, to say nothing of woman. don't you know what variation of the compass is?" "no, father." "what! have you been so long at sea with me and never heard yet about the magnetic pole?" "never a word, father. it seems to me that poles are multiplying as we get further north." "oh, benjy, for shame--fie! fie!" "maybe if you had told me about it i might have had less to be shamed of, and you too, father." "that's true, benjy. that's true. you're a sharp boy for your age. but don't be disrespectful to your father, ben; no good can ever come o' that. whatever you are, be respectful to your old father. come, i'll tell you about it now." it will have been observed by this time that little benjamin vane was somewhat free in his converse with his father, but it must not therefore be supposed that he was really insolent. all his freedom of speech was vented in good humour, and the captain knew that. there was, indeed, a powerful bond not only of affection but of sympathy between the little delicate boy and the big strong man. they thoroughly understood each other, and between those who understand each other there may be much freedom without offence, as everybody knows. "you must understand," began the captain, "that although the needle of the mariner's compass is said to point to the north with its head and to the south with its tail, it does not do so exactly, because the magnetic poles do not coincide exactly with the geographical poles. there are two magnetic poles just as there are two geographical poles, one in the southern hemisphere, the other in the northern. d'ye understand!" "clear as daylight, father." "well, benjy, the famous arctic discoverer, sir james ross, in , discovered that the northern magnetic pole was situated in the island of boothia felix, in latitude degrees seconds and longitude degrees seconds west. it was discovered by means of an instrument called the dipping needle, which is just a magnetised needle made for dipping perpendicularly instead of going round horizontally like the mariner's compass. a graduated arc is fitted to it so that the amount of dip at any place on the earth's surface can be ascertained. at the magnetic equator there is no dip at all, because the needle being equally distant from the north and south magnetic poles, remains horizontal. as you travel north the needle dips more and more until it reaches the region of the north magnetic pole when it is almost perpendicular--pointing straight down. "now, it is only on a very few places of the earth's surface that the horizontal needle points to the true north and south, and its deviation from the _earth's_ pole in its determination to point to the _magnetic_ pole is called the variation of the compass. this variation is greater or less of course at different places, and must be allowed for in estimating one's exact course. in our present explorations we have got so far beyond the beaten track of travel that greater allowance than usual has to be made. in fact we have got considerably to the north of the magnetic pole. at the same time we are a good way to the east'ard of it, so that when i see the compass with its letter n pointing to what i know to be the magnetic north, i take our geographical position into account and steer almost due east by _compass_, for the purpose of advancing due north. d'ye see?" "i'm not so sure that i do, father. it seems to me something like the irishman's pig which you pull one way when you want him to go another. however, i'll take your word for it." "that's right, my boy; when a man can't understand, he must act on faith, if he _can_, for there's no forcing our beliefs, you know. anyhow he must be content to follow till he does understand; always supposing that he can trust his leader." "i'm out of my depths altogether now, father. p'r'aps we'd better change the subject. what d'ye say to try a race with leo? his boat seems to be overhauling us." "no, no, ben; no racing. let us advance into the great unknown north with suitable solemnity." "we appear to sail rather better than you do, uncle," shouted leo, as his boat drew near. "that's because you're not so heavily-laden," replied the captain, looking back; "you haven't got giants aboard, you see; moreover there's one o' you rather light-headed." "hallo! uncle; evil communications, eh? you'd better change benjy for oblooria. she's quite quiet, and never jokes. i say, may i go ahead of you?" "no, lad, you mayn't. take a reef in your regulator, and drop into your proper place." obedient to orders, leo pulled the regulator or check-string until the kite's position was altered so as to present less resistance to the wind, and dropped astern of the _faith_, which was the name given by benjy to his father's boat, the other two being named respectively the _hope_ and the _charity_. the prosperous advance did not, however, last very long. towards evening the three kites suddenly, and without any previous warning, began to dive, soar, flutter, and tumble about in a manner that would have been highly diverting if it had not been dangerous. this no doubt was the effect of various counter-currents of air into which they had flown. the order was at once given to haul on the regulators and coil up the towing lines. it was promptly obeyed, but before a few fathoms had been coiled in, the kites again became as steady as before, with this change, however, that they travelled in a north-westerly direction. the value of the leeboards now became apparent. these were hinged down the middle so as to fold and become small enough to stow in the bottom of each boat when not in use. when unfolded and hung over the side, they presented a surface of resistance to the water much greater than that of an ordinary boat's keel, so that very little leeway indeed was made. by means of the steering-oar captain vane kept his boat advancing straight northward, while the kite was puffing in a north-westerly direction. the kite was thus compelled by the boat also to travel due north, though of course it did so in a sidelong manner. thus far the advance continued prosperously, the pace being but little checked and the course unaltered, but when, an hour or two later, the wind again shifted so as to carry the kites further to the west, the pace became much slower, and the leeway, or drift to leeward, considerable. ultimately the wind blew straight to the west, and the boats ceased to advance. "this won't do, uncle," said leo, who was close astern of the _faith_, "i'm drifting bodily to leeward, and making no headway at all." "down with the tops,--i mean, the kites," shouted the captain. "pass the word to alf." accordingly, the kites were reeled in, the regulators being so pulled and eased off that they were kept just fluttering without tugging during the operation. when, however, they passed out of the wind-stratum into the region of calm which still prevailed immediately above the sea, the kites descended in an alarming manner, swaying to and fro with occasional wild swoops, which rendered it necessary to haul in on the lines and reel up with the utmost speed. captain vane was very successful in this rather difficult operation. while he hauled in the line benjy reeled it up with exemplary speed, and the kite was finally made to descend on the boat like a cloud. when secured the locking-cross was removed, the distending-rods were folded inwards, the restraining, or what we may term the waist-band was applied, and the whole affair was changed into a gigantic mrs gamp umbrella. being placed in the bow of the boat, projecting over the water, it formed a not ungraceful though peculiar bowsprit, and was well out of the way. leo and butterface were equally successful, but poor alf was not so fortunate. the too eager pursuit of knowledge was the cause of alf's failure as has often been the case with others! he took on himself, as chief of his boat, the difficult and responsible task of hauling in the line,--which involved also the occasional and judicious manipulation of the regulating cord, when a sudden puff of wind should tend to send the kite soaring upwards with six or eight horse-power into the sky. to ivitchuk was assigned the easy task of gathering in the "slack" and holding on to alf if a sudden jerk should threaten to pull him overboard. anders reeled up. just as the kite was passing out of the windy region above into the calm region below alf beheld floating near the boat a beautiful, and to him entirely new, species of marine creature of the jelly-fish kind. with a wild desire to possess it he leaned over the boat's edge to the uttermost and stretched out his left hand, while with his right he held on to the kite! need we say that the kite assisted him?--assisted him overboard altogether, and sent him with a heavy plunge into the sea! ivitchuk dropped his line and stretched out both arms towards the spot where the "kablunet" had gone down. akeetolik roared. anders howled, and dropped his reel. left to itself, the kite, with characteristic indecision, made an awful swoop towards the north pole with its right shoulder. changing its mind, it then made a stupendous rush with its left to the south-east. losing presence of mind it suddenly tossed up its tail, and, coming down head foremost, went with fatal facility into the deep sea. when alf rose and was dragged panting into the boat, his first glance was upwards,--but not in thankfulness for his preservation! "gone!" he groaned, rising to his feet. but the kite was not gone. the word had barely left his lips when it rose half its length out of the water, and then fell, in melancholy inaptitude for further mischief, flat upon the sea. "anything damaged?" asked the captain, as he and leo rowed their boats towards the _charity_. "nothing," replied alf with a guilty look, "the stick and things seem to be all right, but it has got _awfully_ wet." "no matter," said the captain, laughing at alf's forlorn look, "the sun will soon dry it. so long as nothing is broken or torn, we'll get on very well. but now, boys, we must go to work with oars. there must be no flagging in this dash for the pole. it's a neck-or-nothing business. now, mark my orders. although we've got four oars apiece, we must only work two at a time. i know that young bloods like you are prone to go straining yourselves at first, an' then bein' fit for nothing afterwards. we must keep it up steadily. two in each boat will pull at a time for one hour, while the other two rest or sleep, and so on, shift about; till another breeze springs up. don't fold it up tight, alf. leave it pretty slack till it is dry, and then put on its belt." "don't you think we might have supper before taking to the oars?" suggested leo. "i second that motion," cried benjy. "and i support it," said alf. "very good, get out the prog; an' we'll lay ourselves alongside, three abreast, as nelson did at the battle o' the nile," said the captain. their food was simple but sufficient. pemmican--a solid greasy nutricious compound--was the foundation. hard biscuit, chocolate, and sugar formed the superstructure. in default of fire, these articles could be eaten cold, but while their supply of spirits of wine lasted, a patent vesuvian of the most complete and almost miraculous nature could provide a hot meal in ten minutes. of fresh water they had a two-weeks' supply in casks, but this was economised by means of excellent water procured from a pond in a passing berg--from which also a lump of clear ice had been hewn, wrapped in a blanket, and carried into the captain's boat as a supply of fresh water in solid form. laying the oars across the boats to keep them together, they floated thus pleasantly on the glassy sea, bathed in midnight sunshine. and while they feasted in comfort inexpressible--to the surprise, no doubt, of surrounding gulls and puffins--benjamin vane once again gave utterance to the opinion that it was the most glorious and altogether astonishing state of things that he had ever heard or dreamed of since the world began! chapter thirteen. a gale and a narrow escape. this is a world of alternations. we need not turn aside to prove that. the calm with which the voyage of our discoverers began lasted about four days and nights, during which period they advanced sometimes slowly under oars, sometimes more or less rapidly under kites--if we may so express it--according to the state of the wind. and, during all that time the discipline of two and two--at watch, or at sleep, if not at work--was rigidly kept up. for none knew better than captain vane the benefit of discipline, and the demoralising effect of its absence, especially in trying circumstances. it is but just to add that he had no difficulty in enforcing his laws. it is right also to state that the women were not required to conform, even although they were accustomed to hard labour and willing to work as much as required. in all three boats the bow was set apart as the women's quarters, and when toolooha, oblooria or tekkona showed symptoms of a desire to go to sleep--(there was no retiring for the night in these latitudes)--a blanket stretched on two oars cut their quarters off from those of the men, and maintained the dignity of the sex. but soon the serene aspect of nature changed. grey clouds overspread the hitherto sunny sky. gusts of wind came sweeping over the sea from time to time, and signs of coming storm became so evident that the captain gave orders to make all snug and prepare for dirty weather. "you see, lads," he said, when the three boats were abreast, and the kites had been furled, "we don't know what may happen to us now. nobody in the world has had any experience of these latitudes. it may come on to blow twenty-ton armstrongs instead of great guns, for all we know to the contrary. the lightning may be sheet and fork mixed instead of separate for any light we've got on the subject, and it may rain whales and walruses instead of cats and dogs; so it behoves us to be ready." "that's true, father," said benjy, "but it matters little to me, for i've made my will. only i forgot to leave the top with the broken peg and the rusty penknife to rumty swillpipe; so if you survive me and get home on a whale's back--or otherwise--you'll know what to do." "this is not a time for jesting, ben," said alf rather seriously. "did i say it was?" inquired ben, with a surprised look. alf deigned no reply, and butterface laughed, while he and the others set about executing the captain's orders. the arrangements made in these india-rubber boats for bad weather were very simple and complete. after the lading in each had been snugly arranged, so as to present as flat a surface on the top as possible, a waterproof sheet was drawn over all, and its edges made fast to the sides of the boat, by means of tags and loops which were easily fastened and detached. as each sheet overhung its boat, any water that might fall upon it was at once run off. this, of course, was merely put on to protect the cargo and any one who chose to take shelter under it. the boat being filled with air required no such sheet, because if filled to overflowing it would still have floated. all round this sheet ran a strong cord for the crew, who sat outside of it as on a raft, to lay hold of if the waves should threaten to wash them off. there were also various other ropes attached to it for the same purpose, and loops of rope served for rowlocks. when all had been arranged, those whose duty it was to rest leaned comfortably against the lumps caused by inequalities of the cargo, while the others took to their oars. "it's coming!" cried benjy, about half-an-hour after all had been prepared. and unquestionably it _was_ coming. the boy's quick eyes had detected a line on the southern horizon, which became gradually broader and darker as it rose until it covered the heavens. at the same time the indigo ripple caused by a rushing mighty wind crept steadily over the sea. as it neared the boats the white crests of breaking waves were seen gleaming sharply in the midst of the dark blue. "clap the women under hatches," shouted the captain, with more good sense than refinement. benjy, butterface, and anders at the word lifted a corner of their respective sheets. obedient toolooha, oblooria, and tekkona bent their meek heads and disappeared: the sheets were refastened, and the men, taking their places, held on to the cords or life-lines. it was an anxious moment. no one could guess how the boats would behave under the approaching trial. "oars out," cried the captain, "we must run before it." a hiss, which had been gradually increasing as the squall drew near, broke into a kind of roar, and wind and waves rushed upon them as the men bent their backs to the oars with all their might. it was soon found that the boats had so little hold of the water that the wind and oars combined carried them forward so fast as to decrease considerably the danger of being whelmed by a falling wave. these waves increased every moment in size, and their crests were so broken and cut off by the gale that the three boats, instead of appearing as they had hitherto done the only solid objects in the scene, were almost lost to sight in the chaos of black waves and driving foam. although they tried their best to keep close together they failed, and each soon became ignorant of the position of the others. the last that they saw of alf's boat was in the hollow between two seas like a vanishing cormorant or a northern diver. leo was visible some time longer. he was wielding the steering-oar in an attitude of vigorous caution, while his eskimos were pulling as if for their lives. an enormous wave rose behind them, curled over their heads and appeared ready to overwhelm them, but the sturdy rowers sent the boat forward, and the broken crest passed under them. the next billow was still larger. taken up though he was with his own boat the captain found time to glance at them with horror. "they're gone!" he cried, as the top of the billow fell, and nothing was seen save the heads of the four men like dark spots on the foam. the boat had in truth been overwhelmed and sunk, but, like a true lifeboat it rose to the surface like a cork the instant the weight of water was removed, and her crew, who had held on to the life-lines and oars, were still safe. "well done the little _hope_!" cried the captain, while benjy gave vent to his feelings in a cheer, which was evidently heard by leo, for he was seen to wave his hand in reply. next moment another wave hid the _hope_ from view, and it was seen no more at that time. "i feel easier now, benjy, thank god, after _that_. alf is a fair steersman, and our boats are evidently able to stand rough usage." benjy made no reply. he was rubbing the water out of his eyes, and anxiously looking through the thick air in the hope of seeing leo's boat again. the poor boy was grave enough now. when the might and majesty of the creator are manifested in the storm and the raging sea, the merely humorous fancies of man are apt to be held in check. the captain's boat went rushing thus wildly onwards, still, fortunately, in the right direction; and for some hours there was no decrease in the force of the gale. then, instead of abating, as might have been expected, it suddenly increased to such an extent that speedy destruction appeared to be inevitable. "no sort o' craft could live long in _this_," muttered the captain, as if to himself rather than to his son, who sat with a firm expression on his somewhat pale countenance, looking wistfully towards the northern horizon. perhaps he was wondering whether it was worth while to risk so much for such an end. suddenly he shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed intently. "land!" he exclaimed in a low eager tone. "whereaway, boy? ay, so there is something there. what say you, chingatok? is it land?" the giant, who, during all this time, had calmly plied a pair of oars with strength equal almost to that of four men, looked over his shoulder without, however, relaxing his efforts. "no," he said, turning round again, "it is an ice-hill." "a berg!" exclaimed the captain. "we will make for it. tie your handkerchief, benjy, to the end of an oar and hold it up. it will serve as a guide to our comrades." in a wonderfully short space of time the berg which benjy had seen as a mere speck on the horizon rose sharp, rugged, and white against the black sky. it was a very large one--so large that it had no visible motion, but seemed as firm as a rock, while the billows of the arctic ocean broke in thunder on its glassy shore. "we'll get shelter behind it, ben, my boy," said the captain, "hold the oar well up, and don't let the rag clap round the blade. shake it out so. god grant that they may see it." "amen," ejaculated benjy to the prayer with heartfelt intensity. there was danger as well as safety in the near vicinity to this berg, for many of its pinnacles seemed ready to fall, and there was always the possibility of a mass being broken off under water, which might destroy the equilibrium of the whole berg, and cause it to revolve with awfully destructive power. however, there was one favourable point--the base was broad, and the ice-cliffs that bordered the sea were not high. in a few more minutes the western end of the berg was passed. its last cape was rounded, and the _faith_ was swept by the united efforts of chingatok, benjy, and toolooha, (who _would_ not remain under cover), into the comparatively still water on the lee, or northern side of the berg. "hurrah!" shouted benjy in a tone that was too energetic and peculiar to have been called forth by the mere fact of his own escape from danger. captain vane looked in the direction indicated by the boy's glistening eyes--glistening with the salt tears of joy as well as with salt sea spray--and there beheld the other two boats coming dancing in like wild things on the crests of the heaving waves. they had seen the signal of the handkerchief, understood and followed it, and, in a few minutes more, were under the lee of the ice-cliffs, thanking god and congratulating each other on their deliverance. a sheltered cove was soon found, far enough removed from cliffs and pinnacles to insure moderate safety. into this they ran, and there they spent the night, serenaded by the roaring gale, and lullabied by the crash of falling spires and the groans of rending ice. chapter fourteen. records a wonderful apparition but a furious night. when the storm had passed, a profound calm once more settled down on the face of nature, as if the elements had been utterly exhausted by the conflict. once more the sea became like a sheet of undulating glass, in which clouds and sun and boats were reflected vividly, and once again our voyagers found themselves advancing towards the north, abreast of each other, and rowing sociably together at the rate of about four miles an hour. when advancing under oars they went thus abreast so as to converse freely, but when proceeding under kites they kept in single file, so as to give scope for swerving, in the event of sudden change of wind, and to prevent the risk of the entanglement of lines. "what is that?" exclaimed benjy, pointing suddenly to an object ahead which appeared at regular intervals on the surface of the water. "a whale, i think," said leo. "a whale usually spouts on coming up, doesn't it?" said alf. chingatok uttered an unpronounceable eskimo word which did not throw light on the subject. "what is it, anders?" shouted the captain. "what you say?" asked the interpreter from alf's boat, which was on the other side of the _hope_. "if these squawkin' things would hold their noise, you'd hear better," growled the captain before repeating the question. his uncourteous remark had reference to a cloud of gulls which circled round and followed the boats with remonstrative cries and astonished looks. "it's beast," shouted anders, "not knows his name in ingliss." "humph! a man with half an eye might see it is `beast,'" retorted the captain in an undertone. as he spoke, the "beast" changed its course and bore down upon them. as it drew near the englishmen became excited, for the size of the creature seemed beyond anything they had yet seen. strange to say, the eskimos looked at it with their wonted gaze of calm indifference. "it's the great sea-serpent at last," said benjy, with something like awe on his countenance. "it does look uncommon like it," replied the captain, with a perplexed expression on his rugged visage. "get out the rifles, lad! it's as well to be ready. d'ye know what it is, chingatok?" again the giant uttered the unpronounceable name, while benjy got out the fire-arms with eager haste. "load 'em all, ben, load 'em all, an' cram the winchester to the muzzle," said the captain. "there's no sayin' what we may have to encounter; though i _have_ heard of a gigantic bit of seaweed bein' mistaken for the great sea-serpent before now." "that may be, father," said benjy, with increasing excitement, "but nobody ever saw a bit of seaweed swim with the activity of a gigantic eel like _that_. why, i have counted its coils as they rise and sink, and i'm quite sure it's a hundred and fifty yards long if it's an inch." those in the other boats were following the captain's example,--getting out and charging the fire-arms,--and truly there seemed some ground for their alarm, for the creature, which approached at a rapid rate, appeared most formidable. yet, strange to say, the eskimos paid little attention to it, and seemed more taken up with the excitement of the white men. when the creature had approached to within a quarter of a mile, it diverged a little to the left, and passed the boats at the distance of a few hundred yards. then captain vane burst into a sudden laugh, and shouted:-- "grampuses!" "what?" cried leo. "grampuses!" repeated the captain. "why, it's only a shoal of grampuses following each other in single file, that we've mistaken for one creature!" never before was man or boy smitten with heavier disappointment than was poor benjy vane on that trying occasion. "why, what's wrong with you, benjy?" asked his father, as he looked at his woeful countenance. "to think," said the poor boy, slowly, "that i've come all the way to the north pole for _this_! why i've believed in the great sea-serpent since ever i could think, i've seen pictures of it twisting its coils round three-masted ships, and goin' over the ocean with a mane like a lion, and its head fifty feet out o' the water! oh! it's too bad, i'd have given my ears to have seen the great sea-serpent." "there wouldn't have been much of you left, benjy, if you had given _them_." "well, well," continued the boy, not noticing his father's remark, "it's some comfort to know that i've all _but_ seen the great sea-serpent." it is some comfort to us, reader, to be able to record the fact that benjy vane was not doomed to total disappointment on that memorable day, for, on the same evening, the voyagers had an encounter with walruses which more than made up for the previous misfortune. it happened thus:-- the three boats were proceeding abreast, slowly but steadily over the still calm sea, when their attention was attracted by a sudden and tremendous splash or upheaval of water, just off what the captain styled his "port bow." at the same moment the head of a walrus appeared on the surface like a gigantic black bladder. it seemed to be as large as the head of a small elephant, and its ivory tusks were not less than two feet long. there was a square bluntness about the creature's head, and a savage look about its little bloodshot eyes, which gave to it a very hideous aspect. its bristling moustache, each hair of which was six inches long, and as thick as a crow quill, dripped with brine, and it raised itself high out of the water, turning its head from side to side with a rapidity and litheness of action that one would not have expected in an animal so unwieldy. evidently it was looking eagerly for something. catching sight of the three boats, it seemed to have found what it looked for, and made straight at them. leo quietly got ready his winchester repeater, a rifle which, as the reader probably knows, can discharge a dozen or more shots in rapid succession; the cartridges being contained in a case resembling a thick ram-rod under the barrel, from which they are thrust almost instantaneously into their places. but before the creature gained the boats, a second great upheaval of water took place, and another walrus appeared. this was the real enemy of whom he had been in quest. both were bulls of the largest and most ferocious description. no sooner did they behold each other, than, with a roar, something betwixt a bark and a bellow, they collided, and a furious fight began. the sea was churned into foam around them as they rolled, reared, spurned, and drove their tusks into each other's skulls and shoulders. the boats lay quietly by, their occupants looking on with interest. the eskimos were particularly excited, but no one spoke or acted. they all seemed fascinated by the fight. soon one and another and another walrus-head came up out of the sea, and then it was understood that a number of cow walruses had come to witness the combat! but the human audience paid little regard to these, so much were they engrossed by the chief actors. it might have been thought, from the position of their tusks, which are simply an enlargement and prolongation of the canine teeth, that these combatants could only strike with them in a downward direction, but this was not so. on the contrary, they turned their thick necks with so much ease and rapidity that they could strike in all directions with equal force, and numerous were the wounds inflicted on either side, as the blood-red foam soon testified. we have said that the human spectators of the scene remained inactive, but, at the first pause, the captain said he thought they might as well put a stop to the fight, and advised leo to give one of them a shot. "we'll not be the worse for a fresh steak," he added to benjy, as leo was taking aim. the effect of the shot was very unexpected. one of the bulls was hit, but evidently not in a deadly manner, for the motion of the boat had disturbed leo's aim. each combatant turned with a look of wild surprise at the interruptor, and, as not unfrequently happens in cases of interference with fights, both made a furious rush at him. at the same moment, all the cows seemed to be smitten with pugnacity, and joined in the attack. there was barely time to get ready, when the furious animals were upon them. guns and rifles were pointed, axes and spears grasped, and oars gripped. even the women seized each a spear, and stood on the defensive. a simultaneous volley checked the enemy for a moment, and sent one of the cows to the bottom; but with a furious bellow they charged again. the great anxiety of the defenders was to prevent the monsters from getting close to the boats, so as to hook on to them with their tusks, which would probably have overturned them, or penetrated the inflated sides. in either case, destruction would have been inevitable, and it was only by the active use of oar, axe, and spear that this was prevented. twice did one of the bulls charge the captain's boat, and on both occasions he was met by the tremendous might of chingatok, who planted the end of an oar on his blunt nose, and thrust him off. on each occasion, also, he received a shot from the double barrel of benjy, who fired the first time into his open mouth, and the second time into his eye, but an angry cough from the one, and a wink from the other showed that he did not mind it much. meantime the captain, with the winchester repeater, was endeavouring--but vainly, owing to the motions of the giant, and the swaying of the boat--to get a shot at the beast, while toolooha, with an axe, was coquetting with a somewhat timid cow near the stern. at last an opportunity offered. captain vane poured half a dozen balls as quick as he could fire into the head of the bull, which immediately sank. not less vigorously did the occupants of the other boats receive the charge. leo, being more active than the captain, as well as more expert with his repeater, slew his male opponent in shorter time, and with less expenditure of ammunition. butterface, too, gained much credit by the prompt manner in which he split the skull of one animal with an axe. even oblooria, the timid, rose to the occasion, and displayed unlooked-for heroism. with a barbed seal-spear she stood up and invited a baby walrus to come on--by looks, not by words. the baby accepted the invitation--perhaps, being a pugnacious baby, it was coming on at any rate--and oblooria gave it a vigorous dab on the nose. it resented the insult by shaking its head fiercely, and endeavouring to back off, but the barb had sunk into the wound and held on. oblooria also held on. oolichuk, having just driven off a cow walrus, happened to observe the situation, and held on to oblooria. the baby walrus was secured, and, almost as soon as the old bull was slain, had a line attached to it, and was made fast to the stern. "well done, little girl!" exclaimed oolichuk in admiration, "you're almost as good as a man." among civilised people this might have been deemed a doubtful compliment, but it was not so in eskimo-land. the little maid was evidently much pleased, and the title of the timid one, which oolichuk was wont to give her when in a specially endearing frame of mind, was changed for the brave one from that day. in a few more minutes the last charge of the enemy was repulsed, and those of them that remained alive dived back to that native home into which the slain had already sunk. thus ended that notable fight with walruses. after consummating the victory with three cheers and congratulating each other, the conquerors proceeded to examine into the extent of damage received. it was found that, beyond a few scratches, the _faith_ and the _hope_ had escaped scathless, but the _charity_ had suffered considerably. besides a bad rip in the upper part of the gunwale, a small hole had been poked in her side below water, and her air-chamber was filling rapidly. "come here, quick, uncle," cried alf, in consternation, when he discovered this. to his surprise the captain was not so much alarmed as he had expected. "it won't sink you, alf, so keep your mind easy," he said, while examining the injury. "you see i took care to have the boats made in compartments. it will only make you go lop-sided like a lame duck till i can repair the damage." "repair it, uncle! how can--" "never mind just now, hand out a blanket, quick; i'll explain after; we must undergird her and keep out as much water as we can." this operation was soon accomplished. the blanket was passed under the boat and made fast. by pressing against the injured part it checked the inflow of water. then the cargo was shifted, and part of it was transferred to the other boats, and soon they were advancing as pleasantly, though not as quickly as before, while the captain explained that he had brought a solution of gutta-percha for the express purpose of repairing damages to the boats, but that it was impossible to use it until they could disembark either on land or on an iceberg. "we'll come to another berg ere long, no doubt, shan't we, chingatok?" he asked. the eskimo shook his head and said he thought not, but there was a small rocky islet not far from where they were, though it lay somewhat out of their course. on hearing this the captain changed his course immediately, and rowed in the direction pointed out. "there's wind enough up there, benjy," remarked his father, looking up to the sky, where the higher clouds were seen rapidly passing the lower strata to the northward, "but how to get the kites set up in a dead calm is more than i can tell." "there is a way out of the difficulty, father," said benjy, pointing behind them. he referred to a slight breeze which was ruffling the sea into what are called cat's paws far astern. "right boy, right. prepare to hoist your tops'ls, lads," shouted the captain. in a few minutes the kites were expanded and the tow-lines attached. when the light breeze came up they all soared, heavily, it is true, but majestically, into the sky. soon reaching the upper regions, they caught the steady breeze there, and towed the boats along at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour. in two hours they sighted the islet which chingatok had mentioned, and, soon afterwards, had landed and taken possession of it, in the usual manner, under the name of refuge island. chapter fifteen. discourses of deep things. the islet, or rock, for it was little more, which the explorers had reached, was low and extremely barren. nevertheless it had on it a large colony of sea-fowl, which received the strangers with their wonted clamour of indignation--if not of welcome. as it was near noon at the time, the captain and leo went with their sextants to the highest part of the island to ascertain its position; the eskimos set about making an encampment, unloading the boats, etcetera, and alf, with hammer and botanical box, set off on a short ramble along the coast, accompanied by benjy and butterface. sometimes these three kept together and chatted, at other times they separated a little, each attracted by some object of interest, or following the lead, it might have been, of wayward fancy. but they never lost sight of each other, and, after a couple of hours, converged, as if by tacit consent, until they met and sat down to rest on a ledge of rock. "well, i _do_ like this sort o' thing," remarked benjy, as he wiped his heated brow. "there is something to me so pleasant and peaceful about a low rocky shore with the sun blazing overhead and the great sea stretching out flat and white in a dead calm with just ripple enough to let you know it is all alive and hearty--only resting, like a good-humoured and sleepy giant." "why, ben, i declare you are becoming poetical," said alf with a smile; "your conceptions correspond with those of buzzby, who writes:-- "`great ocean, slumb'ring in majestic calm, lies like a mighty--a mighty--' "i--i fear i've forgotten. let me see:-- "`great ocean, slumb'ring in majestic calm, lies like a mighty--'" "giant in a dwalm," suggested benjy. "we'll change the subject," said alf, opening his botanical box and taking out several specimens of plants and rocks. "see, here are some bits of rock of a kind that are quite new to me." "what's de use ob dem?" inquired butterface with a look of earnest simplicity. "the use?" said benjy, taking on himself to reply; "why, you flat-nosed grampus, don't you know that these bits of rock are made for the express purpose of being carried home, identified, classified, labelled, stuck up in a museum, and stared at by wondering ignoramuses, who care nothing whatever about them, and know less. geologists are constantly going about the world with their little hammers keeping up the supply." "yes, butterface," said alf, "benjy is partly correct; such specimens will be treated as he describes, and be stared at in blank stupidity by hundreds of fellows like himself, but they will also be examined and understood by geologists, who from their profound knowledge of the plans which our creator seems to have had in arranging the materials of the earth, are able to point out many interesting and useful facts which are not visible to the naked and unscientific eye, such, for instance, as the localities where coal and other precious things may be found." "kin dey tell whar' gold is to be found, massa alf?" "o yes, they can tell that." "den it's dis yer chile as wishes," said butterface with a sigh, "dat he was a jollygist." "oh! butterface, you're a jolly goose at all events," said benjy; "wouldn't it be fun to go and discover a gold mine, and dig up as much as would keep us in happy idleness all the rest of our lives? but i say, alf, have you nothing better than geological specimens in your box--no grubological specimens, eh?" alf replied by producing from his box a paper parcel which contained some of the required specimens in the shape of biscuit and pemmican. "capital! well, you are a good fellow, alf. let us make a table-cloth of the paper--now, you undisciplined black, don't glare so at the victuals, else you'll grow too hungry for a moderate supply." when the trio were in the full swing of vigorous feeding, the negro paused, with his mouth full, to ask alf what would be the use of the north pole when it was discovered. "make matches or firewood of it," said benjy just as he was about to stop up his impudent mouth with a lump of pemmican. "truly, of what use the pole itself may be--supposing it to exist in the form of a thing," said alf, "i cannot tell, but it has already been of great use in creating expeditions to the polar regions. you know well enough, butterface, for you've been round the capes of good hope and horn often enough, what a long long voyage it is to the eastern seas, on the other side of the world, and what a saving of time and expense it would be if we could find a shorter route to those regions, from which so many of our necessaries and luxuries come. now, if we could only discover an open sea in the arctic regions which would allow our ships to sail in a straight line from england across the north pole to behring's straits, the voyage to the east would be reduced to only about miles, and we should be able to reach japan in three or four weeks. just think what an advantage that would be to commerce!" "tea at twopence a pound an' sugar to match--not to mention molasses and baccy, you ignorant nigger!" said benjy;--"pass the biscuits." "an' now, massa alf," said butterface with an eager look, "we's diskivered dis open sea--eh!" "well, it seems as if we had." "but what good will it do us," argued benjy, becoming more earnest in the discussion, "if it's all surrounded by a ring of ice such as we have passed over on sledges." "if," repeated alf, "in that `if' lies the whole question. no doubt enterprise has fought heroically for centuries to overleap this supposed ring of ice, and science has stood expectant on the edge, looking eagerly for the day when human perseverance shall reveal the secrets of the far north. it is true, also, that _we_ at last appear to have penetrated into the great unknown, but who shall say that the so-called ice-ring has been fully examined? our explorations have been hitherto confined to one or two parts of it. we may yet find an ever-open entrance to this open polar sea, and our ships may yet be seen sailing regularly to and fro over the north pole." "just so," said benjy, "a north pole steam line once a month to japan and back--first class accommodation for second class fares. walrus and white bear parties dropped on the way at the pole star hotel, an easy trip from the pole itself, which may be made in eskimo cabs in summer and reindeer sleighs in winter. return tickets available for six months--touching at china, india, nova zembla, kamtschatka, and iceland. splendid view of hecla and the great mer de glace of greenland--fogs permitting.--don't eat so much, butterface, else bu'stin' will surely be your doom." "your picture is perhaps a little overdrawn, ben," rejoined alf with a smile. "so would the ancients have said," retorted benjy, "if you had prophesied that in the nineteenth century our steamers would pass through the straits of hercules, up the mediterranean, and over the land to india; or that our cousins' steam cars would go rattling across the great prairies of america, through the vast forests, over and under the rocky mountains from the states to california, in seven days; or that the telephone or electric light should ever come into being." "well, you see, butterface," said alf, "there is a great deal to be said in favour of arctic exploration, even at the present day, and despite all the rebuffs that we have received. sir edward sabine, one of the greatest arctic authorities, says of the route from the atlantic to the pacific, that it is the greatest geographical achievement which can be attempted, and that it will be the crowning enterprise of those arctic researches in which england has hitherto had the pre-eminence. why, butterface," continued alf, warming with his subject, while the enthusiastic negro listened as it were with every feature of his expressive face, and even the volatile benjy became attentive, "why, there is no telling what might be the advantages that would arise from systematic exploration of these unknown regions, which cover a space of not less than two million, five hundred thousand square miles. it would advance the science of hydrography, and help to solve some of the difficult problems connected with equatorial and polar currents. it would enable us, it is said, by a series of pendulum observations at or near the pole, to render essential service to the science of geology, to form a mathematical theory of the physical condition of the earth, and to ascertain its exact conformation. it would probably throw light on the wonderful phenomena of magnetism and atmospheric electricity and the mysterious aurora borealis--to say nothing of the flora of these regions and the animal life on the land and in the sea." "why, alf," exclaimed benjy in surprise, "i had no idea you were so deeply learned on these subjects." "deeply learned!" echoed alf with a laugh, "why, i have only a smattering of them. just knowledge enough to enable me in some small degree to appreciate the vast amount of knowledge which i have yet to acquire. why do you look perplexed, butterface?" "'cause, massa, you's too deep for me altogidder. my brain no big 'nough to hold it all." "and your skull's too thick to let it through to the little blob of brain that you do possess," said benjy with a kindly-contemptuous look at his sable friend. "oh! flatnose, you're a terrible thick-head." "you's right dere, massa," replied the negro, with a gratified smile at what he deemed a compliment. "you should ha' seed me dat time when i was leetle boy down in ole virginny, whar dey riz me, when my gran'moder she foun' me stickin' my fist in de molasses-jar an' lickin' it off. she swarmed at me an' fetch me one kick, she did, an' sent me slap troo a pannel ob de loft door, an' tumbled me down de back stair, whar i felled over de edge an' landed on de top ob a tar barrel w'ich my head run into. i got on my legs, i did, wiv difficulty, an' runned away never a bit de worse--not even a headache--only it was tree months afore i got dat tar rightly out o' my wool. yes, my head's t'ick _'nough_." while butterface was speaking, leo and the captain were seen approaching, and the three rose to meet them. there was a grave solemnity in the captain's look which alarmed them. "nothing wrong i hope, uncle?" said alf. "wrong! no, lad, there's nothing wrong. on the contrary, everything is right. why, where do you think we have got to?" "a hundred and fifty miles from the pole," said alf. "less, less," said leo, with an excited look. "we are not more," said the captain slowly, as he took off his hat and wiped his brow, "not more than a hundred and forty miles from it." "then we could be there in three days or sooner, with a good breeze," cried benjy, whose enthusiasm was aroused. "ay, ben, if there was nothing in the way; but it's quite clear from what chingatok says, that we are drawing near to his native land, which cannot be more than fifty miles distant, if so much. you remember he has told us his home is one of a group of islands, some of which are large and some small; some mountainous and others flat and swampy, affording food and shelter to myriads of wild-fowl; so, you see, after we get there our progress northward through such a country, without roads or vehicles, won't be at the rate of ten miles an hour by any means." "besides," added leo, "it would not be polite to chingatok's countrymen if we were to leave them immediately after arriving. perhaps they would not let us go, so i fear that we shan't gain the end of our journey yet a while, but that does not matter much, for we're sure to make it out at last." "what makes the matter more uncertain," resumed the captain, as they sauntered back to camp, "is the fact that this northern archipelago is peopled by different tribes of eskimos, some of whom are of a warlike spirit and frequently give the others trouble. however, chingatok says we shall have no difficulty in reaching this nothing--as he will insist on styling the pole, ever since i explained to him that it was not a real but an imaginary point." "i wonder how anders ever got him to understand what an imaginary point is," said benjy. "that has puzzled me too," returned the captain, "but he did get it screwed into him somehow, and the result is--nothing!" "out of nothing nothing comes," remarked leo, as the giant suddenly appeared from behind a rock, "but assuredly _nothing_ can beat chingatok in size or magnificence, which is more than anything else can." the eskimo had been searching for the absentees to announce that dinner was ready, and that toolooha was impatient to begin; they all therefore quickened their pace, and soon after came within scent of the savoury mess which had been prepared for them by the giant's squat but amiable mother. chapter sixteen. arrival in poloeland. fortune, which had hitherto proved favourable to our brave explorers, did not desert them at the eleventh hour. soon after their arrival at refuge island a fair wind sprang up from the south, and when the _charity_ had been carefully patched and repaired, the kites were sent up and the voyage was continued. that day and night they spent again upon the boundless sea, for the island was soon left out of sight behind them, though the wind was not very fresh. towards morning it fell calm altogether, obliging them to haul down the kites and take to the oars. "it can't be far off now, chingatok," said the captain, who became rather impatient as the end drew near. "not far," was the brief reply. "land ho!" shouted benjy, about half-an-hour after that. but benjy was forced to admit that anxiety had caused him to take an iceberg on the horizon for land. "well, anyhow you must admit," said benjy, on approaching the berg, "that it's big enough for a fellow to mistake it for a mountain. i wonder what it's doing here without any brothers or sisters to keep it company." "under-currents brought it here, lad," said the captain. "you see, such a monster as that must go very deep down, and the warm under-current has not yet melted away enough of his base to permit the surface-current to carry him south like the smaller members of his family. he is still travelling north, but that won't last long. he'll soon become small enough to put about and go the other way. i never saw a bigger fellow than that, benjy. hayes, the american, mentions one which he measured, about feet high, and nearly a mile long. it had been grounded for two years. he calculated that there must have been seven times as much of it below water as there was above, so that it was stranded in nearly half-a-mile depth of water. this berg cannot be far short of that one in size." "hm! probably then his little brothers and sisters are being now crushed to bits in baffin's bay," said benjy. "not unlikely, ben, if they've not already been melted in the atlantic, which will be this one's fate at last--sooner or later." from a pool on this berg they obtained a supply of pure fresh water. when our explorers did at last sight the land it came upon them unexpectedly, in the form of an island so low that they were quite close before observing it. the number of gulls hovering above it might have suggested its presence, but as these birds frequently hover in large flocks over shoals of small fish, little attention was paid to them. "is this your native land, chingatok?" asked the captain, quickly. "no, it is over there," said the eskimo, pointing to the distant horizon; "this is the first of the islands." as they gazed they perceived a mountain-shaped cloud so faint and far away that it had almost escaped observation. advancing slowly, this cloud was seen to take definite form and colour. "i _knew_ it was!" said benjy, "but was afraid of making another mistake." had the boy or his father looked attentively at the giant just then, they would have seen that his colour deepened, his eyes glittered, and his great chest heaved a little more than was its wont, as he looked over his shoulder while labouring at the oars. perhaps we should have said played with the oars, for they were mere toys in his grasp. chingatok's little mother also was evidently affected by the sight of home. but the captain and his son saw it not--they were too much occupied with their own thoughts and feelings. to the englishmen the sight of land roused only one great all-engrossing thought--the north pole! which, despite the absurdity of the idea, _would_ present itself in the form of an upright post of terrific magnitude--a worthy axle-tree, as it were, for the world to revolve upon. to the big eskimo land presented itself in the form of a palatial stone edifice measuring fifteen feet by twelve, with a dear pretty little wife choking herself in the smoke of a cooking-lamp, and a darling little boy choking himself with a mass of walrus blubber. thus the same object, when presented to different minds, suggested ideas that were: "diverse as calm from thunder, wide as the poles asunder." it was midnight when the boats drew near to land. the island in which stood the giant's humble home seemed to captain vane not more than eight or ten miles in extent, and rose to a moderate height--apparently about five or six hundred feet. it was picturesque in form and composed of rugged rocks, the marks on which, and the innumerable boulders everywhere, showed that at some remote period of the world's history, it had been subjected to the influence of glacial action. no glacier was visible now, however--only, on the rocky summit lay a patch or two of the last winter's snow-drift, which was too deep for the summer sun to melt away. 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. "we've got to paradise at last, father," was the first sound that broke the silence, if we except the gentle dip of the oars and the rippling water on the bow. "looks like it, benjy," replied the captain. a wakeful dog on shore was the first to scent the coming strangers. he gave vent to a low growl. it was the keynote to the canine choir, which immediately sent up a howl of discord. forthwith from every hut there leaped armed men, anxious women, and terrified children, which latter rushed towards the cliffs or took refuge among the rocks. "hallo! chingatok, your relations are not to be taken by surprise," said the captain--or something to that effect--in eskimo. the giant shook his head somewhat gravely. "they must be at war," he said. "at war! whom with?" "with the neerdoowulls," replied chingatok with a frown. "they are always giving us trouble." "not badly named, father," said benjy; "one would almost think they must be of scotch extraction." at that moment the natives--who had been gesticulating wildly and brandishing spears and bone knives with expressions of fury that denoted a strong desire on their part to carve out the hearts and transfix the livers of the newcomers--suddenly gave vent to a shout of surprise, which was succeeded by a scream of joy. chingatok had stood up in the boat and been recognised. the giant's dog--an appropriately large one-- had been the first to observe him, and expressed its feelings by wagging its tail to such an extent that its hind legs had difficulty in keeping the ground. immediately on landing, the party was surrounded by a clamorous crew, who, to do them justice, took very little notice of the strangers, so overjoyed were they at the return of their big countryman. soon a little pleasant though flattish-faced woman pushed through the crowd and seized the giant. this was his wife pingasuk, or pretty one. she was _petite_--not much larger than oblooria the timid. the better to get at her, chingatok went down on his knees, seized her by the shoulders, and rubbed her nose against his so vigorously that the smaller nose bid fair to come off altogether. he had to stoop still lower when a stout urchin of about five years of age came up behind him and tried to reach his face. "meltik!" exclaimed the giant, rubbing noses gently for fear of damaging him, "you are stout and fat, my son, you have been eating much blubber-- good." at that moment chingatok's eyes fell on an object which had hitherto escaped his observation. it was a little round yellow head in his wife's hood, with a pair of small black eyes which stared at him in blank surprise. he made a snatch at it and drew forth--a naked baby! "our girlie," said the wife, with a pleased but anxious look; "don't squeeze. she is very young and tender--like a baby seal." the glad father tried to fold the creature to his bosom; nearly dropped it in his excess of tender caution; thrust it hastily back into his wife's hood, and rose to give a respectful greeting to an aged man with a scrubby white beard, who came forward at the moment. "who are these, my son?" asked the old man, pointing to the englishmen, who, standing in a group with amused expressions, watched the meeting above described. "these are the kablunets, father. i met them, as i expected, in the far-off land. the poor creatures were wandering about in a great kayak, which they have lost, searching for _nothing_!" "searching for nothing! my son, that cannot be. it is not possible to search for nothing--at least it is not possible to find it." "but that is what they come here for," persisted chingatok; "they call it the nort pole." "and what is the nort pole, my son?" "it is nothing, father." the old man looked at his stately son with something of anxiety mingled with his surprise. "has chingatok become a fool, like the kablunets, since he left home?" he asked in a low voice. "chingatok is not sure," replied the giant, gravely. "he has seen so much to puzzle him since he went away, that he sometimes feels foolish." the old eskimo looked steadily at his son for a few moments, and shook his head. "i will speak to these men--these foolish men," he said. "do they understand our language?" "some of them understand and speak a little, father, but they have with them one named unders, who interprets. come here, unders." anders promptly stepped to the front and interpreted, while the old eskimo put captain vane through an examination of uncommon length and severity. at the close of it he shook his head with profound gravity, and turned again to his son. "you have indeed brought to us a set of fools, chingatok. your voyage to the far-off lands has not been very successful. these men want something that they do not understand; that they could not see if it was before them; that they cannot describe when they talk about it, and that they could not lay hold of if they had it." "yes, father," sighed chingatok, "it is as i told you--nothing; only the nort pole--a mere name." a new light seemed to break in on chingatok as he said this, for he added quickly, "but, father, a name is _something_--my name, chingatok, is something, yet it is nothing. you cannot see it, you do not lay hold of it, yet it is there." "toohoo! my son, that is so, no doubt, but your name describes _you_, and you are something. no one ever goes to a far-off land to search for a _name_. if this nort pole is only a name and not a _thing_, how can it _be_?" exclaimed the old man, turning on his heel and marching off in a paroxysm of metaphysical disgust. he appeared to change his mind, however, for, turning abruptly back, he said to anders, "tell these strangers that i am glad to see them; that a house and food shall be given to them, and that they are welcome to poloe. perhaps their land--the far-off land--is a poor one; they may not have enough to eat. if so, they may stay in this rich land of mine to hunt and fish as long as they please. but tell them that the eskimos love wise men, and do not care for foolishness. they must not talk any more about this search after nothing--this nort pole--this nonsense-- huk!" having delivered himself of these sentiments with much dignity, the old man again turned on his heel with a regal wave of the hand, and marched up to his hut. "that must be the king of poloe," whispered captain vane to leo, endeavouring to suppress a smile at the concluding caution, as they followed anders and one of the natives to the hut set apart for them. the captain was only half right. amalatok was indeed the chief of the island, but the respect and deference shown to him by the tribe were owing more to the man's age and personal worth, than to his rank. he had succeeded his father as chief of the tribe, and, during a long life, had led his people in council, at the hunt, and in war, with consummate ability and success. although old, he still held the reins of power, chiefly because his eldest son and rightful successor--chingatok's elder brother--was a weak-minded man of little capacity and somewhat malignant disposition. if our giant had been his eldest, he would have resigned cheerfully long ago. as it was, he did not see his way to change the customs of the land, though he could not tell when, or by whom, or under what circumstances, the order of succession had been established. probably, like many other antiquated customs, it had been originally the result of despotism on the part of men in power, and of stupid acquiescence on the part of an unthinking people. on reaching his hut the old chief sat down, and, leaning carelessly against the wall, he toyed with a bit of walrus rib, as an englishman might with a pair of nut-crackers at dessert. "why did you bring these barbarians here?" "i did not bring them, father, they brought me," said the son with a deprecating glance. "huk!" exclaimed the chief, after which he added, "hum!" it was evident that he had received new light, and was meditating thereon. "my son," continued amalatok, "these kablunets seem to be stout-bodied fellows; can they fight--are they brave?" "they are brave, father, very brave. even the little one, whom they call bunjay, is brave--also, he is funny. i have never seen the kablunets fight with men, but they fight well with the bear and the walrus and the ice. they are not such fools as you seem to think. true, about this nothing--this nort pole--they are quite mad, but in other matters they are very wise and knowing, as you shall see before long." "good, good," remarked the old chief, flinging the walrus rib at an intrusive dog with signal success, "i am glad to hear you say that, because i may want their help." amalatok showed one symptom of true greatness--a readiness to divest himself of prejudice. "for what do you require their help, father?" asked chingatok. instead of answering, the old chief wrenched off another walrus rib from its native backbone, and began to gnaw it growlingly, as if it were his enemy and he a dog. "my father is disturbed in his mind," said the giant in a sympathising tone. even a less observant man than chingatok might have seen that the old chief was not only disturbed in mind, but also in body, for his features twitched convulsively, and his face grew red as he thought of his wrongs. "listen," said amalatok, flinging the rib at another intrusive dog, again with success, and laying his hand impressively on his son's arm. "my enemy, grabantak--that bellowing walrus, that sly seal, that empty-skulled puffin, that porpoise, cormorant, narwhal--s-s-sus!" the old man set his teeth and hissed. "well, my father?" "it is not well, my son. it is all ill. that marrowless bear is stirring up his people, and there is no doubt that we shall soon be again engaged in a bloody--a _useless_ war." "what is it all about, father?" "about!--about nothing." "huk! about nort pole--nothing," murmured chingatok--his thoughts diverted by the word. "no, it is worse than nort pole, worse than nothing," returned the chief sternly; "it is a small island--very small--so small that a seal would not have it for a breathing-place. nothing on it; no moss, no grass. birds won't stay there--only fly over it and wink with contempt. yet grabantak says he must have it--it is within the bounds of _his_ land!" "well, let him have it, if it be so worthless," said chingatok, mildly. "let him have it!" shouted the chief, starting up with such violence as to overturn the cooking-lamp--to which he paid no regard whatever--and striding about the small hut savagely, "no, never! i will fight him to the last gasp; kill all his men; slay his women; drown his children; level his huts; burn up his meat--" amalatok paused and glared, apparently uncertain about the propriety of wasting good meat. the pause gave his wrath time to cool. "at all events," he continued, sitting down again and wrenching off another rib, "we must call a council and have a talk, for we may expect him soon. when you arrived we took you for our enemies." "and you were ready for us," said chingatok, with an approving smile. "huk!" returned the chief with a responsive nod. "go, chingatok, call a council of my braves for to--night, and see that these miserable starving kablunets have enough of blubber wherewith to stuff themselves." our giant did not deem it worth while to explain to his rather petulant father that the englishmen were the reverse of starving, but he felt the importance of raising them in the old chief's opinion without delay, and took measures accordingly. "blackbeard," he said, entering the captain's hut and sitting down with a troubled air, "my father does not think much of you. tell him that, unders." "i understand you well enough, chingatok; go on, and let me know why the old man does not think well of me." "he thinks you are a fool," returned the plain spoken eskimo. "h'm! i'm not altogether surprised at that, lad. i've sometimes thought so myself. well, i suppose you've come to give me some good advice to make me wiser--eh! chingatok?" "yes, that is what i come for. do what i tell you, and my father will begin to think you wise." "ah, yes, the old story," remarked benjy, who was an amused listener-- for his father translated in a low tone for the benefit of his companions as the conversation proceeded--"the same here as everywhere-- do as i tell you and all will be well!" "hold your tongue, ben," whispered alf. "well, what am i to do?" asked the captain. "invite my father to a feast," said chingatok eagerly, "and me too, and my mother too; also my wife, and some of the braves with their wives. and you must give us biskit an'--what do you call that brown stuff?" "coffee," suggested the captain. "yes, cuffy, also tee, and shoogre, and seal st- ate--what?" "steak--eh?" "yes, stik, and cook them all in the strange lamp. you must ask us to see the feast cooked, and then we will eat it." it will be observed that when chingatok interpolated english words in his discourse his pronunciation was not perfect. "well, you are the coolest fellow i've met with for many a day! to order a feast, invite yourself to it, name the rest of the company, as well as the victuals, and insist on seeing the cooking of the same," said the captain in english; then, in eskimo,--"well, chingatok, i will do as you wish. when would you like supper?" "now," replied the giant, with decision. "you hear, butterface," said the captain when he had translated, "go to work and get your pots and pans ready. see that you put your best foot foremost. it will be a turning-point, this feast, i see." need we say that the feast was a great success? the wives, highly pleased at the attention paid them by the strangers, were won over at once. the whole party, when assembled in the hut, watched with the most indescribable astonishment the proceedings of the negro--himself a living miracle--as he manipulated a machine which, in separate compartments, cooked steaks and boiled tea, coffee, or anything else, by means of a spirit lamp in a few minutes. on first tasting the hot liquids they looked at each other suspiciously; then as the sugar tickled their palates, they smiled, tilted their pannikins, drained them to the dregs, and asked for more! the feast lasted long, and was highly appreciated. when the company retired--which did not happen until the captain declared he had nothing more to give them, and turned the cooking apparatus upside down to prove what he said--there was not a man or woman among them who did not hold and even loudly assert that the kablunets were wise men. after the feast the council of war was held and the strangers were allowed to be present. there was a great deal of talk--probably some of it was not much to the point, but there was no interruption or undignified confusion. there was a peace-party, of course, and a war-party, but the latter prevailed. it too often does so in human affairs. chingatok was understood to favour the peace-party, but as his sire was on the other side, respect kept him tongue-tied. "these eskimos reverence age and are respectful to women," whispered leo to alf, "so we may not call them savages." the old chief spoke last, summing up the arguments, as it were, on both sides, and giving his reasons for favouring war. "the island is of no use," he said; "it is not worth a seal's nose, yet grabantak wishes to tear it from us--us who have possessed it since the forgotten times. why is this? because he wishes to insult us," ("huk!" from the audience). "shall we submit to insult? shall we sit down like frightened birds and see the black-livered cormorant steal what is ours? shall the courage of the poloes be questioned by all the surrounding tribes? never! while we have knives in our boots and spears in our hands. we will fight till we conquer or till we are all dead--till our wives are husbandless and our children fatherless, and all our stores of meat and oil are gone!" ("huk! huk!") "then shall it be said by surrounding tribes, `behold! how brave were the poloes! they died and left their wives and little children to perish, or mourn in slavery, rather than submit to insult!'" the "huks" that greeted the conclusion of the speech were so loud and numerous that the unfortunate peace-makers were forced to hide their diminished heads. thus did amalatok resolve to go to war for "worse than nort pole--for nothing"--rather than submit to insult! (see note .) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note . it may not be inappropriate here to point out that eskimo savages are sometimes equalled, if not surpassed, in this respect, by civilised and even christian nations. chapter seventeen. the effect of persuasion on diverse characters. the warlike tendencies of grabantak, the northern savage, had the effect of compelling captain vane and his party to delay for a considerable time their efforts to reach the pole. this was all the more distressing that they had by that time approached so very near to it. a carefully made observation placed the island of poloe in latitude degrees minutes seconds, about geographical, or english statute miles from the pole. there was no help for it, however. to have ventured on grabantak's territory while war was impending would have been to court destruction. captain vane saw therefore that the only way of advancing his own cause was to promote peace between the tribes. with a view to this he sought an interview with the old chief amalatok. "why do you wish to go to war?" he asked. "i do not wish to go to war," answered the chief, frowning fiercely. "why do you go then?" said the captain in a soothing tone, for he was very anxious not to rouse the chief's anger; but he was unsuccessful, for the question seemed to set the old man on fire. he started up, grinding his teeth and striding about his hut, knocking over pots, oil cans, and cooking-lamps somewhat like that famous bull which got into a china shop. finding the space too small for him he suddenly dropped on his knees, crept through the low entrance, sprang up, and began to stride about more comfortably. the open air calmed him a little. he ceased to grind his teeth, and stopping in front of the captain, who had followed him, said in a low growl, "do you think i will submit to insult?" "some men have occasionally done so with advantage," answered the captain. "kablunets may do so, eskimos _never_!" returned the old man, resuming his hurried walk to and fro, and the grinding of his teeth again. "if amalatok were to kill all his enemies--all the men, women and children," said the captain, raising a fierce gleam of satisfaction in the old man's face at the mere suggestion, "and if he were to knock down all their huts, and burn up all their kayaks and oomiaks, the insult would still remain, because an insult can only be wiped out by one's enemy confessing his sin and repenting." for a few seconds amalatok stood silent; his eyes fixed on the ground as if he were puzzled. "the white man is right," he said at length, "but if i killed them all i should be avenged." "vengeance is mine, saith the lord," leaped naturally to the captain's mind; but, reflecting that the man before him was a heathen who would not admit the value of the quotation, he paused a moment or two. "and what," he then said, "if grabantak should kill amalatok and all his men, and carry away the women and children into slavery, would the insult be wiped out in that case? would it not rather be deepened?" "true, it would; but then we should all be dead--we should not care." "the _men_ would all be dead, truly," returned the captain, "but perhaps the women and children left behind might care. they would also suffer." "go, go," said the eskimo chief, losing temper as he lost ground in the argument; "what can kablunets know about such matters? you tell me you are men of peace; that your religion is a religion of peace. of course, then, you understand nothing about war. go, i have been insulted, and i _must_ fight." seeing that it would be fruitless talking to the old chief while he was in this frame of mind, captain vane left him and returned to his own hut, where he found chingatok and leo engaged in earnest conversation-- alf and benjy being silent listeners. "i'm glad you've come, uncle," said leo, making room for him on the turf seat, "because chingatok and i are discussing the subject of war; and--" "a strange coincidence," interrupted the captain. "i have just been discussing the same subject with old amalatok. i hope that in showing the evils of war you are coming better speed with the son than i did with the father." "as to that," said leo, "i have no difficulty in showing chingatok the evils of war. he sees them clearly enough already. the trouble i have with him is to explain the bible on that subject. you see he has got a very troublesome inquiring sort of mind, and ever since i have told him that the bible is the word of god he won't listen to my explanations about anything. he said to me in the quietest way possible, just now, `why do you give me _your_ reasons when you tell me the great spirit has given his? i want to know what _he_ says.' well, now, you know, it is puzzling to be brought to book like that, and i doubt if anders translates well. you understand and speak the language, uncle, better than he does, i think, so i want you to help me." "i'll try, leo, though i am ashamed to say i am not so well read in the word myself as i ought to be. what does chingatok want to know?" "he wants to _reconcile_ things, of course. that is always the way. now i told him that the great spirit is good, and does not wish men to go to war, and that he has written for us a law, namely, that we should `live peaceably with all men.' chingatok liked this very much, but then i had told him before, that the great spirit had told his ancient people the jews to go and fight his enemies, and take possession of their lands. now he regards this as a contradiction. he says--how can a man live peaceably with all men, and at the same time go to war with some men, kill them, and take their lands?" "ah! leo, my boy, your difficulty in answering the eskimo lies in your own _partial_ quotation of scripture," said the captain. then, turning to chingatok, he added, "my young friend did not give you the whole law--only part of it. the word is written thus:--`if it be _possible_, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.' some times it is _not_ possible, chingatok; then we must fight. but the law says keep from fighting `_as much as you can_.' mind that, chingatok, and if you are ever induced to go to war for the sake of a little island--for the sake of a little insult,--don't flatter yourself that you are keeping out of it as much as lieth in you." "good, good," said the giant, earnestly; "blackbeard's words are wise." "as to the people of god in the long past," continued the captain, "god told them to go to war, so they went; but that does not authorise men to go to war at their own bidding. what is right in the great father of all may be very wrong in the children. god kills men every day, and we do not blame him, but if man kills his fellow we hunt him down as a murderer. in the long past time the great father spoke to his children by his wise and holy men, and sometimes he saw fit to tell them to fight. with his reasons we have nothing to do. now, the great father speaks to us by his book. in it he tells us to live in peace with all men--if _possible_." "good," said the giant with an approving nod, though a perplexed expression still lingered on his face. "but the great father has never before spoken to me by his book--never at all to my forefathers." "he may, however, have spoken by his spirit within you, chingatok, i cannot tell," returned the captain with a meditative air. "you have desires for peace and a tendency to forgive. this could not be the work of the spirit of evil. it must have been that of the good spirit." this seemed to break upon the eskimo as a new light, and he relapsed into silence as he thought of the wonderful idea that within his breast the great spirit might have been working in time past although he knew it not. then he thought of the many times he had in the past resisted what he had hitherto only thought of as good feelings; and the sudden perception that at such times he had been resisting the father of all impressed him for the first time with a sensation of guiltiness. it was some time before the need of a saviour from sin entered into his mind, but the ice had been broken, and at last, through leo's bible, as read by him and explained by captain vane, jesus, the sun of righteousness, rose upon his soul and sent in the light for which he had thirsted so long. but, as we have said, this effect was not immediate, and he remained in a state of uncertainty and sadness while the warlike councils and preparations went on. meanwhile captain vane set himself earnestly to work to hit on some plan by which, if possible, to turn the feeling of the eskimo community in favour of peace. at first he thought of going alone and unarmed, with anders as interpreter, to the land of grabantak to dissuade that savage potentate from attacking the poloes, but the eskimos pointed out that the danger of this plan was so great that he might as well kill himself at once. his own party, also, objected to it so strongly that he gave it up, and resolved in the meantime to strengthen his position and increase his influence with the natives among whom his lot was cast, by some exhibitions of the powers with which science and art had invested him. chapter eighteen. the captain electrifies as well as surprises his new friends. it will be remembered that the party of englishmen arrived at poloeland under oars, and although the india-rubber boats had been gazed at, and gently touched, with intense wonder by the natives, they had not yet seen the process of disinflation, or the expansion of the kites. of course, chingatok and their other eskimo fellow-travellers had given their friends graphic descriptions of everything, but this only served to whet the desire to see the wonderful oomiaks in action. several times, during the first few days, the old chief had expressed a wish to see the kablunets go through the water in their boats, but as the calm still prevailed, and the captain knew his influence over the natives would depend very much on the effect with which his various proceedings were carried out, he put him off with the assurance that when the proper time for action came, he would let him know. one night a gentle breeze sprang up and blew directly off shore. as it seemed likely to last, the captain waited till the whole community was asleep, and then quietly roused his son. "lend a hand here, ben," he whispered, "and make no noise." benjy arose and followed his father in a very sleepy frame of mind. they went to the place where the india-rubber boats lay, close behind the englishmen's hut, and, unscrewing the brass heads that closed the air-holes, began to press out the air. "that's it, ben, but don't squeeze too hard, lest the hissing should rouse some of 'em." "what'r 'ee doin' this for--ee--yaou?" asked benjy, yawning. "you'll see that to-morrow, lad." "hum! goin' t'squeeze'm all?" "yes, all three, and put 'em in their boxes." the conversation flagged at this point, and the rest of the operation was performed in silence. next morning, after breakfast, seeing that the breeze still held, the captain sent a formal message to amalatok, that he was prepared to exhibit his oomiaks. the news spread like wild-fire, and the entire community soon assembled--to the number of several hundreds--in front of the englishmen's hut, where the captain was seen calmly seated on a packing-case, with a solemn expression on his face. the rest of his party had been warned to behave with dignity. even benjy's round face was drawn into something of an oval, and butterface made such superhuman attempts to appear grave, that the rest of the party almost broke down at the sight of him. great was the surprise among the natives when they perceived that the three oomiaks had disappeared. "my friends," said the captain, rising, "i will now show you the manner in which we englishmen use our oomiaks." a soft sigh of expectation ran through the group of eager natives, as they pressed round their chief and chingatok who stood looking on in dignified silence, while the captain and his companions went to work. many of the women occupied a little eminence close at hand, whence they could see over the heads of the men, and some of the younger women and children clambered to the top of the hut, the better to witness the great sight. numerous and characteristic were the sighs, "huks," grunts, growls, and other exclamations; all of which were in keeping with the more or less intense glaring of eyes, and opening of mouths, and slight bending of knees and elbows, and spreading of fingers, and raising of hands, as the operators slowly unrolled the india-rubber mass, attached the bellows, gradually inflated the first boat, fixed the thwarts and stretchers, and, as it were, constructed a perfect oomiak in little more than ten minutes. then there was a shout of delight when the captain and leo, one at the bow, the other at the stern, lifted the boat as if it had been a feather, and, carrying it down the beach, placed it gently in the sea. but the excitement culminated when chingatok, stepping lightly into it, sat down on the seat, seized the little oars, and rowed away. we should have said, attempted to row away, for, though he rowed lustily, the boat did not move, owing to anders, who, like eskimos in general, dearly loved a practical joke. holding fast by the tail-line a few seconds, he suddenly let go, and the boat shot away, while anders, throwing a handful of water after it, said, "go off, bad boy, and don't come back; we can do without you." a roar of laughter burst forth. some of the small boys and girls leaped into the air with delight, causing the tails of the latter to wriggle behind them. the captain gave them plenty of time to blow off the steam of surprise. when they had calmed down considerably, he proceeded to open out and arrange one of the kites. of course this threw them back into the open-eyed and mouthed, and finger-spreading condition, and, if possible, called forth more surprise than before. when the kite soared into the sky, they shouted; when it was being attached to the bow of the boat, they held their breath with expectation, many of them standing on one leg; and when at last the boat, with four persons in it, shot away to sea at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour, they roared with ecstasy; accompanying the yells with contortions of frame and visage which were so indescribable that we gladly leave it all to the reader's imagination. there can be no doubt of the fact that the captain placed himself and his countrymen that day on a pedestal from which there was no fear of their being afterwards dislodged. "did not i tell you," said chingatok to his sire that night, in the privacy of his hut, "that the kablunets are great men?" "you did, my son. chingatok is wise, and his father is a fool!" no doubt the northern savage meant this self-condemning speech to be understood much in the same way in which it is understood by civilised people. "when the oomiak swelled i thought it was going to burst," added the chief. "so did i, when i first saw it," said chingatok. father and son paused a few minutes. they usually did so between each sentence. evidently they pondered what they said. "have these men got wives?" asked the chief. "the old one has, and bunjay is his son. the other ones--no. the black man may have a wife: i know not, but i should think that no woman would have him." "what made him black?" "i know not." "was he always black?" "the kablunets say he was--from so big." chingatok measured off the half of his left hand by way of explaining how big. "is he black under the clothes?" "yes; black all over." again the couple paused. "it is strange," said the old man, shaking his head. "perhaps he was made black because his father was wicked." "not so," returned the young giant. "i have heard him say his father was a very good man." "strange," repeated the chief, with a solemn look, "he is very ugly-- worse than a walrus. tell me, my son, where do the kablunets live? do they hunt the walrus or the seal?" "blackbeard has told me much, father, that i do not understand. his people do not hunt much--only a very few of them do." "wah! they are lazy! the few hunt to keep the rest in meat, i suppose." "no, father, that is not the way. the few hunt for fun. the great many spend their time in changing one thing for another. they seem to be never satisfied--always changing, changing--every day, and all day. getting and giving, and never satisfied." "poor things!" said the chief. "and they have no walruses, no white bears, no whales, nothing!" added the son. "miserables! perhaps that is why they come here to search for _nothing_!" "but, father, if they have got nothing at home, why come here to search for it?" "what do they eat?" asked amalatok, quickly, as if he were afraid of recurring to the puzzling question that had once already taken him out of his mental depth. "they eat all sorts of things. many of them eat things that are nasty-- things that grow out of the ground; things that are very hot and burn the tongue; things that are poison and make them ill. they eat fish too, like us, and other people bring them their meat in great oomiaks from far-off lands. they seem to be so poor that they cannot find enough in their own country to feed themselves." "wretched creatures!" said the old man, pitifully. "yes, and they drink too. drink waters so hot and so terrible that they burn their mouths and their insides, and so they go mad." "did i not say that they were fools?" said amalatok, indignantly. "but the strangest thing of all," continued chingatok, lowering his voice, and looking at his sire in a species of wonder, "is that they fill their mouths with smoke!" "what? eat smoke?" said amalatok in amazement. "no, they spit it out." "did blackbeard tell you that?" "yes." "then blackbeard is a liar!" chingatok did not appear to be shocked by the old man's plain speaking, but he did not agree with him. "no, father," said he, after a pause. "blackbeard is not a liar. he is good and wise, and speaks the truth. i have seen the kablunets do it myself. in the big oomiak that they lost, some of the men did it, so-- puff, pull, puff, puff--is it not funny?" both father and son burst into laughter at this, and then, becoming suddenly grave, remained staring at the smoke of their cooking-lamp, silently meditating on these things. while thus engaged, a man entered the low doorway in the only possible manner, on hands and knees, and, rising, displayed the face of anders. "blackbeard sends a message to the great old chief," said the interpreter. "he wishes him to pay the kablunets a visit. he has something to show to the great old chief." "tell him i come," said the chief, with a toss of the head which meant, "be off!" "i wonder," said amalatok slowly, as anders crept out, "whether blackbeard means to show us some of his wisdom or some of his foolishness. the white men appear to have much of both." "let us go see," said chingatok. they went, and found the captain seated in front of the door of his hut with his friends round him--all except benjy, who was absent. they were very grave, as usual, desiring to be impressive. "chief," began the captain, in that solemn tone in which ghosts are supposed to address mankind, "i wish to show you that i can make the stoutest and most obstinate warrior of poloeland tremble and jump without touching him." "that is not very difficult," said the old man, who had still a lurking dislike to acknowledge the englishmen his superiors. "i can make any one of them tremble and jump by throwing a spear at him." a slight titter from the assembly testified to the success of this reply. "but," rejoined the captain, with deepening solemnity, "i will do it without throwing a spear." "so will i, by suddenly howling at him in the dark," said amalatok. at this his men laughed outright. "but i will not howl or move," said the captain. "that will be clever," returned the chief, solemnised in spite of himself. "let blackbeard proceed." "order one of your braves to stand before me on that piece of flat skin," said the captain. amalatok looked round, and, observing a huge ungainly man with a cod-fishy expression of face, who seemed to shrink from notoriety, ordered him to step forward. the man did so with obvious trepidation, but he dared not refuse. the captain fixed his eyes on him sternly, and, in a low growling voice, muttered in english: "now, benjy, give it a good turn." cod-fishiness vanished as if by magic, and, with a look of wild horror, the man sprang into the air, tumbled on his back, rose up, and ran away! it is difficult to say whether surprise or amusement predominated among the spectators. many of them laughed heartily, while the captain, still as grave as a judge, said in a low growling tone as if speaking to himself:-- "not quite so stiff, benjy, not quite so stiff. be more gentle next time. don't do it all at once, boy; jerk it, benjy, a turn or so at a time." it is perhaps needless to inform the reader that the captain was practising on the eskimos with his electrical machine, and that benjy was secretly turning the handle inside the hut. the machine was connected, by means of wires, with the piece of skin on which the patients stood. these wires had been laid underground, not, indeed, in the darkness, but, during the secrecy and silence of the previous night. after witnessing the effect on the first warrior, no other brave seemed inclined to venture on the skin, and the women, who enjoyed the fun greatly, were beginning to taunt them with cowardice, when oolichuk strode forward. he believed intensely, and justifiably, in his own courage. no man, he felt quite sure, had the power to stare _him_ into a nervous condition--not even the fiercest of the kablunets. let blackbeard try, and do his worst! animated by these stern and self-reliant sentiments, he stepped upon the mat. benjy, being quick in apprehension, perceived his previous error, and proceeded this time with caution. he gave the handle of the machine a gentle half-turn and stopped, peeping through a crevice in the wall to observe the effect. "ha! ha! ho! ho!--hi! huk!" laughed oolichuk, as a tickling sensation thrilled through all his nervous system. the laugh was irresistibly echoed by the assembled community. benjy waited a few seconds, and then gave the handle another and slightly stronger turn. the laugh this time was longer and more ferocious, while the gallant eskimo drew himself together, determined to resist the strange and subtle influence; at the same time frowning defiance at the captain, who never for a moment took his coal-black eye off him! again benjy turned the handle gently. he evidently possessed something of the ancient inquisitor spirit, and gloated over the pains of his victim! the result was that oolichuk not only quivered from head to foot, but gave a little jump and anything but a little yell. benjy's powers of self-restraint were by that time exhausted. he sent the handle round with a whirr and oolichuk, tumbling backwards off the mat, rent the air with a shriek of demoniac laughter. of course the delight of the eskimos--especially of the children--was beyond all bounds, and eager were the efforts made to induce another warrior to go upon the mysterious mat, but not one would venture. they would rather have faced their natural enemy, the great grabantak, unarmed, any day! in this difficulty an idea occurred to amalatok. seizing a huge dog by the neck he dragged it to the mat, and bade it lie down. the dog crouched and looked sheepishly round. next moment he was in the air wriggling. then he came to the ground, over which he rushed with a prolonged howl, and disappeared among the rocks on the hill side. it is said that that poor dog was never again seen, but benjy asserts most positively that, a week afterwards, he saw it sneaking into the village with its tail very much between its legs, and an expression of the deepest humility on its countenance. "you'd better give them a taste of dynamite, father," said benjy that evening, as they all sat round their supper-kettle. "no, no, boy. it is bad policy to fire off all your ammunition in a hurry. we'll give it 'em bit by bit." "just so, impress them by degrees," said alf. "de fust warrior was nigh bu'sted by degrees," said butterface, with a broad grin, as he stirred the kettle. "you gib it 'im a'most too strong, massa benjee." "blackbeard must be the bad spirit," remarked amalatok to his son that same night as they held converse together--according to custom--before going to bed. "the bad spirit is _never_ kind or good," replied chingatok, after a pause. "no," said the old man, "never." "but blackbeard is always good and kind," returned the giant. this argument seemed unanswerable. at all events the old man did not answer it, but sat frowning at the cooking-lamp under the influence of intense thought. after a prolonged meditation--during the course of which father and son each consumed the tit-bits of a walrus rib and a seal's flipper-- chingatok remarked that the white men were totally beyond his comprehension. to which, after another pause, his father replied that he could not understand them at all. then, retiring to their respective couches, they calmly went to sleep--"perchance to dream!" chapter nineteen. a shooting trip to paradise isle, and further display of the captain's contrivances. while our explorers were thus reduced to a state of forced inaction as regarded the main object of their expedition, they did not by any means waste their time in idleness. on the contrary, each of the party went zealously to work in the way that was most suitable to his inclination. after going over the main island of poloe as a united party, and ascertaining its size, productions, and general features, the captain told them they might now do as they pleased. for his part he meant to spend a good deal of his time in taking notes and observations, questioning the chief men as to the lands lying to the northward, repairing and improving the hut, and helping the natives miscellaneously so as to gain their regard. of course leo spent much of his time with his rifle, for the natives were not such expert hunters but that occasionally they were badly off for food. of course, also, alf shouldered his botanical box and sallied forth hammer in hand, to "break stones," as butterface put it. benjy sometimes followed alf--more frequently leo, and always carried his father's double-barrelled shot-gun. he preferred that, because his powers with the rifle were not yet developed. sometimes he went with toolooha, or tekkona, or oblooria, in one of the native oomiaks to fish. at other times he practised paddling in the native kayak, so that he might accompany chingatok on his excursions to the neighbouring islands after seals and wild-fowl. in the excursions by water leo preferred one of the india-rubber boats-- partly because he was strong and could row it easily, and partly because it was capable of holding more game than the kayak. these expeditions to the outlying islands were particularly delightful. there was something so peaceful, yet so wild, so romantic and so strange about the region, that the young men felt as if they had passed into a new world altogether. it is scarcely surprising that they should feel thus, when it is remembered that profound calms usually prevailed at that season, causing the sea to appear like another heaven below them; that the sun never went down, but circled round and round the horizon-- dipping, indeed, a little more and more towards it each night, but not yet disappearing; that myriads of wild birds filled the air with plaintive cries; that whales, and sea-unicorns, and walruses sported around; that icebergs were only numerous enough to give a certain strangeness of aspect to the scene--a strangeness which was increased by the frequent appearance of arctic phenomena, such as several mock-suns rivalling the real one, and objects being enveloped in a golden haze, or turned upside down by changes in atmospheric temperature. "no wonder that arctic voyagers are always hankering after the far north," said leo to benjy, one magnificent morning, as they rowed towards the outlying islands over the golden sea. captain vane was with them that morning, and it was easy to see that the captain was in a peculiar frame of mind. a certain twinkle in his eyes and an occasional smile, apparently at nothing, showed that his thoughts, whatever they might be, were busy. now, it cannot have failed by this time to strike the intelligent reader, that captain vane was a man given to mystery, and rather fond of taking by surprise not only eskimos but his own companions. on the bright morning referred to he took with him in the boat a small flat box, or packing-case, measuring about three feet square, and not more than four inches deep. as they drew near to leo's favourite sporting-ground,--a long flat island with several small lakes on it which were bordered by tall reeds and sedges, where myriads of ducks, geese, gulls, plover, puffins, and other birds revelled in abject felicity,--benjy asked his father what he had got in the box. "i've got somethin' in it, benjy,--somethin'." "why, daddy," returned the boy with a laugh, "if i were an absolute lunatic you could not treat me with greater contempt. do you suppose i am so weak as to imagine that you would bring a packing-case all the way from england to the north pole with nothing in it?" "you're a funny boy, benjy," said the captain, regarding his son with a placid look. "you're a funny father, daddy," answered the son with a shake of the head; "and it's fortunate for you that i'm good as well as funny, else i'd give you some trouble." "you've got a good opinion of yourself, ben, anyhow," said leo, looking over his shoulder as he rowed. "just change the subject and make yourself useful. jump into the bow and have the boat-hook ready; the water shoals rather fast here, and i don't want to risk scraping a hole in our little craft." the island they were approaching formed part of the extensive archipelago of which poloe was the main or central island. paradise isle, as leo had named it, lay about two miles from poloe. the boat soon touched its shingly beach, but before it could scrape thereon its occupants stepped into the water and carefully carried it on shore. "now, benjy, hand me the rifle and cartridges," said leo, after the boat was placed in the shadow of a low bank, "and fetch the game-bag. what! you don't intend to carry the packing-case, uncle, do you?" "i think i'd better do it," answered the captain, lifting the case by its cord in a careless way; "it might take a fancy to have a swim on its own account, you know. come along, the birds are growing impatient, don't you see?" with a short laugh, leo shouldered his rifle, and marched towards the first of a chain of little lakes, followed by benjy with the game-bag, and the captain with the case. soon a splendid grey wild-goose was seen swimming at a considerable distance beyond the reeds. "there's your chance, now, leo," said the captain. but leo shook his head. "no use," he said; "if i were to shoot that one i'd never be able to get it; the mud is too deep for wading, and the reeds too thick for swimming amongst. it's a pity to kill birds that we cannot get hold of, so, you see, i must walk along the margin of the lake until i see a bird in a good position to be got at, and then pot him." "but isn't that slow work, lad?" asked the captain. "it might be slow if i missed often or wounded my birds," replied leo, "but i don't often miss." the youth might with truth have said he never missed, for his eye was as true and his hand as sure as that of any leatherstocking or robin hood that ever lived. "why don't you launch the boat on the lake?" asked the captain. "because i don't like to run the risk of damaging it by hauling it about among mud and sticks and overland. besides, that would be a cumbersome way of hunting. i prefer to tramp about the margin as you see, and just take what comes in my way. there are plenty of birds, and i seldom walk far without getting a goodish--hist! there's one!" as he spoke another large grey goose was seen stretching its long neck amongst the reeds at a distance of about two hundred yards. the crack of the rifle was followed by the instant death of the goose. at the same moment several companions of the bird rose trumpeting into the air amid a cloud of other birds. again the rifle's crack was heard, and one of the geese on the wing dropped beside its comrade. as leo carried his repeating rifle, he might easily have shot another, but he refrained, as the bird would have been too far out to be easily picked up. "now, benjy, are you to go in, or am i?" asked the sportsman with a sly look. "oh! i suppose _i_ must," said the boy with an affectation of being martyred, though, in truth, nothing charmed him so much as to act the part of a water-dog. a few seconds more, and he was stripped, for his garments consisted only of shirt and trousers. but it was more than a few seconds before he returned to land, swimming on his back and trailing a goose by the neck with each hand, for the reeds were thick and the mud softish, and the second bird had been further out than he expected. "it's glorious fun," said benjy, panting vehemently as he pulled on his clothes. "it's gloriously knocked up you'll be before long at that rate," said the captain. "oh! but, uncle," said leo, quickly, "you must not suppose that i give him all the hard work. we share it between us, you know. benjy sometimes shoots and then i do the retrieving. you've no idea how good a shot he is becoming." "indeed, let me see you do it, my boy. d'ye see that goose over there?" "what, the one near the middle of the lake, about four hundred yards off?" "ay, benjy, i want that goose. you shoot it, my boy." "but you'll never be able to get it, uncle," said leo. "benjy, i want that goose. you shoot it." there was no disobeying this peremptory command. leo handed the rifle to the boy. "down on one knee, ben, hythe position, my boy," said the captain, in the tone of a disciplinarian. benjy obeyed, took a long steady aim, and fired. "bravo!" shouted the captain as the bird turned breast up. "there's that goose's brother comin' to see what's the matter with him; just cook _his_ goose too, benjy." the boy aimed again, fired, and missed. "again!" cried the captain, "look sharp!" again the boy fired, and this time wounded the bird as it was rising on the wing. although wounded, the goose was quite able to swim, and made rapidly towards the reeds on the other side. "what! am i to lose that goose?" cried the captain indignantly. leo seized the rifle. almost without taking time to aim, he fired and shot the bird dead. "there," said he, laughing, "but i suspect it is a lost goose after all. it will be hard work to get either of these birds, uncle. however, i'll try." leo was proceeding to strip when the captain forbade him. "don't trouble yourself, lad," he said, "i'll go for them myself." "you, uncle?" "ay, me. d'ye suppose that nobody can swim but you and benjy? here, help me to open this box." in silent wonder and expectation leo and benjy did as they were bid. when the mysterious packing-case was opened, there was displayed to view a mass of waterproof material. tumbling this out and unrolling it, the captain displayed a pair of trousers and boots in one piece attached to something like an oval life-buoy. thrusting his legs down into the trousers and boots, he drew the buoy--which was covered with india-rubber cloth--up to his waist and fixed it there. then, putting the end of an india-rubber tube to his mouth, he began to blow, and the buoy round his waist began to extend until it took the form of an oval. "now, boys," said the captain, with profound gravity, "i'm about ready to go to sea. here, you observe, is a pair o' pants that won't let in water. at the feet you'll notice two flaps which expand when driven backward, and collapse when moved forward. these are propellers--human web-feet--to enable me to walk ahead, d'ye see? and here are two small paddles with a joint which i can fix together--so--and thus make one double-bladed paddle of 'em, about four feet long. it will help the feet, you understand, but i'm not dependent on it, for i can walk without the paddles at the rate of two or three miles an hour." as he spoke captain vane walked quietly into the water, to the wild delight of benjy, and the amazement of his nephew. when he was about waist-deep the buoy floated him. continuing to walk, though his feet no longer touched ground, he was enabled by the propellers to move on. when he had got out a hundred yards or so, he turned round, took off his hat, and shouted--"land ho!" "ship ahoy!" shrieked benjy, in an ecstasy. "mind your weather eye!" shouted the captain, resuming his walk with a facetious swagger, while, with the paddles, he increased his speed. soon after, he returned to land with the two geese. "well now, daddy," said his son, while he and leo examined the dress with minute interest, "i wish you'd make a clean breast of it, and let us know how many more surprises and contrivances of this sort you've got in store for us." "i fear this is the last one, benjy, though there's no end to the applications of these contrivances. you'd better apply this one to yourself now, and see how you get on in it." of course benjy was more than willing, though, as he remarked, the dress was far too big for him. "never mind that, my boy. a tight fit ain't needful, and nobody will find fault with the cut in these regions." "where ever did you get it, father?" asked the boy, as the fastenings were being secured round him. "i got it from an ingenious friend, who says he's goin' to bring it out soon. mayhap it's in the shops of old england by this time. there, now, off you go, but don't be too risky, ben. keep her full, and mind your helm." (see note.) thus encouraged, the eager boy waded into the water, but, in his haste, tripped and fell, sending a volume of water over himself. he rose, however, without difficulty, and, proceeding with greater caution, soon walked off into deep water. here he paddled about in a state of exuberant glee. the dress kept him perfectly dry, although he splashed the water about in reckless fashion, and did not return to land till quite exhausted. benjamin vane from that day devoted himself to that machine. he became so enamoured of the "water-tramp," as he styled it--not knowing its proper name at the time--that he went about the lakelets in it continually, sometimes fishing, at other times shooting. he even ventured a short distance out to sea in it, to the amazement of the eskimos, the orbits of whose eyes were being decidedly enlarged, benjy said, and their eyebrows permanently raised, by the constant succession of astonishment-fits into which they were thrown from day to day by their white visitors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note. lest it should be supposed that the "pedomotive" here described is the mere creature of the author's brain, it may be well to state that he has seen it in the establishment of the patentees, messrs. thornton and company of edinburgh. chapter twenty. benjy's enjoyments interrupted, and poloeland overwhelmed with a catastrophe. one pleasant morning, towards the end of summer, benjamin vane went out with his gun in the water-tramp on the large lake of paradise isle. leo and he had reached the isle in one of the india-rubber boats. they had taken anders with them to carry their game, and little oblooria to prepare their dinner while they were away shooting; for they disliked the delay of personal attention to cooking when they were ravenous! after landing benjy, and seeing him busy getting himself into the aquatic dress, leo said he would pull off to a group of walruses, which were sporting about off shore, and shoot one. provisions of fowl and fish were plentiful enough just then at the eskimo village, but he knew that walrus beef was greatly prized by the natives, and none of the huge creatures had been killed for some weeks past. about this time the threatened war with the northern eskimos had unfortunately commenced. the insatiable grabantak had made a descent on one of amalatok's smaller islands, killed the warriors, and carried off the women and children, with everything else he could lay hands on. of course amalatok made reprisals; attacked a small island belonging to grabantak, and did as much general mischief as he could. the paltry islet about which the war began was not worthy either of attack or defence! then amalatok, burning with the righteous indignation of the man who did not begin the quarrel, got up a grand muster of his forces, and went with a great fleet of kayaks to attack grabantak in his strongholds. but grabantak's strongholds were remarkably strong. a good deal of killing was done, and some destruction of property accomplished, but that did not effect the conquest of the great northern savage. neither did it prove either party to be right or wrong! grabantak retired to impregnable fastnesses, and amalatok returned to poloeland "covered with glory,"--some of his followers also covered with wounds, a few of which had fallen to his own share. the success, however, was not decided. on the whole, the result was rather disappointing, but amalatok was brave and high-spirited, as some people would say. _he_ was not going to give in; not he! he would fight as long as a man was left to back him, and bring grabantak to his knees--or die! either event would, of course, have been of immense advantage to both nations. he ground his teeth and glared when he announced this determination, and also shook his fist, but a sharp twinge of pain in one of his unhealed wounds caused him to cease frowning abruptly. there was a sound, too, in the air, which caused him to sit down and reflect. it was a mixed and half-stifled sound, as if of women groaning and little children wailing. some of his braves, of course, had fallen in the recent conflicts--fallen honourably with their faces to the foe. their young widows and their little ones mourned them, and refused to be comforted, because they were not. it was highly unpatriotic, no doubt, but natural. amalatok had asked the white men to join him in the fight, but they had refused. they would help him to defend his country, if attacked, they said, but they would not go out to war. amalatok had once threatened blackbeard if he refused to go, but blackbeard had smiled, and threatened to retaliate by making him "jump!" whereupon the old chief became suddenly meek. this, then, was the state of affairs when benjy and leo went shooting, on the morning to which we have referred. but who can hope to describe, with adequate force, the joyful feelings of benjamin vane as he moved slily about the lakelets of paradise isle in the water-tramp? the novelty of the situation was so great. the surrounding circumstances were so peculiar. the prolonged calms of the circumpolar basin, at that period of the year, were so new to one accustomed to the variable skies of england; the perpetual sunshine, the absence of any necessity to consider time, in a land from which night seemed to have finally fled; the glassy repose of lake and sea, so suggestive of peace; the cheery bustle of animal life, so suggestive of pleasure--all these influences together filled the boy's breast with a strong romantic joy which was far too powerful to seek or find relief in those boisterous leaps and shouts which were his usual safety-valves. although not much given to serious thought, except when conversing with his father, benjy became meditative as he moved quietly about at the edge of the reeds, and began to wonder whether the paradise above _could_ exceed this paradise below! events occurred that day which proved to him that the sublunary paradise was, at least, woefully uncertain in its nature. "now, just keep still, will you, for one moment," muttered benjy, advancing cautiously through the outer margin of reeds, among the stems of which he peered earnestly while he cocked his gun. the individual to whom he spoke made no reply, because it was a goose-- would that it were thus with all geese! it was a grey goose of the largest size. it had caught a glimpse of the new and strange creature that was paddling about its home, and was wisely making for the shelter of a spot where the reeds were more dense, and where benjy would not have dared to follow. for, it must be remembered that our young sportsman was sunk to his waist in water, and that the reeds rose high over his head, so that if once lost in the heart of them, he might have found it extremely difficult to find his way out again. anxious not to lose his chance, he gave vent to a loud shout. this had the effect of setting up innumerable flocks of wild-fowl, which, although unseen, had been lurking listeners to the strange though gentle sound of the water-tramp. among them rose the grey goose with one or two unexpected comrades. benjy had not at that time acquired the power of self-restraint necessary to good shooting. he fired hastily, and missed with the first barrel. discharging the second in hotter haste, he missed again, but brought down one of the comrades by accident. this was sufficiently gratifying. picking it up, he placed it on the boat-buoy in front of him to balance several ducks which already lay on the part in rear. he might have carried a dozen geese on his novel hunting-dress, if there had been room for them, for its floating power was sufficient to have borne up himself, and at least four, if not five, men. pursuing his way cautiously and gently, by means of the webbed feet alone, the young sportsman moved about like a sly water-spirit among the reeds, sometimes addressing a few pleasant words, such as, "how d'ye do, old boy," or, "don't alarm yourself, my tulip," to a water-hen or a coot, or some such bird which crossed his path, but was unworthy of his shot; at other times stopping to gaze contemplatively through the reed stems, or to float and rest in placid enjoyment, while he tried to imagine himself in a forest of water-trees. everywhere the feathered tribes first gazed at him in mute surprise; then hurried, with every variety of squeak, and quack, and fluttering wing, from his frightful presence. suddenly he came in sight of a bird so large that his heart gave a violent leap, and the gun went almost of its own accord to his shoulder, but the creature disappeared among the reeds before he could take aim. another opening, however, again revealed it fully to view! it was a swan--a hyperborean wild swan! just as he made this discovery, the great bird, having observed benjy, spread its enormous wings and made off with an amazing splutter. bang! went benjy's gun, both barrels in quick succession, and down fell the swan quite dead, with its head in the water and its feet pointing to the sky. "what a feast the eskimos will have to-night!" was benjy's first thought as he tramped vehemently towards his prize. but his overflowing joy was rudely checked, for, having laid his gun down in front of him, for the purpose of using the paddle with both hands, it slipped to one side, tilted up, and, disappearing like an arrow in the lake, went to the bottom. the sinking of benjy's heart was not less complete. he had the presence of mind, however, to seize the reeds near him and check his progress at the exact spot. leaning over the side of his little craft, he beheld his weapon quivering, as it were, at the bottom, in about eight feet of water. what was to be done? the energetic youth was not long in making up his mind on that point. he would dive for it. but diving in the water-tramp was out of the question. knowing that it was all but impossible to make his way to the shore through the reeds, he resolved to reach the opposite shore, which was in some places free from vegetation. seizing one of the reeds, he forced it down, and tied it into a knot to mark the spot where his loss had happened. he treated several more reeds in this way till he gained the open water outside, thus marking his path. then he paddled across the lake, landed, undressed, and swam out again, pushing the empty dress before him, intending to use it as a resting-place. on reaching the spot, he dived with a degree of vigour and agility worthy of a duck, but found it hard to reach the bottom, as he was not much accustomed to diving. for the same reason he found it difficult to open his eyes under water, so as to look for the gun. while trying to do so, a desperate desire to breathe caused him to leap to the surface, where he found that he had struggled somewhat away from the exact spot. after a few minutes' rest, he took a long breath and again went down; but found, to his dismay, that in his first dive he had disturbed the mud, and thus made the water thick. groping about rendered it thicker, and he came to the surface the second time with feelings approaching to despair. besides which, his powers were being rapidly exhausted. but benjy was full of pluck as well as perseverance. feeling that he could not hold out much longer, he resolved to make the next attempt with more care--a resolve, it may be remarked, which it would have been better to have made at first. he swam to the knotted reed, considered well the position he had occupied when his loss occurred, took an aim at a definite spot with his head, and went down. the result was that his hands grasped the stock of the gun the moment they reached the bottom. inflated with joy he leaped with it to the surface like a bladder; laid it carefully on the water-dress, and pushing the latter before him soon succeeded in getting hold of the dead swan. the bird was too heavy to be lifted on the float, he therefore grasped its neck with his teeth, and thus, heavily weighted, made for the shore. it will not surprise the reader to be told that benjy felt hungry as well as tired after these achievements, and this induced him to look anxiously for leo, and to wonder why the smoke of oblooria's cooking-lamp was not to be seen anywhere. the engrossing nature of the events just described had prevented our little hero from observing that a smart breeze had sprung up, and that heavy clouds had begun to drive across the hitherto blue sky, while appearances of a very squally nature were gathering on the windward horizon. moreover, while engaged in paddling among the reeds he had not felt the breeze. it was while taking off the water-tramp that he became fully alive to these facts. "that's it," he muttered to himself. "they've been caught by this breeze and been delayed by having had to pull against it, or perhaps the walruses gave them more trouble than they expected." appeasing his appetite as well as he could with this reflection, he left the water-tramp on the ground, with the dripping gun beside it, and hurried to the highest part of the island. although not much of an elevation, it enabled him to see all round, and a feeling of anxiety filled his breast as he observed that the once glassy sea was ruffled to the colour of indigo, while wavelets flecked it everywhere, and no boat was visible! "they may have got behind some of the islands," he thought, and continued his look-out for some time, with growing anxiety and impatience, however, because the breeze was by that time freshening to a gale. when an hour had passed away the poor boy became thoroughly alarmed. "can anything have happened to the boat?" he said to himself. "the india-rubber is easily cut. perhaps they may have been blown out to sea!" this latter thought caused an involuntary shudder. looking round, he observed that the depression of the sun towards the horizon indicated that night had set in. "this will never do," he suddenly exclaimed aloud. "leo will be lost. i _must_ risk it!" turning as he spoke, he ran back to the spot where he had left the water-dress, which he immediately put on. then, leaving gun and game on the beach, he boldly entered the sea, and struck out with feet and paddle for poloeland. although sorely buffeted by the rising waves, and several times overwhelmed, his waterproof costume proved well able to bear him up, and with comparatively little fatigue he reached the land in less than two hours. without waiting to take the dress off, he ran up to the eskimo village and gave the alarm. while these events were going on among the islets, captain vane and alphonse vandervell had been far otherwise engaged. "come, alf," said the captain, that same morning, after leo and his party had started on their expedition, "let you and me go off on a scientific excursion,--on what we may style a botanico-geologico-meteorological survey." "with all my heart, uncle, and let us take butterface with us, and oolichuk." "ay, lad, and ivitchuk and akeetolik too, and chingatok if you will, for i've fixed on a spot whereon to pitch an observatory, and we must set to work on it without further delay. indeed i would have got it into working order long ago if it had not been for my hope that the cessation of this miserable war would have enabled us to get nearer the north pole this summer." the party soon started for the highest peak of the island of poloe--or poloeland, as alf preferred to call it. oolichuk carried on his broad shoulders one of those mysterious cases out of which the captain was so fond of taking machines wherewith to astonish the natives. indeed it was plain to see that the natives who accompanied them on this occasion expected some sort of surprise, despite the captain's earnest assurance that there was nothing in the box except a few meteorological instruments. how the captain translated to the eskimos the word meteorological we have never been able to ascertain. his own explanation is that he did it in a roundabout manner which they failed to comprehend, and which he himself could not elucidate. on the way up the hill, alf made several interesting discoveries of plants which were quite new to him. "ho! stop, i say, uncle," he exclaimed for the twentieth time that day, as he picked up some object of interest. "what now, lad?" said the captain, stopping and wiping his heated brow. "here is another specimen of these petrifactions--look!" "he means a vegetable o' some sort turned to stone, chingatok," explained the captain, as he examined the specimen with an interested though unscientific eye. "you remember, uncle, the explanation i gave you some time ago," said the enthusiastic alf, "about professor heer of zurich, who came to the conclusion that primeval forests once existed in these now treeless arctic regions, from the fossils of oak, elm, pine, and maple leaves discovered there. well, i found a fossil of a plane leaf the other day,--not a very good one, to be sure--and now, here is a splendid specimen of a petrified oak-leaf. don't you trace it quite plainly?" "well, lad," returned the captain, frowning at the specimen, "i do believe you're right. there does seem to be the mark of a leaf there, and there is some ground for your theory that this land may have been once covered with trees, though it's hard to believe that when we look at it." "an evidence, uncle, that we should not be too ready to judge by appearances," said alf, as they resumed their upward march. the top gained, a space was quickly selected and cleared, and a simple hut of flat stones begun, while the captain unpacked his box. it contained a barometer, a maximum and minimum self-registering thermometer, wet and dry bulb, also a black bulb thermometer, a one-eighth-inch rain-gauge, and several other instruments. "i have another box of similar instruments, alf, down below," said the captain, as he laid them carefully out, "and i hope, by comparing the results obtained up here with those obtained at the level of the sea, to carry home a series of notes which will be of considerable value to science." when the captain had finished laying them out, the eskimos retired to a little distance, and regarded them for some minutes with anxious expectancy; but, as the strange things did not burst, or go up like sky-rockets, they soon returned with a somewhat disappointed look to their hut-building. the work was quickly completed, for eskimos are expert builders in their way, and the instruments had been carefully set up under shelter when the first symptoms of the storm began. "i hope the sportsmen have returned," said the captain, looking gravely round the horizon. "no doubt they have," said alf, preparing to descend the mountain. "leo is not naturally reckless, and if he were, the cautious anders would be a drag on him." an hour later they regained the eskimo village, just as benjy came running, in a state of dripping consternation, from the sea. need it be said that an instant and vigorous search was instituted? not only did a band of the stoutest warriors, headed by chingatok, set off in a fleet of kayaks, but the captain and his companions started without delay in the two remaining india-rubber boats, and, flying their kites, despite the risk of doing so in a gale, went away in eager haste over the foaming billows. after exerting themselves to the uttermost, they failed to discover the slightest trace of the lost boat. the storm passed quickly, and a calm succeeded, enabling them to prosecute the search more effectively with oar and paddle, but with no better result. day after day passed, and still no member of the band--englishman or eskimo--would relax his efforts, or admit that hope was sinking. but they had to admit it at last, and, after three weeks of unremitting toil, they were compelled to give up in absolute despair. the most sanguine was driven to the terrible conclusion that leo, anders, and timid little oblooria were lost. it was an awful blow. what cared alf or the captain now for discovery, or scientific investigation! the poor negro, who had never at any time cared for plants, rocks, or poles, was sunk in the profoundest depths of sorrow. benjy's gay spirit was utterly broken. oolichuk's hearty laugh was silenced, and a cloud of settled melancholy descended over the entire village of poloe. chapter twenty one. fate of the lost ones. leo, anders, and timid little oblooria, however, were not lost! their case was bad enough, but it had not quite come to that. on parting from benjy, as described in the last chapter, these three went after a walrus, which coquetted with them instead of attacking, and drew them a considerable distance away from the island. this would have been a matter of trifling import if the weather had remained calm, but, as we have seen, a sudden and violent gale arose. when the coming squall was first observed the boat was far to leeward of paradise isle, and as that island happened to be one of the most northerly of the group over which amalatok ruled, they were thus far to leeward of any land with the exception of a solitary sugar-loaf rock near the horizon. still leo and his companions were not impressed with any sense of danger. they had been so long accustomed to calms, and to moving about in the india-rubber boats by means of paddles with perfect ease and security, that they had half forgotten the force of wind. besides, the walrus was still playing with them provokingly--keeping just out of rifle-shot as if he had studied fire-arms and knew their range exactly. "the rascal!" exclaimed leo at last, losing patience, "he will never let us come an inch nearer." "try 'im once more," said anders, who was a keen sportsman, "push him, paddle strong. ho! oblooria, paddle hard and queek." although the interpreter, being in a facetious mood, addressed oblooria in english, she quite understood his significant gestures, and bent to her work with a degree of energy and power quite surprising in one apparently so fragile. leo also used his oars, (for they had both oars and paddles), with such good-will that the boat skimmed over the arctic sea like a northern diver, and the distance between them and the walrus was perceptibly lessened. "i don't like the looks o' the southern sky," said leo, regarding the horizon with knitted brows. "hims black 'nough--any'ow," said anders. "hold. i'll have a farewell shot at the brute, and give up the chase," said leo, laying down the oars and grasping his rifle. the ball seemed to take effect, for the walrus dived immediately with a violent splutter, and was seen no more. by this time the squall was hissing towards them so fast that the hunters, giving up all thought of the walrus, turned at once and made for the land, but land by that time lay far off on the southern horizon with a dark foam-flecked sea between it and them. "there's no fear of the boat, oblooria," said leo, glancing over his shoulder at the girl, who sat crouching to meet the first burst of the coming storm, "but you must hold on tight to the life-lines." there was no need to caution anders. that worthy was already on his knees embracing a thwart--his teeth clenched as he gazed over the bow. on it came like a whirlwind of the tropics, and rushed right over the low round gunwale of the boat, sweeping loose articles overboard, and carrying her bodily to leeward. leo had taken a turn of the life-lines round both thighs, and held manfully to his oars. these, after stooping to the first rush of wind and water, he plied with all his might, and was ably seconded by oblooria as well as by the interpreter, but a very few minutes of effort sufficed to convince them that they laboured in vain. they did not even "hold their own," as sailors have it, but drifted slowly, yet steadily, to the north. "it's impossible to make head against _this_," said leo, suddenly ceasing his efforts, "and i count it a piece of good fortune, for which we cannot be too thankful, that there is still land to leeward of us." he pointed to the sugar-loaf rock before mentioned, towards which they were now rapidly drifting. "nothing to eat dere. nothing to drink," said anders, gloomily. "oh! that won't matter much. a squall like this can't last long. we shall soon be able to start again for home, no doubt. i say, anders, what are these creatures off the point there? they seem too large and black for sea-birds, and not the shape of seals or walruses." the interpreter gazed earnestly at the objects in question for some moments without answering. the rock which they were quickly nearing was rugged, barren, and steep on its southern face, against which the waves were by that time dashing with extreme violence, so that landing there would have been an impossibility. on its lee or northern side, however they might count on quiet water. "we have nothing to fear," said leo, observing that oblooria was much agitated; "tell her so, anders; we are sure to find a sheltered creek of some sort on the other side." "i fear not the rocks or storm," replied the eskimo girl to anders. "it is grabantak, the chief of flatland, that i fear." "grabantak!" exclaimed anders and leo in the same breath. "grabantak is coming with his men!" poor little oblooria, whose face had paled while her whole frame trembled, pointed towards the dark objects which had already attracted their attention. they were by that time near enough to be distinguished, and as they came, one after another, round the western point of sugar-loaf rock, it was all too evident that the girl was right, and that the fleet of kayaks was probably bearing the northern savage and his men to attack the inhabitants of poloe. leo's first impulse was to seize his repeating rifle and fill its cartridge-chamber quite full. it may be well to observe here that the cartridges, being carried in a tight waterproof case, had not been affected by the seas which had so recently overwhelmed them. "what's de use?" asked anders, in an unusually sulky tone, as he watched the youth's action. "two men not can fight all de mans of flatland." "no, but i can pick off a dozen of them, one after another, with my good rifle, and then the rest will fly. grabantak will fall first, and his best men after him." this was no idle boast on the part of leo. he knew that he could accomplish what he threatened long before the eskimos could get within spear-throwing distance of his boat. "no use," repeated anders, firmly, still shaking his head in a sulky manner. "when you's bullets be done, more an' more inimies come on. then dey kill you, an' me, an' oblooria." leo laid down his weapon. the resolve to die fighting to the last was the result of a mere impulse of animal courage. second thoughts cooled him, and the reference to oblooria's fate decided him. "you are right, anders. if by fighting to the death i could save oblooria, it would be my duty as well as my pleasure to fight; but i see that i haven't the ghost of a chance against such a host as is approaching, and it would be simply revengeful to send as many as i can into the next world before going there myself. besides, it would exasperate the savages, and make them harder on the poor girl." in saying this leo was rather arguing out the point with himself than talking to the interpreter, who did not indeed understand much of what he said. having made up his mind how to act, leo stowed his precious rifle and ammunition in a small bag placed for that purpose under one of the thwarts, and, resuming the oars, prepared to meet his fate, whatever it should be, peacefully and unarmed. while thus drifting in silence before the gale, the thought suddenly occurred to leo, "how strange it is that i, who am a christian--in name at least--should feel as if it were absurd to pray for god's help at such a time as this! surely he who made me and these eskimos is capable of guarding us? the very least we can do is to ask him to guide us!" the youth was surprised at the thought. it had flashed upon him like a ray of light. it was not the first time that he had been in even more imminent danger than the present, yet he had never before thought of the necessity of asking help from god, as if he were really present and able as well as willing to succour. before the thought had passed he acted on it. he had no time for formal prayer. he looked up! it was prayer without words. in a few minutes more the boat was surrounded by the fleet of kayaks. there were hundreds of these tiny vessels of the north, each with its solitary occupant, using his double-bladed paddle vigorously. need we say that the strangers were at first gazed on with speechless wonder? and that the eskimos kept for some time hovering round them at a respectful distance, as if uncertain how to act, but with their war-spears ready? all the time the whole party drifted before the gale towards the island-rock. "anders," said leo, while the natives remained in this state of indecision, "my mind is made up as to our course of action. we will offer no resistance whatever to these fellows. we must be absolutely submissive, unless, indeed, they attempt to ill-treat oblooria, in which case of course we will defend her. do you hear?" this was said with such quiet decision, and the concluding question was put in such a tone, that the interpreter replied, "yis, sar," promptly. as leo made no sign of any kind, but continued to guide the boat steadily with the oars, as if his sole anxiety was to round the western point of the island and get into a place of shelter, the natives turned their kayaks and advanced along with him. naturally they fell into the position of an escort--a part of the fleet paddling on each side of the captives, (for such they now were), while the rest brought up the rear. "what ails oblooria, anders?" asked leo in a low tone. "what is the matter?" asked the interpreter, turning to the girl, who, ever since the approach of the eskimos, had crouched like a bundle in the bottom of the boat with her face buried in her hands. "there is no fear. grabantak is a man, not a bear. he will not eat you." "grabantak knows me," answered the poor girl, without lifting her head; "he came to poloe once, before the war, and wanted me to be the wife of his son. i want not his son. i want oolichuk!" the simplicity and candour of this confession caused leo to laugh in spite of himself, while poor little oblooria, who thought it no laughing matter, burst into tears. of course the men of flatland kept their eyes fixed in wide amazement on leo, as they paddled along, and this sudden laugh of his impressed them deeply, being apparently without a cause, coupled as it was with an air of absolute indifference to his probable fate, and to the presence of so many foes. even the ruthless land-hungerer, grabantak, was solemnised. in a few minutes the whole party swept round the point of rocks, and proceeded towards the land over the comparatively quiet waters of a little bay which lay under the lee of the sugar-loaf rock. during the brief period that had been afforded for thought, leo had been intently making his plans. he now proceeded to carry them out. "hand me the trinket-bundle," he said to anders. the interpreter searched in a waterproof pouch in the stern of the boat, and produced a small bundle of such trinkets as are known to be valued by savages. it had been placed and was always kept there by captain vane, to be ready for emergencies. "they will be sure to take everything from us at any rate," remarked leo, as he divided the trinkets into two separate bundles, "so i shall take the wind out of their sails by giving everything up at once with a good grace." the grabantaks, if we may so style them, drew near, as the fleet approached the shore, with increasing curiosity. when land was reached they leaped out of their kayaks and crowded round the strangers. it is probable that they would have seized them and their possessions at this point, but the tall strapping figure of leo, and his quiet manner, overawed them. they held back while the india-rubber boat was being carried by leo and anders to a position of safety. poor oblooria walked beside them with her head bowed down, shrinking as much as possible out of sight. everybody was so taken up with the strange white man that no one took any notice of her. no sooner was the boat laid down than leo taking one of the bundles of trinkets stepped up to grabantak, whom he easily distinguished by his air of superiority and the deference paid him by his followers. pulling his own nose by way of a friendly token, leo smiled benignantly in the chief's face, and opened the bundle before him. it is needless to say that delight mingled with the surprise that had hitherto blazed on the visage of grabantak. "come here, anders, and bring the other bundle with you. tell this warrior that i am very glad to meet with him." "great and unconquerable warrior," began the interpreter, in the dialect which he had found was understood, by the men of poloe, "we have come from far-off lands to bring you gifts--" "anders," said leo, whose knowledge of the eskimo tongue was sufficient, by that time, to enable him in a measure to follow the drift of a speech, "anders, if you don't tell him _exactly_ what i say i'll kick you into the sea!" as anders stood on a rock close to the water's edge, and leo looked unusually stern, he thereafter rendered faithfully what the latter told him to say. the speech was something to the following effect:-- "i am one of a small band of white men who have come here to search out the land. we do not want the land. we only want to see it. we have plenty of land of our own in the far south. we have been staying with the great chief amalatok in poloeland." at the mention of his enemy's name the countenance of grabantak darkened. without noticing this, leo went on:-- "when i was out hunting with my man and a woman, the wind arose and blew us hither. we claim your hospitality, and hope you will help us to get back again to poloeland. if you do so we will reward you well, for white men are powerful and rich. see, here are gifts for grabantak, and for his wife." this latter remark was a sort of inspiration. leo had observed, while anders was speaking, that a stout cheerful-faced woman had been pushing aside the men and gradually edging her way toward the eskimo chief with the air of a privileged person. that he had hit the mark was obvious, for grabantak turned with a bland smile, and hit his wife a facetious and rather heavy slap on the shoulder. she was evidently accustomed to such treatment, and did not wince. taking from his bundle a gorgeous smoking-cap richly ornamented with brilliant beads, leo coolly crowned the chief with it. grabantak drew himself up and tried to look majestic, but a certain twitching of his face, and sparkle in his eyes, betrayed a tendency to laugh with delight. fortunately, there was another cap of exactly the same pattern in the bundle, which leo instantly placed on the head of the wife--whose name he afterwards learned was merkut. the chief's assumed dignity vanished at this. with that childlike hilarity peculiar to the eskimo race, he laughed outright, and then, seizing the cap from merkut's head, put it above his own to the amusement of his grinning followers. leo then selected a glittering clasp-knife with two blades, which the chief seized eagerly. it was evidently a great prize--too serious a gift to be lightly laughed at. then a comb was presented to the wife, and a string of gay beads, and a pair of scissors. of course the uses of combs and scissors had he explained, and deep was the interest manifested during the explanation, and utter the forgetfulness of the whole party for the time being in regard to everything else in the world--oblooria included, who sat unnoticed on the rocks with her face still buried in her hands. when grabantak's possessions were so numerous that the hood of his coat, and the tops of his wife's boots were nearly filled with them, he became generous, and, prince-like, (having more than he knew what to do with), began to distribute things to his followers. among these followers was a tall and stalwart son of his own, to whom he was rather stern, and not very liberal. perhaps the chief wished to train him with spartan ideas of self-denial. perhaps he wanted his followers to note his impartiality. merkut did not, however, act on the same principles, for she quietly passed a number of valuable articles over to her dear son koyatuk, unobserved by his stern father. things had gone on thus pleasantly for some time; the novelty of the gifts, and the interest in their explanation having apparently rendered these people forgetful of the fact that they might take them all at once; when a sudden change in the state of affairs was wrought by the utterance of one word. "we must not," said leo to anders, looking at his follower over the heads of the eskimos, "forget poor little oblooria." "oblooria!" roared grabantak with a start, as if he had been electrified. "oblooria!" echoed koyatuk, glaring round. "oblooria!" gasped the entire band. another moment and grabantak, bursting through the crowd, leaped towards the crouching girl and raised her face. recognising her he uttered a yell which probably was meant for a cheer. hurrying the frightened girl into the circle through which he had broken, the chief presented her to his son, and, with an air worthy of a civilised courtier, said:-- "your _wife_, koyatuk--your oblooria!--looria!" he went over the last syllables several times, as if he doubted his senses, and feared it was too good news to be true. this formal introduction was greeted by the chief's followers with a series of wild shouts and other demonstrations of extreme joy. chapter twenty two. a fight in defence of woman, and rifle-shooting extraordinary. when the excitement had somewhat abated, leo stepped to the side of oblooria, and laying his hand on her shoulder said firmly, through anders:-- "pardon me, grabantak, this girl is _not_ the wife of koyatuk; she is my _sister_!" the chief frowned, clenched his teeth, and grasped a spear-- "when did kablunet men begin to have eskimo sisters?" "when they took all distressed women under their protection," returned leo promptly. "every woman who needs my help is my sister," he added with a look of self-sufficiency which he was far from feeling. this new doctrine obviously puzzled the chief, who frowned, smiled, and looked at the ground, as if in meditation. it seemed to afford great comfort to oblooria, who nestled closer to her champion. as for koyatuk, he treated the matter with an air of mingled surprise and scorn, but dutifully awaited his father's pleasure. koyatuk was physically a fine specimen of a savage, but his spirit was not equal to his body. like his father he was over six feet high, and firmly knit, being of both larger and stronger build than leo, whom he now regarded, and of course hated, as his rival--a contemptible one, no doubt; still--a rival. the warriors watched their chief in breathless suspense. to them it was a thoroughly new and interesting situation. that a white stranger, tall and active, but slender and very young, should dare single-handed to defy not only their chief, but, as it were, the entire tribe, including the royal family, was a state of things in regard to which their previous lives afforded no parallel. they could not understand it at all, and stood, as it were, in eager, open-mouthed, and one-legged expectation. at last grabantak looked up, as if smitten by a new idea, and spoke-- "can kablunet men fight?" he asked. "they love peace better than war," answered leo, "but when they see cause to fight they can do so." turning immediately to his son, grabantak said with a grim smile-- "behold your wife, take her!" koyatuk advanced. leo placed oblooria behind him, and, being unarmed, threw himself into a pugilistic posture of defence. the young eskimo laid one of his strong hands on the englishman's shoulder, intending to thrust him aside violently. leo was naturally of a tender disposition. he shrank from dealing a violent blow to one who had not the remotest idea of what was coming, or how to defend himself from the human fist when used as a battering-ram. but leo chanced to be, in a sense, doubly armed. during one of his holiday rambles in england he had visited cornwall, and there had learned that celebrated "throw" which consists in making your haunch a fulcrum, your right arm a lever, and your adversary a shuttlecock. he suddenly grasped his foe round the waist with one arm. next moment the grabantaks saw what the most imaginative among them had never till then conceived of--koyatuk's soles turned to the sky, and his head pointing to the ground! the moment following, he lay flat on his back looking upwards blankly. the huk! hi! ho! hooroos! that followed may be conceived, but cannot be described. some of the men burst into laughter, for anything ludicrous is irresistible to an eskimo of the very far north. a few were petrified. others there were who resented this indignity to the heir-apparent, and flourished their spears in a threatening manner. these last grabantak quieted with a look. the incident undoubtedly surprised that stern parent, but also afforded him some amusement. he said it was an insult that must be avenged. oddly enough he made use of an expression which sounded curiously familiar to leo's ears, as translated by anders. "the insult," said grabantak, "could only be _washed out in blood_!" strange, that simple savages of the far north should hold to that ridiculous doctrine. we had imagined that it was confined entirely to those further south, whose minds have been more or less warped by civilised usage. a ring was immediately formed, and poor leo now saw that the matter was becoming serious. he was on the eve of fighting an enforced duel in oblooria's service. while the savages were preparing the lists, and koyatuk, having recovered, was engaged in converse with his father, leo whispered to anders-- "perhaps oblooria has no objection to be the wife of this man?" but the poor girl had very strong objections. she was, moreover, so emphatic in her expressions of horror, and cast on her champion such a look of entreaty, that he would have been more than mortal had he refused her. it was very perplexing. the idea of killing, or being killed, in such a cause was very repulsive. he tried to reason with grabantak about the sin of injuring a defenceless woman, and the abstract right of females in general to have some say in the selection of their husbands, but grabantak was inexorable. "is the kablunet afraid?" he asked, with a glance of scornful surprise. "does he _look_ afraid?" returned leo, quietly. koyatuk now stepped into the middle of the ring of warriors, with a short spear in his right hand, and half-a-dozen spare ones in his left, whereby leo perceived that the battle before him was not meant to be a mere "exchange of shots," for the "satisfaction of honour." there was evidently no humbug about these eskimos. two men mounted guard over anders and oblooria, who, however, were allowed to remain inside the ring to witness the combat. a warrior now advanced to leo and presented him with a small bundle of spears. he took them almost mechanically, thanked the giver, and laid them down at his feet without selecting one. then he stood up, and, crossing his arms on his breast, gazed full at his opponent, who made a hideous face at him and flourished his spear. it was quite evident that the eskimos were perplexed by the white youth's conduct, and knew not what to make of it. the truth is that poor leo was almost beside himself with conflicting emotions and uncertainty as to what he ought to do. despite all that had taken place, he found it almost impossible to persuade himself that he was actually about to engage in mortal combat. he had not a vestige of angry feeling in his heart against the man whom he was expected to fight with to the death, and the extraordinary nature of the complex faces that koyatuk was making at him tended to foster the delusion that the whole thing was a farce--or a dream. then the knowledge that he could burst through the ring, get hold of his rifle, and sell his life dearly, or, perhaps, cause the whole savage tribe to fly in terror, was a sore temptation to him. all this, coupled with the necessity for taking instant and vigorous action of some sort, was enough to drive an older head distracted. it did drive the blood violently to the youth's face, but, by a powerful effort of self-restraint, he continued to stand perfectly still, like a living statue, facing the eskimo. at last koyatuk became tired of making useless faces at his rival. suddenly poising his spear, he launched it. had leo's eye been less quick, or his limbs less active, that spear had laid him low for ever. he had barely time to spring aside, when the weapon passed between his side and his left arm, grazing the latter slightly, and drawing blood which trickled to the ends of his fingers. there could be no further doubt now about the nature of the fight. catching up a spear from the bundle at his feet he was just in time to receive the eskimo, who sprang in on him with the intention of coming at once to close quarters. his rush was very furious; probably with a view to make it decisive. but the agile leo was equal to the occasion. bending suddenly so low as to be quite under his opponent's desperate thrust, he struck out his right leg firmly. koyatuk tripped over it, and ploughed the land for some yards with his hands, head, and knees. considerably staggered in mind and body by the fall, he sprang up with a roar, and turned to renew the attack. leo was ready. the eskimo, by that time mad with pain, humiliation, and rage, exercised no caution in his assault. he rushed at his rival like a mad bull. our englishman saw his opportunity. dropping his own spear he guarded the thrust of his adversary's with his right arm, while, with his left fist, he planted a solid blow on koyatuk's forehead. the right fist followed the left like the lightning flash, and alighted on koyatuk's nose, which, flat by nature, was rendered flatter still by art. indeed it would be the weakest flattery to assert that he had any nose at all after receiving that blow. it was reduced to the shape of a small pancake, from the two holes in which there instantly spouted a stream of blood so copious that it drenched alike its owner and his rival. after giving him this double salute, leo stepped quickly aside to let him tumble forward, heels over head, which he did with the only half-checked impetuosity of his onset, and lay prone upon the ground. "there, anders," said the victor, turning round as he pointed to his prostrate foe, "surely grabantak's son has got enough of blood now to wipe out all the insults he ever received, or is likely to receive, from me." grabantak appeared to agree to this view of the case. that he saw and relished the jest was obvious, for he burst into an uproarious fit of laughter, in which his amiable warriors joined him, and, advancing to leo, gave him a hearty slap of approval on the shoulder. at the same time he cast a look of amused scorn on his fallen son, who was being attended to by merkut. it may be observed here that merkut was the only woman of the tribe allowed to go on this war-expedition. being the chief's wife, she had been allowed to do as she pleased, and it was her pleasure to accompany the party and to travel like the warriors in a kayak, which she managed as well as the best of them. grabantak now ordered his men to encamp, and feed till the gale should abate. then, calling leo and the interpreter aside, he questioned them closely as to the condition of the poloese and the numbers of the white men who had recently joined them. of course leo made anders give him a graphic account of the preparations made by his enemies to receive him, in the hope that he might be induced to give up his intentions, but he had mistaken the spirit of the eskimo, who merely showed his teeth, frowned, laughed in a diabolic manner, and flourished his spear during the recital of amalatok's warlike arrangements. he wound up by saying that he was rejoiced to learn all that, because it would be all the more to his credit to make his enemy go down on his knees, lick the dust, crawl in his presence, and otherwise humble himself. "but tell him, anders," said leo, earnestly, "that my white brothers, though few in number, are very strong and brave. they have weapons too which kill far off and make a dreadful noise." grabantak laughed contemptuously at this. "does the kablunet," he asked, "think i am afraid to die--afraid of a noise? does he think that none but white men can kill far off?" as he spoke he suddenly hurled his spear at a gull, which, with many others, was perched on a cliff about thirty yards off, and transfixed it. "go to the boat, anders, and fetch my rifle," said leo in a low tone. when the rifle was brought a crowd of eskimos came with it. they had been closely observing their chief and the stranger during the conference, but remained at a respectful distance until they saw something unusual going on. "tell the chief," said leo, "to look at that peak with the solitary gull standing on it." he pointed to a detached cone of rock upwards of two hundred yards distant. when the attention of the whole party was concentrated on the bird in question, leo took a steady aim and fired. need we say that the effect of the shot was wonderful? not only did the braves utter a united yell and give a simultaneous jump, but several of the less brave among them bolted behind rocks, or tumbled in attempting to do so, while myriads of sea-fowl, which clustered among the cliffs, sprang from their perches and went screaming into the air. at the same time echoes innumerable, which had lain dormant since creation, or at best had given but sleepy response to the bark of walruses and the cry of gulls, took up the shot in lively haste and sent it to and fro from cliff to crag in bewildering continuation. "wonderful!" exclaimed grabantak in open-mouthed amazement, when he beheld the shot gull tumbling from its lofty perch, "do it again." leo did it again--all the more readily that another gull, unwarned by its predecessor's fate, flew to the conical rock at the moment, and perched itself on the same peak. it fell, as before, and the echoes were again awakened, while the sea-birds cawed and screamed more violently than ever. the timid ones among the braves, having recovered from their first shock, stood fast this time, but trembled much and glared horribly. the chief, who was made of sterner stuff than many of his followers; did not move, though his face flushed crimson with suppressed emotion. as to the sea-birds, curiosity seemed to have overcome fear, for they came circling and wheeling overhead in clouds so dense that they almost darkened the sky--many of them swooping close past the eskimos and then shearing off and up with wild cries. an idea suddenly flashed into leo's head. pointing his rifle upwards he began and continued a rapid fire until all the bullets in it, (ten or twelve), were expended. the result was as he had expected. travelling through such a dense mass of birds, each ball pierced we know not how many, until it absolutely rained dead and wounded gulls on the heads of the natives, while the rocks sent forth a roar of echoes equal to a continuous fire of musketry. it was stupendous! nothing like it had occurred in the polar regions since the world first became a little flattened at the poles! nothing like it will happen again until the conjunction of a series of similar circumstances occurs. the timid braves lost heart again and dived like the coneys into holes and corners of the rocks. others stood still with chattering teeth. even grabantak wavered for a moment. but it was only for a moment. recovering himself he uttered a mighty shout; then he yelled; then he howled; then he slapped his breast and thighs; then he seized a smallish brave near him by the neck and hurled him into the sea. having relieved his feelings thus he burst into a fit of laughter such as has never been equalled by the wildest maniac either before or since. suddenly he calmed, stepped up to leo, and wrenched the rifle from his grasp. "i will do that!" he cried, and held the weapon out at arms-length in front of his face with both hands; but there was no answering shot. "why does it not bark?" he demanded, turning to leo sternly. "it will only bark at my bidding," said leo, with a significant smile. "bid it, then," said the chief in a peremptory tone, still holding the rifle out. "you must treat it in the right way, otherwise it will not bark. i will show you." having been shown how to pull the trigger, the chief tried again, but a sharp click was the only reply. grabantak having expected a shot, he nervously dropped the rifle, but leo was prepared, and caught it. "you must not be afraid of it; it cannot work properly if you are afraid. see, look there," he added, pointing to the conical rock on which another infatuated gull had perched himself. grabantak looked earnestly. his timid braves began to creep out of their holes, and directed their eyes to the same spot. while their attention was occupied leo managed to slip a fresh cartridge into the rifle unobserved. "now," said he, handing the rifle to the chief, "try again." grabantak, who was not quite pleased at the hint about his being afraid, seized the rifle and held it out as before. resolved to maintain his reputation for coolness, he said to his followers in imitation of leo:-- "do you see that gull?" "huk!" replied the warriors, with eager looks. leo thought of correcting his manner of taking aim, but, reflecting that the result would be a miss in any case, he refrained. grabantak raised the rifle slowly, as its owner had done, and frowned along the barrel. in doing so, he drew it back until the butt almost touched his face. then he fired. there was a repetition of previous results with some differences. the gull flew away from the rock unhurt; one of the braves received the bullet in his thigh and ran off shrieking with agony, while the chief received a blow from the rifle on the nose which all but incorporated that feature with his cheeks, and drew from his eyes the first tears he had ever shed since babyhood. that night grabantak sat for hours staring in moody silence at the sea, tenderly caressing his injured nose, and meditating, no doubt, on things past, present, and to come. chapter twenty three. leo visits flatland and sees as well as hears much to interest him there. the result of grabantak's meditation was that, considering the nature and wonderful weapons of the men by whom amalatok had been reinforced, he thought it advisable to return to his own land, which was not far distant, for the purpose of adding to the force with which he meant to subjugate the men of poloe. "we are unconquerable," he said, while conversing on the situation with teyma, his first lieutenant, or prime minister; "everybody knows that we are invincible. it is well-known that neither white men, nor yellow men,--no, nor black men, nor blue men,--can overcome the flatlanders. we must keep up our name. it will not do to let the ancient belief die down, that one flatlander is equal to three men of poloe, or any other land." "the poloe men laugh in their boots when they hear us boast in this way," said teyma gently. we draw attention to the curious resemblance in this phrase to our more civilised "laughing in the sleeve," while we point out that the prime minister, although of necessity a man of war, was by nature a man of peace. indeed his name, teyma, which signifies peace, had been given him because of his pacific tendencies. "what! would you not have me defend the flatland name?" demanded grabantak, fiercely. "no, i would have you defend only the flatland property," replied the blunt minister. "and is not puiroe my property?" growled grabantak, referring to the barren rock which was the cause of war. "so is _that_ your property," said teyma, picking up a stone, "and yet i treat it thus!" (he tossed it contemptuously into the sea.) "is that worth flatlander blood? would you kill me for _that_? shall eskimo wives and mothers weep, and children mourn and starve for a useless rock in the sea." "you always thwart me, teyma," said grabantak, trying to suppress a burst of wrath, which he was well aware his fearless minister did not mind in the least. "it is true this island is not worth the shake of a puffin's tail; but if we allow the poloe men to take it--" "to keep it," mildly suggested teyma, "they have long had it." "well, to keep it, if you will," continued the chief testily; "will not other tribes say that the old name of the flatlanders is dead, that the war-spirit is gone, that they may come and attack us when they please; for we cannot defend our property, and they will try to make us slaves? what! shall flatlanders become slaves? no never, never, _never_!" cried grabantak, furiously, though unconsciously quoting the chorus of a well-known song. "no, _never_," re-echoed teyma with an emphatic nod, "yet there are many steps between fighting for a useless rock, and being made slaves." "well then," cried grabantak, replying to the first part of his lieutenant's remark and ignoring the second, "we must fight to prove our courage. as to losing many of our best men, of course we cannot help that. then we must kill, burn, and destroy right and left in poloeland, to prove our power. after that we will show the greatness of our forbearance by letting our enemies alone. perhaps we may even condescend to ask them to become our friends. what an honour that would be to them, and, doubtless, what a joy!" "grabantak," said teyma with a look and tone of solemnity which invariably overawed his chief, and made him uncomfortable, "you have lived a good many years now. did you ever make a friend of an enemy by beating him?" "of course not," said the other with a gesture of impatience. "grabantak, you had a father." "yes," said the chief, with solemn respect. "and _he_ had a father." "true." "and he, too, had a father." "well, i suppose he had." "of course he had. all fathers have had fathers back and back into the mysterious longtime. if not, where did our tales and stories come from? there are many stories told by fathers to sons, and fathers to sons, till they have all come down to us, and what do these stories teach us? that all fighting is bad, except what _must_ be. even what _must_ be is bad--only, it is better than some things that are worse. loss of life, loss of country, loss of freedom to hunt, and eat, and sleep, are worse. we must fight for these--but to fight for a bare rock, for a name, for a coast, for a fancy, it is foolish! and when you have got your rock, and recovered your name, and pleased your fancy, do the brave young men that are dead return? do the maidens that weep rejoice? do the mothers that pine revive? of what use have been all the wars of flatland from longtime till now? can you restore the mountain-heaps of kayaks, and oomiaks, and spears, and walrus-lines, from the smoke into which they vanished! can you recall the great rivers of whale-oil from the sea into which they have been poured, or the blood of men from the earth that swallowed it? is not war _always_ loss, loss, loss, and _never_ gain? why cannot we live at peace with those who will, and fight only with those who insist on war." "go, teyma, stop your mouth with blubber," said the chief, rising; "i am weary of you. i tell you, amalatok shall die; puiroe shall be mine. the tribes shall all learn to tremble at the name of grabantak and to respect the men of flatland." "ay, and to love them too, i suppose," added teyma with a facetious sneer. "boo!" replied his chief, bringing the conversation to an abrupt close by walking away. in accordance with their chief's resolve, the grabantak band embarked in their kayaks next morning, the gale having moderated, and with the intention of obtaining reinforcements, paddled back to flatland, which they reached in a couple of days. on the voyage leo confined himself strictly to the oars and paddles, being unwilling to let the eskimos into the secret of the kite, until he could do so with effect, either in the way of adding to their respect for the white man and his contrivances, or of making his escape. now, as has been said or hinted, although grabantak's son, koyatuk, was a stout and tall man, he was not gifted with much brain. he possessed even less of that substance than his father, whose energy and power of muscle, coupled with indomitable obstinacy, enabled him to hold the reins of government which were his by hereditary right. besides being a fearless man, grabantak was respected as a good leader in war. but koyatuk had neither the energy of his father, nor his determination. he was vacillating and lazy, as well as selfish. hence he was not a favourite, and when, after landing at flatland, he endeavoured to renew his claim to oblooria, neither his father nor the people encouraged him. the timid one was therefore left with leo and anders, who immediately fitted up for her a separate screened-off apartment in the hut which was assigned to them in the native village. even koyatuk's mother did not befriend her son on this occasion. merkut had her own reasons for proving faithless to her spoilt boy, whom on most occasions she favoured. knowing his character well, the sturdy wife of grabantak had made up her mind that koyatuk should wed a young intelligent, and what you may call lumpy girl named chukkee, who was very fond of the huge and lazy youth, and who, being herself good-natured and unselfish, would be sure to make him a good wife. after one or two unavailing efforts, therefore, and a few sighs, the heir-apparent to the throne of flatland ceased to trouble oblooria, and devoted himself to his three favourite occupations--hunting, eating, and repose. "misser lo," whispered anders, on the first night after landing, as they busied themselves with the partition above referred to, "we 'scapes from dis here land very easy." "how, anders?" "w'y, you's on'y got wait for nort' vint, den up kite, launch boat, an'--hup! away." "true, lad, but i don't want to escape just yet." "not want to 'scape?" "no. you see, anders, we are now on very friendly terms with this tribe, and it seems to me that if we were to remain for a time and increase our influence, we might induce grabantak to give up this war on which he seems to have set his heart. i have great hopes of doing something with teyma. he is evidently a reasonable fellow, and has much power, i think, with the chief--indeed with every one. pity that he is not to succeed grabantak instead of that stupid koyatuk. besides, now i am here i must explore the land if possible. it is a pity no doubt to leave our friends, even for a short time, in ignorance of our fate, but we can't help that at present. light the lamp, anders, and let's see what we're about." the summer was by that time so far advanced that the sun descended a considerable way below the horizon each night, leaving behind a sweet mellow twilight which deepened almost into darkness inside the eskimo huts. these latter, like those already described, were made of stone, and the small openings that served for windows did not let in much light at any time. the hut which had been assigned by grabantak to his prisoners--or visitors, for as such he now seemed to regard them--was a large roomy one, made chiefly of clay. it stood on a little mound a hundred yards or so apart from the main village of flatland, and was probably one of the chief's private palaces. it was oval in form--like a huge oven-- about fifteen feet in diameter, and six feet in height. one-half of the floor was raised about eight inches, thus forming the "breck," which served for a lounge by day, and a couch by night. its furniture of skins, cooking-lamp, etcetera, was much the same as that of the eskimo huts already described, except that the low tunnel-shaped entrance was very long--about twelve feet. light was admitted by a parchment-covered hole or window, with several rents in it, as well as by various accidental holes in the roof. when the lamp was lighted, and skins were spread on the breck, and leo, having finished the partition, was busy making entries in a note-book, and anders was amusing himself with a tobacco pipe--foolish man! and oblooria was devoting herself to the lamp, from which various charming sounds and delicious smells emanated--as well as smoke--this northern residence looked far more cheerful and snug than the luxurious dwellers in civilised lands will readily believe. "i wonder," said leo, looking up from his book after a prolonged silence, "i wonder what strange sounds are those i hear." "p'r'aps it's de vint," said anders, puffing a cloud from his lips in sleepy contentment, and glancing upwards. when he and leo looked at the roof of the hut it shook slightly, as if something had fallen on it. "strange," muttered leo, reverting to his notebook, "it did not look like wind when the sun went down. it must be going to blow hard." after a few minutes of silence leo again looked up inquiringly. "dere's anoder squall," said anders. "more like a sneeze than a squall. listen; that is a queer pattering sound." they listened, but all was silent. after a minute or so they resumed their occupations. the sounds were, however, no mystery to those who were in the secret of them. knowing the extreme curiosity of his countrymen, grabantak had placed a sentinel over his guests' hut, with orders to let no one go near it. the sentinel entered on his vigil with that stern sense of duty-unto-death that is supposed to animate all sentinels. at first the inhabitants of flatland kept conscientiously away from the forbidden spot, but as the shades of night toned down the light, some of them could not resist drawing near occasionally and listening with distended eyes, ears, and nostrils, as if they expected to drink in foreign sounds at all these orifices. the sentinel grasped his spear, steeled his heart, and stood in front of the door with a look of grand solemnity worthy of the horse-guards. at last, however, the sentinel's own curiosity was roused by the eager looks of those--chiefly big boys--who drew ever nearer and nearer. occasional sounds from the hut quickened his curiosity, and the strange smell of tobacco-smoke at last rendered it unbearable. slowly, sternly, as if it were part of his duty to spy, he moved to the torn window and peeped in. he was fascinated at once of course. after gazing for five minutes in rapt admiration, he chanced to withdraw his face for a moment, and then found that nine eskimos had discovered nine holes or crevices in the hut walls, against which their fat faces were thrust, while at least half-a-dozen others were vainly searching for other peep-holes. a scarcely audible hiss caused the rapt nine to look up. a terrible frown and a shake of the official spear caused them to retire down the slope that led to the hut. this was the unaccountable "squall" that had first perplexed leo and his comrade. but like tigers who have tasted blood, the flatlanders could not now be restrained. "go!" said the sentinel in a low stern voice to the retreating trespassers, whom he followed to the foot of the slope. "if you come up again i will tell grabantak, who will have you all speared and turned into whale-buoys." the boys did not appear to care much for the threat. they were obviously buoyed up with hope. "oh! do, _do_ let us peep! just once!" entreated several of them in subdued but eager tones. the sentinel shook his obdurate head and raised his deadly spear. "we will make no noise," said a youth who was the exact counterpart of benjamin vane in all respects except colour and costume--the first being dirty yellow and the latter hairy. the sentinel frowned worse than ever. "the kablunets," said another of the band, entreatingly, "shall hear nothing louder than the falling of a snow-flake or a bit of eider-down." still the sentinel was inexorable. the eskimos were in despair. suddenly benjy's counterpart turned and fled to the village on light and noiseless toe. he returned immediately with a rich, odorous, steaming piece of blubber in his hand. it was a wise stroke of policy. the sentinel had been placed there without any reference to the fact that he had not had his supper. he was ravenously hungry. can you blame him for lowering his spear, untying his eyebrows, and smiling blandly as the held out his hand? "just one peep, and it is yours," said the counterpart, holding the morsel behind him. "my life is in danger if i do," remonstrated the sentinel. "your supper is in danger if you don't," said the counterpart. it was too much for him. the sentinel accepted the bribe, and, devouring it, returned with the bribers on tiptoe to the hut, where they gazed in silent wonder to their hearts' content. "well, that beats everything," said leo, laying down his book and pencil, "but i never did hear a gale that panted and snorted as this one does. i'll go out and have a look at it." he rose and crawled on hands and knees through the tunnel. the spies rolled off the hut with considerable noise and fled, while the sentinel resuming his spear and position, tried to look innocent. while he was explaining to anders why he was there, grabantak himself walked up, accompanied by his lieutenant. they were hospitably entertained, and as oblooria had by that time prepared a savoury mess, such as she knew the white men loved, the chief and teyma condescended to sup with their captive-guests. leo had not with him the great cooking machine with which his uncle had effected so much in poloeland, but he had a tin kettle and a couple of pannikins, with some coffee, sugar, and biscuit, which did good service in the way of conciliating, if not surprising, the chief of flatland. both he and his lieutenant, moreover, were deeply interested in anders's proceedings with the pipe. at first they supposed he was conducting some religious ceremony, and looked on with appropriate solemnity, but, on being informed of the mistake, grabantak smiled graciously and requested a "whiff." he received one, and immediately made such a hideous face that anders could not restrain a short laugh, whereupon the chief hit him over the head with his empty pannikin, but, after frowning fiercely, joined in the laugh. leo then began to question the chief about the land over which he ruled, and was told that it was a group of islands of various sizes, like the group which belonged to amalatok, but with more islands in it; that most of these islands were flat, and covered with lakes, large and small, in which were to be found many animals, and birds as numerous almost as the stars. "ask him from what direction these birds come," said leo, pulling out his pocket-compass and expecting that grabantak would point to the south; but the chief pointed to the north, then to the south, then to the east, and then to the west! "what does he mean? i don't understand him," said leo. "the birds come from _everywhere_--from all round. they come here to breed," said the chief, spreading his hands round him and pointing in all directions. "then, when the young are strong and the cold season begins, they spread the wing and go away there--to _every_ place--all round." "anders," said leo impressively, "do you know i think we have actually arrived at the immediate region of the north pole! what the chief says almost settles the question. this, you see, must be the warmest place in the polar regions; the central spot around the pole to which migratory birds flock from the south. if voyagers, crossing the arctic circle at _all_ parts, have observed these birds ever flying _north_, it follows that they _must_ have some meeting-place near the pole, where they breed and from which they depart in autumn. well, according to grabantak, _this_ is the meeting-place, therefore _this_ must be near the pole! how i wish uncle were here!" leo had been more than half soliloquising; he now looked up and burst into a laugh, for the interpreter was gazing at him with an expression of blank stupidity. "you's kite right, missr lo," he said at last, with a meek smile, "kite right, no doubt; only you's too clibber for _me_." "well, anders, i'll try not to be quite so clibber in future; but ask grabantak if he will go with me on an expedition among these islands. i want very much to examine them all." "examine them all!" repeated the chief with emphasis when this was translated; "tell the young kablunet with the hard fist, that the sunless time would come and go, and the sun-season would come again, before he could go over half my lands. besides, i have more important work to do. i must first go to poloeland, to kill and burn and destroy. after that i will travel with hardfist." hardfist, as the chief had styled him in reference to his late pugilistic achievements, felt strongly inclined to use his fists on grabantak's skull when he mentioned his sanguinary intentions, but recalling alf's oft-quoted words, "discretion is the better part of valour," he restrained himself. he also entered into a long argument with the savage, in the hope of converting him to peace principles, but of course in vain. the chief was thoroughly bent on destroying his enemies. then, in a state of almost desperate anxiety, leo sought to turn him from his purpose by telling him about god the father, and the prince of peace, and, pulling out his bible, began to read and make anders interpret such passages of the word as bore most directly on his subject. while acting in this, to him, novel capacity as a teacher of god's word, leo more than once lifted up his heart in brief silent prayer that the spirit might open the heart of the savage to receive the truth. the chief and his lieutenant listened with interest and surprise. being savages, they also listened with profound respect to the young enthusiast, but grabantak would not give up his intention. he explained, however, that he meant first to go to the largest and most central island of his dominions, to make inquiry there of the man of the valley what would be the best time to set out for the war. "the man of the valley!" asked leo, "who is that?" "he is an eskimo," replied grabantak, with a sudden air of solemnity in his manner, "whose first forefather came in the far past longtime, from nobody knows where; but this first forefather never had any father or mother. he settled among the eskimos and taught them many things. he married one of their women, and his sons and daughters were many and strong. their descendants inhabit the great isle of flatland at the present day. they are good and strong; great hunters and warriors. the first forefather lived long, till he became white and blind. his power and wisdom lay in a little strange thing which he called `buk.' how it made him strong or wise no one can tell, but so it was. his name was makitok. when he died he gave _buk_ to his eldest son. it was wrapped up in a piece of sealskin. the eldest son had much talk with his father about this mystery-thing, and was heard to speak much about the kablunets, but the son would never tell what he said. neither would he unwrap the mystery-thing, for fear that its power might escape. so he wrapped it up in another piece of sealskin, and gave it to his eldest son, telling him to hand it down from son to son, along with the name makitok. so _buk_ has grown to be a large bundle now, and no one understands it, but every one has great reverence for it, and the makitok now in possession is a great mystery-man, very wise; we always consult him on important matters." here was food for reflection to leo during the remainder of that night, and for many hours did his sleepless mind puzzle over the mystery of makitok, the man of the valley. this sleepless condition was, not unpleasantly, prolonged by the sounds of animal life that entered his oven-like dwelling during great part of the night. evidently great numbers of the feathered tribes were moving about, either because they meant to retire at dissipatedly late, or had risen at unreasonably early, hours. among them he clearly distinguished the musical note of the long-tailed duck and the harsh scream of the great northern diver, while the profound calmness of the weather enabled him to hear at intervals the soft blow and the lazy plash of a white whale, turning, it might be, on his other side in his water-bed on the arctic sea. following the whale's example, leo turned round at last, buried his face in a reindeer pillow, and took refuge in oblivion. chapter twenty four. a glorious region contemplated, and a glorious chase planned. leo did not slumber long. very early in the morning he awoke with that sensation about him which told that at that time further repose was not attainable. he therefore rose, donned the few garments which he had put off on lying down, crept through his tunnel, and emerged into the open air. and what a vision of glorious beauty met his enraptured eyes, while the fresh sea-breeze entered, like life, into his heaving chest! it was still a profound calm. earth, air, water, sky, seemed to be uniting in a silent act of adoration to their great creator, while the myriad creatures therein contained were comparatively quiet in the enjoyment of his rich and varied bounties. it seemed as if the hour were too early for the strife of violent passions--too calm for the stirrings of hatred or revenge. everything around spoke only of peace. sitting down with his back to a sun-bathed rock, and his face to the silver sea, leo drew out his bible and proceeded to read the records of the prince of peace. as he lifted his eyes from the words, "marvellous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well," to the vision of beauty and life that lay before him, leo made the words and the thought, for the first time, _his own_. the prospect embraced innumerable islands of all sizes, studding like gems the gently-heaving sea. over these, countless millions of sea-birds flew or sailed to and fro; some with the busy fluttering of activity, as if they had something to do and a mind to do it; others loitering idly on the wing, or dipping lightly on the wave, as if to bid their images good-morning. burgomaster, yellow-legged, and pink-beaked gulls, large and small, wheeled in widening circles round him. occasional flocks of ptarmigan, in the mixed brown and white plumage of summer, whirred swiftly over him and took refuge among the rocky heights of the interior, none of which heights rose above three hundred feet. eider-ducks, chattering kittiwakes, and graceful tern, auks, guillemots, puffins, geese, and even swans, swarmed on the islands, far and near, while seals, whales, narwhals, dolphins, and grampuses, revelled in the sea, so that the arctic world appeared almost overcharged with animal life. of course the noise of their cries and evolutions would have been great had not distance lent enchantment to sound as well as view. to leo there seemed even a sort of restfulness in the voices of the innumerable wild-fowl. they were so far off, most of them, that the sounds fell on his ear like a gentle plaint, and even the thunderous plash of the great greenland whale was reduced by distance to a ripple like that which fell on the shore at his feet. while he was meditating, anders joined him and responded heartily to his salutation, but anders was not in a poetical frame of mind that morning. his thoughts had been already turned to an eminently practical subject. "i'm tole," said he, seating himself beside our hero, "dat grabantak holds a talk 'bout fighting." "and a council of war," said leo. "i know what the result of that will be. when leaders like grabantak and amalatok decide for war, most of the people follow them like a flock of sheep. although most of the people never saw this miserable island--this puiroe--and know, and care, nothing about it, you'll see that the flatlanders will be quite enthusiastic after the council, and ready to fight for it to the bitter end. a very bitter end it is, indeed, to see men and women make fools of themselves about nothing, and be ready to die for the same! will grabantak allow us to be present at the council, think you?" "ho yis. he send me to say you muss come." leo was right. nothing could surpass the impetuosity of grabantak, except the anxiety of many of the flatlanders to be led by the nose. was not the point in question one of vital importance to the wellbeing of the community--indeed of the whole arctic world? teyma mildly asked them what _was_ the point in question, but not a soul could tell, until grabantak, starting up with furious energy, manufactured a "point," and then explained it in language so intricate, yet so clear, that the whole council stood amazed at their never having seen it before in that light, and then said, more or less emphatically, "there, that's what we thought exactly, only we could not state it so well as the great grabantak!" after this there was no chance for teyma and his party--and he had a party, even among northern savages,--who believed in men working hard at their own affairs and letting other people alone, as far as that was possible. but the peace-party in arctic land was in a minority at that time, and the council broke up with shouts for grabantak, and denunciations of death and destruction to the men of poloeland. but things do not always turn out as men--even wise men--arrange them. from that day, during the brief period of preparation for the setting out of an expedition to visit makitok of great isle, leo received daily visits from the prime minister, who was deeply interested and inquisitive about the strange "_thing_," as he styled the bible, which told the kablunets about god and the prince of peace. of course leo was willing and happy to give him all the information he desired, and, in doing so, found a new and deep source of pleasure. teyma was not the man to hide his light under a bushel. he was a fearless outspoken counsellor, and not only sought to advance the pacific views he held, by talking to the men of his own party in private, but even propounded them in public to grabantak himself, who, however, could not be moved, though many of his men quietly changed sides. with all this teyma was loyal to his chief. whatever he did was in the way of fair and open argument. he was too loyal to help leo when he made a certain proposal to him one day. "teyma," said leo, on that occasion, "you have been very friendly to me. will you do me a great favour? will you send a young man in a kayak to poloeland with a message from me to my people? they must think i am dead. i wish them to know that i am here, and well." "no," replied teyma promptly; "that would let the men of poloe know that we talk of going to attack them. i do not love war. i wish to let our enemies alone, but if my chief decides for war, it is my duty to help, not to frustrate him. if we go to war with poloeland, we must take the men of poloe by surprise. that could not be if a young man went with your message." leo saw the force of this, and respected teyma's disinterested loyalty to his chief; but felt inclined to argue that, fidelity to the best interests of his country stood higher than loyalty to a chief. he refrained, however, from pressing the matter at that time. not so anders. when that worthy saw that teyma would not act, and that leo from some inexplicable reason hesitated, he quietly took the matter into his own hands, and so wrought on the feelings of a weak but amiable youth of the tribe, that he prevailed on him to carry a message to the enemy, explaining to him earnestly that no evil, but the reverse, would result from his mission; that the kablunets were men of peace, who would immediately come over to flatland and put everything right in a peaceable and satisfactory manner. "tell the white men," said anders, "that we are prisoners in flatland-- alive and well--but they must come to help us quickly." no difficulty was experienced in sending the messenger away. there was unlimited personal freedom in flatland. young men frequently went off to hunt for days together at a time, without saying anything about their intentions, unless they chose; so the secret messenger set out. thus the interpreter lighted the fuse of a mine which was eminently calculated to blow up the plans of grabantak. but another fuse had been lighted which, in a still more effectual manner, overturned the plans of that warlike chief. it chanced at this time that the flatlanders ran short of meat. their habit was to go off on a grand hunt, gather as much meat as they could, and then come home to feast and rejoice with their families until scarcity again obliged them to hunt. of course there were many among them whose natural activity rebelled against this lazy style of life, but the exertions of these did not suffice to keep the whole tribe supplied. hence it came to pass, that they often began to be in want while in the midst of plenty. a grand hunt was therefore organised. they were tired, they said, of ducks and geese and swans. they wanted a change from seals and bears, walruses and such small fry. nothing short of a whale would serve them! once stirred up to the point of action, there was no lack of energy among these northern eskimos. kayaks, lines, and spears were got ready, and oomiaks were launched; for women and children loved to see the sport, though they did not join in it. everywhere bustle and excitement reigned, and the hubbub was not a little increased by the agitated dogs, which knew well what was a-foot, and licked their lips in anticipation. of course leo and anders prepared to go and see the fun. so did oblooria. it was arranged that leo and the latter were to go in the india-rubber boat. that vessel had been the source of deep, absorbing interest and curiosity to the natives. when our travellers landed, it had been conveyed to the side of the hut assigned them, and laid gently on the turf, where it was stared at by successive groups all day. they would have stayed staring at it all night, if they had not been forbidden by grabantak to approach the kablunets during the hours of repose. leo explained its parts to them, but made no reference to its expansive and contractile properties. he also launched it and paddled about to gratify the curiosity of his new friends, but did not show them the kite, which, folded and in its cover, he had stowed away in the hut. one night, fearing that the sun might injure the boat, leo had squeezed the air out of it, folded it, and stowed it away in the hut beside the kite. the astonishment of the natives, when they came out next morning to stare and wonder, according to custom, was very great. leo resolved to make a mystery of it, looked solemn when spoken to on the point, and gave evasive replies. when, however, the time came for setting off on this grand hunt, he carried his boat, still bundled up in skins, down to the water's edge, where kayaks and oomiaks in hundreds lay ready to be launched. the news spread like wild-fire that the kablunet was going to "act wonderfully!" every man, woman, and child in the place hurried to the spot. "it is destroyed!" exclaimed grabantak, sadly, when he saw the boat unrolled, flat and empty, on the sand. we shall not describe the scene in detail. it is sufficient to say that leo did not disappoint the general expectation. he did indeed "act wonderfully," filling the unsophisticated savages with unbounded surprise and admiration, while he filled the boat with air and launched it. he then stepped into it with anders, gallantly lifted oblooria on board, and, seizing the oars, rowed gently out to sea. with shouts of delight the eskimos jumped into their kayaks and followed. their admiration was, however, a little calmed by the discovery that the kayaks could beat the kablunet boat in speed, though the women in their oomiaks could not keep up with it. there was no emulation, however; leo carefully refrained from racing. he had been supplied with a long lance and a couple of spears, to which latter were attached, by thongs of walrus hide, two inflated sealskins to act as buoys. these leo had been previously instructed how to use. he took the kite with him on this occasion, without, however, having much expectation of being able to use it, as the calm still prevailed. it was folded of course, and fixed in its place in the bow. the natives thought it must be a spear or harpoon of strange form. it was not long before a whale was sighted. there were plenty of these monsters about, some coming lazily to the surface to blow, others lying quite still, with their backs out of the water as if sunning themselves, or asleep. soon the spirit of the hunter filled each eskimo bosom. what appeared to be an unusually large whale was observed on the horizon. kablunets, india-rubber boats, and all less important things, were forgotten for the moment; paddles were plied with energy, and the chase began. chapter twenty five. in which a great hunt is described, a war expedition frustrated, and a hero ennobled. now, in a fit of unwise ambition, anders the interpreter resolved to signalise himself, and display his valour on the occasion of this hunt. he borrowed a kayak of one of the natives, and went as an independent hunter. leo, being quite able to row his boat alone, with oblooria to steer, did not object. the whale which had been selected was a thorough-going arctic monster of the largest size, nearly a hundred feet long, which, while on his passage from the atlantic to the pacific through behring straits, had paused for a nap off the isles of flatland. the fleet of kayaks converged towards the fish like a flock of locusts. despite his utmost efforts, leo could not do more than keep up in rear of the hunters, for the sharp shuttle-like kayaks shot like arrows over the smooth sea, while his clumsier boat required greater force to propel it. in a few minutes those eskimos who were best paddlers crept ahead of the rest. grabantak and his son took the lead, whether because of right or because of superior strength it was hard to say. anders, who was a powerful fellow, and an expert canoeman, kept close alongside of them. not content with this, he attempted to pass them; but they saw his intention, put on what sporting men call a "spurt," and in a few seconds left him several yards behind. on nearing their victim, grabantak and koyatuk checked their speed and got their spears ready. a few minutes later and a dozen of the followers were up and prepared to act, but they all held back--all except the excitable anders--while the chief and his son glided cautiously towards the fish, one on either side. suddenly each grasped a spear and drove it with all the force of both arms deep into the whale's flesh. it was a rude awaking! of course the fish dived instantly. in doing so it flung its tail on high with a superb sweep, sending tons of water, and the impatient anders, into the air. the interpreter came down in a cataract of spray, with his kayak doubled up but himself uninjured, while the eskimos greeted the event with a shout of alarm. this changed into laughter when it was found that the ambitious man was none the worse for his toss; and the women in one of the oomiak; paddling quickly up, hauled the drenched and crestfallen man out of the sea. they also picked up his spear with the sealskin buoy attached. giving him the place of honour in the bow, they put the spear in his hand, and bade him keep up heart and do better next time. meanwhile the whale, having got over its first surprise, and feeling the two large sealskin-floats a somewhat heavy as well as unusual drag, soon came again to the surface, not far from the spot where leo lay on his oars, an amused as well as interested spectator of the scene. "ho!" shrieked oblooria, whose eager little heart was easily excited. she pointed to the fish, and gazed at leo with blazing eyes. you may be sure our hero did not lose time. the india-rubber boat leaped over the water as if it had suddenly been endowed with life. the smart little woman carefully arranged the spear and buoy ready to hand. several of the kayaks which chanced to be nearest to the whale rushed towards it like sword-fish; but they had no chance, leo being so near. he did not check his speed on reaching the fish, but allowed the boat to run tilt on its back. the smooth india-rubber glided up on the slippery surface till more than half its length was on the creature's back. it was thus checked without a shock--probably unfelt by the whale. leo seized the spear, leaped up, and, with both hands, drove it deep into the flesh, just as the chief and his son had done. the force with which he drove it was so great that it thrust the boat back into the water. this was fortunate, for it enabled them narrowly to escape the vortex that was instantly made by the diving of the now enraged monster; a few back-strokes of the oars took them out of the sea of foam left behind. the masterly manner in which this was done called forth shouts of admiration from the entire fleet, and it greatly surprised leo himself, for it was the first time he had attempted to use the harpoon. "it _must_ have been chance," he muttered to himself as he again lay on his oars awaiting the whale's reappearance, "a sort of happy accident. i feel convinced i could not do it so well a second time." the fish took a longer dive on this occasion, and when he retained to the surface for another breath of air, was at a considerable distance from all parts of the fleet. the instant he was seen, however, every paddle flashed into the sea, and the kayaks darted away in pursuit. they soon came up with their victim, and another spear, with its accompanying sealskin buoy, was fixed in its side. down it went a third time, and reappeared in quite an opposite direction from that in which it had been looked for. this uncertainty in the movements of the whale was a matter of small moment to the occupiers of the light kayaks, but it told rather heavily on leo in his clumsier boat. he therefore resolved to paddle gently about, take things easy, watch the progress of the chase, and trust to the chapter of accidents giving him another chance. "you see, oblooria," he said in the eskimo tongue, which he was picking up rapidly, "it's of no use my pulling wildly about in all directions, blowing myself for nothing; so we'll just hang off-and-on here and watch them." as this remark called for no direct reply, oblooria merely smiled-- indeed she more than smiled--but said nothing. it is just possible that leo's rendering of the phrase "off-and-on" into eskimo may have sounded ridiculous. however this may be, the two sat there for some time, absorbed and silent spectators of the chase. "how long will they take to kill it?" asked leo when he saw grabantak thrust somewhere about the thirty-fifth spear into the victim. "all day," answered oblooria. "all day!" repeated leo in surprise. "if they could lance him far in," said the girl, "he would die soon, but his flesh is thick and his life is deep down." leo relapsed into silence. the idea of remaining a mere spectator all day was distasteful to his active mind and body. he had almost made up his mind to ask one of the natives to lend him a kayak and change places, when a puff of wind sent a few cats-paws over the hitherto glassy sea. he looked quickly in the direction whence it came, and observed a blue line on the horizon. it was a coming breeze. ere long it touched them, blowing gently, indeed, but steadily. a glance upwards showed that it was steadier and stronger in the upper regions, and blew towards the south-east, in which direction the chase was being prosecuted with unflagging activity. "if there was only enough," muttered leo, "to take the kite up, i'd soon be alongside of the whale; come, i'll try. lend a hand, oblooria." the eskimo girl had, during her voyage to flatland, become so well acquainted with the operation of extending and setting up the kite, that she was able to lend effective assistance. in less than ten minutes it was expanded, and although leo was nearly pulled into the water before he got fair hold of the regulator, while oblooria was thrown down by an eccentric whisk of the tail, they managed at last to get it fairly over their heads, and soon sent it shooting upwards into the stronger air current above. of course they began to rush over the sea at a pace that would have quickly left the best kayak in the fleet far astern, but leo did not wish to act precipitately. he sat down in the bow to attend to the regulator, while oblooria held the steering-oar. "keep her away a bit, oblooria; starboard--i mean to _that_ side. so, we won't spoil their sport too soon." he pulled the regulator as he spoke, and eased the pace, while the eskimo girl, with eyes glittering from expectancy and hope, turned the boat off to the right. leo seemed to be meditative at first, as if uncertain how to proceed. soon this condition of mind passed. he let go the regulator, and, taking up the long whale lance with which he had been provided, examined its blade and point. the full force of the breeze filled the kite and carried them along at not less than ten miles an hour. hitherto the eskimos had been so intent on their prey that they had no eyes for anything else. again and again had the whale been pierced by the stinging harpoons, and the number of inflated sealskins which he was obliged by that time to drag down into the deep was so great that his dives had become more frequent and much shorter. it was obvious that the perseverance of his little foes would in the end overcome his mighty strength. it was equally evident, however, that there was still a great deal of fighting power left in him, and as some of the harpoons had come out while several of the floats had broken loose, there was just a possibility that he might yet escape if not vigorously followed up. suddenly one of the eskimos was seen to drop his paddle and point with both hands to the sky, uttering at the same time a cry of surprise and alarm. there was no mistaking the cry. every paddle ceased to dip, and every eye was turned to the sky. of course every voice gave forth a howl! "a mystery!" shouted grabantak. "an evil spirit!" cried koyatuk. "a new kind of bird!" roared teyma. at that moment a cry louder than ever arose. leo's boat was observed coming like a narwhal over the sea, with the foam flying from its bows! the "new kind of bird," so they at first imagined, had let down a long thin tail, caught the boat of the white man, and was flying away with it! into the midst of them the boat rushed. they dashed aside right and left. leo was standing in the bow. he moved not, spoke not, looked at no one, but stood up, bent a little forward, with a stern frown on his brow, his lips compressed, and the long lance held level in both hands as if in the act of charging. "catch hold of him!" yelled grabantak as they flew past. as well might they have tried to catch a comet! "steer a little to the left," said leo in a low tone. obedient, on the instant, the girl made a sharp stroke with the oar. "steady--so. now, oblooria, hold on tight for your life!" they were going straight at the whale. leo did not dare to think of the result of his intended attack. he could not guess it. he hoped all would be well. he had no time to think of _pros_ and _cons_. they were close to the victim. on it, now, sliding over its back, while the sharp lance entered its body with the full momentum of the charge,--deep down into its vitals! blood flew out like a waterspout. the lance was torn from leo's grasp as he fell backwards. oblooria leaped up, in wild excitement, dropped her oar, and clapped her hands. at that instant the stout traction-line snapped, and the boat remained fast, while the kite descended in a series of helpless gyrations into the sea. next moment the whale went down in a convulsive struggle, and the boat, with its daring occupants, was whelmed in a whirlpool of blood and foam. no cry proceeded from the eskimos during this stupendous attack. they seemed bereft alike of voice and volition, but, on beholding the closing catastrophe, they rushed to the rescue with a united roar. before they could gain the spot, leo was seen to emerge from the deep, dripping with pink and white foam like a very water-god. oblooria followed instantly, like a piebald water-nymph. the boat had not been upset, though overwhelmed, and they had held on to it with the tenacity of a last hope. looking sharply round, as he gasped and swept the water from his eyes, leo seized the oars, which, being attached to the boat, were still available, and rowed with all his might away from the approaching eskimos as if he were afraid of being caught by them. they followed with, if possible, increased surprise at this inexplicable conduct. they made up to him; some even shot ahead of him. poor leo was not a moment too soon in reaching his kite, for these people were about to transfix it with their whale-harpoons, when he dashed up and ordered them to desist. having rescued the miserable-looking thing from the sea and hastily folded it, he placed it in the bow. then breathing freely, he began to look about him just as the whale came again to the surface in a dying flurry. it so chanced that it came up right under grabantak's kayak, which it tossed up end over end. this would not have been a serious matter if it had not, the next moment, brought its mighty tail down on the canoe. it then sheered off a hundred yards or so, leaped half its length out of the water, and fell over on its side with a noise like thunder and died. every one turned to the place where the chief's kayak lay a complete wreck on the water. its owner was seen swimming beside it, and was soon hauled into one of the women's oomiaks. evidently he had been severely hurt, but he would not admit the fact. with characteristic dignity he sternly ordered the fleet to lay hold of the whale and make for the shore. "tell him his arm is broken," said leo that evening to anders, after examining the chief's hurts in the privacy of his own hut, "and let him know that i am a medicine-man and will try to cure him." grabantak received the information with a look of anger. "then," said he, "amalatok must live a little longer, for i cannot fight him with a broken arm. go," he added, looking full at leo with something like admiration, "go, you have done well to-day; my young men want to make your nose blue." the peremptory nature of the chief's command forbade delay. leo was therefore obliged to creep out of his hut, wondering intensely, and not a little uncomfortably, as to what having his nose made blue could mean. he was quickly enlightened by anders, who told him that the most successful harpooner in a whale hunt is looked on as a very great personage indeed, and is invariably decorated with what may be styled the eskimo order of the blue ribbon. scarcely had he received this information, when he was seized by the young men and hurried into the midst of an expectant circle, where he submitted with a good grace to the ceremony. a youth advanced to him, made a few complimentary remarks, seized him by the right ear, and, with a little wet paint, drew a broad blue line across his face over the bridge of his nose. he was then informed that he had received the highest honour known to the eskimos of the far north, and that, among other privileges, it gave him the right of marrying two wives if he felt disposed to do so! accepting the honour, but declining the privilege, leo expressed his gratitude for the compliment just paid him in a neat eskimo speech, and then retired to his hut in search of much-needed repose, not a little comforted by the thought that the chief's broken arm would probably postpone the threatened war for an indefinite period. that night ridiculous fancies played about his deerskin pillow, for he dreamed of being swallowed by a mad whale, and whisked up to the sky by a kite with a broken arm and a blue stripe across its nose! chapter twenty six. tells of a warlike expedition and its happy termination. while these stirring events were taking place in flatland, our friends in the island of poloe continued to fish and hunt, and keep watch and ward against their expected enemies in the usual fashion; but alas for the poor englishmen! all the light had gone out of their eyes; all the elasticity had vanished from their spirits. ah! it is only those who know what it is to lose a dear friend or brother, who can understand the terrible blank which had descended on the lives of our discoverers, rendering them, for the time at least, comparatively indifferent to the events that went on around them, and totally regardless of the great object which had carried them so far into those regions of ice. they could no longer doubt that leo and his companions had perished, for they had searched every island of the poloe group, including that one on which leo and the eskimos had found temporary refuge. here, indeed, a momentary gleam of hope revived, when alf found the spent cartridge-cases which his brother had thrown down on the occasion of his shooting for the purpose of impressing his captors, and they searched every yard of the island, high and low, for several days, before suffering themselves to relapse into the old state of despair. no evidence whatever remained to mark the visit of the eskimos, for these wily savages never left anything behind them on their war-expeditions, and the storm had washed away any footprints that might have remained in the hard rocky soil. amalatok--who, with his son and his men, sympathised with the englishmen in their loss, and lent able assistance in the prolonged search--gave the final death-blow to their hopes by his remarks, when captain vane suggested that perhaps the lost ones had been blown over the sea to flatland. "that is not possible," said amalatok promptly. "why not? the distance is not so very great." "the distance is not very great, that is true," replied amalatok. "if lo had sailed away to flatland he might have got safely there, but blackbeard surely forgets that the storm did not last more than a few hours. if lo had remained even a short time on this island, would not the calm weather which followed the storm have enabled him to paddle back again to poloe? no, he must have thought the storm was going to be a long one, and thinking that, must have tried, again to face it and paddle against it. in this attempt he has perished. without doubt lo and unders and oblooria are in the land of spirits." eskimos of the far north, unlike the red men of the prairies, are prone to give way to their feelings. at the mention of the timid one's name, oolichuk covered his face with his hands and wept aloud. poor alf and benjy felt an almost irresistible desire to join him. all the fun and frolic had gone completely out of the latter, and as for alf, he went about like a man half asleep, with a strange absent look in his eyes and a perfect blank on his expressionless face. no longer did he roam the hills of poloeland with geological hammer and box. he merely went fishing when advised or asked to do so, or wandered aimlessly on the sea-shore. the captain and benjy acted much in the same way. in the extremity of their grief they courted solitude. the warm hearts of chingatok and the negro beat strong with sympathy. they longed to speak words of comfort, but at first delicacy of feeling, which is found in all ranks and under every skin, prevented them from intruding on sorrow which they knew not how to assuage. at last the giant ventured one day to speak to alf. "has the great spirit no word of comfort for his kablunet children?" he asked. "yes, yes," replied alf quickly. "he says, `call upon me in the time of trouble and i will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.'" "have you not called?" asked chingatok with a slight look of surprise. "no; i say it to my shame, chingatok. this blow has so stunned me that i had forgotten my god." "call now," said the giant earnestly. "if he is a good and true god, he must keep his promise." alf did call, then and there, and the eskimo stood and listened with bowed head and reverent look, until the poor youth had concluded his prayer with the name of jesus. the negro's line of argument with benjy was different and characteristically lower toned. "you muss keep up de heart, massa benjy. nobody nebber knows wot may come for to pass. p'r'aps massa leo he go to de nort pole by hisself. he was allers bery fond o' takin' peepil by surprise. nebber say die, massa benjy, s'long's der's a shot in de locker." at any other time benjy would have laughed at the poor cook's efforts to console him, but he only turned away with a sigh. two days after that the eskimos of poloe were assembled on the beach making preparations to go off on a seal hunt. "is that a whale on the horizon or a walrus!" asked the captain, touching chingatok on the arm as they stood on the edge of the sea, ready to embark. "more like a black gull," said benjy, "or a northern diver." chingatok looked long and earnestly at the object in question, and then said with emphasis--"a kayak!" "one of the young men returning from a hunt, i suppose," said alf, whose attention was aroused by the interest manifested by the surrounding eskimos. "not so," said amalatok, who joined the group at the moment, "the man paddles like a man of flatland." "what! one of your enemies?" cried the captain, who, in his then state of depression, would have welcomed a fight as a sort of relief. evidently butterface shared his hopes, for he showed the whites of his eyes and grinned amazingly as he clenched his horny hands. "yes--our enemies," said amalatok. "the advanced guard of the host," said the captain, heartily; "come, the sooner we get ready for self-defence the better." "yis, dat's de word," said the negro, increasing his grin for a moment and then collapsing into sudden solemnity; "we nebber fights 'cep' in self-defence--oh no--_nebber_!" "they come not to attack," said chingatok quietly. "flatlanders never come except in the night when men sleep. this is but one man." "perhaps he brings news!" exclaimed benjy, with a sudden blaze of hope. "perhaps," echoed alf, eagerly. "it may be so," said chingatok. it was not long before the question was set at rest. the approaching kayak came on at racing speed. its occupant leaped on shore, and, panting from recent exertion, delivered his thrilling message. "prisoners in flatland," said the captain at the council of war which was immediately summoned, "but alive and well. let us be thankful for that good news, anyhow; but then, they ask us to help them, _quickly_. that means danger." "yes, danger!" shouted oolichuk, who, at the thought of oblooria in the hands of his foes, felt an almost irresistible desire to jump at some of the youths of his own tribe, and kill them, by way of relieving his feelings. "rest content, oolichuk," cried amalatok, with a horrible grinding of his teeth; "we will tear out their hearts, and batter in their skulls, and--" "but," resumed the captain hastily, "i do not think the danger so great. all i would urge is that we should not delay going to their rescue--" "ho! huk! hi!" interrupted the whole band of assembled warriors, leaping up and going through sundry suggestive actions with knives and spears. "does my father wish me to get the kayaks ready?" asked chingatok, who, as usual, retained his composure. "do, my son. let plenty of blubber be stowed in them, and war-spears," said the old chief; "we will start at once." the promptitude with which these northern eskimos prepared for war might be a lesson to the men of civilised communities. we have already said that the sun had by that time begun to set for a few hours each day. before it had reached the deepest twilight that night a hundred and fifty picked warriors, with their kayaks and war material, were skimming over the sea, led by the fiery old chief and his gigantic but peace-loving son. of course captain vane, benjy, alphonse vandervell, and butterface accompanied them, but none of the women were allowed to go, as it was expected that the war would be a bloody one. these, therefore, with the children, were left in charge of a small body of the big boys of the tribe, with the old men. the weather was fine, the sea smooth, and the arms of the invading host strong. it was not long before the sea that separated poloe island from flatland was crossed. towards sunset of a calm and beautiful day they sighted land. gently, with noiseless dip of paddle, they glided onward like a phantom fleet. that same evening leo and oblooria sat by the couch of grabantak, nursing him. the injury received by the chief from the whale had thrown him into a high fever. the irritation of enforced delay on his fiery spirit had made matters worse, and at times he became delirious. during these paroxysms it required two men to hold him down, while he indulged in wild denunciations of his poloe foes, with frequent allusions to dread surgical operations to be performed on the body of amalatok-- operations with which the royal college of surgeons is probably unacquainted. leo, whose knowledge of the eskimo tongue was rapidly extending, sought to counteract the patient's ferocity by preaching forgiveness and patience. being unsuccessful, he had recourse to a soporific plant which he had recently discovered. to administer an overdose of this was not unnatural, perhaps, in a youthful doctor. absolute prostration was not the precise result he had hoped for, but it _was_ the result, and it had the happy effect of calming the spirit of grabantak and rendering him open to conviction. fortunately the flatlanders were on the look-out when the men of poloe drew near. one of the flatland braves was returning from a fishing expedition at the time, saw the advancing host while they were yet well out at sea, and came home at racing speed with the news. "strange that they should come to attack _us_," said teyma to leo at the council of war which was immediately called. "it has always, up to this time, been our custom to attack _them_." "not so strange as you think," said anders, who now, for the first time, mentioned the sending of the message to poloeland. black looks were turned on the interpreter, and several hands wandered towards boots in search of daggers, when the prime minister interfered. "you did not well, unders, to act without letting us know," he said with grave severity. "we must now prepare to meet the men of poloe, whether they come as friends or foes. let the young men arm. i go to consult with our chief." "you must not consult with grabantak," said leo firmly. "he lies limp. his backbone has no more strength than a piece of walrus line. his son must act for him at present." "boo!" exclaimed one of the warriors, with a look of ineffable contempt, "koyatuk is big enough, but he is brainless. he can bluster and look fierce like the walrus, but he has only the wisdom of an infant puffin. no, we will be led by teyma." this sentiment was highly applauded by the entire council, which included the entire army, indeed the whole grown-up male part of the nation; so that koyatuk was deposed on the spot, as all incompetents ought to be, and one of the best men of flatland was put in his place. "but if i am to lead you," said the premier firmly, "it shall be to peace, not to war!" "lead us to what you like; you have brains," returned the man who had previously said "boo!" "we know not what is best, but we can trust you." again the approval was unanimous. "well, then, i accept the command until my chief's health is restored," said teyma, rising. "now, the council is at an end. to your huts, warriors, and get your spears ready; and to your lamps, girls. prepare supper for our warriors, and let the allowance of each be doubled." this latter command caused no small degree of surprise, but no audible comment was made, and strict obedience was rendered. leo returned to grabantak's hut, where he found that fiery chief as limp as ever, but with some of the old spirit left, for he was feebly making uncomfortable references to the heart, liver, and other vital organs of amalatok and all his band. soon afterwards that band came on in battle array, on murderous deeds intent. the flatlanders assembled on the beach to receive them. "leave your spears on the ground behind you," shouted teyma to his host; "advance to the water's edge, and at my signal, throw up your arms." "they have been forewarned," growled amalatok, grinding his teeth in disappointment, and checking the advance of his fleet by holding up one hand. "no doubt," said captain vane, who, with benjy, alf, and butterface, was close to the poloe chief in one of the india-rubber boats, "no doubt my young countryman, having sent a message, expected us. surely--eh! benjy, is not that leo standing in front of the rest with another man?" the captain applied his binocular telescope to his eyes as he spoke. "yes, it's him--thank god! and i see anders too, quite plainly, and oblooria!" "are they bound hand and foot?" demanded amalatok, savagely. "no, they are as free as you are. and the eskimos are unarmed, apparently." "ha! that is their deceit," growled the chief. "the flatlanders were always sly; but they shall not deceive us. braves, get ready your spears!" "may it not be that leo has influenced them peacefully, my father?" suggested chingatok. "not so, my son," said the chief savagely. "grabantak was always sly as a white fox, fierce as a walrus, mean as a wolf, greedy as a black gull, contemptible as--" the catalogue of grabantak's vices was cut short by the voice of teyma coming loud and strong over the sea. "if the men of poloe come as friends, let them land. the men of flatland are about to feed, and will share their supper. if the men of poloe come as foes, still i say let them land. the braves of flatland have sharpened their spears!" teyma threw up both hands as he finished, and all his host followed suit. for a moment or two the poloese hesitated. they still feared deception. then the voice of leo was heard loud and clear. "why do you hesitate? come on, uncle, supper's getting cold. we've been waiting for you a long time, and are all very hungry!" this was received with a shout of laughter by the englishmen, high above which rose a wild cheer of joy from benjy. amalatok swallowed his warlike spirit, laid aside his spear, and seized his paddle. chingatok gave the signal to advance, and, a few minutes later, those warriors of the north--those fierce savages who, probably for centuries, had been sworn hereditary foes--were seated round the igloe-lamps, amicably smearing their fingers and faces with fat, as they feasted together on chops of the walrus and cutlets of the polar bear. chapter twenty seven. the great discovery. friendly relations having been established between the flatlanders and the poloese, both nations turned their attention to the arts of peace. among other things, captain vane and his party devoted themselves once more, with renewed energy, to the pursuit of discovery and scientific investigation. an expedition was planned to _great isle_, not now for the purpose of consulting makitok, the oracle, as to the best time for going to war, but to gratify the wishes of captain vane, who had the strongest reason for believing that he was in the immediate neighbourhood of the pole. "blackbeard says he must be very near nothing now," observed chingatok to anders the day after their arrival. "near _nothing_!" exclaimed teyma, who was sitting close by. of course the giant explained, and the premier looked incredulous. "i wish i had not left my sextant behind me in the hurry of departure," said the captain that evening to leo. "but we came off in such hot haste that i forgot it. however, i'll ask amalatok to send a young man back for it. i'm persuaded we cannot now be more than a few miles distant from our goal." "i quite agree with you, uncle, for when i looked at the north star last night it seemed to me as directly in the zenith as it was possible to imagine." "ay, lad; but the unaided eye is deceptive. a few miles of difference cannot be distinguished by it. when did the pole star become visible?" "only last night; i fancied i had made it out the night before, but was not quite sure, the daylight, even at the darkest hour, being still too intense to let many of the stars be seen." "well, we shall see. i am of opinion that we are still between twenty and forty miles south of the pole. meanwhile, i'll induce teyma to get up an expedition to the island of this maki-what?" "tok," said leo; "makitok. everything almost ends in _tok_ or _tuk_ hereabouts." "who, and what, is this man?" asked the captain. "no one seems to know precisely. his origin has been lost in the mists of antiquity. his first forefather--so tradition styles him--seems, like melchisedec, to have had no father or mother, and to have come from no one knows where. anyhow he founded a colony in _great isle_, and makitok is the present head of all the families." leo then explained about the mystery-thing called _buk_, which was wrapped up in innumerable pieces of sealskin. "strange," said the captain, "passing strange. all you tell me makes me the more anxious to visit this man of the valley. you say there is no chance of grabantak being able to take the reins of government again for a long time?" "none. he has got a shake that will keep him helpless for some time to come. and this is well, for teyma will be ready to favour any project that tends towards peace or prosperity." now, while preparations for the northern expedition were being made, our friend oolichuk went a-wooing. and this is the fashion in which he did it. arraying himself one day, like any other lovesick swain, in his best, he paid a ceremonial visit to oblooria, who lived with merkut, the wife of grabantak, in a hut at the eastern suburb of the village. oolichuk's costume was simple, if not elegant. it consisted of an undercoat of bird-skins, with the feathers inwards; bearskin pantaloons with the hair out; an upper coat of the grey seal; dogskin socks and sealskin boots. that young eskimo did not visit his bride empty-handed. he carried a bundle containing a gift--skins of the young eider-duck to make an undergarment for his lady-love, two plump little auks with which to gratify her palate, and a bladder of oil to wash them down and cause her heart to rejoice. good fortune favoured this brave man, for he met oblooria at a lonely part of the shore among the boulders. romance lies deep in the heart of an eskimo--so deep that it is not perceptible to the naked eye. whatever the poloe warrior and maiden felt, they took care not to express in words. but oolichuk looked unutterable things, and invited oblooria to dine then and there. the lady at once assented with a bashful smile, and sat down on a boulder. oolichuk sat down beside her, and presented the bundle of under-clothing. while the lady was examining this with critical eyes, the gentleman prepared the food. taking one of the auks, he twisted off its head, put his forefinger under the integuments of the neck, drew the skin down backwards, and the bird was skinned. then he ran his long thumb-nail down the breast and sliced off a lump, which he presented to the lady with the off-hand air of one who should say, "if you don't want it you may let it alone!" raw though the morsel was, oblooria accepted it with a pleased look, and ate it with relish. she also accepted the bladder, and, putting it to her lips, pledged him in a bumper of oil. oolichuk continued this process until the first auk was finished. he then treated the second bird in the same manner, and assisted his lady-love to consume it, as well as the remainder of the oil. conversation did not flow during the first part of the meal, but, after having drunk deeply, their lips were opened and the feast of reason began. it consisted chiefly of a running commentary by the man on the kablunets and their ways, and appreciative giggles on the part of the woman; but they were interrupted at the very commencement by the sudden appearance of one of the kablunets sauntering towards them. they rose instantly and rambled away in opposite directions, absorbed in contemplation--the one of the earth, and the other of the sky. three days after that, captain vane and his party approached the shores of _great isle_. it was low like the other islands of flatland, but of greater extent, insomuch that its entire circumference could not be seen from its highest central point. like the other islands it was quite destitute of trees, but the low bush was luxuriantly dense, and filled, they were told, with herds of reindeer and musk-oxen. myriads of wild-fowl--from the lordly swan to the twittering sandpiper--swarmed among its sedgy lakelets, while grouse and ptarmigan were to be seen in large flocks on its uplands. the land was clothed in mosses and grasses of the richest green, and decked with variegated wild-flowers and berries. the voyagers were received with deep interest and great hospitality by the inhabitants of the coast, who, it seemed, never quarrelled with the neighbouring islanders or went to war. makitok dwelt in the centre of the island. thither they therefore went the following day. it was afternoon when they came to the valley in which dwelt the angekok, or, as red indians would have styled him, the medicine-man. it was a peculiar valley. unlike other vales it had neither outlet or inlet, but was a mere circular basin or depression of vast extent, the lowest part of which was in its centre. the slope towards the centre was so gradual that the descent was hardly perceived, yet captain vane could not resist the conviction that the lowest part of the vale must be lower than the surface of the sea. the rich luxuriance of herbage in great isle seemed to culminate in this lovely vale. at the centre and lowest part of the valley, makitok, or rather makitok's forefathers, had built their dwelling. it was a hut, resembling the huts of the eskimos. no other hut was to be seen. the angekok loved solitude. beside the hut there stood a small truncated cone about fifteen feet high, on the summit of which sat an old white-bearded man, who intently watched the approaching travellers. "behold--makitok!" said teyma as they drew near. the old man did not move. he appeared to be over eighty years of age, and, unlike eskimos in general, had a bushy snow-white beard. the thin hair on his head was also white, and his features were good. our travellers were not disappointed with this strange recluse, who received them with an air of refinement and urbanity so far removed from eskimo manners and character, that captain vane felt convinced he must be descended from some other branch of the human family. makitok felt and expressed a degree of interest in the objects of the expedition which had not been observed in any eskimo, except chingatok, and he was intelligent and quick of perception far before most of those who surrounded him. "and what have you to say about yourself?" asked the captain that evening, after a long animated conversation on the country and its productions. "i have little to say," replied the old man, sadly. "there is no mystery about my family except its beginning in the long past." "but is not _all_ mystery in the long past?" asked the captain. "true, my son, but there is a difference in _my_ mystery. other eskimos can trace back from son to father till they get confused and lost, as if surrounded by the winter-fogs. but when i trace back--far back--i come to one man--my _first father_, who had no father, it is said, and who came no one knows from where. my mind is not confused or lost; it is stopped!" "might not the mystery-bundle that you call _buk_ explain matters?" asked alf. when this was translated, the old man for the first time looked troubled. "i dare not open it," he said in an undertone, as if speaking to himself. "from father to son we have held it sacred. it must grow-- ever grow--never diminish!" "it's a pity he looks at it in that light," remarked leo to benjy, as they lay down to sleep that night. "i have no doubt that the man whom he styles first father wrapped up the thing, whatever it is, to keep it safe, not to make a mystery of it, and that his successors, having begun with a mistaken view, have now converted the re-wrapping of the bundle by each successive heir into a sacred obligation. however, we may perhaps succeed in overcoming the old fellow's prejudices. good-night, benjy." a snore from benjy showed that leo's words had been thrown away, so, with a light laugh, he turned over, and soon joined his comrade in the land of dreams. for two weeks the party remained on _great isle_, hunting, shooting, fishing, collecting, and investigating; also, we may add, astonishing the natives. during that period many adventures of a more or less exciting nature befell them, which, however, we must pass over in silence. at the end of that time, the youth who had been sent for the captain's sextant and other philosophical instruments arrived with them all--thermometers, barometers, chronometers, wind and water gauges, pendulums, etcetera, safe and sound. as the instruments reached _cup valley_, (so benjy had styled makitok's home), in the morning, it was too early for taking trustworthy observations. the captain therefore employed the time in erecting an observatory. for this purpose he selected, with makitok's permission, the truncated cone close to the recluse's dwelling. here, after taking formal possession and hoisting the union jack, he busied himself, in a state of subdued excitement, preparing for the intended observations. "i'll fix the latitude and longitude in a few hours," he said. "meantime, leo, you and benjy had better go off with the rifle and fetch us something good for dinner." leo and benjy were always ready to go a-hunting. they required no second bidding, but were soon rambling over the slopes or wading among the marshes of the island in pursuit of game. leo carried his repeater; benjy the shot-gun. both wore native eskimo boots as long as the leg, which, being made of untanned hide, are, when soaked, thoroughly waterproof. (see note.) oolichuk and butterface carried the game-bags, and these were soon filled with such game as was thought best for food. sending them back to camp with orders to empty the bags and return, leo and benjy took to the uplands in search of nobler game. it was not difficult to find. soon a splendid stag was shot by leo and a musk-ox by benjy. not long after this, the bag-bearers returned. "you shoots mos' awful well, massas," said butterface; "but it's my 'pinion dat you bof better go home, for captain vane he go mad!" "what d'you mean, butterface?" asked leo. "i mean dat de capp'n he's hoed mad, or suffin like it, an' massa alf not mush better." a good deal amused and surprised by the negro's statement, the two hunters hastened back to makitok's hut, where they indeed found captain vane in a state of great excitement. "well, uncle, what's the news?" asked leo; "found your latitude higher than you expected?" "higher!" exclaimed the captain, seizing his nephew by both hands and shaking them. "higher! i should think so--couldn't be _higher_. there's neither latitude nor longitude here, my boy! i've found it! come--come up, and i'll show you the exact spot--the _north pole itself_!" he dragged leo to the top of the truncated cone on which he had pitched his observatory. "there, look round you," he cried, taking off his hat and wiping the perspiration from his brow. "well, uncle, where is it?" asked leo, half-amused and half-sceptical. "where! why, don't you see it? no, of course you don't. you're looking _all round it_, lad. look down,--down at your feet. leonard vandervell," he added, in sudden solemnity, "you're _on it_! you're standing on the north pole _now_!" leo still looked incredulous. "what i you don't believe? convince him, alf." "indeed it is true," said alf; "we have been testing and checking our observations in every possible manner, and the result never varies more than a foot or two. the north pole is at this moment actually under our feet." as we have now, good reader, at last reached that great _point_ of geographical interest which has so long perplexed the world and agitated enterprising man, we deem this the proper place to present you with a map of captain vane's discoveries. "and so," said benjy with an injured look, "the geography books are right after all; the world _is_ `a little flattened at the poles like an orange.' well, i never believed it before, and i don't believe _yet_ that it's like an orange." "but it is more than flattened, benjy," said leo; "don't you see it is even hollowed out a little, as if the spinning of the world had made a sort of whirlpool at the north pole, and no doubt there is the same at the south." chingatok, who was listening to the conversation, without of course understanding it, and to whom the captain had made sundry spasmodic remarks during the day in the eskimo tongue, went that night to amalatok, who was sitting in makitok's hut, and said-- "my father, blackbeard has found it!" "found what, my son?--his nothing--his nort pole?" "yes, my father, he has found his nort pole." "is he going to carry it away with him in his soft wind-boat?" asked the old chief with a half-humorous, half-contemptuous leer. "and," continued chingatok, who was too earnest about the matter to take notice of his father's levity, "his nort pole is _something_ after all! it is not nothing, for i heard him say he is standing on it. no man can stand on nothing; therefore his nort pole which he stands on must be something." "he is standing on my outlook. he must not carry _that_ away," remarked makitok with a portentous frown. "boh!" exclaimed amalatok, rising impatiently. "i will not listen to the nonsense of blackbeard. have i not heard him say that the world stands on nothing, spins on nothing, and rolls continually round the sun? how can anything spin on nothing? and as to the sun, use your own eyes. do you not see that for a long time it rolls round the world, for a long time it rolls in a circle above us, and for a long time it rolls away altogether, leaving us all in darkness? my son, these kablunets are ignorant fools, and you are not much better for believing them. boo! i have no patience with the nonsense talk of blackbeard." the old chief flung angrily out of the hut, leaving his more philosophic son to continue the discussion of the earth's mysteries with makitok, the reputed wizard of the furthest possible north. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note. the writer has often waded knee-deep in such boots, for hours at a time, on the swampy shores of hudson's bay, without wetting his feet in the slightest degree. chapter twenty eight. tells, among other things, of a notable discovery. soon after this, signs of approaching winter began to make their appearance in the regions of the north pole. the sun, which at first had been as a familiar friend night and day, had begun to absent himself not only all night, but during a large portion of each day, giving sure though quiet hints of his intention to forsake the region altogether, and leave it to the six months' reign of night. frost began to render the nights bitterly cold. the birds, having brought forth and brought up their young, were betaking themselves to more temperate regions, leaving only such creatures as bears, seals, walruses, foxes, wolves, and men, to enjoy, or endure, the regions of the frigid zone. suddenly there came a day in october when all the elemental fiends and furies of the arctic circle seemed to be let loose in wildest revelry. it was a turning-point in the arctic seasons. by that time captain vane and his party had transported all their belongings to great isle, where they had taken up their abode beside old makitok. they had, with that wizard's permission, built to themselves a temporary stone hut, as benjy vane facetiously said, "on the very top of the north pole itself;" that is, on the little mound or truncated cone of rock, in the centre of the great isle, on which they had already set up the observatory, and which cone was, in very truth, as nearly as possible the exact position of that long-sought-for imaginary point of earth as could be ascertained by repeated and careful observations, made with the best of scientific instruments by thoroughly capable men. chingatok and his father, with a large band of their followers and some of their women, had also encamped, by permission, round the pole, where, in the intervals of the chase, they watched, with solemn and unflagging interest, the incomprehensible doings of the white men. the storm referred to began with heavy snow--that slow, quiet, down-floating of great flakes which is so pleasant, even restful, in its effect on the senses. at first it seemed as if a golden haze were mixed with the snowfall, suggesting the idea that the sun's rays were penetrating it. "most beautiful!" said leo, who sat beside the captain and his friends on the north pole enjoying the view through the open doorway of the hut, and sipping a cup of coffee. "it reminds me," said alf, "of buzzby's lines:-- "`the snowflakes falling softly in the morning's golden prime, suggestive of a gentle touch and the silent flight of time.'" "behold a more powerful reminder of the flight of time!" said benjy, pointing to the aged makitok, who, with white beard and snow-besprinkled person, came slowly towards them like the living embodiment of "old father christmas." "come," said leo, hastening to assist the old man, "let me help you up the pole." leo, and indeed all the party, had fallen in with benjy's humour, and habitually referred thus to their mound. "why comes the ancient one here through the snow?" said captain vane, rising and offering makitok his seat, which was an empty packing-case. "surely my friend does not think we would forget him? does not benjy always carry him his morning cup of coffee when the weather is too bad for him to come hither?" "truly," returned the old man, sitting down with a sigh, "the kablunets are kind. they never forget. bunjee never fails to bring the cuffy, though he does sometimes pretend to forget the shoogre, till i have tasted it and made a bad face; then he laughs and remembers that the shoogre is in his pouch. it is his little way. but i come not to-day for cuffy; i come to warn. there is danger in the air. blackbeard must take his strange things," (thus he referred to the philosophical instruments), "away from here--from--ha!--from nort pole, and put them in my hut, where they will be safe." the captain did not at once reply. turning to his companions he said-- "i see no particular reason to fear this `danger in the air.' i'll go and consult chingatok or his father on the point." "the ancient one, as you call him," said benjy, "seems to be growing timid with age." "the youthful one," retorted the captain, "seems to be growing insolent with age. go, you scamp, and tell amalatok i want to speak with him." whatever faults our young hero had, disobedience was not one of them. he rose promptly, and soon returned with the chief of poloeland. amalatok confirmed the wizard's opinions, and both opinions were still more powerfully confirmed, while he was speaking, by a gust of wind which suddenly came rushing at them as if from all points of the compass, converging at the pole and shooting upwards like a whirlwind, carrying several hats of the party with volumes of the now wildly agitated snow up into the sky. there was no room for further hesitation. "why, massa bunjay, i thought my woolly scalp he hoed up 'long wid my hat!" cried butterface, leaping up in obedience to the captain's hurried order to look sharp and lend a hand. in a short time all the instruments were removed from the observatory and carefully housed in makitok's hut. even while they were thus engaged the storm burst on them with excessive violence. the snow which had been falling so softly, was caught up by the conflicting winds and hurled high into the air, or driven furiously over the valley in all directions, for the gale did not come from any fixed quarter; it rose and swooped and eddied about, driving the snow-drift now here, now there, and shrieking as if in wild delight at the chaotic havoc it was permitted to play. "confusion worse confounded!" gasped leo, as he staggered past alf with the last load on his shoulder. "and yet there must be order _everywhere_," observed chingatok, when, after all were safely housed in makitok's hut that evening, he heard leo repeat that sentiment. "why do you think so, chingatok?" asked the captain with some curiosity. "because there is order even in my hut," returned the giant. "pingasuk, (referring to his wife), keeps all things in perfect order. is the world-maker less wise than pingasuk? sometimes, no doubt, when pingasuk is cooking, or arranging, things may seem in disorder to the eye of my little boy meltik and the small one, (referring to baby), but when meltik and the small one grow older and wiser, they will see that it is not so." while chingatok was speaking, a gust of wind more furious than ever struck the hut and shook it to its foundations. at the same time a loud rumbling sound was heard outside. most of the men leaped up, caught hold of spears or knives, and rushed out. through the driving drift they could just see that the observatory, which was a flimsy structure, had been swept clean away, and that the more solid hut was following it. even as they gazed they saw its roof caught up, and whirled off as if it had been a scroll of paper. the walls fell immediately after, and the stones rolled down the rocky cone with a loud rattling, which was partially drowned by the shrieking of the tempest. for three days the storm lasted. during that time it was almost impossible to show face in the open air. on the night of the third day the fury of the wind abated. then it suddenly became calm, but when butterface opened the door, and attempted to go out, he found himself effectually checked by a wall of snow. the interior of the hut was pitch dark, and it was not until a lamp had been lighted that the party found they were buried alive! to dig themselves out was not, however, a difficult matter. but what a scene presented itself to their view when they regained the upper air! no metamorphosis conceived by ovid or achieved by the magic lantern; no pantomimic transformation; no eccentricity of dreamland ever equalled it! when last seen, the valley was clothed in all the rich luxuriance of autumnal tints, and alive with the twitter and plaintive cry of bird-life. now it was draped in the pure winding-sheet of winter, and silent in the repose of arctic death. nothing almost was visible but snow. everything was whelmed in white. only here and there a few of the sturdier clumps of bushes held up their loads like gigantic wedding-cakes, and broke the universal sameness of the scene. one raven was the only living representative of the birds that had fled. it soared calmly over the waste, as if it were the wizard who had wrought the change, and was admiring its work. "winter is upon us fairly now, friends," said captain vane as he surveyed the prospect from the pole, which was itself all but buried in the universal drift, and capped with the hugest wedding-cake of all; "we shall have to accommodate ourselves to circumstances, and prepare for the campaign." "i suppose the first thing we shall have to do is to build a snow-house," said benjy, looking ruefully round, for, as usual, he was depressed by first appearances. "just so, benjy; and the sooner we go to work the better." now, the reader must not hastily conclude that we are about to inflict on him or her a detailed narrative of a six months' residence at the north pole. we have no such fell design. much though there is to tell,--much of suffering, more of enjoyment, many adventures, numerous stirring incidents, and not a few mishaps--we shall pass over the most of it in total silence, and touch only on those points which are worthy of special notice. let us leap, then, into the very middle of the arctic winter. it is continuously dark now. there is no day at all at the pole; it is night all round. the last glimmer of the departing sun left them months ago; the next glimmer of his return will not reach them for months to come. the northern eskimos and their english visitors were well aware of that, nevertheless there was nothing of gloom or depressed spirits among them. they were too busy for that. had not meat to be procured, and then consumed? did not the procuring involve the harnessing of dogs in sledges, the trapping of foxes and wolves, the fighting of walruses, the chasing of polar bears; and did not the consuming thereof necessitate much culinary work for the women, much and frequent attention and labour on the part of the whole community, not to mention hours, and sometimes days, of calm repose? then, as to light, had they not the aurora borealis, that mysterious shimmering in the northern sky which has puzzled philosophers from the beginning of time, and is not unlikely to continue puzzling them to the end? had they not the moon and the stars, which latter shone with a brilliancy almost indescribable, and among them the now doubly interesting pole star, right overhead, with several new and gorgeous constellations unknown to southern climes? besides all this, had not captain vane his scientific investigations, his pendulum experiments, his wind-gauging, his ozone testing, his thermometric, barometric, and chronometric observations, besides what benjy styled his kiteometric pranks? these last consisted in attempts to bring lightning down from the clouds by means of a kite and cord, and in which effort the captain managed to knock himself down, and well-nigh shattered the north pole itself in pieces! moreover, had not leo to act the part of physician and surgeon to the community? a duty which he fulfilled so well that there never had been before that time such a demand for physic in flatland, and, it is probable, there never will be so many sick people there again. in addition to this, leo had to exercise his marvellous powers as a huntsman. benjy, of course, played his wonted _role_ of mischief-maker and jack-of-all-trades to the entire satisfaction of everybody, especially on that great occasion when he succeeded in killing a polar bear single-handed, and without the aid of gun or spear or any lethal weapon whatever;--of which great event, more hereafter. anders, the southern eskimo, made himself generally agreeable, and butterface became a prime favourite, chiefly because of his inexhaustible fund of fun and good humour, coupled with his fine musical qualities. we have not said much on this latter point hitherto, because we have been unwilling to overwhelm the reader with too sudden a disclosure of that marvellous magazine of power which was latent in our band of heroes; but we feel it to be our duty now to state that the negro sang his native melodies with such pathos that he frequently reduced, (perhaps we should say elevated), the unsophisticated eskimos to floods of tears, and sometimes to convulsions of laughter. as, at benjy's suggestion, he sometimes changed his moods abruptly, the tears often mingled with the convulsions, so as to produce some vivid illustrations of eskimo hysteria. but butterface's strong point was the flute! no one who had not witnessed it could adequately conceive the poutings of thick red lips and general contortions of black visage that seemed necessary in order to draw the tones out of that simple instrument. the agonies of expression, the hissing of wind, and the turning up of whites of large black eyes,--it is past belief! the fruitless efforts of the eskimos to imitate him were as nothing to the great original, and their delight at the sound was only equalled by their amazement at the sight. alf assisted the captain scientifically and otherwise. of course he was compelled, during the long winter, to lay aside his geological hammer and botanical box; but, then, had he not the arrangement and naming of his specimens? his chief work, however, was to act the unwonted, and, we may add, unexpected work of a lawgiver. this duty devolved on him thus: when grabantak recovered health--which he was very long in doing--his spirit was so far subdued that he agreed--somewhat sulkily, it is true-- to all that his prime minister had done while he held the reins of government. then he was induced to visit great isle, where he was introduced to his mortal foe amalatok, whom he found to be so much a man after his own heart that he no longer sighed for the extraction of his spinal marrow or the excision of his liver, but became a fast friend, and was persuaded by alf to agree to a perpetual peace. he also took a great fancy to chingatok, who begged of alf to read to the chief of flatland some of the strange and new ideas contained in his little book. alf willingly complied, and for hours these northern savages sat in rapt attention listening to the bible story. "my son," said grabantak one evening to chingatok, "if we are henceforth to live in peace, why not unite and become one nation?" "why not?" echoed chingatok. when amalatok and makitok heard the question propounded, they also said, "why not?" and, as nobody objected, the thing was settled off-hand then and there. "but," said the prime minister of flatland, starting a difficulty, "who is to be _greatest_ chief?" amalatok, on whose mind the spirit of christianity had been gradually making an impression, said promptly, "let grabantak be chief. he is wise in council and brave in war." grabantak had instantly jumped to the conclusion that _he_ ought to be _greatest_ chief, and was about to say so, when amalatok's humility struck him dumb. recovering himself he replied-- "but there is to be no mere war! and i have been a warrior. no, let amalatok be great chief. he is old, and wisdom lies with age." "i am not so sure of _that_!" muttered captain vane to himself in english; then to the giant in eskimo, "what says chingatok?" "may i speak, my father?" said the giant, dutifully, to amalatok. "you may speak, my son." "then," continued chingatok, "i would advise that there should be three chiefs, who shall be equal--my father, grabantak, and makitok. let these consult about our affairs. let the people appoint twelve men to hold council with them, and what the most of them agree to shall be done." after some further talk this compromise was agreed to. "but the laws of poloeland and those of flatland are different," said amalatok, starting another objection. "we must have the same laws." "my brother chief is wise," said grabantak. "let us have new laws, and let that wise young kablunet, alf, make them." "both my brother chiefs are wise," said makitok. "let it be done, and let him take the laws out of the little thing that speaks to him." (thus they referred to the bible, having no word in their language by which to name it.) great was the surprise of alf at the honour and labour thus thrust upon him, but he did not shrink from it. on the contrary, he set to work at once with notebook and pencil, and set down the two "great commandments:" "thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind;" and, "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," as the first law in the new code. he set down as the second the golden rule, "whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them." proceeding from these as a basis, he worked his way gradually down the code till he had embraced nearly all the possibilities of eskimo life--a work which kept him busy all the winter, and was not quite finished when "time and tide" obliged him and his companions to quit the land. now, not long after this eventful council, benjy vane burst rather irreverently into his father's hut with excited looks, holding what looked like an old book in his hand. "what have you got there, lad?" "i've got it at last, father! you know i've been trying to wheedle old makitok into letting me open his mysterious bundle. well, i prevailed on him to let me do it this afternoon. after unrolling bundle after bundle, i came at last to the centre, and found that it contained nothing whatever but this book, wrapped up in an old cotton pocket-handkerchief. the book is _very_ old, father. see, on the first page. i did not take time to glance at more than that, but brought it straight away to you." "hand it over, benjy," said the captain eagerly. "this accounts for the mysterious `buk' that we've heard so much about." he received the little book with a look of tender curiosity and opened it carefully, while leo, alf, and his son looked on over his shoulder. " , sure enough," he said, "though not very legible. the characters are queer, too. try, alf, what you can make of it." alf took the book. as he did so old makitok entered, somewhat anxious as to what they were doing with his treasure. being quieted by the captain with a draught of cold tea, and made to sit down, the examination of the book proceeded. "it is much worn, and in places is almost illegible, as might be expected," said alf. "let me see. `coast of labrador, (something illegible here), . this day the mutineers took possess ... (can't make out what follows), and put captain hudson, with his son, myself, the carpenter, and five sick men into the dinghy, casting us, (blank), with some, (blank), and one cask of water. i begin this diary to-day. it may never be seen by man, but if it does fall into the hands of any one who can read it, he will do a service to ... by conveying ... england.--john mackintosh, _seaman_.' "can it be possible?" said alf, looking up from the relic with an expression of deep solemnity, "that we have found a record of that great arctic explorer, the unfortunate henry hudson?" "it seems like it, alf; read on," said leo, eagerly. we will not further trouble the reader with alf's laboured deciphering of this curious and ancient notebook, which was not only stained and worn, but in many places rudely torn, as if its owner had seen much hard service. we will merely run over a few of the chief points which it cleared up. unfortunately, it threw no additional light on the fate of poor hudson. many of the first pages of the book which no doubt treated of that, had been destroyed and the legible portion began in the middle of a record of travelling with a sledge-party of eskimos to the north of parallel degrees minutes--a higher northern latitude, it will be observed, than had been reached by any subsequent explorer except captain vane. no mention being made of english comrades, the presumption remained that they had all been killed or had died--at all events that mackintosh had been separated from them, and was the only survivor of the party travelling with the eskimos. further on the journal, which was meagre in detail, and kept in the dry form of a log-book, spoke of having reached a far northern settlement. reference was also made to a wife and family, leading to the conclusion that the seaman had permanently cast in his lot with the savages, and given up all hope of returning to his native land. one sentence near the end caused a considerable sensation, and opened their eyes to a fact which they might have guessed if they had not been too much taken up with the spelling out of the faded pencilling to think of it at first. alf read it with difficulty. it ran thus:-- "another boy born to-day. his name is igluk. it is only the eldest boy of a family, in this tribe, who bears his father's surname. my eldest alone goes by the name of mackintosh. his eldest will bear the same name, and so on. but these eskimos make a sad mess of it. i doubt if my scotch kinsmen would recognise us under the name of makitok which is the nearest--" "makitok!" shouted benjy, gazing open-eyed at the white-bearded wizard, who returned the gaze with some astonishment. "why, old boy," cried the boy, jumping up and seizing the wizard's hand, "you're a scotsman!" "so he is," said the captain with a look of profound interest. "and i say," continued benjy, in a tone so solemn that the eyes of all the party were turned on him, "we _did_ find him _sitting on the north pole_!" "and what of that, you excitable goose?" said the captain. "goose, father! am i a goose for recognising the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy? has it not been a familiar saying, ever since i was born, that when the north pole was discovered, a scotsman would be found sitting on the top of it?" "unfortunately, ben," returned alf with a laugh, "the same prophecy exists in other lands. among the germans, i believe, it is held that a bohemian and a jew will be found on the top of it." "that only confirms the correctness of prophecy in general," retorted benjy, "for this man unites all these in his own person. does not this notebook prove him to be a scot? have we not just _found_ him? which proves him to be one of a `lost tribe'--in other words, a jew; and, surely, you'll admit that, in appearance at least, he is bohemian enough for the settlement of any disputed question. yes, he's a scotch bohemian jew, or i'm a dutchman." this discovery seemed almost too much for benjy. he could not think or talk of anything else the remainder of that day. among other things he undertook to explain to makitok something of his origin and antecedents. "ancient one," he said earnestly, through the medium of anders, when he had led the old man aside privately, "you come of a grand nation. they are called scots, and are said to be remarkably long-headed and wonderfully cautious. great warriors, but greater at the arts of peace. and the fellow you call your _first father_ was a mackintosh, (probably chief of all the mackintoshes), who sailed nearly years ago to search for this very `north pole' that _we_ have got hold of at last. but your first father was not the leader, old boy. he was only a seaman. the leader was henry hudson--a man who ranks among the foremost of arctic explorers. he won't be able to understand what that means, anders, but no matter--translate it the best way you can. this henry hudson was one of the most thorough and extensive searchers of these regions that ever sailed the northern seas. he made many important discoveries, and set out on his last voyage intending to sail right over the north pole to china, which i daresay he would have done, had not his rascally crew mutinied and cast him and his little son, with seven other men, adrift in a little boat--all of whom perished, no doubt, except your first father, makitok, my ancient tulip!" he wound up this summary by grasping and shaking the wizard's hand, and then flung off, to expend his feelings on other members of the community. chapter twenty nine. a runaway journey and a tremendous experiment. as winter advanced, captain vane continued to keep up the interest of the eskimos, and to increase their respect for the kablunets, by gradually unfolding the various sources of power which were at his command. he did this judiciously, just giving them a taste of the marvellous now and then to whet their appetites. he was particularly careful, however not to practise on their credulity or to pass himself off as a conjuror. he distinctly stated that all his powers were derived from god,--_their_ father and _his_,--and that he only excelled them in some matters because of having had better opportunities of acquiring knowledge. among other things, he effected an adaptation of his kites which produced results so surprising that we feel bound to describe them particularly. during the winter he found, as he had expected, that the average temperature at the pole was not nearly so cold as that experienced in lower latitudes. as far as mere feeling went, indeed, the cold seemed severe enough; nevertheless it was not sufficiently intense to freeze the great ocean, which remained an "open basin" all the year round,--a result which was doubtless owing to the upflow of the warm under-currents from the equator, referred to in a previous chapter. this, however, did not apply to the waters lying directly around the poloe and flatland groups. in these archipelagos the waters being shallow, the frost was quite intense enough to cool them to the bottom. hence the sea immediately round the islands was covered with a thick coat of solid ice, which resembled in all respects the ordinary arctic sea-ice, being hummocky in some places, comparatively smooth in others, with a strong iceberg here and there caught and imprisoned amongst it. as this ice surrounded all the polar land, and stretched out to sea far beyond the reach of vision, it followed that there was little or no difference between the winter experience of our discoverers and that of all other arctic voyagers. this realm of what we may style island-ice stretched away, all round, in the direction of the arctic circle, getting thinner and thinner towards its outer margin, until at last it became sludgy, and, finally, melted away into the open sea. this open sea, in its turn, stretched southward, all round, to the known arctic regions. thus the arctic basin was found to be a zone of open water, surrounded by ice on the south, and with a patch of ice and land in its centre. now, it was a strong desire on the part of captain vane to visit the southern edge of this central ice-patch on which he dwelt, that induced him to try the kite adaptation before referred to. "benjy, my boy," said he, one fine winter day, when the galaxy of stars, the full moon, and an unusually brilliant aurora, diffused a strong light over the undulations of cup valley, "i have a notion of taking a trip to the s'uth'ard soon." "which s'uth'ard d'you think of going to, father?" asked the boy. in case any reader should hastily exclaim, "what a ridiculous question; there can be only _one_ southward!" we beg leave to point out that at the north pole _every_ direction lies to the southward, and that, as there is necessarily no east or west at all, there is therefore no possibility of stating by compass to what part of the south one intends to go. of course it was open to the captain to have said he intended to descend south on one of the degrees of longitude, or between any two of them, and then, immediately on quitting the pole the old familiar east and west would, as it were, return to him. but he found it more convenient, on the whole, having got beyond all latitude, to indicate his intended route by well-known objects of the land. "i'm going to steer for the starboard side of poloeland," he said, "pay a short visit to grabantak and amalatok in passing, and then carry on south to the open water." "it'll be a longish trip, father." "not so long as you expect, my boy, for i mean to go by express." benjy's eyes twinkled, for he knew that some new device was working in his father's brain, which brain never failed to bring its plans to maturity. "what is it to be, father?" "you go and fetch two of the kites, benjy, and you'll soon find out. overhaul them well and see that everything is taut and shipshape. let butterface help you, and send alf and chingatok to me. i suppose leo is off after musk-oxen, as usual." "yes; he pretends that the camp wants a supply of fresh meat. he'd pretend that as an excuse for hunting even if we were all dying of surfeit." soon afterwards the captain was seen, followed by his usual companions and a company of eskimos, dragging two sledges to the upper ridge of cup valley. one sledge was lightly, the other heavily, laden. "you've brought plenty of supplies, i hope, alf?" asked the leader. "yes, enough for three weeks. will that do?" "quite enough, lad; but it may not be wanted, as i'm going south in a direction we've not yet tried, where i expect to find the open water close to us. it's well, however, to have enough of meat at all times." "no fear of its being too much, father," said benjy. "when butterface goes with us, a three weeks' allowance usually disappears in a fortnight." "nebber mind, massa," said the negro seriously. "you've plenty for tree weeks dis time, 'cause i's off my feed. got polar dimspepsy, or suffin' o' dat sort, i tink." "you've brought the electrical machine, of course, and the dynamite, alf?" asked the captain. "of course. i never prepare for a trip without these. there's no saying, you see, when we may require them--either to blow up obstructions or astonish the natives." "the natives are past astonishing now," remarked benjy; "nothing short of a ten thousand jar battery would astonish chingatok, and i'm quite sure that you couldn't rouse a sentiment of surprise in oolichuk, unless you made him swallow a dynamite cartridge, and blew him inside out. but, i say, daddy, how long are you going to keep us in the dark about your plans? don't you see that we are in agonies of suspense?" "only till we gain the ridge, benjy. it will be down-hill after that, and the snow-crust comparatively smooth as well as hard." arrived at the ridge, one of the kites was unfolded and sent up. the breeze was steady, and sufficiently strong. it took twenty eskimos to hold it when allowed full play, and even these it jerked about in a manner that highly diverted them. these eskimos were very fond of kite-flying, for its own sake, without reference to utility! "i knew you were going to try it on the sledge," exclaimed benjy, with sparkling eyes. "why did you ask me about it, then?" returned the captain. "do let _me_ make the first trial, father!" captain vane was fastening the drag-line to the fore part of the light sledge, and refused, at first, to listen to the boy's entreaties, fearing that some accident might befall him. "you know how accustomed i am to manage the kites, father. there's not the least fear; and i'll be superhumanly cautious." there was no resisting benjy's tone and eyes. he was allowed to take his place on the sledge as manager. butterface sat behind to steer. steering was to be managed by means of a stout pole, pressed varyingly on the snow on either side. "don't go more than a mile or so, my boy," said the captain, in a serious tone. "it's only a trial, you know. if it succeeds, we'll divide the loading of the sledges, and make a fair start in company." benjy promised to manipulate the check-string with care. the struggling natives were ordered to let the kite straighten the slack of the line gradually. "are you ready, ben?" "all right, father." "got your hand on the check-string? mind, it will pull hard. now--let go!" the natives obeyed. benjy at the same instant hauled sharply on the check-string, intending to tilt the kite well forward, and start in a slow, stately manner, but there was a hitch of some sort somewhere, for the string would not act. the kite acted, however, with its full force. up went the fore part of the sledge as it flew off like an arrow from a bow, causing butterface to throw a back somersault, and leaving him behind. benjy held on to the head of the sledge, and made violent efforts to free the check-string. fortunately, the surface of the snow was smooth. "after him, lads," roared the captain, setting a brave example, and for some time heading the natives in the chase; but a few moments sufficed to prove the hopelessness of the race. tug as benjy would at the regulator, it refused to act. fortunately, being made of silk, it did not break. by this time the kite had attained its maximum speed, equal, as the captain said, to a twenty-knot breeze. at first the surface of the snow was so smooth and hard, that benjy, being busy with the obdurate regulator, did not appreciate the speed. when he gave up his attempts with a sigh of despair, he had leisure to look around him. the sledge was gliding on with railway speed. one or two solitary hummocks that looked like white sentinels on the level plain, went past him with an awful rush, and several undulations caused by snow-drift were crossed in a light leap which he barely felt. benjy was fully aware of his danger. to meet with a hummock no bigger than a wheelbarrow, would, in the circumstances, have entailed destruction; he therefore seized a pole which formed part of the sledge-gear, and tried steering. it could be done, but with great difficulty, as he had to sit in the front of the sledge to keep it down. recklessly jovial though he was, the boy could not contemplate his probable fate without misgiving. nothing was visible in all the white illimitable plain save a hummock here and there, with a distant berg on the horizon. he could not expect the level character of the ice to extend far. whither was he going? south he knew; but in that direction, his father had often told him, lay the open sea. the moon seemed to smile on him; the aurora appeared to dance with unwonted vigour, as if in glee; the very stars winked at him! "what if a chasm or a big hummock should turn up?" thought benjy. the thought seemed to produce the dreaded object, for next moment a large hummock appeared right ahead. far away though it was, the awful pace brought it quickly near. the poor boy struggled--he absolutely agonised--with the pole. his efforts were successful. the hummock went past like a meteor, but it was a horribly close shave, and benjy felt his very marrow shrink, while he drew himself up into the smallest possible compass to let it go by. a bump soon after told that the ice was getting more rugged. then he saw a ridge before him. was it large or small? distance, the uncertain light, and imagination, magnified it to a high wall; high as the wall of china. in wild alarm our hero tugged at the regulator, but tugged in vain. the wall of china was upon him--under him. there was a crash. the sledge was in the air. moments appeared minutes! had the vehicle been suddenly furnished with wings? no! another crash, which nearly shut up his spine like a telescope, told him that there were no wings. his teeth came together with a snap. happily his tongue was not between them! happily, too, the sledge did not overturn, but continued its furious flight. "oh, you villain!" exclaimed benjy, shaking his fist at the airy monster which was thus dragging him to destruction. if benjy had been asked to state the truth just then, he would have found it hard to say whether consternation or delight were uppermost. it _was_ such a glorious rush! but then, how was it to end? well, he did not dare to think of that. indeed he had not time to think, for troubles came crowding on him. a violent "swish!" and a sudden deluge told him that what he had taken for glassy ice was open water. it was only a shallow pool, however. next moment he was across it, and bumping violently over a surface of broken ice. the water suggested the fear that he must be nearing the open sea, and he became supernaturally grave. fortunately, the last crash had been passed without dislocating the parts of either sledge or rider. a long stretch of smooth ice followed, over which he glided with ever-increasing speed. thus he continued to rush over the frozen sea during a considerable part of that night. poor benjy! he became half-mad with excitement at last. the exaltation of his little spirit at the risky neck-or-nothing dash, coupled with horror at the certainty of a terrible climax, was almost too much for him. he gave vent to his feelings in a wild cheer or yell, and, just then, beheld an iceberg of unusual size, looming up on the horizon before him. knowing by experience that he would soon be up to it, he used his pole with all his might, hoping to steer clear of it. as he drew nearer, he saw a dark line on either side of the berg. a feeling of deadly alarm filled him. it was the open sea! and he had to choose between being plunged into it or dashed against the berg. it occurred to him then, for the first time, that a third resource was open--he might cut the rope, and let the kite go free! amazed at his stupidity in not thinking of this before, he took out his clasp-knife, but before applying it, made a last effort to move the regulator. strange to say, the silken cord yielded to the first pull, as if nothing had been wrong with it at all! the head of the runaway kite was thrown forward, and it came wavering down in eccentric gyrations, while the sledge gradually lost way, and came to a standstill not fifty yards from the berg. up to this point what may be termed the northern island-ice continued unbroken, but beyond the berg it was broken up into floes, and, not six hundred yards out, it tailed away to the southward in what whalers term stream-ice. the berg itself was obviously aground. the first object that met benjy's eyes, after coming to a halt, was an enormous polar bear. this was no strange sight to the boy by that time, but it was awkward in the circumstances, for he had neither gun nor spear. even if he had possessed the latter he was too young and light to cope successfully with the shaggy white king of arctic beasts. from the attitude of the animal it appeared to be watching something. in truth, it was so intently engaged with a sleeping seal that it had not observed the approach of the sledge. profiting by this, benjy quietly moved away round a colossal buttress of the berg, and took refuge in an ice-cave. but such refuge, he knew, could avail him nothing if the bear should scent him out and search for him. looking hastily round and up into the dark blue cavern, he espied a projecting ledge of ice about thirteen feet above the level of the floor. on this he resolved to perch himself. his first care was to examine the contents of the sledge. we have said it had been lightly laden at starting, which was the reason of the tremendous pace at which it travelled. although there was neither spear nor gun, the anxious boy was somewhat comforted to find an axe strapped in its accustomed place; also a blanket, sleeping-bag, and musk-ox skin, besides a mass of frozen blubber, but there was nothing else of an eatable nature. there was, however, a box containing the captain's sextant, the electrical machine, and a packet of dynamite cartridges. regarding these latter objects with a sigh of disappointment, benjy seized the axe and hastened towards the ledge of ice, muttering to himself in a confidential tone-- "you see, old boy, if that bear takes a fancy to call on you, it will be as well to be able to say, `not at home,' for he could make short work of you, much though you think of yourself. yes, this ledge is high enough to bid you defiance, mister bear, and it's long and broad enough to hold me and my belongings. the knobs by which to climb to it, too, are easy--too easy--but i'll soon rectify that. now, then, look alive, benjy, boy, for if that bear don't catch that seal he'll be sure to look you up." ceasing to speak, he actively conveyed the contents of the sledge to his shelf of refuge. then he cut away the knobs by which he climbed to it, until there was barely sufficient for his own tiny toes to rest on. that done, he went to the mouth of the cavern to look about him. what he saw there may be guessed from the fact that he returned next moment, running at full speed, stumbling over ice lumps, bumping his shins and knees, dropping his axe, and lacerating his knuckles. he had met the bear! need we add that he gained his perch with the agility of a tree-squirrel! the bear, surprised, no doubt, but obviously sulky from the loss of the seal, entered the cave sedately with an inquiring look. it saw benjy at once, and made prodigious efforts to get at him. as the monster rose on its hind legs and reached its paws towards his shelf, the poor boy's spirit seemed to melt, indeed his whole interior felt as if reduced to a warm fluid, while a prickly heat broke out at his extremities, perspiration beaded his brow, and his heart appeared to have settled permanently in his throat. these distressing symptoms did not, however, last long, for he quickly perceived that the bear's utmost stretch did not reach nearer than three or four feet of him. some of the alarm returned, however, when the creature attempted to climb up by his own ladder. seven or eight times it made the attempt, while the boy watched in breathless anxiety, but each time it slipped when half-way up, and fell with a soft heavy thud on the ice below, which caused it to gasp and cough. then it sat down on its haunches and gazed at its little foe malignantly. "bah! you brute!" exclaimed benjy, whose courage was returning, "i'm not a bit afraid of you!" he leant against the wall of his refuge, notwithstanding this boast, and licked the ice to moisten his parched lips. after a rest the bear made another trial, and twice it succeeded in planting the claws of one huge paw on the edge of the shelf, but benjy placed his heel against the claws, thrust them off, and sent the bear down each time howling with disappointment. sailing softly among the constellations in the aurora-lighted sky, the moon sent a bright ray into the cavern, which gleamed on the monster's wicked eyes and glistening teeth; but benjy had begun to feel comparatively safe by that time, and was becoming "himself again." "don't you wish you may get me?" he asked in a desperately facetious spirit. the bear made no reply, but turned to examine the contents of the ice-cave. first he went to the hatchet and smelt it. in doing so he cut his nose. with a growl he gave the weapon an angry pat, and in so doing cut his toes. we fear that benjy rejoiced at the sight of blood, for he chuckled and made the sarcastic remark, "that comes of losing your temper, old fellow!" that bear either understood english, or the very sound of the human voice caused it irritation, for it turned and rushed at the ice-ledge with such fury that benjy's heart again leaped into his throat. he had, however, recovered sufficiently to enable him to act with promptitude and discretion. sitting down with his right foot ready, and his hands resting firmly on the ice behind him, he prepared to receive the charge in the only available manner. so fierce was the onset that the monster ran up the ice-cliff like a cat, and succeeded in fixing the terrible claws of both feet on the edge of the shelf, but the boy delivered his right heel with such force that the left paw slipped off. the left heel followed like lightning, and the right paw also slipped, letting the bear again fall heavily on the ice below. this was more than even a bear could bear. he rushed savagely about the cavern, growling hideously, dashing the sledge about as if it had been a mere toy, and doing all the mischief he could, yet always avoiding the axe with particular care--thus showing that polar bears, not less than men, are quite awake to personal danger, even when supposed to be blind with rage! at last he lay down to recover himself, and lick his bloody nose and paw. while benjy sat contemplating this creature, and wondering what was to be the end of it all, a bright idea occurred to him. he rose quickly, took the electrical machine out of its box, and happily found it to be in good working order--thanks to alf, who had special charge of the scientific instruments, and prided himself on the care with which he attended to them. the bear watched him narrowly with its wicked little eyes, though it did not see fit to cease its paw-licking. having arranged the machine, benjy took the two handles in his left hand, pressed his knee on the board of the instrument to hold it steady, and with his right hand caused it to revolve. then he held down the handles as if inviting the bear to come and take them. the challenge was accepted at once. bruin cantered up, rose on his hind legs, and stretched his neck to its utmost, but could not reach the handles, though the boy stretched downward as far as possible to accommodate him. the dirty-white monster whined and snickered with intense feeling at thus finding itself so near, and yet so far, from the attainment of its object. sympathising with its desires, benjy changed his posture, and managed just to touch the nose of his enemy. the bear shrank back with a sort of gasp, appalled--at least shocked--by the result! after a little, not feeling much the worse for it, the brute returned as if to invite another electric shock--perhaps with some sinister design in view. but another and a brighter idea had entered benjy's brain. instead of giving the bear a shock, he tore off a small bit of seal-blubber from the mass at his side, which he dropped into its mouth. it swallowed that morsel with satisfaction, and waited for more. benjy gave it more. still it wanted more. "you shall have it, my boy," said benjy, whose eyes assumed that peculiar glare of glee which always presaged some desperate intention. he opened another small box, and found what he wanted. it was a small object scarcely a couple of inches in length. he fastened the wires of the electric machine quickly to it, and then imbedded it in a small piece of blubber which he lowered, as before, to the bear. "you'll probably break the wires or smash the machine, but i'll risk that," muttered benjy through his set teeth. "i only hope you won't chew it, because dynamite mayn't be palatable. there--down with it!" the bear happily bolted the morsel. the wires seemed to perplex him a little, but before he had time to examine the mystery, the boy gave the instrument a furious turn. instantly there was a stupendous crash like a very thunderbolt. the bear burst like an overcharged cannon! benjy and the berg collided, and at that moment everything seemed to the former to vanish away in smoke, leaving not even a wrack behind! chapter thirty. leo in danger next! a novel mode of rescue. when the catastrophe described in the last chapter occurred, captain vane and his friends, following hard on the heels of the runaway, chanced to be within two miles of the berg in the bosom of which benjy had found refuge. "there he is!" shouted the captain joyfully, as the flash of the explosion reached his eyes and the roar of the report his ears. "blessed evidence! he's up to mischief of some sort still, and that's proof positive that he's alive." "but he may have perished in this piece of mischief," said alf, anxiously glancing up at the kite, which was dragging the heavily-laden sledge rather slowly over the rough ice. "i hope not, alf. shake the regulator, butterface, and see that it's clear." "all right, massa. steam's on de berry strongest what's possible." "heave some o' the cargo overboard, alf. we must make haste. not the meat, lad, not the meat; everything else before that. so. mind your helm, chingatok; she'll steer wildish when lightened." captain vane was right. when alf had tumbled some of the heavier portions of lading off the sledge, it burst away like a wild-horse let go free, rendering it difficult at first for chingatok to steady it. in a few minutes, however, he had it again under control, and they soon reached the berg. "the dynamite must have gone off by accident," said the captain to alf, as they stumbled over masses of ice which the explosion had brought down from the roof of the cavern. "it's lucky it didn't happen in summer, else the berg might have been blown to atoms. hallo! what's this? bits of a polar bear, i do believe--and--what! not benjy!" it was indeed benjy, flat on his back like a spread-eagle, and covered with blood and brains; but his appearance was the worst of his case, though it took a considerable time to convince his horrified friends of that fact. "i tell you i'm all right, father," said the poor boy, on recovering from the state of insensibility into which his fall had thrown him. "but you're covered from head to foot with blood," exclaimed the anxious father, examining him all over, "though i can't find a cut of any sort about you--only one or two bruises." "you'll find a bump on the top of my head, father, the size of a cocoa-nut. that's what knocked the senses out o' me, but the blood and brains belong to the bear. i lay no claim to them." "where _is_ the bear?" asked alf, looking round. "where is he?" echoed benjy, bursting into a wild laugh. "oh! massa benjy, don't laugh," said butterface solemnly; "you hab no notion wot a awful look you got when you laugh wid sitch a bloody face." this made benjy laugh more than ever. his mirth became catching, and the negro's solemn visage relaxed into an irrepressible grin. "oh, you japan-jawed porpoise!" cried benjy, "you should have seen that bear go off--with such a crack too! i only wish i'd been able to hold up for two seconds longer to see it properly, but my shelf went down, and i had to go along with it. blown to bits! no--he was blown to a thousand atoms! count 'em if you can." again benjy burst into uproarious laughter. there was indeed some ground for the boy's way of putting the case. the colossal creature had been so terribly shattered by the dynamite cartridge, that there was scarcely a piece of him larger than a man's hand left to tell the tale. "well, well," said the captain, assisting his son to rise, "i'm thankful it's no worse." "worse, father! why, it _couldn't_ be worse, unless, indeed, his spirit were brought alive again and allowed to contemplate the humbling condition of his body." "i don't refer to the bear, benjy, but to yourself, lad. you might have been killed, you know, and i'm very thankful you were not--though you half-deserve to be. but come, we must encamp here for the night and return home to-morrow, for the wind has been shifting a little, and will be favourable, i think, in the morning." the wind was indeed favourable next morning, we may say almost too favourable, for it blew a stiff breeze from the south, which steadily increased to a gale during the day. afterwards the sky became overcast and the darkness intense, rendering it necessary to attend to the kite's regulator with the utmost care, and advance with the greatest caution. now, while the captain and his friends were struggling back to their polar home, leo vandervell happened to be caught by the same gale when out hunting. being of a bold, sanguine, and somewhat reckless disposition, this nimrod of the party paid little attention to the weather until it became difficult to walk and next to impossible to see. then, having shot nothing that day, he turned towards the pole with a feeling of disappointment. but when the gale increased so that he could hardly face it, and the sky became obliterated by falling and drifting snow, disappointment gave place to anxiety, and he soon realised the fact that he had lost his direction. to advance in such circumstances was out of the question, he therefore set about building a miniature hut of snow. being by that time expert at such masonry, he soon erected a dome-shaped shelter, in which he sat down on his empty game-bag after closing the entrance with a block of hard snow. the position of our hunter was not enviable. the hut was barely high enough to let him sit up, and long enough to let him lie down--not to stretch out. the small allowance of pemmican with which he had set out had long ago been consumed. it was so dark that he could not see his hand when close before his eyes. he was somewhat fatigued and rather cold, and had no water to drink. it was depressing to think of going to bed in such circumstances with the yelling of an arctic storm for a lullaby. however, leo had a buoyant spirit, and resolved to "make the best of it." first of all he groped in his game-bag for a small stove lamp, which he set up before him, and arranged blubber and a wick in it, using the sense of touch in default of sight. then he struck a light, but not with matches. the englishmen's small stock of congreves had long since been exhausted, and they were obliged to procure fire by the eskimo method, namely, a little piece of wood worked like a drill, with a thong of leather, against another piece of wood until the friction produced fire. when a light had been thus laboriously obtained, he applied it to the wick of his lamp, and wished fervently for something to cook. it is proverbial that wishing does not usually achieve much. after a deep sigh, therefore, leo turned his wallet inside out. besides a few crumbs, it contained a small lump of narwhal blubber and a little packet. the former, in its frozen state, somewhat resembled hard butter. the latter contained a little coffee--not the genuine article, however. that, like the matches, had long ago been used up, and our discoverers were reduced to roasted biscuit-crumbs. the substitute was not bad! inside of the coffee-packet was a smaller packet of brown sugar, but it had burst and allowed its contents to mingle with the coffee. rejoiced to find even a little food where he had thought there was none, leo filled his pannikin with snow, melted it, emptied into it the compound of coffee and sugar, put it on the lamp to boil, and sat down to watch, while he slowly consumed the narwhal butter, listening the while to the simmering of the pannikin and the roaring of the gale. after his meagre meal he wrapped himself in his blanket, and went to sleep. this was all very well as long as it lasted, but he cooled during the night, and, on awaking in the morning, found that keen frost penetrated every fibre of his garments and every pore of his skin. the storm, however, was over; the moon and stars were shining in a clear sky, and the aurora was dancing merrily. rising at once he bundled up his traps, threw the line of his small hand-sledge over his shoulder, and stepped out for home. but cold and want of food had been telling on him. he soon experienced an unwonted sense of fatigue, then a drowsy sensation came over him. leo was well aware of the danger of giving way to drowsiness in such circumstances, yet, strange to say, he was not in the least afraid of being overcome. he would sit down to rest, just for two minutes, and then push on. he smiled, as he sat down in the crevice of a hummock, to think of the frequent and needless cautions which his uncle had given him against this very thing. the smile was still on his lips when his head drooped on a piece of ice, and he sank into a deep slumber. ah, leonard vandervell! ill would it have been for thee if thou hadst been left to thyself that day; but sharp eyes and anxious hearts were out on the icy waste in search of thee! on arriving at his winter quarters, and learning that leo had not yet returned, captain vane at once organised an elaborate search-expedition. the man who found him at last was butterface. "oh, massa leo!" exclaimed that sable creature on beholding the youth seated, white and cold, on the hummock; but he said no more, being fully alive to the danger of the situation. rushing at leo, he seized and shook him violently, as if he had been his bitterest foe. there was no response from the sleeping man. the negro therefore began to chafe, shake, and kick him; even to slap his face, and yell into his ears in a way that an ignorant observer would have styled brutal. at last there was a symptom of returning vitality in the poor youth's frame, and the negro redoubled his efforts. "ho! hallo! massa leo, wake up! you's dyin', you is!" "why--what's--the--matter--butterf--" muttered leo, and dropped his head again. "hi! hello! ho-o-o!" yelled butterface, renewing the rough treatment, and finally hitting the youth a sounding slap on the ear. "ha! i be tink dat vakes you up." it certainly did wake him up. a burst of indignation within seemed to do more for him than the outward buffetings. he shut his fist and hit butterface a weak but well intended right-hander on the nose. the negro replied with a sounding slap on the other ear, which induced leo to grasp him in his arms and try to throw him. butterface returned the grasp with interest, and soon quite an interesting wrestling match began, the only witness of which sat on a neighbouring hummock in the form of a melancholy arctic fox. "hi! hold on, massa leo! don't kill me altogidder," shouted butterface, as he fell beneath his adversary. "you's a'most right now." "almost right! what do you mean?" "i mean dat you's bin a'most froze to deaf, but i's melted you down to life agin." the truth at last began to dawn on the young hunter. after a brief explanation, he and the negro walked home together in perfect harmony. chapter thirty one. the last. in course of time the long and dreary winter passed away, and signs of the coming spring began to manifest themselves to the dwellers in the polar lands. chief and most musical among these signs were the almost forgotten sounds of dropping water, and tinkling rills. one day in april the thermometer suddenly rose to eighteen above the freezing-point of fahrenheit. captain vane came from the observatory, his face blazing with excitement and oily with heat, to announce the fact. "that accounts for it feeling so like summer," said benjy. "summer, boy, it's like india," returned the captain, puffing and fanning himself with his cap. "we'll begin this very day to make arrangements for returning home." it was on the evening of that day that they heard the first droppings of the melting snow. long before that, however, the sun had come back to gladden the polar regions, and break up the reign of ancient night. his departure in autumn had been so gradual, that it was difficult to say when night began to overcome the day. so, in like manner, his return was gradual. it was not until captain vane observed stars of the sixth magnitude shining out at noon in november, that he had admitted the total absence of day; and when spring returned, it was not until he could read the smallest print at midnight in june that he admitted there was "no night there." but neither the continual day of summer, nor the perpetual night of winter, made so deep an impression on our explorers as the gushing advent of spring. that season did not come gradually back like the light, but rushed upon them suddenly with a warm embrace, like an enthusiastic friend after a long absence. it plunged, as it were, upon the region, and overwhelmed it. gushing waters thrilled the ears with the sweetness of an old familiar song. exhalations from the moistened earth, and, soon after, the scent of awakening vegetation, filled the nostrils with delicious fragrance. in may, the willow-stems were green and fresh with flowing sap. flowers began to bud modestly, as if half afraid of having come too soon. but there was no cause to fear that. the glorious sun was strong in his might, and, like his maker, warmed the northern world into exuberant life. mosses, poppies, saxifrages, cochlearia, and other hardy plants began to sprout, and migratory birds innumerable--screaming terns, cackling duck, piping plover, auks in dense clouds with loudly whirring wings, trumpeting geese, eider-ducks, burgomasters, etcetera, began to return with all the noisy bustle and joyous excitement of a family on its annual visit to much-loved summer quarters. but here we must note a difference between the experience of our explorers and that of all others. these myriads of happy creatures--and many others that we have not space to name--did not pass from the south onward to a still remoter north, but came up from all round the horizon,--up all the meridians of longitude, as on so many railway lines converging at the pole, and settling down for a prolonged residence in garrulous felicity among the swamps and hills and vales of flatland. truly it was a most enjoyable season and experience, but there is no joy without its alley here below--not even at the north pole! the alloy came in the form of a low fever which smote down the stalwart leo, reduced his great strength seriously, and confined him for many weeks to a couch in their little stone hut, and, of course, the power of sympathy robbed his companions of much of that exuberant joy which they shared with the lower animals at the advent of beautiful spring. during the period of his illness leo's chief nurse, comforter, and philosophical companion, was the giant of the north. and one of the subjects which occupied their minds most frequently was the word of god. in the days of weakness and suffering leo took to that great source of comfort with thirsting avidity, and intense was his gratification at the eager desire expressed by the giant to hear and understand what it contained. of course alf, and benjy, and the captain, and butterface, as well as grabantak, makitok, and amalatok, with others of the eskimos, were frequently by his side, but the giant never left him for more than a brief period, night or day. "ah! chingatok," said leo one day, when the returning spring had begun to revive his strength, "i never felt such a love for god's book when i was well and strong as i feel for it now that i am ill, and i little thought that i should find out so much of its value while talking about it to an eskimo. i shall be sorry to leave you, chingatok--very sorry." "the young kablunet is not yet going to die," said the giant in a soft voice. "i did not mean that," replied leo, with the ghost of his former hearty laugh; "i mean that i shall be obliged to leave flatland and to return to my own home as soon as the season permits. captain vane has been talking to me about it. he is anxious now to depart, yet sorry to leave his kind and hospitable friends." "i, too, am sorry," returned chingatok sadly. "no more shall i hear from your lips the sweet words of my great father--the story of jesus. you will take your book away with you." "that is true, my friend; and it would be useless to leave my bible with you, as you could not read it, but the _truth_ will remain with you, chingatok." "yes," replied the giant with a significant smile, "you cannot take _that_ away. it is here--and here." he touched his forehead and breast as he spoke. then he continued:-- "these strange things that alf has been trying to teach me during the long nights i have learned--i understand." he referred here to a syllabic alphabet which alf had invented, and which he had amused himself by teaching to some of the natives, so that they might write down and read those few words and messages in their own tongue which formerly they had been wont to convey to each other by means of signs and rude drawings--after the manner of most savages. "well, what about that?" asked leo, as his companion paused. "could not my friend," replied chingatok, "change some of the words of his book into the language of the eskimo and mark them down?" leo at once jumped at the idea. afterwards he spoke to alf about it, and the two set to work to translate some of the most important passages of scripture, and write them down in the syllable alphabet. for this purpose they converted a sealskin into pretty fair parchment, and wrote with the ink which captain vane had brought with him and carefully husbanded. the occupation proved a beneficial stimulus to the invalid, who soon recovered much of his wonted health, and even began again to wander about with his old companion the repeating rifle. the last event of interest which occurred at the north pole, before the departure of our explorers, was the marriage of oolichuk with oblooria. the ceremony was very simple. it consisted in the bridegroom dressing in his best and going to the tent of his father-in-law with a gift, which he laid at his feet. he then paid some endearing eskimo attentions to his mother-in-law, one of which was to present her with a raw duck, cleaned and dismembered for immediate consumption. he even assisted that pleased lady immediately to consume the duck, and wound up by taking timid little oblooria's hand and leading her away to a hut of his own, which he had specially built and decorated for the occasion. as amalatok had arrived that very day on a visit from poloeland with his prime minister and several chiefs, and grabantak was residing on the spot, with a number of chiefs from the surrounding islands, who had come to behold the famous kablunets, there was a sort of impromptu gathering of the northern clans which lent appropriate dignity to the wedding. after the preliminary feast of the occasion was over, captain vane was requested to exhibit some of his wonderful powers for the benefit of a strange chief who had recently arrived from a distant island. of course our good-natured captain complied. "get out the boats and kites, benjy, boy," he said; "we must go through our performances to please 'em. i feel as if we were a regular company of play-actors now." "won't you give them a blow-up first, father?" "no, benjy, no. never put your best foot foremost. the proverb is a false one--as many proverbs are. we will dynamite them afterwards, and electrify them last of all. go, look sharp." so the captain first amazed the visitor with the kites and india-rubber boats; then he horrified him by blowing a small iceberg of some thousands of tons into millions of atoms; after which he convulsed him and made him "jump." the latter experiment was the one to which the enlightened eskimos looked forward with the most excited and hopeful anticipations, for it was that which gratified best their feeling of mischievous joviality. when the sedate and dignified chief was led, all ignorant of his fate, to the mysterious mat, and stood thereon with grave demeanour, the surrounding natives bent their knees, drew up elbows, expanded fingers, and glared in expectancy. when the dignified chief experienced a tremor of the frame and looked surprised, they grinned with satisfaction; when he quivered convulsively they also quivered with suppressed emotion. ah! benjy had learned by that time from experience to graduate very delicately his shocking scale, and thus lead his victim step by step from bad to worse, so as to squeeze the utmost amount of fun out of him, before inducing that galvanic war-dance which usually terminated the scene and threw his audience into fits of ecstatic laughter. these were the final rejoicings of the wedding day--if we except a dance in which every man did what seemed best in his own eyes, and butterface played reels on the flute with admirable incapacity. but there came a day, at last, when the inhabitants of flatland were far indeed removed from the spirit of merriment. it was the height of the arctic summer-time, when the crashing of the great glaciers and the gleaming of the melting bergs told of rapid dissolution, and the sleepless sun was circling its day-and-nightly course in the ever-bright blue sky. the population of flatland was assembled on the beach of their native isle--the men with downcast looks, the women with sad and tearful eyes. two india-rubber boats were on the shore. two kites were flying overhead. the third boat and kite had been damaged beyond repair, but the two left were sufficient. the englishmen were about to depart, and the eskimos were inconsolable. "my boat is on the shore,--" said benjy, quoting byron, as he shook old makitok by the hand-- "and my kite is in the sky, but before i go, of more, i will--bid you--all--good-b--" benjy broke down at this point. the feeble attempt to be facetious to the last utterly failed. turning abruptly on his heel he stepped into the _faith_ and took his seat in the stern. it was the _hope_ which had been destroyed. the _faith_ and _charity_ still remained to them. we must draw a curtain over that parting scene. never before in human experience had such a display of kindly feeling and profound regret been witnessed in similar circumstances. "let go the tail-ropes!" said captain vane in a husky tone. "let go de ropes," echoed butterface in a broken voice. the ropes were let go. the kites soared, and the boats rushed swiftly over the calm and glittering sea. on nearing one of the outer islands the voyagers knew that their tiny boats would soon be shut out from view, and they rose to wave a last farewell. the salute was returned by the eskimos--with especial fervour by chingatok, who stood high above his fellows on a promontory, and waved the parchment roll of texts which he grasped in his huge right hand. long after the boats had disappeared, the kites could still be seen among the gorgeous clouds. smaller and smaller they became in their flight to the mysterious south, until at last they seemed undistinguishable specks on the horizon, and then vanished altogether from view. one by one the eskimos retired to their homes--slowly and sadly, as if loath to part from the scene where the word farewell had been spoken. at last all were gone save chingatok, who still stood for hours on the promontory, pressing the scroll to his heaving chest, and gazing intently at the place on the horizon where his friends had disappeared. there was no night to bring his vigil or his meditations to a close, but time wore him out at last. with a sigh, amounting almost to a groan, he turned and walked slowly away, and did not stop until he stood upon the pole, where he sat down on one of the captain's stools, and gazed mournfully at the remains of the dismantled observatory. there he was found by old makitok, and for some time the giant and the wizard held converse together. "i love these kablunets," said chingatok. "they are a strange race," returned the wizard. "they mingle much folly with their wisdom. they come here to find this nort pole, this nothing, and they find it. then they go away and leave it! what good has it done them?" "i know not," replied chingatok humbly, "but i know not everything. they have showed me much. one thing they have showed me--that behind all _things_ there is something else which i do not see. the kablunets are wonderful men. yet i pity them. as blackbeard has said, some of them are too fond of killing themselves, and some are too fond of killing each other. i wish they would come here--the whole nation of them--and learn how to live in peace and be happy among the eskimos. but they will not come. only a few of their best men venture to come, and i should not wonder if their countrymen refused to believe the half of what they tell them when they get home." old makitok made no reply. he was puzzled, and when puzzled he usually retired to his hut and went to bed. doing so on the present occasion he left his companion alone. "poor, poor kablunets," murmured chingatok, descending from his position, and wandering away towards the outskirts of the village. "you are very clever, but you are somewhat foolish. i pity you, but i also love you well." with his grand head down, his arms crossed, and the scroll of texts pressed to his broad bosom, the giant of the north wandered away, and finally disappeared among the flowering and rocky uplands of the interior. the end. "the walrus hunters", by r.m. ballantyne ( - ), . ________________________________________________________________________ this book is full of action. it deals with both a tribe of red indians, of the dogrib nation, and a tribe of eskimos. normally a certain animosity existed between these two, but this tale relates how under certain circumstances, members of these tribes could not only become close friends, and work together towards a common goal, but also intermarry. there is no doubt but that the reader will have a greater knowledge of the ways and thoughts of the indian and the eskimo, and kindly feelings towards both, after reading this book--an easy task, for it is a good and absorbing read. in this little preface we have deliberately used the old-fashioned terms for the two races, fully aware that they are both inexact, and that today we would, for instance, use the term inuit instead of eskimo. however, this book was written in , and things were different then. it has been written of ballantyne that, in the last years before his death in , the quality of his work was failing and indeed repetitive. anyone reading this book can see that this is untrue, for it is one of his very best. indeed it is a strange thing that his earlier books, which were well-promoted upon their publication, should still be so much more read than his later ones. while working upon this edition of "the walrus hunters" we found ourselves several times reflecting upon this strange state of affairs. robert michael ballantyne was born in and died in . he was educated at the edinburgh academy, and in he became a clerk with the hudson bay company, working at the red river settlement in northern canada until , arriving back in edinburgh in . the letters he had written home were very amusing in their description of backwoods life, and his family publishing connections suggested that he should construct a book based on these letters. three of his most enduring books were written over the next decade, "the young fur traders", "ungava", "the hudson bay company", and were based on his experiences with the h.b.c. in this period he also wrote "the coral island" and "martin rattler", both of these taking place in places never visited by ballantyne. having been chided for small mistakes he made in these books, he resolved always to visit the places he wrote about. with these books he became known as a great master of literature intended for teenagers. he researched the cornish mines, the london fire brigade, the postal service, the railways, the laying down of submarine telegraph cables, the construction of light-houses, the light-ship service, the life-boat service, south africa, norway, the north sea fishing fleet, ballooning, deep-sea diving, algiers, and many more, experiencing the lives of the men and women in these settings by living with them for weeks and months at a time, and he lived as they lived. he was a very true-to-life author, depicting the often squalid scenes he encountered with great care and attention to detail. his young readers looked forward eagerly to his next books, and through the s and s there was a flow of books from his pen, sometimes four in a year, all very good reading. the rate of production diminished in the last ten or fifteen years of his life, but the quality never failed. he published over ninety books under his own name, and a few books for very young children under the pseudonym "comus". for today's taste his books are perhaps a little too religious, and what we would nowadays call "pi". in part that was the way people wrote in those days, but more important was the fact that in his days at the red river settlement, in the wilds of canada, he had been a little dissolute, and he did not want his young readers to be unmindful of how they ought to behave, as he felt he had been. some of his books were quite short, little over pages. these books formed a series intended for the children of poorer parents, having less pocket-money. these books are particularly well-written and researched, because he wanted that readership to get the very best possible for their money. they were published as six series, three books in each series. ________________________________________________________________________ the walrus hunters, a tale of life on the arctic shores of canada, by r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. a romance of the ice-world. a surprise, a combat, and a feed. there is a river in america which flows to the north-westward of great bear lake, and helps to drain that part of the great wilderness into the arctic sea. it is an insignificant stream compared with such well-known waterways as the mackenzie and the coppermine; nevertheless it is large enough to entice the white-whale and the seal into its waters every spring, and it becomes a resting-place for myriads of wild-fowl while on their passage to and from the breeding-grounds of the far north. greygoose river was the name given to it by the dogrib indians who dwelt in its neighbourhood, and who were wont, every spring and autumn, to descend its waters nearly to the sea in quest of game. the eskimos, who, coming from the mysterious north, were in the habit of ascending it a short way during open water in pursuit of their peculiar prey, named it whale river. the indians and eskimos did not often meet while on these trips. they did not like meeting, because the result was apt to be disastrous. besides, the land was wide and the game plentiful enough for both, so that they were not much tempted to risk a meeting. occasionally, however, meetings and encounters did take place, and sometimes bitter feuds arose, but the possession of fire-arms by the indians--who were supplied by the fur-traders--rendered the eskimos wary. their headstrong courage, however, induced the red men to keep as much as possible out of their way. in short, there was a good deal of the spirit of "let-be for let-be" between the two at the time of which we write. one morning in the spring-time of the year, soon after the floods caused by the melting snows had swept the ice clean out of greygoose or whale river, a sturdy young eskimo urged his sharp kayak, or skin-covered canoe, up the stream in pursuit of a small white-whale. but the creature gave him the slip, so that, after an energetic chase, he turned his light vessel towards the left bank of the stream, intending to land. cheenbuk, for such was his name, was one of those sedate beings whose energies run calm and deep, like a mighty river. this feelings, whatever they might be, did not usually cause much agitation on the surface. disappointment did not visibly depress, nor did success unduly elate him. the loss of the whale failed to disturb the placid look of grave contentment which sat on his good-looking countenance. for it must be noted here that cheenbuk was a handsome savage--if, indeed, we are entitled to style him a savage at all. his features were good, and strongly marked. his young beard and moustache were black, though not bushy. his dark eyes were large and full of tenderness, which expression, by an almost imperceptible raising of eyelid and contraction of brow, was easily transmuted into a gaze of ferocity or indignation. his bulky frame was clothed in the seal-skin garb peculiar to his people; his hair was straight, voluminous, and unkempt, and his motions gave indication of great strength combined with agility. and no wonder, for a large part of our young eskimo's life had been spent in battling with the forces of nature, and the hardships of life as displayed in the arctic regions--to say nothing of frequent conflicts with the seal, the walrus and the polar bear. running his kayak among the rushes of a small inlet, cheenbuk stepped out of the hole in its centre into the stream. the water was ankle-deep, but the youth suffered no discomfort, for he wore what may be styled home-made waterproof boots reaching to above the knees. these had been invented by his forefathers, no doubt, in the remote ages of antiquity--at all events, long before india-rubber had been discovered or macintosh was born. drawing his little craft out of the water, the young man took some food from its interior, and was about to begin his truly simple meal by eating it raw, when a distant sound arrested his hand on the way to his mouth. he turned his head slightly on one side and remained for some moments like a singularly attentive statue. presently the voice of a wild-goose was faintly heard in the far distance. evidently the young eskimo desired a change of fare, for he laid down the slice of raw seal, on which he had been about to regale himself, and disengaged a long slender spear from the bow of his kayak. it is well-known that wild-geese will, with proverbial stupidity, answer to an imitation of their cry, particularly in spring. indeed, they will answer to a very bad imitation of it, insomuch that the poorest counterfeit will turn them out of their course and attract them towards the crier. availing himself of this weakness, our eskimo hid himself behind a bush, and was opening his mouth to give vent to a stentorian goose-call when he was checked, and apparently petrified, by a loud report, which echoed among the neighbouring cliffs. the youth knew the sound well. he had heard it only once before, but, once heard, it could never be forgotten. it was the gun, or, as his people called it, the fire-spouter, of an indian. plunging quietly into the underwood, he hastened towards the spot where a little wreath of smoke betrayed the position of what may be almost styled his hereditary foe. cautiously, carefully, and with a catlike motion that could hardly have been excelled by an indian brave, cheenbuk advanced until he reached the edge of a partially clear space, in which he beheld an indian leisurely engaged in pushing the head of a large grey goose under his belt. at his side, leaning against a tree, was the long-barrelled fowling-piece, which he had just reloaded. it was one of those common, cheap, flint-lock affairs which were supplied by the fur-traders in those days. the indian was a tall, powerfully built middle-aged man, and, from his look and manner, was evidently unsuspicious of the presence of a foe. he seemed to be quite alone. the eskimo poised his light spear, but hesitated to launch it. he shrank from killing a defenceless foe. the hesitation betrayed him, for at the moment the sharp ear of the red man heard, and his eye discovered him. the gun flew to the indian's shoulder, and the eskimo launched his spear, but by good fortune both weapons failed. the well-directed spear was cleverly dodged, and the gun missed fire. to re-cock the weapon, take a more deadly aim, and pull the trigger, was the work of three seconds; but again the flint proved faithless. cheenbuk, however, divined the meaning of the attempt, and sprang upon his foe to prevent a repetition of the action, though he was now practically unarmed,--for the little stone knife which he carried in his bosom was but ill suited for deadly combat. the indian clubbed his gun to meet the onset, but the eskimo, evading the first blow, caught hold of the weapon with both hands, and now began a fierce and prolonged struggle for possession of the "fire-spouter." both hands of each combatant being engaged, neither could venture to draw his knife, and, as the men were pretty equally matched, both as to size and strength, they swayed to and fro with desperate energy for a considerable time, each endeavouring to throw the other, while the sweat poured down their faces and their breathing came in fitful gasps. at length there was a pause in the conflict. it seemed as if they had stopped by mutual consent to recover breath for a final effort. as they glared into each other's faces, each felt surprised to see little or nothing of the evidence of that deadly hatred which usually characterises implacable foes. suddenly cheenbuk relaxed his grip of the gun and stepped back a pace. in so doing he put himself, to some extent at least, at the mercy of his adversary. with quick perception the indian recognised the fact. he drew himself up and dropped the gun on the ground. "why should we fight? the hunting-grounds are wide enough!" he said, in the grave sententious tones peculiar to his race. "that is just what came to my thought when i let go," answered the more matter-of-fact eskimo. "let us part, then, as friends," returned the red man, "and let us do it in the manner of the pale-faced traders." he extended his right hand as he spoke. cheenbuk, who had heard a rumour of the white man's customs--probably from men of his race who had met with the crews of whalers--advanced, grasped the extended hand, and shook it in a way that might have done credit to any englishman! he smiled at the same time with a slightly humorous expression, but the other maintained his solemnity. fun is not a prominent characteristic of the red man. "but there is no need that we should part before feeding," said the eskimo. "waugh!" replied the indian, by which it is to be presumed he signified assent. the reconciled foes being both adepts in the art of cookery, and--one of them at least--in woodcraft, it was not long before a large fire was blazing under a convenient fir-tree, and the grey goose soon hissed pleasantly in front of it. they were a quiet and self-contained couple, however, and went about their work in profound silence. not that they lacked ideas or language--for each, being naturally a good linguist, had somehow acquired a smattering of the other's tongue,--but they resembled each other in their disinclination to talk without having something particular to say, and in their inclination to quietness and sobriety of demeanour. here, however, the resemblance ceased, for while the eskimo was free and easy, ready to learn and to sympathise, and quick to see and appreciate a joke, the indian was sternly conservative, much impressed with his own rectitude of intention, as well as his capacity for action, and absolutely devoid of the slightest tinge of humour. thus the eskimo's expression varied somewhat with the nature of the subjects which chased each other through his mind, while that of the red man never changed from the calm of dignified immobility--except, of course, when, as during the recent struggle, his life was in danger. while the goose was roasting, the erstwhile foes sat down to watch the process. they had not to watch long, for the fire was strong and neither of them was particular. indeed, the eskimo would gladly have eaten his portion raw, but waited patiently, out of deference to what he deemed his companion's prejudices. "you are alone?" said the eskimo interrogatively. "yes--alone," returned the indian. to such men, this was mental food for at least a quarter of an hour. by the end of that time one side of the bird was sufficiently done. the indian turned the stick on which it was impaled, drew his scalping-knife, and commenced on the side that was ready while the other side was being done. cheenbuk drew his stone knife, cut a large slice of the breast, and also fell to work. they ate vigorously, yet the process was not soon over, for the goose was large and their appetites were strong. of course they had no time or inclination for conversation during the meal. when it was finished, the grey goose was reduced to a miserable skeleton. then both men sighed the sigh of contentment, wiped their knives on the grass, and looked gravely at each other. cheenbuk seemed as if about to speak, but was arrested in his intention by the strange and unaccountable proceedings of his companion, who now drew forth a gaily decorated bag which hung at his belt behind him. from this he extracted a whitish implement with a little bowl at one end, and having leisurely filled it with a brown substance, also drawn from the bag, he put the other or small end of the instrument between his teeth. then he took up a burning stick and applied it to the bowl. the eskimo had been gazing at him with ever-widening eyes, but at this his mouth also began to open, and he gave vent to a gentle "ho!" of unutterable surprise, for immediately there burst from the indian's lips a puff of smoke as if he had suddenly become a gun, or fire-spouter and gone off unexpectedly. there was profound interest as well as astonishment in the gaze of our eskimo, for he now became aware that he was about to witness a remarkable custom of the red men, of which he had often heard, but which he had never clearly understood. "does it not burn?" he asked in breathless curiosity. "no," replied his friend. "do you like it? hi--i!" the exclamation was induced by the indian, who at the moment sent a stream of smoke from each nostril, shut his eyes as he did so, opened his mouth, and otherwise exhibited symptoms of extreme felicity. "would you like to try it?" he asked after one or two more whiffs. cheenbuk accepted the offer and the pipe, drew a voluminous whiff down into his lungs and exploded in a violent fit of coughing, while the tears overflowed his eyes. "try again," said the indian gravely. for some minutes the eskimo found it difficult to speak; then he returned the pipe, saying, "no. my inside is not yet tough like yours. i will look--and wonder!" after being admired--with wonder--for a considerable time, the indian looked at his companion earnestly, again offered him the pipe, and said, "try again." the obliging eskimo tried again, but with the caution of a child who, having been burnt, dreads the fire. he drew in a little smoke by means of the power of inhalation and choked again slightly, but, being now on his mettle, he resolved not to be beaten. the indian regarded him meanwhile with grave approval. then it occurred to cheenbuk to apply the power of suction instead of inhalation. it was successful. he filled his mouth instead of his lungs, and, in his childlike delight at the triumph, he opened his mouth to its full extent, and sent forth a cloud with a gasp which was the combined expression of a puff and a "ho!" again he tried it, and was again successful. overjoyed at this, like a child with a new toy, he went in for quite a broadside of puffs, looking round at his friendly foe with a "ho!" between each, and surrounding his head with an atmosphere of smoke. suddenly he stopped, laid down the pipe, rose up, and, looking as if he had forgotten something, retired into the bush. the indian took up the discarded pipe, and for the first time displayed a few wrinkles about the corners of his eyes as he put it between his lips. presently cheenbuk returned, somewhat paler than before, and sat down in silence with a look, as if of regret, at the skeleton-goose. without any reference to what had passed, the indian turned to his companion and said, "why should the men of the ice fight with the men of the woods?" "why?" asked cheenbuk, after a few moments' profound meditation, "why should the men of the woods attack the men of the ice with their fire-spouters?" this question seemed to puzzle the indian so much that he proceeded to fill another pipe before answering it. meanwhile the eskimo, being more active-minded, continued-- "is it fair for the men of the woods to come to fight us with fire-spouters when we have only spears? meet us with the same weapons, and then we shall see which are the best men." the indian looked at his companion solemnly and shook his head. "the strongest warriors and the best fighters," he said, "are not always the best men. he who hunts well, keeps his wives supplied with plenty of food and deerskin robes, and is kind to his children, is the best man." cheenbuk looked suddenly in the face of his sententious companion with earnest surprise in every feature, for the sentiments which had just been expressed were in exact accordance with his own. moreover, they were not what he expected to hear from the lips of a dogrib. "i never liked fighting," he said in a low voice, "though i have always been able to fight. it does nobody any good, and it always does everybody much harm, for it loses much blood, and it leaves many women and children without food-providers--which is uncomfortable for the men who have enough of women and children of their own to hunt for. but," continued the youth with emphasis, "i always thought that the men of the woods loved fighting." "some of them do, but i hate it!" said the indian with a sudden look of such ferocity that the eskimo might have been justified in doubting the truth of the statement. the flash, however, quickly disappeared, and a double wreath of smoke issued from his nose as he remarked quietly, "fighting lost me my father, my two brothers, and my only son." "why, then, do you still come against us with fire-spouters?" asked cheenbuk. "because my people will have it so," returned the red man. "i do what i can to stop them, but i am only one, and there are many against me." "i too have tried to stop my people when they would fight among themselves," returned the eskimo in a tone of sympathy; "but it is easier to kill a walrus single-handed than to turn an angry man from his purpose." the indian nodded assent, as though a chord had been struck which vibrated in both bosoms. "my son," he said, in a patronising tone, "do not cease to try. grey hairs are beginning to show upon my head; i have seen and learned much, and i have come to know that only he who tries, and tries, and tries again to do what he knows is right will succeed. to him the great manitou will give his blessing." "my father," replied the other, falling in readily with the fictitious relationship, "i will try." having thus come to a satisfactory agreement, this arctic peace society prepared to adjourn. each wiped his knife on the grass and sheathed it as he rose up. then they shook hands again after the fashion of the pale-faces, and departed on their respective ways. the red man returned to the wigwams of his people, while the young eskimo, descending the river in his kayak, continued to hunt the white-whale and pursue the feathered tribes which swarmed in the creeks, rivulets, and marshes that bordered the ice-encumbered waters of the polar seas. chapter two. waruskeek. alas for the hopes and efforts of good men! at the very time that cheenbuk and the indian were expressing their detestation of war, elsewhere a young eskimo was doing his best to bring about that unhappy and ruinous condition of things. he was an unusually strong young arctic swashbuckler, with considerably more muscle than brains, a restless spirit, and what may be styled a homicidal tendency. he was also tyrannical, like many men of that stamp, and belonged to the same tribe as cheenbuk. walrus creek was the summer residence of the tribe of eskimos to which cheenbuk belonged. it was a narrow inlet which ran up into a small island lying some distance off the northern shores of america, to discover and coast along which has been for so many years the aim and ambition of arctic explorers. how it came by its name is not difficult to guess. probably in ages past some adventurous voyagers, whose names and deeds have not been recorded in history, observing the numbers of walruses which scrambled out of the sea to sun themselves on the cliffs of the said creek, had named it after that animal, and the natives had adopted the name. like other aborigines they had garbled it, however, and handed it down to posterity as waruskeek, while the walruses, perhaps in order to justify the name, had kept up the custom of their forefathers, and continued to sun themselves there as in days of yore. seals also abounded in the inlet, and multitudes of aquatic birds swarmed around its cliffs. the eskimo village which had been built there, unlike the snow-hut villages of winter, was composed chiefly of huts made of slabs of stone, intermingled with moss and clay. it was exceeding dirty, owing to remnants of blubber, shreds of skins, and bones innumerable, which were left lying about. there might have been about forty of these huts, at the doors of which--or the openings which served for doors--only women and children were congregated at the time we introduce them to the reader. all the men, with the exception of a few ancients, were away hunting. in the centre of the village there stood a hut which was larger and a little cleaner than the others around it. an oldish man with a grey beard was seated on a stone bench beside the door. if tobacco had been known to the tribe, he would probably have been smoking. in default of that he was thrown back upon meditation. apparently his meditations were not satisfactory, for he frowned portentously once or twice, and shook his head. "you are not pleased to-day, mangivik," said a middle-aged woman who issued from the hut at the moment and sat down beside the man. "no, woman, i am not," he answered shortly. mangivik meant no disrespect by addressing his wife thus. "woman" was the endearing term used by him on all occasions when in communication with her. "what troubles you? are you hungry?" "no. i have just picked a walrus rib clean. it is not that." he pointed, as he spoke, to a huge bone of the animal referred to. "no, it is not that," he repeated. "what then? is it something you may not tell me?" asked the woman in a wheedling tone, as she crossed her legs and toyed with the flap of her tail. lest the civilised reader should be puzzled, we may here remark that the costume of the husband and wife whom we have introduced--as, indeed, of most if not all eskimo men and women--is very similar in detail as well as material. mangivik wore a coat or shirt of seal-skin with a hood to it, and his legs were encased in boots of the same material, which were long enough to cover nearly the whole of each leg and meet the skirt of the coat. the feet of the boots were of tough walrus-hide, and there was a short peak to the coat behind. the only difference in the costume of the woman was that the hood of her coat was larger, to admit of infants and other things being carried in it, and the peak behind was prolonged into a tail with a broad flap at the end. this tail varied a little in length according to the taste of the wearer--like our ladies' skirts; but in all cases it was long enough to trail on the ground-- perhaps we should say the ice--and, from the varied manner in which different individuals caused it to sweep behind them, it was evident that the tail, not less than the civilised skirt, served the purpose of enabling the wearers to display more or less of graceful motion. "there is nothing that i have to hide from my woman," said the amiable eskimo, in reply to her question. "only i am troubled about that jump-about man gartok." "has he been here again?" asked the wife, with something of a frown on her fat face. "he is just as you say, a jump-about like the little birds that come to us in the hot times, which don't seem to know what they want." "he is too big to look like them," returned the husband. "he's more like a mad walrus. i met him on one of the old floes when i was after a seal, and he frightened it away. but it is not that that troubles me. there are two things he is after: he wants to stir up our young men to go and fight with the fire-spouters, and he wants our nootka for a wife." "the dirty walrus!" exclaimed mrs mangivik, with as much vigour as if she had been civilised, "he shall _never_ have nootka. as for fighting with the fire-spouters, i only hope that if he does go to do so, he will get killed and never come back." "h'm!" grunted mangivik, "if he does get killed he's not likely to come back." "who is not likely to come back?" asked a young girl, with an affectionate expression in her pretty brown eyes, issuing from the hut at that moment and seating herself close to the old man. the girl's face, on the whole, was unusually pretty for that of an eskimo, and would have been still more so but for the grease with which it was besmeared--for the damsel had just been having a little refreshment of white-whale blubber. her figure was comparatively slim and graceful, and would have been obviously so but for the ill-fitting coat and clumsy boots with which it was covered. "your mother and i were talking of a bad man, nootka," said mangivik. "ay, a very very bad man," exclaimed mrs mangivik, with a decided nod of her head. "if he is so very bad," returned nootka, "it would be good that he should never come back. who is it?" "gartok," answered her mother, with the air of one who has mentioned the most hateful thing in creation. nootka laughed. "surely you are not fond of him!" exclaimed mangivik, regarding his daughter with a look of anxiety. "you know that i'm not," answered the girl, playfully hitting her sire on the back with the flap of her tail. "of course not--of course not; you could not be fond of an ugly walrus like him," said the father, replying to her pleasantry by fondly patting her knee. just then a young man was seen advancing from the beach, where he had left his kayak. "it is oolalik," said mrs mangivik, shading her eyes with her hand from the sun, which, in all the strength of its meridian splendour, was shining full on her fat face. "he must have made a good hunt, or he would not have come home before the others." as she spoke nootka arose hastily and re-entered the hut, from out of which there issued almost immediately the sounds and the savoury odours of roasting flesh. meanwhile oolalik came up and gave vent to a polite grunt, or some such sound, which was the eskimo method of expressing a friendly salutation. mangivik and his wife grumped in reply. "you are soon back," said the former. "i have left a walrus and two seals on the rocks over there," answered the youth, sitting down beside the old man. "good," returned the latter. "come in and feed." he rose and entered the hut. the young man who followed him was not so much a handsome as a strapping fellow, with a quiet, sedate expression, and a manly look that rendered him attractive to most of his friends. conversation, however, was not one of his strong points. he volunteered no remarks after seating himself opposite to nootka, who handed him a walrus rib which she had just cooked over the oil lamp. had nootka been a civilised girl she might have been suspected of conveying a suggestion to the youth, for she was very fond of him, but, being an eskimo of the far north, she knew nothing about ribs or of mother eve. the young man however required no delicate suggestion, for he was equally fond of nootka, and he endeavoured to show his feelings by a prolonged stare after he had accepted the food. one is irresistibly impressed with the homogeneity of the human race when one observes the curious similarities of taste and habit which obtain alike in savage and civilised man. for a few moments this youth's feelings were too much for him. he stared in admiration at the girl, apparently oblivious of the rib, and sighed profoundly. then he suddenly recovered himself, appeared to forget the girl, and applied himself tooth and nail to the rib. could anything be more natural--even in a european prince? nootka did not speak--young women seldom do among savages, at least in the company of men,--but she looked many and very unutterable things, which it is impossible, and would not be fair, to translate. "will the others be back soon?" asked mangivik. oolalik looked over the rib and nodded. (in this last, also, there was indication of homogeneity.) "have they got much meat?" again the young man nodded. "good. there is nothing like meat, and plenty of it." the old man proceeded to illustrate his belief in the sentiment by devoting himself to a steak of satisfying dimensions. his better-half meanwhile took up the conversation. "is gartok with them?" she asked. "yes, he is with them," said the youth, who, having finished the rib, threw away the bone and looked across the lamp at nootka, as if asking for another. the girl had one ready, and handed it to him. again oolalik was overcome. he forgot the food and stared, so that nootka dropped her eyes, presumably in some confusion; but once more the force of hunger brought the youth round and he resumed his meal. "has gartok killed much?" continued the inquisitive mrs mangivik. "i know nothing about gartok," replied the young man, a stern look taking the place of his usually kind expression; "i don't trouble my head about him when i am hunting." he fastened his teeth somewhat savagely in the second rib at this point. "do you know," said mangivik, pausing in his occupation, "that gartok has been trying to get the young men to go to the whale river, where you know there are plenty of birds and much wood? he wants to fight with the fire-spouters." "yes, i know it. gartok is always for fighting and quarrelling. he likes it." "don't you think," said the old man suggestively, "that you could give him a chance of getting what he likes without going so far from home?" "no, i don't choose to fight for the sake of pleasing every fool who delights to brag and look fierce." mrs mangivik laughed at this, and her daughter giggled, but the old man shook his head as if he had hoped better things of the young one. he said no more, however, and before the conversation was resumed the voice of a boy was heard outside. "anteek," murmured nootka, with a smile of pleasure. "the other hunters must have arrived," said oolalik, polishing off his last bone, "for anteek was with them." "he always comes first to see me when he has anything to tell," remarked mrs mangivik, with a laugh, "and from the noise he makes i think he has something to tell to-day." if noise was the true index of anteek's news he evidently was brimful, for he advanced shouting at the top of his voice. with that unaccountable ingenuity which characterises some boys, all the world over, he produced every sort of sound except that which was natural to him, and caused the surrounding cliffs to echo with the mooing of the walrus, the roaring of the polar bear, the shriek of the plover, the bellow of the musk-ox, and, in short, the varied cries of the whole arctic menagerie. but he stopped short at the door of the hut and looked at oolalik in evident surprise. "you are back before me?" he said. "that is not strange: i am stronger." "yes, but i started off long before you." "so you thought, but you were mistaken. i saw you creeping away round the point. when you were out of sight i carried my kayak over the neck of land, and so got here before you." "have you told?" asked the boy anxiously. "never said a word," replied oolalik. "here," said nootka, holding out a piece of half-cooked blubber to the boy, "sit down and tell us all about it. what is the news?" "ha!" exclaimed anteek, accepting the food as if he appreciated it. "well, i've killed my first walrus--all alone too!" "clever boy! how was it?" said mrs mangivik. "this was the way. i was out by myself--all alone, mind--among the cliffs, looking for eggs; but i had my spear with me, the big one that cheenbuk made for me just before he went off to the whale river. well, just as i was going to turn round one of the cliffs, i caught sight of a walrus--a big one--monstrous; like that," he said, drawing an imaginary circle with both arms, "fat, brown, huge tusks, and wide awake! i knew that, because his back was to me, and he was turning his head about, looking at something in the other direction. i was astonished, for though they climb up on the cliffs a good height to sun themselves on the warm rocks, i had never seen one climb so high as that. "well, i drew back very quick, and began to creep round so as to come at him when he didn't expect me. i soon got close enough, and ran at him. he tried to flop away at first, but when i was close he turned and looked fierce--terrible fierce! my heart jumped, but it did not sink. i aimed for his heart, but just as i was close at him my foot struck a stone and i fell. he gave a frightful roar, and i rolled out of his way, and something twisted the spear out of my hand. when i jumped up, what do you think? i found the spear had gone into one of his eyes, and that made the other one water, i suppose, for he was twisting his head about, but couldn't see me. so i caught hold of the spear, pulled it out, and plunged it into his side; but i had not reached the heart, for he turned and made for the sea. "there was a steep place just there, and he tumbled and rolled down. i lost my foothold and rolled down too--almost into his flippers, but i caught hold of a rock. he got hold at the same time with his tusks and held on. then i jumped up and gave him the spear again. this time i hit the life, and soon had him killed. there!" on concluding his narrative the excited lad applied himself to his yet untasted piece of blubber, and nootka plied him with questions, while oolalik rose and went off to assist his comrades, whose voices could now be heard as they shouted to the women and children of the colony to come and help them to carry up the meat. chapter three. peace or war--which? soon afterwards the mangivik family received another visitor. this was the bellicose gartok himself, whose heart had been touched by the fair nootka. like his rival, he sat down opposite the maiden, and stared at her impressively across the cooking-lamp. this would seem to be the usual mode of courtship among those children of the ice; but the girl's mode of receiving the attentions of the second lover varied considerably. she did not drop her eyes shyly under his gaze, but stared him full in the face by way of a slight rebuff. neither did she prepare for him a savoury rib, so that he was obliged to help himself--which he did with much coolness, for the laws of hospitality in eskimo-land admit of such conduct. after some desultory conversation between gartok and his host, the latter asked if it was true that there was a talk of the tribe paying a visit to whale river. "yes, it is true," answered the young man. "i came to see you about that very thing, and to tell you that there is to be a meeting outside the big hut to-day. we shall want your advice." "why do the young men wish to go there?" asked mangivik. "to get food, and wood for our spear-handles and sledges, and berries, and to have a good time. perhaps also to fight a little with the fire-spouters." the youth glanced furtively at mangivik as he concluded. "to get food, and wood, and berries is good," observed the old man; "but why fight with the fire-spouters? we cannot conquer them." "you can ask that at the meeting. it is useless to ask it of me." "good, i will do so. for my part, i am too old to go on long expeditions, either to hunt or fight--but i can give advice. is cheenbuk to be at the meeting?" "did you not know? cheenbuk has already gone to the whale river. we only propose to follow him. he may not like our business, but he'll have to join us when we are there." having picked his rib clean, and receiving no encouragement from nootka to remain, gartok rose and departed. that afternoon there was a large meeting of the heads of families in front of what was known as the big hut. there was no formality about the meeting. unlike the war councils of the indians, it was a sort of free-and-easy, in which blubber and other choice kinds of food did duty for the red man's pipe. the women, too, were allowed to sit around and listen--but not to speak--while the hunters discussed their plans. gartok, being the biggest, most forward, and presumptuous among them all, was allowed to speak first--though this was contrary to the wishes, and even the custom, of the tribe. he did not make a set speech. indeed, no one thought of delivering an oration. it was merely a palaver on a large scale. "we want spear-handles," said gartok, "and wood for our kayak-frames, and deer for food, as well as birds and rabbit-skins for our underclothing." "that is true," remarked one of the elderly men; "we want all these things, and a great many more things, but we don't want fighting. there is no use in that." "ho! ho!" exclaimed several voices in approval. "but we do want fighting," retorted gartok firmly; "we want the pretty coloured things that the fire-spouters sew on their clothes and shoes; also the iron things they have for cutting wood; and we want the spouters, which will make us more than a match for them in war; and we can't get all these things without fighting." "do without them, then," observed mangivik sharply; "why should we want things that we never had, and don't need? listen to me, young men--for i see by your looks that some of you would like a little fighting,--even if we had the spouting things, we could not make them spout." "that is a lie!" exclaimed gartok, with the simple straightforwardness peculiar to the uncivilised. "once i met one of the fire-spouters when i was out hunting at the whale river. he was alone, and friendly. i asked him to show me his spouter. he did so, but told me to be very careful, for sometimes it spouted of its own accord. he showed me the way to make it spout--by touching a little thing under it. there was a little bird on a bush close by. `point at that,' he said. i pointed. `now,' said he, `look along the spouter with one eye.' i put one end of it against my cheek and tried to look, but by accident i touched the little thing, and it spouted too soon! i never saw the little bird again; but i saw many stars, though it was broad daylight at the time." "ho! hoo!" exclaimed several of the younger men, who listened to this narration with intense eagerness. "yes," continued gartok, who had the gift of what is called "the gab," and was fond of exercising it,--"yes; it knocked me flat on my back--" "was it alive, then?" asked anteek, who mingled that day with the men as an equal, in consequence of his having slain a walrus single-handed. "no, it was not quite, but it was very nearly alive.--well, when i fell the man laughed. you know his people are not used to laugh. they are very grave, but this one laughed till i became angry, and i would have fought with him, but--" "ay," interrupted anteek, "but you were afraid, for he had the spouter." before gartok could reply mangivik broke in. "boo!" he exclaimed contemptuously, "it is of no use your talking so much. i too have been to the whale river, and have seen the fire-spouters, and i know they are _not_ nearly alive. they are dead-- quite dead. moreover, they will not spout at all, and are quite useless, unless they are filled with a kind of black sand which is supplied by the white men who sell the spouters. go to the whale river if you will, but don't fight with any one--that is my advice, and my hair is grey." "it is white, old man, if you only saw it," murmured anteek, with native disrespect. he was too good-natured, however, to let his thoughts be heard. "come, oolalik," said mangivik, "you are a stout and a wise young man, let us hear what you have got to say." "i say," cried oolalik, looking round with the air of a man who had much in his head, and meant to let it out, "i say that the man who fights if he can avoid it is a fool! look back and think of the time gone away. not many cold times have passed since our young men became puffed up-- indeed, some of our old men were little better--and made a raid on the fire-spouters of the whale river. they met; there was a bloody fight; six of our best youths were killed, and numbers were wounded by the little things that come out of the spouters. then they came home, and what did they bring? what had they gained? i was a boy at the time and did not understand it all; but i understood some of it. i saw the fighters returning. some were looking very big and bold, as if they had just come from fighting and conquering a whole tribe of bears and walruses. others came back limping. they went out young and strong men; they came back too soon old, helped along by their companions. two were carried--they could not walk at all. look at them now!" oolalik paused and directed attention to what may be called an object-lesson--two men seated on his right hand. both, although in the prime of life, looked feeble and prematurely old from wounds received in the fight referred to. one had been shot in the leg; the bone was broken, and that rendered him a cripple for life. the other had received a bullet in the lungs; and a constitution which was naturally magnificent had become permanently shattered. "what do you think?" continued oolalik. "would not these men give much to get back their old strength and health?" he paused again, and the men referred to nodded emphatically, as if they thought the question a very appropriate one, while some of the peacefully disposed in the assembly exclaimed "ho!" and "hoo!" in tones of approval. "then," continued the speaker, "i passed by some of our huts and heard sounds of bitter weeping. i went in and found it was the wives and sisters of the men whose bodies lie on the banks of the whale river. there would be reason in fighting, if we had to defend our huts against the fire-spouters. self-defence is right; and every one has a good word for the brave men who defend their homes, their women, and their children. but the fire-spouters did not want to fight, and the men who lost their lives at the fight i am speaking of, threw them away for nothing. they will never more come home to provide their families with food and clothes, or to comfort them, or to play with the children and tell them of fights with the walrus and the bear when the nights are black and long. most of those poor women had sons or man-relations to care for them, but there was one who had no relation to hunt for her after her husband was killed--only a little daughter to take care of her. i speak of old uleeta, who is--" "that is a lie!" cried gartok, springing up and looking fierce. "old uleeta is, as you all know, my mother. she had _me_ to hunt for her when father was killed, and she has me still." "you!" exclaimed oolalik, with a look of scorn, "what are you? a hunter? no, only a fool who wants to be thought very brave, and would leave his mother and sister to the care of old men and boys while he goes away to fight with the fire-spouters! no," he continued, turning away from the angry young man with cool contempt, "old uleeta has no son." gartok was so taken aback with this behaviour of oolalik, who was recognised as one of the gentlest and most peacefully disposed of the tribe, that he stood gaping for a moment in surprise. then, observing the half-amused, half-contemptuous looks of the men around him, he suddenly caught up the unfinished handle of a spear that leaned against the wall of the hut beside him, and made a desperate blow with it at the head of oolalik. but that youth had expected some such demonstration, and was prepared for it. being very agile, he made a step swiftly to one side, and the handle came down on the skull of a walrus which hung on the wall, with a violence that would have surprised its original owner had it been within. before the blow could be repeated oolalik sprang towards his assailant. eskimos know nothing of a blow "straight from the shoulder," but they know how to cuff. oolalik brought his open hand down on gartok's cheek with a pistol-shot crack that tumbled that fire-eater head over heels on the ground. the man was too strong, however, to be knocked insensible in that way. he recovered himself, sitting-wise, with his mouth agape and his eyes astonied, while the whole assembly burst into a hearty fit of laughter. high above the rest was heard the juvenile voice of the delighted anteek. what the fire-eater thought we cannot tell, but he had the wisdom to accept his punishment in silence, and listened with apparent interest while oolalik concluded his remarks. the effect of this belligerent episode was to advance the cause of the peace-party considerably--at least for a time--and when the meeting broke up, most of the people returned to their various homes with a firm determination to leave the poor fire-spouters alone. but gartok, who was still smarting under the disgrace to which he had been subjected at the hands of oolalik, managed to rekindle and blow up the war-spirit, so that, two days later, a strong party of the more pugnacious among the young men of the tribe set off in their kayaks for the whale river, taking with them a few of the women in one of their open boats or oomiaks--chiefly for the purpose of keeping their garments in repair. chapter four. war prevails. it would seem, at times, as if there were really some sort of spiritual communication between people whose physical frames are widely sundered. for at the very time that the eskimos, in their remote home on the ice-encumbered sea, were informally debating the propriety of making an unprovoked attack on the dogrib indians--whom they facetiously styled fire-spouters--the red men were also holding a very formal and solemn council of war as to the advisability of making an assault on those presumptuous eskimos, or eaters-of-raw-flesh, who ventured to pay an uncalled-for visit to the greygoose river--their ancestral property-- every spring. one of their chiefs, named nazinred, had just returned from a visit to the river, and reported having met and fought with one of the eskimos. immediately on hearing this, the old or head chief summoned the council of war. the braves assembled in the council-tent in solemn dignity, each classically enveloped in his blanket or leathern robe, and inflated, more or less, with his own importance. they sat down silently round the council fire with as much gravity as if the fate of nations depended on their deliberations,--and so, on a small scale, it did. after passing round the pipe--by way of brightening up their intellects--the old chief held forth his hand and began in a low voice and deliberate manner. "my braves," said he, "those filthy eaters-of-raw-flesh have, as you know, been in the habit of coming to greygoose river every spring and trespassing on the borders of our hunting-grounds." he paused and looked round. "waugh!" exclaimed his audience, in order to satisfy him. with a dark frown the old chief went on. "this is wrong. it is not right. it is altogether unbearable, and more than the dogribs can stand. they _won't_ stand it!" "waugh!" again said the audience, for the old man had delivered the last sentence with considerable vehemence, and meant that it should tell. being apparently destitute of a flow of ideas at that time, the speaker had recourse to a not uncommon device among civilised orators: he cleared his throat, looked preternaturally wise, and changed the subject. "when the sun of spring rises over the ice-hills of the great salt lake," he continued, pointing towards the pole, "when it melts the snow, opens the lakes and rivers, and brings the summer birds to our land, the braves of the great dogrib nation take their guns, and bows, and canoes, and women, and travel nearly as far as the icy sea, that they may hunt and feed--and--sleep, and--and--enjoy the land. nobody dares to stop us. nobody dares to hinder us. nobody dares even to look at us!" he paused again, and this flight of oratory was received with a very decided "ho!" of assent, as it well might be, for during nearly all the year there was nobody in that uninhabited land to attempt any of those violent proceedings. dilating his eyes and nostrils with a look of superlative wisdom, he continued: "but at last the eskimos dared to come and look at our hunting-grounds. we were peacefully disposed. we warned them not to come again. they came again, notwithstanding. we took our guns and swept them away like leaves that are swept by the winter winds. are not their scalps drying in our lodges? what we did then we will do again. has not one of our chiefs--nazinred--been attacked by one of them? no doubt more will follow that one. my counsel is to send out a band of our braves on the war-path. but first we would like to know something. as the eskimo did not take the scalp of nazinred, how is it that nazinred did not bring home the scalp of the eskimo?" the old chief ceased, amid many "ho's!" and "hoo's!" with the air of one who has propounded an unanswerable riddle, and all eyes were at once turned upon nazinred. accepting the challenge at once he stretched forth his hand: "my father has spoken," he said, "but his words are not the words of wisdom. why should we fight the eskimos again, and lose some of our best young men, as we lost them in the last great fight? the eskimos have come near our lands, but they have not of late hunted on them. they have only looked and gone away. and even if they did hunt, what then? the land is wide. we cannot use it all. we cannot kill all the birds and deer, and even if we could we cannot eat them all. would it not be wise to live at peace with the eskimos? they have many great teeth of the walrus and skins of the seal. might not the white traders, who take our furs and give us guns and powder, be willing to take these things too? thus we could buy from the one and sell to the other, and fill our lodges with tobacco, and guns, and beads, and cloth, and powder and ball, and other good things." the indian stopped at this point to ascertain the effect of his remarks, but only a few faint "ho's!" greeted him. the councillors did not feel quite sure of their own minds. his remarks about peace and war were not palatable, and his suggestions about trade were a novelty. evidently nazinred was born much in advance of his time. "it is true," he continued, "that i had a struggle with a young eskimo; but he was very strong, and so was i. before i could kill him he caught hold of my gun, but he could not force it from me, and i could not force it from him. as we strove we looked into each other's eyes and we each saw peace and good-will there! so we ceased to fight. we kindled a fire and sat down and fed together. as the light slowly increases while the sun rises, so light came into my mind. the dogribs have always talked of the eskimos as if they were fools. i found that this young man was not a fool--that he was wise--wiser than some of our own braves. his mind was deep and wide. he did not talk only of food and sleep and hunting. he spoke of things past and present and future, and of the great spirit, and the world to come. also of peace and war; and we both agreed that peace was good and war hateful. more than that, we found that it was foolish. then we parted. he went, i suppose, to his people on the sea of ice, and i came home. "he told me that none of his people were with him--that he was alone. there is therefore no occasion for the young men to look fierce or go on the war-path." having thus tried to throw oil on the troubled waters nazinred came to an abrupt pause. instantly one of the younger councillors, named magadar, sprang to his feet. he was unusually excitable for an indian. indeed, he differed a good deal from his companions in other respects, being passionate, impulsive, hasty, and matter-of-fact; in his speech-making too he scorned the use of symbol and metaphor, but went straight to the point at once in the simplest and most forcible language at his command. "braves," he said, looking at the previous speaker with a dark frown, "the dogribs know nothing of those strange and stupid notions that have just come out of the lips of nazinred. he says that this dirty eskimo is a deep thinker and a man who loves peace. how does he know that one of that sort may not think so deeply as to deceive him? how does he know that the young man is not a liar--that many of his warriors may not be in our hunting-grounds even at this moment, though he says there are none? as for his talk about the great spirit and the future, what does he know about either the one or the other? is he wiser than the dogribs? does his attack on nazinred look like a lover of peace? his leaving off when he found that nazinred was his match seems to me more like sly wisdom than the hatred of war. my advice is not to trust these dirty men of the ice, but to take our guns at once and drive them from the land." it was quite evident from the way in which this speech was received that the war-party was in the ascendant, and there is no doubt that magadar's advice would have prevailed, and a war-party been organised forthwith, but for the arrival of a band of successful hunters, who had been out for some time in quest of food. for a considerable part of that winter those indians had been in a condition of semi-starvation. they had managed with difficulty to sustain themselves and families on rabbits, which were scarce that year. with the return of spring and the wild-fowl, however, things had begun to improve, and the hunting party above referred to was the first of the season that had returned to camp heavily laden with geese, ducks, plover, and other supplies of food, so that the half-famished people gave themselves up to feasting, and had no time to think further of war. thus many days were passed without any reference being made to a fight with the eskimos, and nazinred, believing that the fancy to go on the war-path had passed away, set off on what was to be a long hunting expedition with three of his comrades who were like-minded with himself. among other plans, this party intended to visit the establishment of the fur-traders on great bear lake. thus when the belligerent party of eskimos arrived at the mouth of greygoose, or whale, river, they found the place, as they had been accustomed to find it, a complete solitude. at first they expected to overtake their comrade cheenbuk there, but he was not found, having gone a considerable way inland in pursuit of game. being aware of his peaceful proclivities, however, the eskimos were not sorry to miss him, and they set about making an encampment on the shore at the mouth of the river, intending to leave the women there while they should be engaged in hunting and in searching for the fire-spouters. meanwhile these fire-spouters, having eaten and slept, and eaten and slept again, to the extent of their capacities, began to experience a revival of the war-spirit. in front of one of the lodges or leather tents, one morning early, there sat two squaws engaged in ornamenting moccasins and discussing the news of their little world. it was one of those bright genial mornings in spring peculiar to arctic lands, in which warmth comes out with a burst victorious, and cold shrinks away discomfited. everything looked as if a great revival of nature were at hand--as in truth it was, for the long arctic winter is always driven away with a rush by the vigour, if not the violence, of the brief arctic spring. one of the women was young and pretty--yes, we might almost say beautiful. it is quite a mistake to suppose that all savages are coarse, rough, and ugly. many of them, no doubt--perhaps most of them-- are plain enough, but not a few of the indian squaws are fairly good-looking, and this one, as we have said at the risk of being doubted, was beautiful; at all events she had a fine oval face, a smooth warm-coloured skin, a neat little nose, a well-formed mouth, and jet-black hair, with large lustrous eyes, to say nothing of her teeth, which, like the teeth of most indians, were regular and brilliantly white. her name was adolay--that being the indian name for summer. the other squaw was her mother. she was usually styled isquay--which means woman--by her husband when he was at home, but, being a great hunter, he was not often at home. poor isquay might have been good-looking in her youth, but, alas! hard work, occasional starvation, and a rough life, had prematurely dissipated her beauty, whatever it might have been; yet these conditions could not put to flight the lines and dimples of kindliness which played about her weatherworn eyes and cheeks. you see, she had a gentle, indulgent husband, and that made her happy and kept her so. "magadar is stirring up the young men again to go on the war-path," said the younger woman, without looking up from the embroidered moccasin with which she was engaged. "yes, i know it. i heard him as he passed our tent talking to alizay. i don't like alizay; he is like gunpowder: the least thing sets him off, and he flashes up horribly." "but many of our other braves have no desire to quarrel with the eskimos," said adolay; "indeed, some are even fond of them. and some of the men of the ice are very handsome. don't you remember that one, mother, that we met when we went last spring with some of our men to shoot at the greygoose river? he was a fine man--big and strong, and active and kind--almost good enough to be a dogrib." "i remember him well," returned isquay, "for he saved my life. have you forgotten that already?" "no, i have not forgotten it," answered the girl, with a slight smile. "did i not stand on the riverbank with my heart choking me when i saw the ice rushing down with the flood and closing on your canoe--for i could do nothing to help you, and none of our men were near! and did i not see the brave man of the ice, when he heard my cry, come running like the deer and jump into the river and swim like the otter till he got to you, and then he scrambled on a big bit of ice and lifted you and the canoe out of the water as if he had the strength of a moose-deer, after which he guided the ice-lump to the bank with one of your paddles! forget it! no. i only wish the brave eskimo was an indian." "i think you would be offering to be his squaw if he was," said the mother with a short laugh. "perhaps i would. but he's only an eater-of-raw-flesh!" adolay sighed as gently as if she had been a civilised girl! "but he has gone away to the great ice lake, so i suppose we shall never see him again." "unless," said isquay, "he comes back this spring with his people, and our braves have a fight with them--then you would be likely to see his scalp again, if not himself." adolay made no reply to this; neither did she seem shocked at the suggestion. indeed, indian women are too much accustomed to real shocking to be much troubled with shocks of the imagination. holding out her moccasin at arm's-length, the better to note the effect of her work, she expressed regret that her father had gone off with the hunters, for she felt sure he would have been able to allay the war-fever among the young braves if he had remained at home. "ay, he would easily have put down alizay and magadar; but the old chief can do nothing, he is growing too old. the young men don't mind him now. besides, he is warlike as well as they." while they were conversing thus, the young men referred to had finally decided to go on the war-path--to search for the eskimo who had fought with their chief nazinred, find him and kill him, and then continue the search for his companions; for they had set him down as a liar, believing that no eskimo had the courage to visit their hunting-grounds by himself. to resolve and to act were almost simultaneous proceedings with those energetic savages. in a very short time between twenty and thirty of them left the village in single file, armed with the deadly gun, besides tomahawks and scalping-knives, and took their way to a neighbouring creek on the banks of which their canoes were lying. chapter five. a rencontre and flight. thus it naturally came to pass that the two bands of men who had gone to the same place to meet each other met in the course of time. there was a good deal of wandering about, however, before the actual meeting took place, for the eskimos had to provide a quantity of food on landing on the arctic shore, not only for themselves, but to supply the four women who had accompanied them, and were to be left on the coast to fish and mend their spare garments and boots, and await their return. "we shall not be long of coming back," said gartok as he was about to leave his mother, old uleeta, who was in the crew of one of the oomiaks. "i wish i saw you safe back, my son," returned the woman, with a shake of her head, "but i fear the fire-spouters." "_i_ don't fear them," returned the young man boastfully, "and it does not matter much what you fear." "he will never come back," said one of the other women when he was gone. "i know that because i feel it. there is something inside of me that always tells me when there is going to be misfortune." the woman who thus expressed her forebodings was a mild young creature, so gentle and inoffensive and yielding that she was known throughout her tribe by the name of rinka, a name which was meant to imply weakness. her weakness, however, consisted chiefly in a tendency to prefer others before herself--in which matter christians do not need to be told that she was perhaps the strongest of all her kin. as the weather was comparatively warm, the women contented themselves with a tent or bower of boughs for their protection. they were not long in erecting it, being well accustomed to look after themselves. in less than an hour after their men had left them they were busy with seal-steaks over the cooking-lamp, and the place was rendered somewhat home-like by several fur garments being spread on the rocks to dry. "yes, gartok will get himself killed at last," said old uleeta, drawing her finger across the frizzling steak and licking it, for her appetite was sharp-set and she was impatient, "he was always a stubborn boy." "but he is strong, and a good fighter," remarked rinka, as she spread a seal-skin boot over her knee with the intention of patching it. "i wish all the other men were as strong as he is, and ready to fight," said one of the other women, giving the steak a turn. it must not be supposed that, although the eskimos are known to their indian friends--or foes--as eaters-of-raw-flesh, they always prefer their food in the raw condition. they are only indifferent on the point, when the procuring of fire is difficult, or the coldness of the weather renders it advisable to eat the flesh raw, as being more sustaining. "i only wish that they would not fight at all," said rinka with a sigh, as she arranged the top-knot of her hair. "it makes the men too few and the women too many, and that is not good." the fourth woman did not express an opinion at all. she was one of those curiously, if not happily, constituted creatures, who seem to have no particular opinion on any subject, who listen to everything with a smile of placid content, who agree with everybody and object to nothing. they are a sort of comfort and relief in a world of warfare--especially to the obstinate and the positive. her name was cowlik. "there is no reason why we should continue to roast our seal-meat over a lamp now," observed old uleeta. "there is plenty of wood here. come, we will gather sticks and make a fire." the others agreeing to this, three of them rose and went into the bush, leaving cowlik to watch the steaks. meanwhile the young men who had followed the lead of gartok--fifteen in number--were cautiously ascending the greygoose river, each in his kayak, armed with a throwing-spear, lance, and bow. one of their number was sent out in advance as a scout. raventik was his name. he was chosen for the duty because of his bold, reckless nature, sharpness of vision, general intelligence, and his well-known love for excitement and danger. "you will always keep well out of sight in advance of us," said gartok to this scout, "and the first sight you get of the fire-spouters, shove in to some quiet place, land, haul up your kayak, and creep near them through the bushes as quietly and cleverly as if you were creeping up to a bear or a walrus. then come back and tell us what you have seen. so we will land and attack them and throw them all into the river." "i will do my best," answered raventik gravely. "it is not likely," added gartok, "that you will find them to-day, for they seldom come down as far as here, and they don't know we are coming." the scout made no reply. having received his orders he stepped into his kayak and paddled off into the stream, against which he made but slow progress, however, for the river happened to be considerably swollen at the time. he was also impeded at first by his comparative ignorance of river navigation. being accustomed to the currentless waters of the ocean, he was not prepared by experience to cope with the difficulty of rushing currents. he went too far out into the stream at first, and was nearly upset. natural intelligence, however, and the remembrance of talks to which he had listened between men of his tribe who had already visited the place, taught him to keep close in to the banks, and make as much use of eddies and backwater as possible. the double-bladed paddle hampered him somewhat, as its great length, which was no disadvantage in the open sea, prevented him from keeping as close to the banks as he desired. despite these drawbacks, however, raventik soon acquired sufficient skill, and in a short time a curve in the river hid him from the flotilla which followed him. now it so happened that the indians who were supposed to be a considerable distance inland were in reality not many miles from the spot where the eskimos had held their final conference, which ended in raventik being sent off in advance. it was natural that, accustomed as they were to all the arts of woodcraft, they should discover the presence of the scout long before he discovered them; and so in truth it turned out. the indians had ten birch-bark canoes, with three warriors in most of them--all armed, as we have said, with the dreaded fire-spouters and tomahawks, etcetera--for, as they were out on the war-path for the express purpose of driving the dirty eskimos off their lands, magadar had resolved to make sure by starting with a strong and well-equipped force. of course magadar's canoe led the van; the others followed in single file, and, owing to the nature of their paddles, which were single-bladed, and could be dipped close to the sides of the canoes, they were able to creep along much nearer to the bank than was possible to the kayaks. at a bend in the river, where a bush-covered point jutted out into a large pool, magadar thrust his canoe in among some reeds and landed to reconnoitre. scarcely had he raised his head above the shrubs when he caught sight of raventik in his kayak. to stoop and retire was the work of a few seconds. the men in the other canoes, who were watching him intently, at once disembarked, and, at a signal from their chief, carried their light barks into the bushes and hid them there, so that the eskimo scout would certainly have passed the place in half an hour without perceiving any sign of his foes, but for an incident which enlightened him. accidents will happen even in the best regulated families, whether these be composed of red men or white. just as the last canoe was disappearing behind its leafy screen, one of the young braves, who was guilty of the unpardonable offence of carrying his gun on full-cock, chanced to touch the trigger, and the piece exploded with, in the circumstances, an appalling report, which, not satisfied with sounding in the ears of his exasperated comrades like a small cannon, went on echoing from cliff to cliff, as if in hilarious disregard of secrecy, and to the horror of innumerable rabbits and wild-fowl, which respectively dived trembling into holes or took to the wings of terror. "fool!" exclaimed magadar, scarce able to refrain from tomahawking the brave in his wrath--"launch the canoes and give chase." the order was obeyed at once, and the flotilla dashed out into the stream. but raventik was not to be caught so easily as they had expected. he had turned on hearing the report, and swept out into the middle of the river, so as to get the full benefit of the current. his kayak, too, with its sharp form, was of better build and material for making headway than the light indian canoes--propelled as it was with the long double-bladed paddle in the strong hands of one of the stoutest of the eskimos. he shot down the stream at a rate which soon began to leave the indians behind. seeing this, magadar laid aside his paddle for a moment, raised his gun to his shoulder, and fired. again were the echoes and the denizens of the woods disturbed, and two other indians fired, thus rendering confusion worse confounded. their aims were not good, however, and raventik was interested and surprised-- though not alarmed--by the whizzing sounds that seemed close to his ears, and the little splashes in the water just ahead of him. fortunately a bend in the river here concealed him for some time from the indians, and when they once more came in sight of him he was almost out of range. in the meantime his comrades, amazed by the strange sounds that burst on their ears, put hastily on shore, carried their kayaks into the bushes, and climbed to the summit of a rising ground, with the double purpose of observing the surrounding country and of making it a place of defence if need be. "raventik must have found our enemies," said gartok to ondikik, his lieutenant, as he led his men up the slope. "that is certain," returned ondikik, "and from the noise they are making, i think the fire-spouters are many. but this is a good place to fight them." "yes, we will wait here," said gartok. as he spoke raventik was seen sweeping into view from behind a point in the middle of the most rapid part of the river, and plying his long paddle with the intense energy of one whose life depends on his exertions. the eskimos on the knoll gazed in breathless anxiety. a few minutes later the canoe of magadar swept into view. "the fire-spouters!" exclaimed ondikik. "three men in it!" cried gartok. then, as one after another of the canoes came into view, "four! six! ten of them, and three men in each!" "and all with fire-spouters!" gasped the lieutenant. "come," exclaimed gartok, "it is time for us to go!" the eskimos were by no means cowardly, but when they saw that the approaching foe was double their number, and reflected that there might be more behind them, all armed with guns, it was no wonder that they bethought themselves of retreat. to do them full credit, they did not move until their leader gave the word--then they sprang down the hillock, and in three minutes more were out in their kayaks making for the mouth of the river at their utmost speed. on seeing this the indians uttered a wild war-whoop and fired a volley. but the distance between them was too great. only a few of the balls reached the fugitives, and went skipping over the water, each wide of its mark. "point high," said magadar to alizay, who had just re-charged his gun. the indian obeyed, fired, and watched for the result, but no visible result followed. "that is strange," muttered the chief; "my brother must have pointed too high--so high that it has gone into the sun, for i never yet saw a bullet fired over water without coming down and making a splash." "it may have hit a canoe," said alizay. "i will try again." the second shot was, to all appearance, not more effective than the first. "perhaps my brother forgot to put in the balls." "is alizay a squaw?" asked the insulted brave angrily. magadar thought it wise to make no answer to this question, and in a few seconds more the kayaks doubled round a point that jutted into the stream and were hid from view. but the two bullets had not missed their billets. one--the first fired--had dropped into gartok's canoe and buried itself in his left thigh. with the stoicism of a bold hunter, however, he uttered no cry, but continued to wield his paddle as well as he could. the other ball had pierced the back of his lieutenant ondikik. he also, with the courage of a savage warrior, gave no sign at first that he was wounded. at this point, where the eskimos were for a time sheltered by the formation of the land, the greygoose river had a double or horse-shoe bend; and the indians, who knew the lie of the land well, thought it better to put ashore and run quickly over a neck of land in the hope of heading the kayaks before they reached the sea. acting on this belief they thrust their canoes in among the reeds, and, leaping on shore, darted into the bushes. the eskimos, meanwhile, knowing that they could beat the indians at paddling, and that the next bend in the stream would reveal to them a view of the open sea, kept driving ahead with all the force of their stout arms. they also knew that the firing would have alarmed their women and induced them to embark in their oomiak, push off to sea, and await them. and this would have turned out as they had expected, but for an unforeseen event which delayed the women in their operations until too late--at least for one of the party. chapter six. a surprise, a struggle, and a capture. when the eskimo women, as before related, made up their minds to discard the cooking-lamp and indulge in the luxury of a wood fire, they sent one of their number into the bush to gather sticks. the one selected for this duty was rinka, she being active and willing, besides being intelligent, which last was a matter of importance in one totally unaccustomed to traversing the pathless woods. the girl obeyed orders at once, and soon had collected a large armful of dried branches, with which she prepared to return to the encampment. but when she looked up at the small trees by which she was surrounded, she felt considerably puzzled as to the direction in which she ought to walk. of course, remembering that her back had been toward the sea when she set out, nothing seemed simpler than to turn round with her face towards it and proceed. but she had not done this for many minutes, when it occurred to her that she must have turned about more or less, several times, during her outward journey. this brought her to an abrupt halt. she looked up and around several times, and then, feeling quite sure that the shore must lie in a certain direction pointed out by hope, set off in that direction at a good round pace. as the wood seemed to get thicker, however, she concluded that she was wrong, and changed direction again. still the undergrowth became more dense, and then, suddenly coming to the conclusion that she was lost, she stood stock-still and dropped her bundle of sticks in dismay. for a few moments she was stunned, as if her position were unbelievable. then she became horrified and shouted to her companions, but her feeble, unassertive voice was unable to travel far, and drew forth no response. indeed, she had wandered so far into the forest that, even if possessed of a man's voice, she might have failed to attract the attention of the women. then the sound of distant firing began to salute her ears, and in an agony of anxiety she ran hither and thither almost blindly. but there were other ears besides those of rinka which were startled by the guns. sitting under a tree--all ignorant of the presence of his brethren or of the warlike indians--cheenbuk was regaling himself on the carcass of a fat willow-grouse which he had speared a little before the firing began. our eskimo was making for the coast where he had left his kayak, and had halted for a feed. the sport in the woods, after its novelty wore off, had lost interest for one whose natural game, so to speak, was bears and walruses, and he was on his way back when this rattle of musketry arrested him. the sudden eruption of it was not more puzzling to him than its abrupt cessation. could it be that some of his tribe had followed him to the river and fallen in with the men of the woods? he thought it not unlikely, and that, if so, his assistance, either as fighter or peacemaker, might be required. bolting the remainder of the willow-grouse precipitately, he jumped up, grasped his weapons, and made for the coast, as near as he could guess, in the direction of the firing. it happened, at the same time, that one of the young indians, who was on his first war-path, and thirsted for scalps as well as distinction, chanced to keep a more easterly direction than his fellows, when they took to the bush, as already related. this man, coming to an open glade whence he could see the shore, beheld the eskimo women launching their oomiak in a state of frantic alarm. they were also signalling or beckoning eagerly as if to some one in the woods. casting a hurried glance to his right, he observed poor rinka, who had just got clear of the forest, and was running towards her companions as fast as her short legs could carry her. without a moment's hesitation, he took aim at her and fired. the poor girl uttered a loud shriek, threw up her arms, and fell to the ground. it chanced that cheenbuk was within a hundred yards of the spot at the moment, but the bushes prevented his seeing what had occurred. the report, however, followed by the woman's shriek, was a sufficient spur to him. darting forward at full speed, he quickly cleared the underwood and came suddenly in view of a sight that caused every nerve in his body to tingle--rinka prostrate on the ground with blood covering her face and hands, and the young indian standing over her about to operate with the scalping-knife. the howl of concentrated rage and horror uttered by cheenbuk instantly checked the savage, and made him turn in self-defence. he had run to finish his horrible work, and secure the usual trophy of war without taking time to re-load his gun, and was thus almost unarmed. grasping his powder-horn he attempted to rectify this error--which would never have been committed by an experienced warrior,--but before he could accomplish half the operation, the well-aimed spear of cheenbuk went whistling through the air, and entering his chest came out at his back. he fell dead almost without a groan. cheenbuk did not stop to finish the work by stabbing or scalping, but he kneeled beside the wounded girl and gently raised her. "rinka," he said, softly, while he undid her jacket and sought for the wound, "is it bad? has he killed you?" "i feel that i am dying. there is something here." she laid her hand upon her side, from a small wound in which blood was issuing freely. the heart of the man was at once torn by tender pity and bitter indignation, when he thought of the gentle nature of the poor creature who had been thus laid low, and of the savage cruelty of the indian who had done it--feelings which were not a little complicated by the reflection that the war-spirit--that is, the desire to kill for mere self-glorification--among some of his own people had probably been the cause of it all. "it is useless. i am dying," gasped the girl, drawing her bloody hand across her forehead. "but don't leave me to fall into the hands of these men. take me home and let me die beside my mother." she was yet speaking when old uleeta and her companions came forward. seeing that no other indian appeared, and that the one who had shot rinka was dead, they had quelled their alarm and come to see what had occurred. cheenbuk, after stanching the flow of blood, availed himself of their aid to carry the wounded girl to the oomiak more comfortably than could have been possible if he had been obliged to carry her in his own strong arms. with much care they placed her in the bottom of the boat, then the women got in, and cheenbuk was about to follow, when the report of a gun was heard, and a bullet whizzed close past old uleeta's head--so close, indeed, that it cut off some of her grey hair. but the old creature was by no means frightened. "quick, jump in!" she cried, beginning to push off with her paddle. cheenbuk was on the point of accepting the invitation, but a thought intervened--and thought is swifter than the lightning-flash. he knew from slight, but sufficient, experience that the spouters could send only one messenger of death at a time, and that before another could be spouted, some sort of manipulation which took time was needful. if the indian should get the manipulation over before the oomiak was out of range, any of the women, as well as himself, might be killed. "no," he cried, giving the boat a mighty shove that sent it out to sea like an arrow, "be off!--paddle!--for life! i will stop him!" old uleeta did not hesitate. she was accustomed to obedience--even when there were no fire-spouters astern. she bent to her paddle with arctic skill and vigour. so did her mates, and the oomiak darted from the shore while the indian who had fired the shot was still agonising with his ramrod--for, happily, breech-loaders were as yet unknown. cheenbuk was quite alive to his danger. he rushed up the beach towards his foe with a roar and an expression of countenance that did not facilitate loading. having left his spear in the body of the first indian, he was unarmed, but that did not matter much to one who felt in his chest and arms the strength of hercules and samson rolled into one. so close was he to the indian when the operation of priming was reached, that the man of the woods merely gave the stock of his gun a slap in the desperate hope that it would prime itself. this hope, in the artillery used there at that time, was not often a vain hope. indeed, after prolonged use, the "trade gun" of the "nor'-west" got into the habit of priming itself--owing to the enlarged nature of the touch-hole--also of expending not a little of its force sidewise. the consequence was that the charge ignited when the trigger was pulled, and the echoes of the cliffs were once more awakened; but happily the eskimo had closed in time. grasping the barrel he turned the muzzle aside, and the ball that was meant for his heart went skipping out to sea, to the no small surprise of the women in the oomiak. and now, for the second time since he had landed on those shores, was cheenbuk engaged in the hated work of a hand-to-hand conflict with a foe! but the conditions were very different, for alizay was no match for the powerful eskimo--in physique at least, though doubtless he was not much, if at all, behind him in courage. cheenbuk felt this the moment they joined issue, and on the instant an irresistible sensation of mercy overwhelmed him. holding the gun with his right hand, and keeping its muzzle well to one side, for he did not feel quite certain as to its spouting capacities, he grasped the indian's throat with his left. quick as lightning alizay, with his free hand, drew his scalping-knife and struck at the eskimo's shoulder, but not less quick was cheenbuk in releasing the throat and catching the indian's wrist with a grip that rendered it powerless. for a minute the eskimo remained motionless, considering how best to render his adversary insensible without killing him. that minute cost him dear. five of alizay's comrades, led by magadar, came upon the scene, and, as it happened, cheenbuk's back chanced to be towards them. they did not dare to fire, for fear of hitting their comrade, but they rushed unitedly forward with tomahawk and scalping-knife ready. "take him alive," said magadar. cheenbuk heard the voice. he disposed of poor alizay by hurling him away as if he had been a child, and was in the act of facing round when magadar threw his arms round his body and held him. to be seized thus from behind is to most men a serious difficulty, but our eskimo made short work of his assailant. he bent forward with his head to the ground so violently that the indian was flung completely over him, and fell flat on his back, in which position he remained motionless. but it was impossible for cheenbuk to cope with the other four indians, who flung themselves on him simultaneously, and seized him by arms, legs, and throat. of course they could have brained or stabbed him easily, but, remembering their chief's order to take the man alive, they sought to quell him by sheer force. stout and sinewy though the four braves were, they had their hands full during a good many minutes, for the eskimo's muscles were tougher and harder than india-rubber; his sinews resembled whip-cord, and his bones bars of iron. so completely was he overwhelmed by the men who held him down, that little or nothing of him could be seen, yet ever and anon, as he struggled, the four men seemed to be heaved upward by a small earthquake. alizay, who had risen, stood looking calmly on, but rendered no assistance, first, because there was no room for him to act, and second, because his left wrist had been almost broken by the violence of the throw that he had received. as for magadar, he was only beginning to recover consciousness, and to wonder where he was! suddenly cheenbuk ceased to strive. he was a crafty eskimo, and a thought had occurred to him. he would sham exhaustion, and, when his foes relaxed their grip, would burst away from them. he knew it was a forlorn hope, for he was well aware that, even if he should succeed in getting away, the spouters would send messengers to arrest him before he had run far. but cheenbuk was just the man for a forlorn hope. he rose to difficulties and dangers as trouts to flies on a warm day. the indians, however, were much too experienced warriors to be caught in that way. they eased off their grip with great caution. moreover magadar, having risen, and seeing how things were going, took off his belt and made a running noose of it. he passed the loop deftly round cheenbuk's legs and drew it tight, while the others were still trying vainly to compress his bull-neck. the moment that cheenbuk felt the noose tighten on his legs he knew that it was all over with him. to run or fight with his legs tied would be impossible, so, like a true philosopher, he submitted to the inevitable and gave in. his captors, however, did not deem it wise or safe to relax their hold until they had swathed his body with deerskin thongs; then they removed the belt from his legs and assisted him to rise. it is not the custom of indians to indulge in much conversation with vanquished foes. they usually confine their attentions to scowling, torturing, and ultimately to killing and scalping them. the dogribs who had captured cheenbuk could not speak the eskimo tongue, and being unaware of his linguistic powers, did not think it possible to speak to him, but one of their number stood by him on guard while the others dug a grave and buried the indian whom he had slain. we have already made reference to our young eskimo's unusually advanced views in regard to several matters that do not often--as far as we know--exercise the aboriginal mind. while he stood there watching the indians, as they silently toiled at the grave, his thoughts ran somewhat in the following groove:-- "poor man! sorry i killed him, but if i had not he would have killed me--and then, perhaps, some of the women, for they had not got far away, and i don't know how far the spouter can send its little arrows. i wonder if they _are_ little. they must be surely, for i've never seen one. hoi! hoi! what fools men are to kill one another! how much better to let each other alone! i have killed _him_, poor man! and they will kill me. what then? the ice and snow will come and go all the same. no one will be the better for it when we are gone. some will surely be the worse. some wife or mother may have to rub her eyes for him. no one will care much for _me_. but the walrus and the seal-hunt will not be so big when i am gone. i wonder if the maker of all cares for these things! he must--else he would not have made us and put us here! did he make us to fight each other? surely not. even i would not shape my spear to destroy my kayak--and he must be wiser than me. yet he never speaks or shows himself. if i had a little child, would i treat it so? no--i must be wrong, and he must be right. speech is not always with the tongue. now it comes to my mind that we speak with the eyes when we look fierce or pleased. perhaps he whispers to me inside, sometimes, and i have not yet learned to understand him." cheenbuk had now dropped into one of his frequent reveries, or trains of thought, in which he was apt to forget all that was going on around him, and he did not waken from it until, the burial being concluded, one of the indians touched him on the shoulder and pointed to magadar, who had shouldered his gun and was entering the bushes. understanding this to be a command to follow, he stepped out at once. the others fell into line behind him, and thus, bound and a captive, our eskimo turned his back finally--as he believed--on what we may style his native home--the great, mysterious northern sea. chapter seven. flight and misfortune. while the scene we have described was being enacted, the other indians, who had crossed the neck of land for the purpose of cutting off the men in the kayaks, failed in the attempt, partly owing to the distance being greater than their memories had assigned to it, and partly to the great speed of the kayaks when propelled by strong men fleeing for their lives. all the kayaks were well out of gunshot range when the shore was reached, except one which lagged behind. at this one the indians discharged several volleys, but without effect, and soon after, it also was beyond range. the little vessel which thus lagged behind belonged to the unfortunate gartok, whose leg, it will be remembered, was wounded by one of the balls discharged by alizay. despite his energy, and desperate though the situation was, gartok could not overcome the depressing influence of pain and haemorrhage. he fell gradually behind the others, each of whom was too anxious about his own safety to think much of his comrades. when the firing ceased and the flotilla was well out of range, gartok laid down his paddle and bound up his wounded limb with some scraps of seal-skin; at the same time, hailing the kayak nearest to him. as soon as it was discovered that their chief was wounded, all the eskimos came clustering round him. among them was his lieutenant ondikik. "you also are wounded," said gartok, observing the pallor of his face. "yes; i can find no arrow, but there is blood." "is it bad?" asked the chief, with an angry exclamation at their misfortune. "i cannot tell," replied ondikik, "but--" he finished the sentence in the most expressive manner by fainting dead away, and falling over to one side so heavily that he would have infallibly upset the little craft if his comrades had not been close at hand to prevent that catastrophe. "hail the oomiak!" cried gartok, in a voice that, for him, felt singularly feeble. "put him into it, and let two of the women change with two of the men." in a few minutes the women's large open boat was alongside, and poor ondikik was, with some difficulty, transferred to it. two men then gave up their kayaks to two of the women, and took their places in the oomiak. while this was being done some of the people gave a shout of alarm, for it was observed that gartok himself had quietly fallen back in a state of insensibility. the men, therefore, lifted him also out of his kayak and laid him beside his lieutenant. this accomplished, the little fleet paddled out to sea, and they soon lost sight of the arctic shore. they did not again pause until they reached a group of small islets, on one of which they encamped for the night. fortunately the weather at this time was calm and warm, so that those hardy inhabitants of the icy north required no better lodging or bed than the cold ground, with the star-spangled sky for curtains. with lamps flaring, seal-steaks and wild-fowl simmering, and hot oil flowing, they quickly made themselves comfortable--with the exception, of course, of the warlike gartok and the hot-headed ondikik. these two, being fellow-sufferers, were laid beside each other, in order, perhaps, to facilitate mutual condolence. to do them justice, they did not grumble much at their fate, but entertained each other with a running commentary on the events of the day. "and that is strange news that my old mother tells me," resumed gartok, after a short pause in the conversation. "cheenbuk must have given the fire-spouters sore heads from the way he gripped them." "i wish i had been there," growled ondikik. "i'm glad i was _not_ there," returned gartok. "i could not have saved him from so many, and it would not have been pleasant to go into slavery--if not to torture and death. poor cheenbuk! he was ever against war--yet war has been forced on him. i fear we shall never see him again. hoi! my leg is bad. i can't understand how the fire-spouters could hit it without the little thing going through my back first." "i wish all the fire-spouters were deep in the inside of a whale's belly," growled ondikik, whose wound was beginning to render him feverish and rusty. "arrows and spears can be pulled out, but when the little spouter things go in we don't know where they go to. they disappear and leave an ugly hole behind them." at this point raventik, on whom the command had devolved, came forward with a choice piece of juicy walrus blubber on a flat stone for a plate. "our chiefs will eat," he said, "it will do them good--make their hearts strong and ease the wounds." "no," said gartok decisively, "none for me." "take it away!" cried the other sharply. "no?" exclaimed raventik in surprise. you see, he had never in his life been wounded or ill, and could not understand the possibility of refusing food, except when too full of it. being a sympathetic soul, however, he pressed it on the invalids, but received replies so very discouraging that he was induced to forbear. old uleeta turned out to be a more intelligent, it not more kindly, nurse. after she had eaten her supper and succeeded in bolting the last bite that had refused to go down when she could eat no more, she came forward with a bladder full of water, and some rabbit-skins, for the purpose of dressing the wounds. "gently, mother," said gartok with a suppressed groan, "you lay hold of me as if i were a seal." "you are quite as self-willed, my son," replied the old woman. "if you had not gone out to fight you would not have come back with a hole in your leg." "if i had not come into the world i should not have been here to trouble you, mother." "there's truth in that, my son," returned the woman, as if the idea were new to her. at this ondikik groaned--whether at the contemptibly obvious character of the idea, or at ideas in general, or in consequence of pain, we cannot tell. "you said, mother, that cheenbuk gave them a good deal of trouble?" "ay, he gave them sore hearts and sore bodies." "they deserved it! what right had they to come with their fire-spouters to attack us?" "what right had you to go without your fire-spouters to attack _them_?" demanded old uleeta, somewhat maliciously. gartok, who was destitute neither of intelligence nor of humour, laughed, but the laugh slid into a most emphatic "hoi!" as his mother gave the leg a wrench. "softly, mother, softly! treat me as you did when i was so big," he exclaimed, indicating about one foot six between his hands. the old woman chuckled, or rather "hee! hee'd!" a little and continued: "yes, cheenbuk fought like a bear. we could not see him, for they were all on top of him at once, but hi! how he made them heave! i wonder they did not use their knives." "they felt sure they had him," said her son, "they wanted to drive him to their huts and kill him slowly to amuse their women." this was such a horrible idea that the old woman became unusually grave. "these fire-spouters are worse than white bears," she said, "for these never torture other beasts, though they often kill them." "true, mother. now i wish you would go away and leave my leg alone. ondikik there needs your help. go to him and hurt him as much as you please. i won't grumble." "you were always a thankless boy--ever since you could speak," replied the dame, reproachfully. "did you ever hear of any one being thankless before he could speak?-- hoi! mother, you've tied it too tight. slack it a little." after complying with her son's request, old uleeta went to ondikik, to whom, however, she could render but little service, owing to the nature of his wound. then she paid a visit to rinka, whose injuries, however, proved to be more alarming than severe; after which she joined the rest of the tribe at supper. while the eskimos were thus proceeding to their home among the islands of the arctic sea, the captors of cheenbuk were paddling up-stream to the lands of the dogrib indians. at first the stout eskimo meditated an attempt to escape. indeed he made one vigorous effort when they were leading him through the bush with his hands tied behind him. just as they came to the place where the canoes were lying, the thought of home, and of his probable fate as a prisoner, pressed so heavily on him that he suddenly became furious, tripped up the man beside him with his foot, kicked over the one behind him with his heel, ran his head like a battering-ram into the back of the man in front of him, and then strove to burst his bonds with a succession of mighty wriggles, but, not being quite equal to samson, he failed, and on seeing that two savages stood over him with drawn scalping-knives, while magadar put the muzzle of a gun to his head, he deemed it wise to give in and uttered the exclamation "hoi!" with the air of one who feels that his game is played out. he marched forward after that in submissive silence. on reaching the canoes, however, a fresh burst of indignation assailed him, and for a moment he meditated sending his foot through the bottom of the frail craft which was to carry him into exile, but on second thoughts he decided to delay the performance of that violent measure till they were well out in the middle of the current, when there would be the chance of drowning some of his foes as well as himself. by the time the desired position was reached, however, his spirit had calmed down a little and his philosophic mind--to say nothing of his heart--had begun to suggest the uselessness of gratifying his feelings by a revenge which he probably could not enjoy much while in the process of drowning, and, doubtless, could not enjoy at all after he was drowned. thus it came to pass that our hero restrained his passions, and, in process of time, found himself a prisoner in one of the lodges of the dogrib indians. chapter eight. in the hour of need. on reaching the indian village cheenbuk was firmly bound to a tree a little way outside the camp, and left there to his meditations, while his captors went to the old chief's tent to hold a council. meanwhile the women and children went to look at the captive. among them were adolay and her mother. the moment the former set eyes on cheenbuk she recognised him as the youth who had rescued her mother from drowning the previous year. "mother," she whispered, drawing her parent aside, "that is him! don't you remember him?" "i think it is," returned isquay, gazing steadily at the eskimo, who looked at the crowd which surrounded him with a gaze of supreme contempt, though he did not by any means feel contemptuous. "come, mother," said adolay, with sudden earnestness, "he has not recognised us in the crowd. i must go and find out what the braves are palavering." as she spoke she drew her mother towards their own lodge, and there left her while she hurried on to the council-tent. in the shelter of some bushes she crept as near to it as possible. there was no difficulty in making out what was said, for the warriors made no secret of their intentions, and spoke in loud tones. "he shall die," was the remark of alizay just as the girl came within hearing, "he has killed one of our braves." "ay, and he shall die by torture," said magadar, who was a relation of the man that had been slain. "ho! ho!" exclaimed most of the warriors in tones of approval, but there were a few among them who were silent. they leaned to mercy's side. "better to spare his life and make a slave of him," said one of these, "we can keep him always tied like a bad dog till we need him; then we can loose his legs and make him drag our sledges." "the brave who has spoken is young," said the old chief. "he does not know much about men. will not the eskimo watch for his chance, get free from his bonds, kill some of us when we are off our guard, and, perhaps, escape?" "that is so. he must be killed," remarked magadar, with a glance of scorn at the merciful youth, "and the sooner the better." "let us do it at once," said one of the blood-thirsty. on hearing this the heart of adolay beat anxiously, and for a few moments she was undecided whether to run to the tree to which the eskimo was bound and set him free by cutting his bonds, or enter the council-tent, tell the story of his having saved her mother's life, and plead that the youth's might be spared. both courses, she knew, were about equally desperate. if she were to follow the first, all the children would see her do it, and give the alarm, in which case the eskimo would be pursued and certainly recaptured, for a fugitive in a strange country would have no chance with men well acquainted with every nook and corner of their native land. besides which, she knew not what terrible punishment might be inflicted on herself for making such an attempt. on the other hand, for a woman to violate the sanctity of a council-tent was so unprecedented that she felt sure it would be sternly resented, and, therefore, useless. fortunately she was saved the necessity of acting on either alternative by the arguments of the next speaker, who was one of the blood-thirsty braves. "let us not be in haste like women and children," he said; "if we leave him bound to the tree all night he will have time to think of the fate that is coming, and we shall have good sunlight in the morning, which will enable even the oldest squaw to see well." after some palaver it was agreed that the execution of cheenbuk should be postponed to the following day, and that a sentinel should be posted beside him during the night to make sure that he did not manage to undo his fastenings and escape. on hearing this decision arrived at, adolay crept back into the bush and hastened to her mother's tent. "they have fixed to kill him, mother," she exclaimed, anxiously, on entering. "i expected that, and i'm sorry," returned isquay, "but we cannot help it. what can women do? the men will not mind what i say. if only nazinred was here they would listen to _him_, but--" "yes, they always listen to father," interrupted the girl, with an anxious frown on her pretty brows, "but as father is not here you must do what you can for the man." "you are very fond of him!" said the squaw with a keen look at her daughter. "yes, i am very fond of him," replied adolay with an air of unblushing candour, "and i think, mother, that you should be fond of him too." "so i am, girl, so i am, but what can i do?" "you can go and tell the story to the old chief. he is not hard, like some of the young men. perhaps he may help us." isquay shook her head, but nevertheless agreed to try her influence with the old man, and went out for that purpose. meanwhile adolay, who had not herself much faith in her mother's advocacy of the poor eskimo's cause, resolved upon a separate course of action. throwing a blanket over her head and shoulders, she started for the place where cheenbuk stood, scornfully regarding the little boys who surrounded and insulted him by flourishing knives and hatchets close to his defenceless nose. they did not, however, dare to touch him, as the time had not yet arrived for actual torture. running forward, adolay, who was a favourite with the young people, drove them back. "keep clear of him," she cried with a fierce glare in her eyes--which was wonderfully realistic, considering that it was a mere piece of acting--"i want to speak to him--to terrify him--to fill him with horror!" this was quite to the taste of the wretched little creatures, who fell back in a semi-circle and waited for more. "can you understand my speech?" she demanded as she turned on cheenbuk with flashing eyes. the eskimo thought he had never seen such magnificent eyes before, and wished much that they would look on him more kindly. "yes," he replied, "i understand a little." "listen, then," cried adolay in a loud tone, and with looks more furious than before. "you are to die to-morrow." "i expected it would be to-night," replied cheenbuk calmly. "and you are to be tortured to death!" at this the boys set up a howl of delight. at the same time the girl advanced a step nearer the captive, and said in a low voice hurriedly: "i will save you. be ready to act--to-night." the softened look and altered tone opened the eyes of the captive. although the blanket partially concealed adolay's face, cheenbuk at once recognised the girl whose mother he had saved the previous spring. "i am awake!" he said quietly, but with a glance of bright intelligence. "yes, you are doomed to die," continued adolay, when the boys' howling had subsided, "and if you are to be tortured, we will all come to see how brave you are." as she said this she went close up to the captive, as if to make her words more emphatic, and shook her little fist in his face. then--in a low voice--"you see the cliff behind me, with the dead tree below it?" "yes." "run for that tree when you are free--and _wait_." turning round, as though her rage was satisfied for the time being, adolay left the spot with a dark frown on her face. "leave him now, boys," she said in passing. "give him time to think about to-morrow." whether it was the effect of this advice, or the fact that the shades of evening were falling, and a feeding-time was at hand, we cannot say, but in a short time cheenbuk was left to his meditations. he was, however, quite within sight of several of the lodges. as the daylight gradually faded a young brave left his tent, and, shouldering his gun, went to the place where the captive was bound. examining the bonds to make sure that they were secure, the youth carefully renewed the priming of his weapon, shouldered it, and began to pace to and fro. his mode of proceeding was to walk up to the captive, take a look at him, turn round, and walk about thirty or forty yards away from him, and so on to and fro without halt or variation for upwards of two hours. during all that time he uttered no word to the eskimo. cheenbuk, on his part, took no notice whatever of his guard, but stood perfectly still and looked with calm, lofty indifference over his head-- which he was well able to do, being a considerably taller man. as the night advanced the darkness deepened, and the poor captive began to entertain serious misgivings as to his prospects. would the girl try to carry out the plan, whatever it was? yes, he had not the slightest doubt on that head, because, somehow, she had inspired him with a confidence that he had never felt in woman before. but would she be able to carry out her plan? that was quite another question. then, the darkness had become so intense that he could barely see the outline of the cliff towards which he was to run, and could not see the dead tree at all. moreover, it occurred to him that it would be impossible even to walk, much less to run, over unknown and perhaps rough ground in darkness so great that he could hardly see the trees around him; and could only make out the whites of the sentinel's eyes when he came close up. it was therefore with a feeling of relief that he at length observed a faint glow of light in the sky, which indicated the rising of the moon. soon afterwards a dark figure was seen approaching. it was alizay, the blood-thirsty brave, who had come to relieve guard. chapter nine. trying moments and perplexing doubts. the first thing that the new sentinel did was carefully to examine the cords that bound the captive to the tree, and tie one or two additional knots to make him more secure. then he turned to the other indian, and asked sharply:-- "has he been quiet?" "quiet as the tree to which he is bound." "has he uttered speech?" "no." "good. you may go. i will watch him till morning: after that he will need no more watching." alizay looked sharply at the eskimo while he uttered these words, perhaps to ascertain whether he understood their drift, but cheenbuk's visage was immovable, and his eyes were fixed, as if in meditation, on the moon, which just then was beginning to rise over the cliffs and shed a softened light over the indian village. the new sentinel shouldered his gun and began his vigil, while the other left them. but other ears had listened to the concluding words of alizay. the tree to which the eskimo was bound stood close to the edge of the bush, or underwood. in front of it was an open space, up and down which the sentinel marched. had the indian dreamed of a traitor in the camp he would not have deemed the captive's position as secure as it should be, but the idea of any one in the village favouring a contemptible eater-of-raw-flesh never once entered his imagination. nevertheless, adolay was in the bush behind the tree, and not only heard his words, but saw his movements. watching her opportunity when the sentinel had just turned and was marching away from the tree, she cut, with a scalping-knife, the cord that bound cheenbuk's right arm and placed the knife in his hand. almost at the same moment she slipped back into the bush. cheenbuk made no attempt, however, to free himself. the sentinel's beat was too short to permit of his doing so without being observed. he therefore remained perfectly motionless in his former attitude. it was a trying moment when the indian approached to within a couple of feet and looked him straight in the face, as was his wont at each turn. but cheenbuk was gifted with nerves of steel. his contemplation of the moon was so absorbing, that a civilised observer might have mistaken him for an astronomer or a lunatic. alizay suspected nothing. he turned round, and the eskimo allowed him to take about five paces before he moved. then, with the speed of lightning, he ran the sharp blade down his side, severing all his bonds at one sweep. next moment he was free, but he instantly resumed his former position and attitude until his guard was within a yard of him. then he sprang upon him, dropped the knife and seized him by the throat with both hands, so tightly that he was quite incapable of uttering a cry. alizay made a vigorous struggle for life, but he had no chance with the burly eskimo, who quickly decided the fight by giving his adversary a blow with his fist that laid him insensible on the ground. springing over his prostrate form he ran straight for the cliff that adolay had pointed out to him, leaping over fallen trees, and across what looked like young chasms, in a state of reckless uncertainty as to whether he would plunge into ponds or land at the bottom of precipices. with a feeling of absolute confidence that the girl with the lustrous eyes would not have told him to run where the feat was impossible, he held on until he reached the bottom of the cliff and stood beside the dead tree unhurt, though considerably winded. there he resolved to wait according to orders. to most ordinary men, waiting, when they are filled with anxiety, is much more trying than energetic action. but cheenbuk was not an ordinary man, therefore he waited like a hero. meanwhile adolay, having seen the eskimo fairly in grips with the sentinel, ran swiftly back towards the village, intending, before going to cheenbuk at the cliff, to let her mother know what she had done, and what she still purposed to do--namely to embark with the eskimo in a birch-bark canoe, guide him across the small lake that lay near the village, and show him the rivulet that would lead him into the greygoose river. but she had not gone far, when, on turning a bush, she almost ran into the arms of a young indian girl named idazoo, an event which upset all her plans and perplexed her not a little--all the more that this girl was jealous of her, believing that she was trying to steal from her the affections of alizay, whom she regarded as her own young man! "why run you so fast?" asked the girl, as adolay stood panting before her. "have you seen a bad spirit?" "yes, i have seen a bad spirit," answered adolay, (thinking of alizay), "i have seen two bad spirits," she added, (thinking of idazoo). "but i cannot stop to tell you. i have to--to--go to see--something very strange to-night." now it must be told that idazoo was gifted with a very large bump of curiosity, and a still larger one, perhaps, of suspicion. the brave alizay, she knew, was to mount guard over the eskimo captive that night, and she had a suspicion that adolay had taken advantage of that fact to pay the captive--not the indian, oh dear no!--a visit. unable to rest quietly in her tent under the powerful influence of this idea, she resolved to take a walk herself--a sort of moonlight ramble as it were-- in that direction. as we have seen, she met her friend, not unexpectedly, on the way. "i will go with you," she said, "to see this strange thing, whatever it be. there may be danger; two are better than one, and, you know, i am not easily frightened." poor adolay was dismayed by this proposition, and hurried forward, but idazoo kept pace with her. suddenly she made up her mind, and, changing her direction, made for the cliff at a rapid run, closely followed by her jealous friend, who was resolved to see the mystery out. she purposely led her companion round in such a way that they came suddenly upon the waiting eskimo, whose speaking visage betrayed his surprise at seeing two girls instead of one. on beholding cheenbuk standing there unbound, idazoo stopped short, drew back, and gazed at him in alarm as well as surprise. "you have now seen the strange sight i spoke of, but you must not tell it in the lodges," said adolay. without answering her, idazoo turned to fly, but adolay grasped her by the wrist and held her tight--at the same time motioning with her hand to cheenbuk. the eskimo was prompt as well as intelligent. he did not wait for explanations or allow surprise to delay him. with a bound he was beside the girls, had grasped idazoo, and looked to adolay for further instructions. "hold her till i tie up her hands," she said, drawing a stout line of deerskin from a pocket in the breast of her dress. with this she proceeded to bind her inquisitive friend's wrists. perceiving that she was to be made a captive, the girl opened her mouth and began a shriek, which, had it been allowed full play, would no doubt have reached her friends in the village, but cheenbuk had observed the intention, and before the first note had struggled into being, he clapped his hand on her mouth and quenched it. idazoo wore round her neck a brightly coloured cotton kerchief, such as the fur-traders of those days furnished for barter with the indians. cheenbuk quietly plucked this off her neck and tied it firmly round her face and mouth so as to effectually gag her. this done they fastened her to the stem of the dead tree. the whole operation was performed without unnecessary rudeness, and with great celerity. "now, idazoo," said adolay, when they had finished, "you have done me great injury this night. i am sorry to treat you in this way, but i cannot help it. you _would_ come with me, you know. if i could trust you even now, i would take the cloth off your mouth, but i dare not, you might yell, and everybody knows you were never good at keeping your promises. but it does not matter much. the handkerchief is not too tight to prevent the air getting up your nose--and it will give your tongue a rest, which it needs. besides, the night is not cold, and as our braves pass here every morning when starting off to hunt, you will soon be set free." the eskimo showed all his brilliant teeth from ear to ear while this little speech was being made. then he accompanied adolay through the bush until they reached the shores of a small lake, beside which a birch-bark canoe was lying, partly in the water. at an earlier part of that evening the girl had placed the canoe there, and put into it weapons and provisions suitable for a considerable voyage. "you have got this ready for me?" said cheenbuk. "yes. you saved my mother's life once, and i will save yours," replied the girl, pointing to the bow of the canoe as if ordering him to embark. "are you going with me?" asked the youth, with a look of hopeful surprise and a very slight flutter of the heart. "you do not know the lake. i will guide you to the place where the little river runs out of it, and then, by following that, you will get into greygoose river, which i think you know." the eskimo's heart ceased to flutter, and the hope died out of his expressive eyes as he said, still hesitating, "but--but--i am very heavy and you are very light. a canoe does not go well with its head deep in the water. don't you think that i should sit behind and steer?" "and where would you steer to?" asked adolay, with a somewhat pert smile. "besides, look there," she added, pointing to the stern of the little craft, "do eskimos not use their eyes?" cheenbuk used his eyes as directed, and saw that a heavy stone had been placed in the stern so as to counteract the difference of weight. with an air of humility, therefore, he stepped into his allotted place, took up a paddle and sat down. adolay pushed the craft into deeper water, stepped lightly in, and, giving a vigorous shove, sent it skimming out on the lake. then the two dipped their paddles with a will, and shot over the water like an arrow. profound silence was maintained until the other end of the lake was reached, when the moon came out from a bank of clouds and enabled the girl to find the reedy source of the little river without difficulty. "we will land here and lift the canoe past the reeds," she said, steering the little craft to the side of a grassy bank. walking along this bank, and guiding the canoe with their hands, they soon came to an open space in the forest, whence they could see the rivulet winding like a thread of silver through the land in front of them. "this is the place where we must part," said adolay with a sudden determination of manner which surprised and puzzled the eskimo. "you have now no further need for me. you have only to go straight on with the running of the water. there are only two falls on the way, but you will hear the noise before you come to them, and you have only to lift the canoe a short way through the bush to the still water below the falls. our braves often do that; you will find it quite easy." "i know something of that," returned cheenbuk; "we have no falls in our great salt lake, but we have plenty big lumps of ice, and when these are like to crush together we have to jump out of our kayaks and lift them out of the water--ho! and we do it quick too, sometimes, or we get squeezed flat. but if i go on with the canoe how will you get home? you cannot swim back." "i can walk round the lake. are the eskimo girls not able to walk, that you ask such a question?" said the girl, raising her dark eyes with something of an amused look to the face of her companion, who was looking anxiously down at her. "oh yes, they can walk well. ay, and run too when needful. but--but-- i'm sorry that we must part. must!--why must?" the youth said this in a meditative tone, for it had occurred to him for a moment that the girl was now in his power; that he could compel her to get into the bow of the canoe, and might steer her to his home at waruskeek if he chose, whether she would or no. but cheenbuk's soul was chivalrous. he was far in advance of his kindred and his times. he scorned himself for having even thought of such a thing for a moment; and it was with an air of profound humility that he continued-- "must--of course you must. one of the young braves would have a sore heart if you did not return." "no one that i know of," she replied quickly. "i care not for the braves; but my mother would have a sore heart if i did not return. yet i fear to go back, for that idazoo will tell, and perhaps they will kill me for helping you to escape." "then you must _not_ go back," said the eskimo stoutly. "come with me and i will take good care of you." "no, i cannot," returned the girl thoughtfully; i cannot forsake my mother and father in such a way without even a word at parting. "what is your name?" asked the youth promptly. "mine is cheenbuk." "they call me adolay; that, in our language, means the summer-time." "well, adolay, i don't know what my name, cheenbuk, means--perhaps it means winter-time. anyhow, listen to me. if there is any chance of you being killed you must _not_ go back. i will take you to my mother's igloe and you will live with her." "have you, too, got a mother?" asked adolay with interest. "ho! yes; and a father too--and they're both fat and heavy and kind. when they come to know that you have been so kind to me, they will receive you with joy." "no," said adolay, shaking her small head decidedly, "i _will_ not go. they may kill me if they like, but i will never forsake my mother." "are you determined?" "yes--for sure." "then so am i," said cheenbuk, taking hold of the canoe and turning the bow up-stream. "get in, adolay, and we will return to the lodges of your people and die together." cheenbuk had a way of saying and doing things that convinced his hearers that he was thoroughly in earnest. the indian girl felt this, and regretted much that she had said anything at all about her danger. she now tried to counteract the evil. "what do you mean?" she said, anxiously. "i mean that i am not afraid to go back and die with you." "but it is not certain," she replied, "that they will kill me. if my father was at home they would not dare to do it, and perhaps they will be afraid of his revenge when he comes back. but for you there is no chance at all. they will be sure to kill you with slow tortures." "i care not. if i go back they will not be so likely to kill you. but listen to me, adolay. i have a thought. if you come with me to my home in waruskeek i will take you safe to my father's igloe, and you shall live with my mother and sister. i will not ask you to be my squaw, but you will stay with them till we collect a strong band of young men, when we will go to visit your people and take you with us. if they are friendly--well, and we can traffic together. if they receive us ill there will be a fight--that is all. i do not like fighting--but whatever happens i promise that you shall be restored to your father and mother. now, will you go?" adolay looked up earnestly into the grave countenance of the young man. there could be no doubt of his thorough sincerity--she felt that--still, she hesitated. it was a bold step to take--even for an indian heroine! at that critical moment there broke upon their ears a distant sound that caused them both to start and look round anxiously. it was faint, and so far away that at first they could make nothing of it. a few seconds later it was repeated louder than before. then a look of intelligence broke over adolay's countenance. "i know!" she exclaimed, "idazoo is shrieking! we should have put the cloth over her nose! she has got her mouth free and--" another sharp yell rendered it needless for her to complete the sentence. "come," she said, laying hands on the canoe. "turn it round. we will go!" a few minutes more and the pair were flying down the swift current of the little river as fast as they could dip their paddles in the stream. chapter ten. a wild chase and a bad failure. it does not necessarily require the influences of civilised life to make an honourable, upright man, any more than it needs the influences of savage life to make a thorough scoundrel. of course the tendency of civilisation is to elevate, of savagery to debase, nevertheless it is certain that as we occasionally see blackguards in the highest ranks, so we sometimes find men and women with exalted conceptions of right and wrong in the lowest circles of life. the truth would seem to be that the spirit of god is not confined to ranks or conditions of men--a fact that appears to be confirmed by the scripture statement that "in every nation he that feareth god and worketh righteousness is acceptable to him." cheenbuk's mind must assuredly have been influenced by a good spirit when, after descending the little river at the utmost speed possible--so as to render recapture for a time at least improbable--he directed his companion to run the canoe on the bank in an eddy formed by a flat rock, and then, against his own most earnest desires, advised adolay to return to her people. "while we were paddling down-stream," he said, "i have been thinking much, and i cannot believe that your people would be so hard as to kill you for only helping a poor eskimo to escape. now, i have changed my mind. i have often found that it is better to think more than once before acting, if you have time to do so. what i think now is, that we should hide the canoe here, and return to your village on foot together. when we get there--or when we meet them chasing us--you will go on, and i will hide to see how they receive you, and if they receive you kindly--as i feel sure they will do--i will return here to this spot, take the canoe, and go to my home alone. i cannot bear to take you from your father and mother. i think the great spirit, who is the father of all, would be angry with me. but i will not force you to return if you are afraid." "i am afraid," returned adolay, quickly. "you do not know how angry the men will be: and you don't know how sharp their eyes are. if you were to return with me they would see you long before you could see them, and would give you no chance to hide." "then there is nothing to be done but to go on," said cheenbuk, with a sigh which he loyally strove to vent as a sign of regret, but which insisted on issuing forth as a distinct sound of satisfaction! "you have promised to take me safe to your mother's igloe, and to bring me back to my own home," said adolay, with a look of confidence. "i will go on and trust you." without another word the eskimo pushed off the head of the canoe, which was caught by the current and swept down-stream. ere long they reached the greygoose river, and, paddling into the centre of the current, were soon careering towards the sea at a pace which they thought rendered their being overtaken almost impossible. to make quite sure, however, they continued the voyage far into the night, and did not land for a very brief rest until the grey dawn had begun to appear over the eastern tree-tops. being both somewhat fatigued by that time they scarcely uttered a word as they encamped, but went about the work as if half asleep. cheenbuk lifted the canoe out of the water and laid it on the bank, bottom up, in which position it formed a rough and ready tent for his companion, who, meanwhile, carried up the provisions. seated on the grass beside it they ate a little dried venison, which required no cooking--uttering only a monosyllable now and then with half-closed eyes, and sometimes with an imbecile smile, which terminated occasionally in an irresistible nod. the feebleness of the light, too, as well as the quietness of the hour, contributed not a little to this state of semi-consciousness. the frugal supper having been washed down with a draught of water, from nature's own cup--the joined hands--adolay lay down under the canoe. cheenbuk retired to a neighbouring spruce-fir and stretched himself under its branches. need we add that sleep closed their eyelids instantly? but the eskimo was much too experienced a hunter and warrior to allow the drowsy god to enchain him long. like a dead log he lay for little more than two hours, then he awoke with a start and stretched himself. "hoi!" he exclaimed sharply, looking towards the canoe, which was distant from his lair about five or six yards. the exclamation had scarcely passed his lips when adolay sprang up, and next moment went blinking, yawning, and stumbling down the bank with the provisions under one arm, the paddles and weapons under the other. cheenbuk lifted the canoe and followed her. in a few minutes they were once more out in the middle of the strong current, paddling with might and main. now, it was well that they had used such diligence in their flight, for the pursuers were closer behind them than they had supposed. when the unfortunate alizay was felled by the eskimo, as we have described, he lay for a considerable time in a state of insensibility, but he was by no means killed--not even seriously damaged--for cheenbuk's intense dislike to take life had not only induced him to drop the knife with which the indian girl had supplied him to cut his cords, but inclined him to use his ponderous fist with moderation, so that alizay, on recovering, found himself none the worse, except for a severe headache and an unnaturally large bridge to his nose. gathering himself up, and gradually swelling with rage as he reflected on the treatment to which he had been subjected, he ran at full speed to alarm the camp and begin a search. but where were they to search?--that was the question. there were four points to the compass--though they knew nothing about the compass--and the fugitive might have gone off in the direction of any of these, or between them, and it was too dark a night to permit of his trail being followed by sight, for, although the moon might aid them in the open, it would be quite useless in the darkness of the woods. a hurried council was held, and a good deal of distracting advice given while the young braves were arming themselves. to add to their perplexities, a lad rushed suddenly into the council-tent with glaring eyes, saying that the girl idazoo had disappeared from the village. this news greatly increased the fury of alizay, but he had scarcely realised the truth when another lad, with, if possible, still more glaring eyes and a gaping mouth, rushed in to tell that the girl adolay was also missing. this blew up the agitation to a frenzy of excitement--not usual among the red men of the north--because the necessity for prompt action was great, while the impossibility of doing anything definite was greater. it was just at this point, when the clamour was at its height, that a sound was heard which instantly produced dead silence, while every man and boy became as if petrified, with eyes enlarged and ears cocked to listen. again the sound was heard--a distant yell undoubtedly, coming from the direction of the cliff. all the self-possession and promptitude of the indians returned in a moment. in a second the braves glided out of the council-tent and disappeared, each making a straight line for the sound, while the women and children left behind listened with profound attention and expectation. there was no lack of guiding sounds now, for the moment idazoo managed to clear her mouth of the gag she began and continued a series of shrieks and yells which were intensified in vigour by the fact that she gradually became hysterical as well as wrathful. the first to reach the spot was alizay. on beholding him the girl stopped, and, after two or three exasperated echoes had finished their remarks, a profound silence reigned. lovers among the dogribs are not yet very gallant. civilisation may do something for them, as to this, in time. "you can make a noise!" said the youth, stepping up to her. "i have reason to do so," replied the maiden, somewhat abashed. "did adolay go with him?" asked alizay as several of the other braves ran up. "yes." "willingly?" "yes--she helped to tie me and showed him the way." "where did they go?" "in the direction of the lake." instantly the whole band turned and ran off in the direction mentioned-- alizay being last, as he paused just long enough to cut the bonds of idazoo, but left her to disentangle herself as she best could. on reaching the shores of the lake the footsteps of the fugitives showed clear in the moonlight, and the marks of launching the canoe were visible, so that there was no further doubt as to what should be done. the indians knew well that there was only one outlet from the lake. their canoes were close by, and their guns and tomahawks in their hands. nothing therefore required to be done but to embark and give chase. for this purpose two canoes were deemed sufficient, with three men in each. magadar took charge of the leading canoe. alizay steered the other, and the rest of the braves returned to the village to gloat over the news that idazoo had to tell, to feast on the produce of the previous day's hunt, and to clear--or obfuscate--their intellects, more or less, with their tobacco-pipes. as the six pursuers were very wrathful, and pretty strong, they caused their canoes to skim over the lake like swallows, and reached the head of the little river not very long after the fugitives had left it. a stern chase, however, is proverbially a long one, and as they overhauled the chase only inch by inch, there seemed little chance of overtaking it that night. the leaders, however, being men of great endurance, resolved to carry on without rest as long as possible. this they did until about dawn--the same hour at which the fugitives had succumbed-- and both parties put ashore at last for a rest, neither being aware of the fact that their separate camping-grounds were not more than three miles apart! well was it then for adolay that her stout protector was a light sleeper, as well as a man of iron frame, and that he had aroused her fully an hour and a half sooner than the time at which the indians left their camp to resume the chase. it was well, also, that cheenbuk required but a short rest to recruit his strength and enable him to resume the paddle with his full vigour. the joy, also, consequent upon the discovery that he loved the indian girl, and that she had made up her mind, without any persuasion on his part, to run away with him, lent additional power to his strong back. perhaps, also, a sympathetic feeling in the breast of the maiden added to the strength of her well-formed and by no means feeble arm, so that many miles were soon added to the three which intervened between the chasers and the chased. to the horror of adolay she found when she and cheenbuk reached the mouth of the river, that the sea was extensively blocked by masses of ice, which extended out as far as the eye could reach. although thus encumbered, however, the sea was by no means choked up with it, and to the gaze of the young eskimo the ice presented no insurmountable obstacle, for his experienced eye could trace leads and lanes of open water as far as the first group of distant islets, which lay like scarce perceptible specks on the horizon. but to the inexperienced eye of the girl the scene was one of hopeless confusion, and it filled her with sudden alarm and despair, though she possessed more than the usual share of the dogrib women's courage. observing her alarm, cheenbuk gave her a look of encouragement, but avoided telling her not to be afraid, for his admiration of her was too profound to admit of his thinking that she could really be frightened, whatever her looks might indicate. "the ice is our friend to-day," he said, with a cheery smile, as they stood together on the seashore beside their canoe, surveying the magnificent scene of snowy field, fantastic hummock, massive berg, and glittering pinnacle that lay spread out before them. adolay felt, but did not express surprise, for she was filled with a most commendable trust in the truth and wisdom as well as the courage of the man to whose care she had committed herself. "if you say the ice is our friend, it must be so," she remarked quietly, "but to the indian girl it seems as if the ice was our foe, for she can see no escape, and my people will be sure to follow us." "let them follow," returned cheenbuk, with a quiet laugh, as he re-arranged the lading of the canoe before continuing the voyage. "they won't follow beyond this place!" lifting out the big stone, which had formed a counterpoise to his weight, he flung it on the beach. "we will change places now, adolay," he said, "you have guided our canoe when on the inland waters; it is now my turn to steer, for i understand the sea of ice. get in, we will start." when magadar and his comrades arrived at the mouth of the greygoose river and beheld the aspect of the sea, a cry of mingled surprise and disappointment escaped them, but when they had landed and discovered the canoe of the fugitives far away like a speck among the ice-floes, the cry was transmuted into a howl of rage. "quick! embark! let us after them!" shouted magadar. "death to them both!" yelled alizay. for a few minutes the indians followed the lanes of open water, till their turnings began to appear somewhat complicated; then the warlike spirit became a little subdued. presently one of the indians discovered--or thought he discovered--that the lead of water was narrowing, and that the ice was closing in. promptly both canoes were put about, and the shore was regained with amazing speed. after that the dogribs paddled quietly up the greygoose river, and meekly returned to their woodland home. chapter eleven. encamped on the islet. it was with feelings of profound thankfulness and relief that adolay landed on the first of the islets, and surveyed the chaotic though beautiful floes from which they had escaped. and in truth cheenbuk had required all his skill and experience more than once to avoid the dangers by which they had been beset, for, although the weather was perfectly calm and the ice nearly motionless, they had frequently to pass through channels so narrow that the slightest current might have caused a nip and obliged them to take hurried refuge on the floes, while, at other times, when compelled to pass rather close to the small bergs, lumps dropped into the water perilously near to them from the overhanging ice-cliffs. "there has been some danger," remarked the girl, turning to her protector. "all is well when it ends well," replied the eskimo, nearly, but unconsciously, quoting shakespeare. "but the danger was not very great, for if the ice had closed in we could have jumped on it, and carried the canoe to the nearest open water." "but what if a lump had dropped into the canoe and sunk it?" asked adolay. "we should have had to scramble on the floes and wait there till--till we died together." he said this with some degree of solemnity, for it was an uncomfortable reflection. "i would prefer,"--she stopped suddenly, for in the haste of the moment she was going to have said--"that we should live together rather than die together,"--but maiden modesty, not unfamiliar even among savages, restrained her, and cheenbuk, who was not observant in the matter of imperfect speech, took no notice of the abrupt pause. the evening was far advanced, for it had taken them the whole day to reach the islet, owing to the windings of the lanes of water and the frequency with which they had to turn back in consequence of having run into what may be termed blind alleys. it was resolved, therefore, that they should rest there for the night. as there was no fear, by that time, of their being pursued by indians, cheenbuk resolved that they should have a good warm supper to recruit their somewhat exhausted energies. of course adolay was only too glad to fall in with this arrangement, and said that she would go along the shore and collect small masses of drift-wood for the fire, while her companion lifted up the canoe and made the encampment. "you will not find much drift-wood, i think," said cheenbuk, as she was about to set off, "for the currents don't set upon this island much. the long point of the bigger island over there turns the currents off from this one, but perhaps you may find a little." adolay found this to be true, for she wandered several miles along shore--indeed, went nearly round the islet, which was a low rocky one, almost devoid of verdure--before she had collected a good bundle of dry sticks. meanwhile the eskimo set to work with characteristic enthusiasm to arrange the camp. choosing a spot where a low wall of rock sheltered him from the north, he laid a few stones in a heap to mark the place for the fire. then he carried up the canoe, and laid it down bottom up, so as to face the fire. underneath it he made a snug nest of twigs and leaves for adolay to rest in. then, on the opposite side of the fire, he made another lair--a sort of open-air nest--for himself, after which he collected a good many of the small dead twigs among the scrub, which he piled up in readiness around a large piece of drift timber he had the good fortune to discover, not far from the spot where they landed. this done, he stood back a few paces and admired his handiwork, his head on one side with quite the air of a connoisseur. presently he began to wish that adolay would return, and then sat down to make fire by the slow and laborious eskimo process of rubbing two pieces of stick rapidly together until the friction should ignite them. he was still absorbed in the work when the indian girl returned with a bundle of wood which she threw down beside the rest. "you have had better luck than i expected," said cheenbuk. "see, i have made you a nest to sleep in," he added, pointing to the canoe. "it is very nice," she observed, with an appreciative smile. "what are you doing?" "making fire," he answered, resuming his work and continuing it with such vigour that beads of perspiration stood on his brow. without speaking, the girl went to the canoe and opened a bundle wrapped in deerskin which formed part of its lading. she drew therefrom a fire-bag, richly ornamented with beads, such as indian chiefs and braves are wont to carry under their belts. it contained the pipe, tinder-box, flint, steel, and tobacco which are usually supplied by the fur-traders to the red men. cheenbuk was so interested in the proceedings of his companion that he ceased to carry on his own work, thereby allowing the sticks to cool and losing his labour. "you need not work so hard," said adolay, taking a flint, steel, and piece of tinder from the bag and, beginning to strike a light, to the great interest of the eskimo. "we manage to get fire differently and more easily." in a few seconds a spark caught on the tinder, which began to smoke, and the girl, wrapping it in a bundle of dry grass, whirled it round at arm's-length until the draught caused it to burst into flame. thrusting the burning mass into the heart of the twigs, which had been previously prepared, she glanced up at her protector with a look that said plainly, "watch, now, the result." but cheenbuk required no encouragement to do so. he had been watching all the time with mouth, as well as eyes, wide-open, and a loud "hoi! hoi! ho!" burst from him as the flame leaped up, suffusing the canoe and wall of rock and the near objects with a ruddy glow which paled everything else to a cold grey by contrast. "i've seen that once before," exclaimed cheenbuk with delight, taking up the fire-bag tenderly, "and have often wished that i had these things for making fire." "well, you may have them now. they belonged to my father. all our men carry bags with these things in them." "and i've seen this too--once," continued the youth, smiling, as he pulled out a tobacco-pipe. then he bent his head suddenly, put his nose to the bag, and made a face expressive of supreme disgust. "ho! and i've seen this too. i have tasted it, and after tasting it i was very miserable--so miserable that i hope never to be as miserable again!" as he spoke he looked at adolay with that extreme solemnity which was one of the characteristics of his face. the girl returned the look, but did not smile. she did not speak, but waited for more. "the man who showed me these things was a good man," continued cheenbuk. "i do not know his name, but i liked him much. yet i think he was not wise to fill his mouth with smoke and his inside with sickness." "was he sick?" asked adolay. "no--he was not, but--i was." while he was speaking he drew a long piece of canada twist tobacco out of the bag, and looked at it sagaciously for some time, nodding his head as if he knew all about it. "yes, that is the thing he put in the pipe, and, after making a small fire over it, drew the smoke into himself. at first i thought he would die, or catch fire and burst--but he--he didn't, and he seemed to like it." "all our men like it," said adolay; "they smoke every day--sometimes all day. and some of our women like it too." "do _you_ like it?" asked the eskimo, quickly. "no, i don't like it." "good--that is well. now, we will cook some of your dried meat for supper." by that time the fire was blazing cheerily. as the shades of night deepened, the circle of light grew more and more ruddy until it seemed like a warm cosy chamber in the heart of a cold grey setting. a couple of small stakes were thrust into the ground in such a way that the two pieces of venison impaled on them were presented to the heart of the fire. soon a frizzling sound was heard; then odours of a kind dear to the hearts of hungry souls--to say nothing of their noses--began to arise, and the couple thus curiously thrown together sat down side by side to enjoy themselves, and supply the somewhat clamorous demands of nature. they said little while feeding, but when the venison steaks had well-nigh disappeared, a word or two began to pass to and fro. at last cheenbuk arose, and, taking a small cup of birch-bark, which, with a skin of water, formed part of the supplies provided by adolay, he filled it to the brim, and the two concluded their supper with the cheering fluid. "ah!" sighed the girl, when she had disposed of her share, "the white traders bring us a black stuff which we mix with water hot, and find it very good to drink." "yes? what is it?" asked cheenbuk, applying his lips a second time with infinite zest to the water. "i know not what it is. the white men call it tee," said adolay, dwelling with affectionate emphasis on the _ee's_. "ho! i should like to taste that tee-ee," said the youth, with exaggerated emphasis on the _ee's_. "is it better than water?" "i'm not sure of that," answered the girl, with a gaze of uncertainty at the fire, "but we like it better than water--the women do; the men are fonder of fire-water, when they can get it, but the white traders seldom give us any, and they never give us much. we women are very glad of that, for the fire-water makes our men mad and wish to fight. tee, when we take too much of it--which we always do--only makes us sick." "strange," said cheenbuk, with a look of profundity worthy of solomon, "that your people should be so fond of smokes and drinks that make them sick and mad when they have so much of the sparkling water that makes us comfortable!" adolay made no reply to this, for her mind was not by nature philosophically disposed, though she was intelligent enough to admire the sagacity of a remark that seemed to her fraught with illimitable significance. "have you any more strange things in your bundle?" asked the eskimo, whose curiosity was awakened by what had already been extracted from it. "have you some of the tee, or the fire-water, or any more of the thing that smokes--what you call it?" "tubuko--no, i have no more of that than you saw in the fire-bag. the white men sometimes call it bukey, and i have no fire-water or tee. sometimes we put a nice sweet stuff into the tee which the white men call shoogir. the indian girls are very fond of shoogir. they like it best without being mixed with water and tee. but we have that in our own land. we make it from the juice of a tree." the interest with which cheenbuk gazed into the girl's face while she spoke, was doubtless due very much to the prettiness thereof, but it is only just to add that the number and nature of the absolutely new subjects which were thus opened up to him had something to do with it. his imperfect knowledge of her language, however, had a bamboozling effect. "here is a thing which i think you will be glad to see," continued the girl, as she extracted a small hatchet from the bundle. "yes indeed; that is a _very_ good thing," said the youth, handling the implement with almost affectionate tenderness. "i had one once--and that, too, is a fine thing," he added, as she drew a scalping-knife from her bundle. "you may have them both," she said; "i knew you would need them on the journey." cheenbuk was too much lost in admiration of the gifts--which to him were so splendid--that he failed to find words to express his gratitude, but, seizing a piece of firewood and resting it on another piece, he set to work with the hatchet, and sent the chips flying in all directions for some time, to the amusement, and no small surprise, of his companion. then he laid down the axe, and, taking up the scalping-knife, began to whittle sticks with renewed energy. suddenly he paused and looked at adolay with ineffable delight. "they are good?" she remarked with a cheerful nod. "good, good, very good! we have nothing nearly so good. all our things are made of bone or stone." "now," returned the girl, with a blink of her lustrous eyes, and a yawn of her pretty mouth, which nature had not yet taught her to conceal with her little hand, "now, i am sleepy. i will lie down." cheenbuk replied with a smile, and pointed to the canoe with his nose. adolay took the hint, crept into the nest which the gallant youth had prepared for her, curled herself up like a hedgehog, and was sound asleep in five minutes. the eskimo, meanwhile, resumed his labours with the scalping-knife, and whittled on far into the night--whittled until he had reduced every stick within reach of his hand to a mass of shavings--a beaming childlike glow of satisfaction resting on his handsome face all the while, until the embers of the fire began to sink low, and only an occasional flicker of flame shot up to enlighten the increasing darkness. then he laid the two implements down and covered them carefully with a piece of deerskin, while his countenance resumed its wonted gravity of expression. drawing up his knees until his chin rested on them, and clasping his hands round them, he sat for a long time brooding there and gazing into the dying embers of the fire; then he rose, stretched himself, and sauntered down to the shore. the night, although dark for the arctic regions at that time of the year, was not by any means obscure. on the contrary, it might have passed for a very fair moonlight night in more southern climes, and the flush of the coming day in the eastern sky was beginning to warm the tops of the higher among the ice-masses, thereby rendering the rest of the scene more coldly grey. the calm which had favoured the escape of our fugitives still prevailed, and the open spaces had gradually widened until the floes had assumed the form of ghostly white islets floating in a blue-black sea, in which the fantastic cliffs, lumps, and pinnacles were sharply reflected as in a mirror. there was a solemnity and profound quietude about the scene and the hour which harmonised well with the sedate spirit of the young eskimo, as he stood there for a long time contemplating the wonders and the beauties of the world around and about him. we know not what passes through the minds of untutored men in such circumstances, but who shall dare to say that the spirit of their creator may not be holding intercourse with them at such times? turning his back at length upon the sea, cheenbuk returned to the camp, lay down on the couch which he had made for himself on the opposite side of the fire from the canoe, and, in a few moments more, was in the health- and strength-restoring regions of oblivion. chapter twelve. home--sweet home--and smoke, etcetera. the favouring calm continued until cheenbuk with his companion arrived at waruskeek. it was about mid-day when their canoe turned round the headland and entered the inlet near the head of which lay the eskimo village. the boy anteek happened to be standing on the shore at the time, beside the young girl nootka. they were looking out to sea, and observed the canoe the moment it turned the point of rocks. "hoi-oi!" yelled anteek with an emphasis that caused the inhabitants of the whole village to leap out of every hut with the celerity of squirrels, and rush to the shore. here those who had first arrived were eagerly commenting on the approaching visitors. "a kayak of the fire-spouters!" cried anteek, with a look of intense glee, for nothing was so dear to the soul of that volatile youth, as that which suggested danger, except, perhaps, that which involved fun. "the kayak is indeed that of a fire-spouter," said old mangivik, shaking his grey head, "but i don't think any fire-spouter among them would be such a fool as to run his head into our very jaws." "i'm not ready to agree with you, old man," began gartok. "no; you're never ready to agree with any one!" growled mangivik parenthetically. "for the fire-spouters," continued gartok, disregarding the growl, "are afraid of nothing. why should they be when they can spout wounds and death so easily?" poor gartok spoke feelingly, for his wounded leg had reduced his vigour considerably, and he was yet only able to limp about with the aid of a stick, while his lieutenant ondikik was reduced to skin and bone by the injury to his back. suddenly mangivik became rather excited. "woman," he said earnestly to his wife, who stood beside him, "do you see who steers the kayak? look, your eyes are better than mine." "no. i do not." "look again!" cried anteek, pushing forward at that moment. "he is not a fire-spouter. he is _one of us_! but the one in front is a fire-spouter woman. look at the man! don't you know him?" there was an intensity of suppressed fervour in the manner of the boy, and an unwonted glitter in his eyes, which impressed every one who noticed him. "yes, he is one of us," said mangivik, shading his eyes with one hand, "and he has stolen a fire-spouting girl with her kayak!" there was a look of pride in the face of the old man as he spoke, but it was as nothing to the shout of triumph--the shriek of ecstasy--that burst from anteek as he uttered the word--"cheenbuk!" just then a strong clear voice came rolling over the water to the shore, and a roar of joy burst from the whole assemblage, for there was no mistaking the voice of their comrade and best hunter. the hearts of nootka and her mother beat with no ordinary flutter as they heard the familiar shout, and as for anteek, he went into a paroxysm of delight, which he sought to relieve by bounding and yelling till the canoe touched the shore. then, by a powerful effort, he subdued himself, and turned his energies into a prolonged look of unutterable amazement at adolay. of course the eyes of the entire population were turned in the same direction--for eskimos do not count it rude to stare--so that the poor girl felt somewhat abashed, and shrank a little behind her stout protector. observing the action, cheenbuk took hold of her arm gently and led her towards his mother. "this is my mother, adolay," he said; "she will take care of you." "your _wife_?" asked mrs mangivik, with an anxious look. "no, not my wife," replied the youth, with a laugh. "take her to our hut, you and nootka, while i go and speak with the men.--she saved my life, father," he added, turning to mangivik, "be good to her." on hearing this, nootka and her mother took the girl affectionately by both hands and led her away. cheenbuk meanwhile went up to the big hut, just outside of which was held a meeting of nearly the whole population, to receive an account of his adventures from the man whom they had long ago given up as lost. "my friends," he began, surveying the expectant assembly with a grave straightforward look, "when i went by myself to the whale river, my intention was to hunt around and find out if there were many birds and beasts on lands near to it, and if many men lived or hunted there, for it came into my mind that this little island of waruskeek is not the best place in the world to live in, for our tribe is continually increasing. i thought that if there were fire-spouters there already, we must be content with the lands we have got, for it is not right to take what belongs to other men." cheenbuk paused here and looked round, because he knew that he was treading on somewhat new and delicate ground in thus asserting a principle of _right_; and he was not mistaken, for, while the most of his audience remained silent, several of them expressed dissent. "besides," he continued, "it is not wise to attack men with fire-spouters, which send into their enemies heavy little things like that which was lately picked out of gartok's leg; the same as still seems to be sticking in ondikik's back." "ho! ho!" exclaimed a number of the men, as if that truth commended itself to their understandings. "well, when i got to the river, i found plenty of white-whales at the mouth of it, and great plenty of birds of all kinds, and of deer--a land good for man to dwell in, with many trees that would make sledge-runners, and much dead wood for our fires, and no one living there, nor signs of anybody. then i thought to myself, why should we live always among the floes and bergs? the few fire-spouters whom we have seen and heard of have better food, better homes, better tools of every kind. why should not we have the same?" here the wise cheenbuk drew from the breast of his seal-skin coat the axe and scalping-knife which adolay had given him, and held them up. this was a politic move, for it won over almost the entire audience to the young hunter's views, while looks of ardent admiration were bestowed on the coveted implements. "when men find it not easy to get food," resumed cheenbuk, in the tone and with the air of a man who has much to say and means to say it, "they change to some place where hunting is better. when fish become scarce, they do not remain still, but go to places where the fishing is better. they always seek for something that is better and better. is this not true? is this not wise?" "ho! ho!" exclaimed the assembly, assenting. "why, then, should not we go to a land where there is much that is far better than we find here, and live as the fire-spouters live? did the great maker of all things intend that we should remain content with these treeless islands among the ice, when there are lands not very far away where we may find much of all kinds of things that are far better? if it is wise to change our hunting and fishing grounds close at hand, surely it may be wise to change to those that are far away--especially when we know that they are better, and likely to make us more comfortable and happy." this suggestion was such a tremendous innovation on ordinary eskimo ideas, such a radical conception of change and upheaval of age-long habits, that the assembly gazed in awe-struck and silent wonder at the bold young man, much as the members of parliament of the last century might have gazed if any reckless m.p. had dared to propose universal suffrage or vote by ballot, or to suggest that measures should henceforth be framed in accordance with the golden rule. "after i had travelled a short way inland," continued cheenbuk, "i met a fire-spouter. he was all alone. no one was with him. he pointed his spouter at me, and it clicked but would not spout--i don't know why. i threw my spear. it went straight--as you know it always does--but the man was quick; he put his head to one side and escaped. again he pointed his spouter at me, but again it only clicked. then i rushed upon him and caught hold of it before it could spout. we wrestled--but he was a very strong man, and i could not overcome him--and he could not overcome me. our breath came short. the sweat poured down our faces and our eyes glared; but when we looked steadily into each other's eyes we saw that we were both men of peace. we let our bodies go soft, and dropped the spouter on the ground. "`why should we fight?' said he. "`that was just in my thought,' said i. "so we stood up, and he took hold of my hand in the way that the white traders do, and squeezed it. i will show you how.--give me your hand, anteek--no, the other one." the boy extended his hand, and cheenbuk, grasping it, gave it a squeeze that caused the little fellow to yell and throw the assembly into convulsions of laughter, for eskimos, unlike the sedate indians, dearly love a practical joke. from this point cheenbuk related the rest of his interview with the indian, and was particularly graphic in his description of the pipe, which he exhibited to them, though he refrained from any reference to its effect upon himself. then he discoursed of his subsequent exploration of the mainland, and finally came to the point where he met and rescued rinka.--"but tell me, before i speak more, is rinka dead?" "no, she is getting well." "that is good," he continued, in a tone of satisfaction. "old uleeta, i doubt not, told you of the fight i had with the fire-spouters?" "she did," cried anteek, with delight, "and how you gave them sore hearts!" "h'm! they gave me a sore heart too; but i don't care now! and they would have roasted me alive, but one of their girls had pity on me, helped me to escape, and came away with me. adolay is her name--the girl you saw to-day." "ho! ho! hoi-oi?" broke forth the chorus of satisfaction. "yes, but for her," continued cheenbuk, "i should have been under the ground and my hair would have been fluttering on the dress of a fire-spouter chief by this time. now, i have promised this girl that i will get a large party of our young men to go back with her to whale river and give her back to her father and mother." at this there were strong murmurs of dissent, and a man whom we have not yet introduced to the reader lifted up his voice. this man's name was aglootook. he was the medicine-man of the tribe--a sort of magician; a sharp, clever, unscrupulous, presumptuous, and rather fine looking-fellow, who held the people in some degree of subjection through their superstitious fears, though there were some of the men among them who would not give in to his authority. as eskimos have no regular chiefs, this man tried to occupy the position of one. he had just returned from a hunting expedition the day before, and was jealous of the interest aroused by cheenbuk's arrival. moreover, cheenbuk was one of the few men of the tribe whom he disliked, and rather feared. "what folly is this that i hear?" said aglootook, as he frowned on the assembly. "are we to get up a war-party and put ourselves to all this trouble for a woman--and a fire-spouter woman!" "it is not a war-party that i want," said cheenbuk quietly. "it is a peace-party, and such a strong one that there will be no fear of war. i will conduct it, and, as i know the way, will go by myself unarmed to the village of the men of the woods, tell them that i have brought back their girl, and that a large party of my people are waiting at the mouth of the river with plenty of skins and walrus teeth and other things to trade with them." "but does any one think they will believe that?" said aglootook with something of scorn in his looks and tone. "will the fire-spouters not accept the girl and roast cheenbuk, and then meet us with their spouters and kill many of us, even though we should beat them at last?" "it is my opinion there is something in that," remarked mangivik. "besides," continued the magician, "what folly is it to talk of changing our customs, which have never been changed since the first man created fish and animals! are we not satisfied with whales and walruses, bears and seals, deer and birds? is not our snow igloe as comfortable as the fire-spouters' skin tent? what do we care for their ornaments or other things? what does cheenbuk know about the great maker of all things? has he seen him? has he talked with him? if there is such a maker, did he not place us here, and surround us with all the things that we need, and intend us to remain here? why should we go and look for better things? if he had thought that woods and lakes and rivers had been good for us, would he not have made these things here for us, so that we should have no need to go far away to seek for them--" "ay, and if aglootook is right," interrupted cheenbuk in a calm but firm voice, "why should we go far away to seek the bear, the walrus, and the seal? why does aglootook go hunting at all? if the great maker thought these things good for us, would he not have made them to walk up to our igloes and ask to be killed and eaten? why should they even do that? why not walk straight down our throats and save all trouble? is it not rather quite plain that man was made with wants and wishes and the power to satisfy them, and so advance from good to better? does not aglootook prove by his own conduct that he thinks so? he might make life easy by sitting near his hut and killing for food the little birds that come about our dwellings, but he goes on long hard journeys, and takes much trouble, for he knows that slices of fat seal and walrus-ribs are better than little birds!" there was a general laugh at the expense of the magician, for his mental powers were inferior to those of cheenbuk, and he felt himself unable to see through the entanglement of his logic. "boh!" he ejaculated, with a sweep of his long arm, as if to clear away such ridiculous arguments. "what stuff is this that i hear? surely cheenbuk has been smitten with the folly of the fire-spouters. his words are like a lamp with a very bad wick: it makes too much smoke, and confuses everything near it." "aglootook is right," said cheenbuk, who resolved to end the dispute at this point, "many words are like the smoke of a bad lamp: they confuse, especially when they are not well-understood, but the fire-spouters confuse themselves with real smoke as well as with words. see, here is one of their things; the white traders call it a paip, or piep." as he spoke he opened the fire-bag which adolay had given him and took out of it the clay pipe, tobacco, and materials for producing fire. the medicine-man was instantly forgotten, and the mouths as well as the eyes of the whole assembly opened in unspeakable wonder as cheenbuk went through the complex processes of filling and lighting the pipe. first he cut up some of the canada twist, which, he explained, was the tubuk of the white men. then having filled the pipe, he proceeded to strike a light with flint and steel. in this he was not very successful at first, not yet having had much practice. he chipped his knuckles a good deal, and more than once knocked the flint and tinder out of his fingers. but his audience was not critical. they regarded this as part of the performance. when, however, he at last struck a succession of sparks, he also struck an equal number of short, sharp expressions of astonishment out of his friends, and when the tinder caught there was a suppressed grunt of surprise and pleasure; but when he put the fire into the pipe and began to smoke, there burst forth a prolonged shout of laughter. to see a man smoking like a bad lamp was a joke that seemed to tickle those unsophisticated children of the ice immensely. "is it good?" asked one. "do you like it?" cried another. "let me try it!" begged a third. mindful of past experiences, cheenbuk did not indulge in many whiffs. "no, no," he said, taking the pipe from his lips with solemn gravity. "not every one who wishes it shall have a taste of this to-day. only a great man of our tribe shall try it. some one who has done great things above his fellows." he looked pointedly at aglootook as he spoke, with solemnity on his face but mischief in his heart. oolalik, however, with the reverse of mischief in his heart, interfered unwittingly with his designs. he seized hold of anteek, who chanced to be near him, and thrust him forward. "here," said he, "is one of the great ones of our tribe, at least he will be one if he lives long, for he has killed a walrus all by himself--on land too!" the boy, although pretty full of what is known among the civilised as "cheek," was almost overwhelmed by this public recognition of his prowess, and was about to retire with a half-shy expression, when the audience received the proposal with a burst of applause. "yes, yes," they cried; "he is a brave boy: let him try it." seeing that they were set upon it, cheenbuk handed the pipe to the boy, and bade him draw the smoke in and puff it out, taking care not to swallow it. but anteek did swallow some at first and choked a little, to the great amusement of the assembly. his pride carried him through, however; he tried again, and was successful. then his "cheek" came back and he went on, puffing out far larger volumes than his instructor had done. "you had better stop," said cheenbuk, reaching out his hand to take the pipe; but the boy dodged him with a laugh and went on worse than ever. seeing this, cheenbuk smiled significantly and waited. he had not to wait long. suddenly the face of anteek became unusually pale. placing the pipe hurriedly in the bands of a man near him, he bolted out of the hut and disappeared. he was not seen again during the remainder of that conference! chapter thirteen. doings in waruskeek. while cheenbuk was thus entrancing the souls of his friends near the big hut, his mother and sister were exercising hospitality to the indian girl in their private residence. it was rather a dark and smoky residence, with only one hole in the roof, about eight inches square, to let in light. if truth must be told, it was also somewhat dirty, for, besides having only one large room in which living, cooking, receiving company, and sleeping were carried on, the dogs of the family were permitted to repose there--when they were good! anything approaching to badness ensured their summary and violent ejection. branching from this family room was a little recess, screened off by skin curtains, which formed nootka's private apartment or boudoir. it was singularly unlike the boudoirs of other lands! black smoke, instead of whitewash, coloured the walls and ceiling. no glass hung on the wall to reflect the visage of the arctic beauty, but there were several pegs, from one of which hung nootka's seal-skin bad-weather jacket, the tadpole-tail of which reached to the ground, while from another depended a pair of her long waterproof boots. one half of the floor being raised about eight inches, constituted the eskimo maiden's couch--also her chair and sofa. there was no table, but the skull of a walrus did service as a stool. to this apartment nootka introduced her young indian friend, leaving her mother in the outer hall, and the two maidens at once began, as might have been expected, an earnest and confidential conversation. in their eagerness they had not reflected that each knew not one word of the other's language, but of course the first sentences opened their eyes to the melancholy fact. they had, indeed, been opened already to some extent, but not so impressively as now when they longed for a good talk. "come here," said nootka--of course in eskimo--as she dragged rather than led her new friend into the boudoir; "i want you to tell me all about your saving my brother's life." "i don't understand a word you say," replied adolay--of course in dogrib indian--with a look of great perplexity in her wide-open eyes. "oh! i'm stupid and sorry. i forgot. you don't speak our language." "what funny sounds! it seems like nonsense," remarked adolay--more to herself than to her friend. "so curious!" soliloquised nootka; "what one might expect from a seal if it tried to speak. say that over again. i like to hear it." the perplexity on the face of the indian maid deepened, and she shook her head, while the look of fun in that of the eskimo maiden increased, and she smiled knowingly. here at last they had hit on common ground--tapped a universal spring of human communication. adolay at once beamed an answering smile, and displayed all her brilliant teeth in doing so. this drew a soft laugh of pleasure from nootka and an intelligent nod. nods and smiles, however, pleasant in their way though they be, form a very imperfect means of intercourse between souls which wish to unite, and the perplexed expression was beginning again to steal over both their youthful countenances, when something in the nature of a happy thought seemed to strike the indian girl, for a gleam as of sunlight flashed from her eyes and teeth, as she suddenly beat with her little fist three times on her own bosom, exclaiming, "adolay! adolay! adolay!" with much emphasis. then, poking her finger against her friend's breast, she added--"you? you?" here again was "a touch of nature" which made these two damsels "kin." although the "you? you?" was not intelligible to the eskimo, the gaze of inquiry was a familiar tongue. with a smile of delight she nodded, struck her own bosom with her fist, and said, "nootka! nootka!" then, tapping her friend, she said--"addi-lay?" the indian, nodding assent, tapped her in return and exclaimed, "no-oot-ko?" after this little sparring match they both burst into a fit of hearty laughter, which roused the curiosity of mrs mangivik in the outer hall. "what is the joke?" shouted the old lady, who was hospitably preparing a feast of steaks and ribs for her guest. "oh, mother, she _is_ so funny!--come, addi-lay, let her hear your fun," said the girl, taking her guest's hand and leading her back to the hall. "her name is addi-lay. i know, for she told me herself. we quite understand each other already. "speak to mother, addi-lay. tell her something." "i don't know what you want me to do, no-oot-ko," returned the indian girl, with a bright look, "but i know that whatever you are saying must be kind, for you've got such a nice face." by way of emphasising her opinion she took the face between her hands and laid her own against it. we have never been quite sure as to what adolay did on this occasion-- whether she rubbed noses or chins or touched lips. all that we are sure of is that the operation was equivalent to a kiss, and that it was reciprocated heartily. "didn't i tell you, mother, that she was funny? i'll explain to you what she said when we are alone; but addi-lay is hungry now, and so am i. let us feed, mother." without more ado the trio sat down beside the cooking-lamp and began to do justice to the savoury viands, the odour of which was so enticing that it was too much for the dogs of the family. these had to be expelled by means of old bones. mrs mangivik being an expert shot with such artillery, the hall was soon cleared. after the meal, conversation was resumed, and conducted with considerably greater ease, owing to the chief subject of it being the indian girl's costume, which was somewhat elaborate, for, being a chief's daughter, her dress was in many respects beautiful--especially those portions of it, such as the leggings and the head-dress, which were profusely ornamented with coloured beads and porcupine-quill work. the examination of the various parts occupied a considerable time. the mode of ascertaining names had been already discovered, and looks of admiration require no translation, so that the three women were deeply engaged in a most interesting talk when cheenbuk and his father entered the hut after the conference. "ribs, ribs and slices! quick, woman," cried mangivik cheerily as he sat down. "cheenbuk has been talking and i have been listening till we are both quite hungry.--that is a pretty girl you have brought home with you, my son," said the old man, with a stare of approval. "almost as pretty as some of our own girls." "much prettier, i think," returned the youth, as he quietly selected a rib of walrus that seemed suitable to his capacity. "tell your mother how you got hold of her," said mangivik, whose teeth were next moment fastened in a steak. cheenbuk made no reply. eskimo manners did not require an answer in the circumstances. but when he had taken the edge off his appetite--and it took a good deal of dental grinding to do that--he looked across at adolay with a genial expression and began to give his mother and sister a second, and much more graphic, edition of the speech which he had just delivered to the men. of course the narration served to strengthen the bonds of friendship which had already been formed between the mangivik family and the indian girl, who had been thus unexpectedly added to their circle. that evening nootka begged her brother to give her a lesson in the dogrib language. on the same evening, during a moonlight ramble, adolay asked him to give her a little instruction in the eskimo tongue, and, just before he retired for the night, his mother asked him if he intended to take the indian girl as one of his wives. "you know, mother," was cheenbuk's reply, "i have always differed from my friends about wives. i think that one wife is enough for one man; sometimes too much for him! i also think that if it is fair for a man to choose a woman, it is also fair for the woman to choose the man. i would gladly take adolay for a wife, for she is good as well as pretty, but i do not know that she would take me for a husband." "have you not asked her, then?" persisted mrs mangivik. "no. i have been till now her protector. i can wait. if she wants to return to her people i have promised to take her to them." "but surely my son is not bound to keep a promise given to one of our fire-spouting enemies?" "that may seem right to you, mother, but it seems wrong to me. i do not understand why i disagree with you, and with most of my people, but there is something inside of me which, i think, is _not_ me. it tells me not to do many things that i want to do, and sometimes bids me go forward when i wish to draw back. what it is i cannot tell, but i must not disobey it, i _will not_ disobey it." with this answer the old lady had to be content, for she could extract nothing more from her son after that but a smile. as for old mangivik, he asked and said nothing, but he thought much. a few days after cheenbuk's arrival, it was arranged by the heads of the village that there should be a general scattering of the tribe for a great hunt after seals and wild-fowl, as provisions were not so plentiful as might have been desired. an expedition of this kind was always hailed with great glee by anteek, whose youth and very excitable disposition were not easily satisfied with the prosaic details of village life. previous to setting out, however, an event occurred which was well-nigh attended with disastrous consequences. it had been arranged that cheenbuk and his friends oolalik and anteek should keep together in their kayaks, accompanied by an oomiak to carry the game. this woman's boat was to be manned, so to speak, by young uleeta, cowlik, and two other girls. adolay had been offered a place in it, but she preferred going in her own bark canoe, with the management of which she was familiar. perhaps a touch of national pride had something to do with this preference of the indian craft. nootka, who had made several trials of the canoe, was judged sufficiently expert to wield the bow paddle. while preparations were being made, adolay and nootka went to the bay where the canoe was lying--a short distance from the village, on the other side of a high cliff that sheltered the bay from any breeze that might blow in from the sea. the light craft was turned bottom up on the beach, and the two girls carried it down to the water's edge. launching it, nootka got in first, and adolay was preparing to follow when a boyish shout arrested her, and she saw anteek come skimming round the point in his kayak, wielding his double-bladed paddle with great dexterity and power. in a few seconds the kayak was alongside the canoe and the boy stepped out upon the shore. "let me try to steer your canoe," he said, pointing eagerly to the place where the indian girl was about to seat herself. although adolay did not understand the words, she had no difficulty with the boy's expressive pantomime. she nodded assent cheerfully. anteek took the paddle, stepped into her place, and the girl pushed them off into deep water. delighted with the novelty of their position the two paddled away with great vigour, and were soon a considerable distance from the shore. then it occurred to adolay that she would have some fun on her own account, and perhaps give her new friends a surprise. with this intent she floated the kayak and pushed it alongside of a flat stone in the water from which she could step into it. but she found that stepping into a small round hole in the centre of a covered craft was not the same as stepping into her own canoe, and even when, with great care, she succeeded, she found that her garments rendered the process of sitting down rather difficult--not a matter of wonder when we consider that the kayak is meant only for men. however, she succeeded at last, and grasping the paddle pushed off to sea. but the long paddle with its blade at each end perplexed her greatly, and she had not quite overcome the awkwardness and begun to feel somewhat at ease when she chanced to touch on a ledge of rock that cropped up at that place near to the surface. fortunately the rock was quite smooth, else it would have ripped up the skin with which the vessel was covered, but the shock and the paddle together were too much for the inexperienced girl. she lost her balance, and next moment was in the water with the kayak bottom up, and she incapable of extricating herself from the hole into which she had squeezed. it happened that anteek and nootka had observed what adolay was about, and were watching her with interest, so that before the kayak had turned fairly over their paddles dipped with a flash in the water and they rushed to the rescue. and not a moment too soon, for the poor girl's power of endurance was almost exhausted when her friends turned the kayak violently up. this was well, and adolay drew a long gasping breath; but now the inexperience of the rescuers came into play, for, being ignorant of the cranky nature of a birch-bark canoe, they acted without the necessary caution, the canoe overturned and they all found themselves in the water. this time adolay managed to wriggle out of her position, but being unable to swim she could only cling helplessly to the kayak. nootka, equally helpless, clung to the canoe. fortunately anteek could swim like a fish, and bravely set to work to push both crafts towards the shore. but they were a long way out; the weight of the two girls made them difficult to push, and, being separate, they had a tendency to diverge in different directions. after a few vigorous efforts, the boy, perceiving the difficulty and the extreme danger of their position, at once set up a series of yells that awoke sympathetic echoes in the neighbourhood; but he did not for a moment relax his efforts to push his charge towards the shore. startled by the sudden outburst of alarming cries, several men ran along shore in the direction whence they came. foremost among these was the powerful and active oolalik. on turning the point and seeing what had occurred he plunged into the sea and swam like a dolphin to the rescue. great was the size of his eyes, and intense the swelling of his heart, when he saw that nootka was one of the swimmers. "take care of addi-lay and the kayak," he remarked to anteek as he drew near, "i will look after nootka and the canoe." what nootka felt on hearing these words we cannot tell, but any one might have seen that, despite her unpleasant position, there was a pleased expression on her wet face. a very few minutes more sufficed to bring them all safe to land, and no one was a whit the worse, but as the girls required a complete change of garments, it was finally decided that the hunting expedition should be postponed until the following day. chapter fourteen. in the wild-woods again. while these events were taking place among the islands of the arctic sea, the indian chief nazinred was slowly pushing his canoe southward in the direction of great bear lake. he was accompanied, as we have said, by three like-minded comrades, one of whom was named mozwa--or moose-deer--from some fancied resemblance in him to that uncouth animal. but mozwa, although uncouth, was by no means ungenial. on the contrary, he was a hearty good-natured fellow, who always tried to make the best of things, and never gave way to despondency, however gloomy or desperate might be the nature of his circumstances. moreover, he was a big strong man, full of courage, in the prime of life, and modest withal, so that he was usually rather inclined to take than to give advice--to be led, rather than to lead. for hours together these men dipped their paddles over the side in concert, without uttering a single word, or giving more than a slight exclamation when anything worthy of notice attracted their attention. the interchange of thought during the labours of the day did not seem to strike them as necessary. the mere being in company of each other was a sufficient bond of sympathy, until an encampment was reached each evening, supper disposed of, and the tobacco-pipes in full blast. then, at last, their native reserve gave way, and they ventured to indulge a little--sometimes a good deal--in the feast of reason and the flow of soul. yet the nature of their voyage was such that white men might have deemed verbal intercourse an occasional necessity, as their route lay through much rugged and wild scenery, where the streams up which they had to force their way were in some places obstructed by rapids and shallows, and a mistake on their part might have brought sudden disaster and ruin. for their canoe was deeply laden with the furs which they had secured during the labours of the past winter, and on the sale of which to the fur-traders depended much of their and their families' felicity or misery during the winter which was to come. but the steersman and bowman understood their work so well, and were so absolutely in accord, that the slightest action with the paddle on the part of either was understood and sympathetically met by the other. this unity of action is much more important than the navigators of lakes and oceans may suppose. in those almost currentless waters a steersman in any craft is usually self-sufficient, but among turbulent rapids, where rocks and shoals lie in all directions, and the deep-water track is tortuous, with, it may be, abrupt turnings here and there, a bowman is absolutely essential, and sometimes, indeed, may become the more important steersman of the two. one evening, long after the period when they left their native encampment, the friends paddled their little vessel into the backwater at the foot of a long rapid which roared in foaming white billows right ahead of them, offering what seemed an effectual barrier to their further progress--at least by water--and as the sides of the gorge through which the river rushed were almost perpendicular, without margin and with impenetrable bush everywhere, advance by land seemed equally blocked. looking backward, mozwa gave his friend an interrogative glance. nazinred replied with an affirmative nod, and, all four dipping their paddles vigorously at the same moment, they shot out into the stream. almost before the canoe was caught by the current it swung quickly into another eddy, which carried it up a few yards close under the frowning cliffs. here again the indians paused, and gazed earnestly at the foaming torrent ahead, which, to an unpractised eye, might have seemed a raging flood, to enter which would ensure destruction. and indeed the two guides seemed to entertain some such thoughts, for they continued to gaze for a considerable time in silent inaction. then the bowman threw back another glance; the steersman replied with another nod, and again the canoe shot out into the stream. this time the struggle was more severe. a short distance above the point where they entered it, a large rock reared its black head in mid-stream. below it there was the usual long stretch of backwater. to reach the tail of this stretch was the object of the men, but the intervening rush was so powerful that it swept them down like a cork, so that they almost missed it despite their utmost efforts. "almost," however, is a hopeful phrase. they were not quite beyond the influence of the eddy when they reached the end of the tail. a superhuman effort might yet save them from being swept back to the point far below that from which they had started. mozwa was just the man to make such an effort. nazinred and the others were pre-eminently the men to back him up. "ho!" cried mozwa. "hoi!" shouted nazinred, as they bent their backs and cracked their sinews, and made the big veins stand up on their necks and foreheads. a few seconds more and the canoe was floating under the shelter of the black-headed rock, and the indians rested while they surveyed the battleground yet before them. the next reach carried them right across the river to a place where a long bend produced a considerable sweep of eddying water, up which they paddled easily. above this, one or two short bursts into the tails caused by nearly sunken rocks brought them to a point full half-way up the rapid. but now greater caution was needed, because anything like a miss would send them downward, and might hurl them with destructive force against the rocks and ledges which they had already passed. a birch-bark canoe is an exceedingly tender craft, which is not only certain of destruction if it strikes a rock, but is pretty sure of being swamped if it even grazes one. with the utmost care, therefore, and consummate skill, they succeeded in pushing up the rapid, inch by inch, without mishap, until they reached the last shoot, when their skill or good fortune, or whatever it was, failed them, for they missed the last eddy, were swept downwards a few yards, and just touched a rock. it was a very slight touch. a boatman would have smiled at it; nevertheless it drew from the indians "ho's!" and "hoi's!" such as they had not given vent to since the voyage began. at the same time they rushed the canoe, with all their strength, for the nearest point of land. they were scarcely a minute in reaching it, yet in that brief space of time their craft had almost sunk, a large piece of the bark having been torn from its side. the instant they touched land the two leaders stepped quickly out, and, while they held the craft close to the bank, their comrades threw out the bundles of fur as fast as possible. then the canoe was turned over to empty it, and carried up the bank. "that is good luck," said mozwa quietly, as they stood looking at the large hole in the canoe. "i have seen better luck," remarked nazinred, with something that might almost have been mistaken for a smile on his grave countenance. mozwa did not explain. nazinred knew that the luck referred to was the fact that before the accident occurred they had surmounted all the difficulties of the rapid, and that the place on which they stood was convenient for camping on, as well as for opening out and drying the furs on the following day. and mozwa knew that nazinred knew all that. while the latter kindled a fire, arranged the camp, and prepared supper under a spreading tree, the former mended the canoe. the process was simple, and soon completed. from a roll of birch-bark, always carried in canoes for such emergencies, mozwa cut off a piece a little larger than the hole it was designed to patch. with this he covered the injured place, and sewed it to the canoe, using an awl as a needle and the split roots of a tree as thread. thereafter he plastered the seams over with gum to make them water-tight, and the whole job was finished by the time the other men had got supper ready. indians are in the habit of eating supper in what may be styled a business-like manner--they "mean business," to use a familiar phrase, when they sit down to that meal. indeed, most savages do; it is only civilised dyspeptics who don't. when the seriousness of the business began to wear off, the idea of mental effort and lingual communication occurred to the friends. hitherto their eyes alone had spoken, and these expressive orbs had testified, as plainly as could the tongue, to the intense gratification they derived from the possession of good appetites and plenty of food. "i think," said mozwa, wiping his mouth with that familiar handkerchief--the back of his hand--"that there will be trouble in the camp before long, for when you are away that beast magadar has too much power. he will try to make our young men go with him to fight the eskimos!" it must not be supposed that the indian applied the word "beast" to magadar in that objectionable and slangy way in which it is used among ourselves. indians happily have no slang. they are not civilised enough for that. mozwa merely meant to express his opinion that magadar's nature was more allied to that of the lower than of the higher animals. "yes, and alizay will encourage him," returned nazinred, with a frown. "the man is well-named." this remark about the name had reference to the word alizay, which means gunpowder, and which had been given to the indian in his boyhood because of his fiery and quarrelsome disposition. "the geese and the ducks are in plenty just now," continued nazinred; "i hope that he and magadar will be more taken up with filling their mouths than fighting till i return--and then i can hinder them." "h'm!" responded mozwa. he might have said more, but was busy lighting his pipe at the moment. nazinred made no further remark at the time, for he was in the full enjoyment of the first voluminous exhalation of the weed. after a few minutes the chief resumed-- "our old chief is full of the right spirit. he is losing power with the young men, but i think he can still guide them. i will hope so, and we will return as soon as we can." poor nazinred! if he had known that his only and beloved daughter, even while he spoke, was on her way to the mysterious icy sea in company with one of the despised eskimos--driven away by the violence of the fire-eaters of the camp--he would not have smoked or spoken so calmly. but, fortunately for his own peace of mind, he did not know--he did not dream of the possibility of such a catastrophe; and even if he had known and returned home at full speed, he would have been too late to prevent the evil. for a long time these indians lay side by side on their outspread blankets, with their feet to the fire, gazing through the branches at the stars, and puffing away in profound silence, but probably deep thought. at least a sudden exclamation by mozwa warrants that conclusion. "you think," he said, "that our old chief has the right spirit. how do you know what is the right spirit? alizay and magadar, and many of our braves--especially the young ones--think that a fiery spirit, that flares up like powder, and is always ready to fight, is the right one. you and our old chief think that gentleness and forbearance and unwillingness to fight till you cannot help it is the right spirit. how do you know which is right? you and the war-lovers cannot both be right!" there was an expression of great perplexity on the indian's face as he uttered the last sentence. "my son," replied nazinred, who, although not much older than his companion, assumed the parental _role_ in virtue of his chieftainship, "how do you know that you are alive?" this was such an unexpected answer that mozwa gazed fixedly upwards for a few minutes without making any reply. "i know it," he said at length, "because i--i--know it. i--i _feel_ it." "how do you know," continued the chief, with perplexing pertinacity, "that the sun is not the moon?" again mozwa became astronomically meditative. "because i see it and feel it," he replied. "the sun is brighter and warmer. it cheers me more than the moon, and gives me more light, and warms me. it warms the bushes and flowers too, and makes them grow, and it draws the beasts out of their holes. even a rabbit knows the difference between the sun and the moon." "my son," returned nazinred, "i have not lived very long yet, but i have lived long enough to see, and feel, and know that the kind spirit is the right spirit, because it warms the heart, and opens the eyes, and gives light, and it is the only spirit that can make friends of foes. is it not better to live at peace and in good-will with all men than to live as enemies?" "ho!" responded mozwa, by way of assent. "then the peaceful spirit is the right one," rejoined the chief, with a long-drawn sigh that indicated a tendency to close the discussion. as mozwa felt himself to be in a somewhat confused mental condition, he echoed the sigh, laid down his pipe, drew his blanket round him, and, without the formality of "good-night," resigned himself to repose. nazinred, after taking a look at the weather, pondering, perchance, on the probabilities of the morrow, and throwing a fresh log on the fire, also wrapped his blanket round him and lost himself in slumber. chapter fifteen. wild doings of the fur-traders and red men. in course of time, after many a hard struggle with rushing rapids and not a few narrow escapes from dangerous rocks, the indian voyagers swept out at last upon the broad bosom of great bear lake. this mighty inland sea of fresh water--about two hundred miles in diameter, and big enough to engulf the greater part of scotland--was, at the time we write of, and still is, far beyond the outmost verge of civilisation, in the remotest solitudes of the great lone land. here the fur-traders had established a small trading-post close to the shores of the lake. it was in charge of a scotchman--we had almost said of course; for it would seem as if these hardy dwellers in the north of our island have a special gift for penetrating into and inhabiting the wildest and most unlikely parts of the world. his name was macsweenie, and he had a few orkney-men and half-castes to keep him company while vegetating there. it was a sort of event, a mild excitement, a pink--if not a red--letter day, when our indians arrived at that lonely outpost, and macsweenie, who was in the prime of life and the depths of _ennui_, gave the strangers a hearty and warm reception. nazinred had been there before, and was able somewhat to subdue his feelings of admiration and not-quite-exhausted surprise at all the wonderful things he saw; but to the others it was comparatively new, and mozwa had never been at a trading-post in his life. being a sympathetic man, he found it difficult to retain at all times that solemnity of manner and look which he knew was expected of him. the chief, who was also sympathetic, experienced deep pleasure in watching his companion's face, and observing the efforts he made to appear indifferent, knowing, as he did, from former experience, that he must in reality be full of surprise and curiosity. and, truly, in the store of the fur-traders there was a display of wealth which, to unaccustomed indian eyes, must have seemed almost fabulous. for were there not in this enchanted castle bales of bright blue cloth, and bright scarlet cloth, and various other kinds of cloth sufficient to clothe the entire dogrib nation? were there not guns enough--cheap flint-lock, blue-barrelled ones--to make all the eskimos in the polar regions look blue with envy, if not with fear? were there not bright beads and brass rings, and other baubles, and coloured silk thread, enough to make the hearts of all the dogrib squaws to dance with joy? were there not axes, and tomahawks, and scalping-knives enough to make the fingers of the braves to itch for war? were there not hooks and lines enough to capture all the fish in great bear lake, and "nests" of copper kettles enough to boil them all at one tremendous culinary operation? and was there not gunpowder enough to blow the fort and all its contents into unrecognisable atoms? yes, there was enough in that store fully to account for the look of awe-stricken wonder which overspread the visage of mozwa, and for the restrained tendency to laughter which taxed the solemn nazinred considerably. "you are fery welcome," said macsweenie, as he ushered the chief and mozwa into the store the day after their arrival. "we hev not seen one o' your people for many a day; an' it's thinking i wass that you would be forgettin' us altogether. tell them that, tonal'." tonal', (or donald), mowat was macsweenie's interpreter and factotum. he was a man of middle age and middle height, but by no means middle capacity. having left his native home in orkney while yet a youth, he had spent the greater part of his life in the "nor'-west," and had proved himself to be one of those quick learners and generally handy fellows, who, because of their aptitude to pick up many trades, are too commonly supposed to be masters of none. mowat, besides being a first-rate blacksmith, had picked up the indian language, after a fashion, from the crees, and french of a kind from the canadian half-castes, and even a smattering of gaelic from the few scotch highlanders in the service. he could use the axe as well as forge it, and, in short, could turn his hand to almost anything. among other things, he could play splendidly on the violin--an instrument which he styled a fiddle, and which macsweenie called a "fuddle." his _repertoire_ was neither extensive nor select. if you had asked for something of beethoven or mozart he would have opened his eyes, perhaps also his mouth. but at a strathspey or the reel o' tulloch he was almost equal to neil gow himself--so admirable were his tune and time. in a lonesome land, where amusements are few and the nights long, the power to "fuddle" counts for much. besides being macsweenie's interpreter, donald was also his storekeeper. "give them both a quid, tonal', to begin with," said macsweenie. "it iss always politic to keep indians in good humour." donald cut off two long pieces of canada twist and handed it to them. he cut them from a roll, which was large enough, in the estimation of mozwa, to last a reasonable smoker to the crack of doom. they received the gift with an expression of approval. it would have been beneath their dignity to have allowed elation or gratitude to appear in their manner. "solemn humbugs!" thought the trader,--"ye know that you're as pleased as punch," but he was careful to conceal his thoughts. "now, then, let us hev a look at the furs." it took the trader and his assistant some time to examine the furs and put a price on them. the indians had no resource but to accept their dictum on the point, for there were no rival markets there. moreover, the value being fixed according to a regular and well-understood tariff, and the trader being the servant of a company with a fixed salary, there was no temptation to unfair action on his part. when the valuation was completed a number of goose-quills were handed to the indians--each quill representing a sum of about two shillings--whereby each man had a fair notion of the extent of his fortune. "what iss it you will be wanting now?" said the trader, addressing himself to nazinred with the air of a man whose powers of production are illimitable. but the chief did not reply for some time. it was not every day that he went shopping, and he was not to be hurried. his own personal wants had to be considered with relation to the pile of quill-wealth at his elbow, and, what was of far greater importance and difficulty to a kind man, the wants of his squaw and adolay had also to be thought of. mozwa, having left a squaw, two little daughters, and a very small son, had still greater difficulties to contend with. but they both faced them like men. "pasgissegan," said both men, at length, simultaneously. "i thought so," observed the trader, with a smile, as he selected two trade-guns--the fire-spouters of the eskimo--and handed them across the counter. the indians received the weapons with almost tender care; examined them carefully; took long and steady aim at the windows several times; snapped the flints to make sure that the steels were good, and, generally, inspected every detail connected with them. being satisfied, they rested them against the wall, the trader withdrew the price of the guns from the two little piles, threw the quills into an empty box under the counter, and looked--if he did not say, "what next?" powder, shot, and ball came next, and then the means of hunting and self-defence having been secured, beads and scarlet cloth for the women claimed their attention. it was an interesting sight to see these tall, dark-skinned sons of the forest handling the cloth and fingering the various articles with all the gravity and deliberation of experts, with now and then a low-toned comment, or a quiet question as to the price. "you'll want that," suggested mowat, as he threw a small thick blanket-- quite a miniature blanket--towards mozwa, "your small boy will want it." "ho!" exclaimed the indian, with a look of surprise in spite of himself, "how do you know?" "i didn't know. i only guessed; but your question shows me i'm right. any more?" "yes, two more, but bigger." "of course bigger, for it's not likely they were all born at the same time," returned mowat, with a grin. "what iss this man wantin', tonal'? i can't make him out at all," asked macsweenie. it was found that nazinred had been pointing with eager pertinacity at something lying on one of the shelves which had caught his eye, but the name of which he did not know. "oh! i see," added the trader, "it iss a cocktail feather you want." "yes, for my daughter," exclaimed the indian as he received the feather and regarded it with some uncertainty--as well he might, for the feather in question was a thing of brilliant scarlet made up of many feathers,-- rigid and over a foot in height. "it's not a good plaything for a child," remarked mowat. "my daughter is not a child--she is a woman." "wow, man," said macsweenie, "tell him that feather is not for a woman. it iss for a man." the indian, however, needed no explanation. that which had captivated him at a distance lost its attraction on closer examination. he rejected it with quiet indifference, and turned his eyes to something not less attractive, but more useful--a web of brilliant light-blue cloth. he was very fond of adolay, and had made up his mind to take back to her a gift which she would be certain to like. indeed, to make sure of this, he determined to take to her a variety of presents, so that among them all she would be sure to find something to her taste. in this way the indians spent several days at the "fort" of the traders on great bear lake, and then prepared to return home with a canoe-load of goods instead of furs. before leaving, however, they had a specimen of one of the ways in which fur-traders in those lonely regions of the far north enjoy themselves. the whole establishment consisted of the officer in charge--macsweenie-- his interpreter donald mowat, and seven men--two of whom were french canadians, two half-castes, and three orkney-men. there were also three women, two being wives of the men from orkney, and one the wife of one of the half-castes. the greater part of the day previous to that on which they were to set out on the return voyage, nazinred and mozwa spent in testing the quality of their new guns in company with macsweenie, who took his faithful donald mowat with him, partly to assist in carrying the game, and partly for interpreting purposes. and a superb testing-ground it was, for the swampy spots and mud flats were alive with wild-fowl of all kinds, from the lively sandpiper to the great canada grey goose, while the air was vocal with their whistling wings and trumpet cries, so that, whether they walked among the shrubs and sedges, or sat in ambush on the rocky points, ample opportunity was afforded to test the weapons as well as the skill of the owners. the beginning of the day, however, was not quite satisfactory. they had scarcely proceeded more than a few hundred yards from the fort when a flock of ducks was observed flying low and straight towards them. "down, man, quick!" exclaimed macsweenie, crouching behind a large bush. "you will get a goot chance, and the gun will kill if ye point straight, for the trade-guns are fery goot, the most of--wow!" the sudden end of his remark was caused by nazinred firing, and thereafter rising with the shattered fragments of the gun in his hand, and a little blood trickling from one of his fingers, while an expression of stern perplexity overspread his visage. "well, now, that iss most extraordinary," said the trader, examining the weapon. "i hev not seen such a thing for years. to be sure, they are cheap and made of cast-iron, but they seldom burst like that, an' they usually shoot straight, whatever!--tell him, tonal', that he need not concern himself, for i will give him another." on this being translated, nazinred seemed content, and began to examine his hurt, which by good fortune was a slight one. "it might have been worse," remarked mowat gravely; "i've seen many a man in this country with a short allowance of finger-joints from the same cause." "what you observe is fery true, tonal'," said the trader, with a serious air, "it might have been worse. there was a bit of the barrel went past my head that fery nearly put me on a short allowance of life. but come with me to the store an' we will choose a better one." half an hour sufficed to select another fowling-piece, which stood all the tests to which it was subjected, and as evening was about to close in the whole party returned well laden with game, and thoroughly pleased with the weapons. meanwhile the men of the establishment had been variously employed, cutting and hauling firewood, attending the nets, etcetera, while the women had been busy making moccasins and mending garments. the cook--an orkney-man--had made extensive preparations for a feast, but this was a secret between him and macsweenie; the latter being fond of occasionally giving his people a surprise-treat. it was not indeed easy to surprise them at that time with unusually good food, for the land was swarming with spring life, and they daily enjoyed the fat of it. but there were some little delicacies which were not to be had every day in the wilderness of the far north. among them was a round object about the shape, size, and consistency of a large cannon-ball, which was tied up in a cloth and seemed to require an immense amount of boiling. the smell of this was delicious, and, when ultimately turned out of its cloth it presented a whitey-brown mottled appearance which was highly suggestive. the cook also had a peculiar talent for making cakes, which no nor'-wester could imitate, but which any nor'-wester in the land could eat. there were other trifles which it would take too long to mention, and large pots of tea which it would not take very long to drink. that was all the drink they had, happily, for strong young people with high spirits do not require strong spirits to keep their spirits up! after the feast, the tables and chairs were cleared away from the central, or reception, hall of the fort, and preparations were made for spending a harmonious evening; for, you see, stout people, in the prime of life, who have not damaged themselves with strong drink, find it difficult to exhaust their energies by means of an ordinary day's work. "now, tonal'," said macsweenie, "get out your fuddle an' strike up." "the ladies have not finished their tea yet, sir," replied the interpreter. "nefer mind that. just let them hear the strains of lord macdonald's reel, an' you'll make them chump whether they will or no." thus encouraged, mowat began, and sure enough there was something so inspiriting in the tuneful tones, the vigorously indicated time, and the lively air, that the excited highlander gave a whoop that threw indian war-cries quite into the shade, seized one of the "ladies" by an arm and unceremoniously led her to the middle of the floor. the cook, who was used to his master's ways, led out one of the other ladies in a similar free-and-easy manner, and soon two couples were thundering on the boards in all the glorious _abandon_ of a scotch reel. they danced nothing but scotch reels, for the good reason that none of them could dance anything else. indeed, none of them, except macsweenie, could dance even these in correct fashion; but the reel, like the scotch character, is adaptable. it lends itself to circumstances, if we may say so, and admits of the absolutely ignorant being pushed, trundled, shoved or kicked through at least a semblance of it, which to the operators is almost as good as the reality. nazinred and mozwa had never seen anything of the kind before, or heard the strains of a "fuddle." it may well be imagined, therefore, what was the condition of their minds. native reticence stood them in good stead for a considerable time, though, in spite of it, their eyes opened to an extent that was unusual; but as the fun became faster and more furious, their grave features relaxed, their mouths expanded, their teeth began to show, and they looked at each other with the intent, probably, of saying, "we never even dreamed of such things." but that look wrought a transformation, for when each beheld the other's grin of unwonted levity he burst into a short laugh, then, becoming ashamed of themselves, they suddenly resumed their expressions of owlish gravity, from which they could not again be driven until a late period of the evening. frequent slices of the mottled cannon-ball, however, and unlimited mugs of highly-sugared tea, had the effect of thawing them down a little, but nothing could induce them to dance. next morning they were up by daybreak and ready to start for the farther north. "now mind," said macsweenie, through his interpreter, "don't you be fechtin' wi' the eskimos. dance wi' them if ye will, but don't fecht. better try an' trade wi' them. an' be sure ye bring some more o' your people wi' you the next time you come here. we'll be glad to see you. the more the merrier." how donald mowat translated these words we cannot tell. perhaps he added to them a few sentiments of his own. however that may be, it is certain that the indians bade their entertainers farewell with feelings of hearty good-will, and, leaving the lonely outpost behind them, set off on the return journey to their wilderness home. chapter sixteen. sorrows and sins, and a bold adventure. it was autumn before nazinred and mozwa drew near to their village. they took things leisurely on the return voyage, for, as indians have little else to do besides hunt, trap, fish, eat, and sleep, they have no particular inducement to hurry their movements. it is true that, being affectionate men, they were naturally anxious to rejoin their families, but being also steady-going, with considerable powers of self-denial, they were good men-of-business, from a savage point of view, and gave leisurely attention to the duties in hand. on arriving at the outskirts of their village, they were surprised to see that one or two children who were playing among the bushes, and who could not have failed to see them, slunk away as if to avoid a meeting. whatever anxiety the men might have felt, their bronzed and stern countenances betrayed no sign whatever. landing near the old chief's hut, they drew up their canoe and nazinred and mozwa went to announce their arrival. it was contrary to indian etiquette to betray excitement, or to ask hasty questions. they saluted the old man, handed him a plug of tobacco, and sat down to smoke, and it was not till some time had elapsed that nazinred calmly asked if isquay was well. "isquay is well," replied the old chief, and a barely perceptible sigh of relief escaped nazinred. then mozwa asked about his wife and received a satisfactory answer. still, it was obvious to both men, from the old chief's manner, that there was something wrong. "adolay", said the old man, and stopped. "dead?" asked nazinred, with a look of alarm that he did not attempt to conceal. "no, not dead--but gone away," he replied, and then related in detail the circumstances of the girl's disappearance. it must have been a terrible blow to the poor father, all the more that he was ignorant at the time of the girl's motive for forsaking her home. but no vestige of feeling did he betray, save a slight contraction of his brows and a nervous play of his fingers about the handle of his scalping-knife. when the recital was ended he made no reply, but, rising slowly, left the hut and went to his own home. we will not follow him thither: there are some home-comings which are better left undescribed. but next day nazinred relaunched his canoe, and, with a small quantity of provisions and a large supply of ammunition, set off alone for the shores of the arctic sea. what he told his wife is not known, but he gave no explanation whatever to any of his comrades as to his intentions. arrived at the coast, however, his further advance was rendered impossible by a sharp frost which created the first thin crust that was ultimately destined to turn the sea into thick ice. as even the thinnest coat of ice would be certain destruction to birch-bark, the canoe, he was well aware, was now useless. he therefore returned home, and quietly engaged in the ordinary hunting and fishing occupation of his tribe, but from that date he sank into a state of silent despair, from which his most intimate companions failed to rouse him. not that he gave expression to his feelings by word or look. it was long-continued silence and want of interest in anything that told of the sorrow that crushed him. it is probable that the fact of adolay being capable of forsaking her parents in such a way tended to increase the grief occasioned by her loss. but he spoke of his feelings to no one-- not even to his wife. mozwa, who was very fond of his friend, and pitied him sincerely, made no attempt to comfort him, for he knew the nature of the man too well to think that by any words he could assuage his sorrow. all the fine things that nazinred had brought home, and with which he had hoped to rejoice the hearts of his wife and child, were utterly neglected. he let isquay do what she pleased with them. the only thing that seemed to comfort him was the tobacco, for that, he found, when smoked to excess, blunted the edge of his feelings. he therefore gave himself up to the unlimited use of this sedative, and would no doubt have become, like many others, a willing slave to the pipe, but for the fortunate circumstance that the supply of tobacco was limited. as the autumn advanced, the diminishing quantity warned him to restrain himself. he eked it out by mixing with it a kind of leaf much used by indians for this purpose, but which, by itself, was not considered worth smoking. even with this aid, however, he was compelled to curtail the indulgence; then the weed failed altogether, and he was finally induced to engage in philosophical meditations as to the folly of creating a needless desire which could not be gratified. the unsatisfied craving, coupled with the injury to his health, added considerably to the grief with which he was already oppressed. he had a powerful constitution, however. the enforced abstinence soon began to tell in his favour, and he actually had the courage, not to say wisdom, to refuse occasional pipes offered him by mozwa when he chanced to visit his friend. as that friend had not the loss of an only child to mourn, but, on the contrary, was called upon to rejoice in the addition of a new baby, the fine things that he had brought home were the cause of great satisfaction to his family. but alas! mozwa, although almost perfect, for a savage, had one fault--one besetting sin and moral disease--he gambled! we almost hear the exclamation of surprise, if not doubt, with which our reader receives this information. yes; north american indians are gamblers; many of them are confirmed gamblers. they do not indeed affect anything so intellectual as chess or so skilful as billiards, but they have a game to the full as intellectual and scientific as that _rouge et noir_ of monaco with which highly cultivated people contrive to rob each other by mutual consent, and without being ashamed! their game is not unknown to the juveniles of our own land. it goes by the name "odd-or-even." the manner of conducting the game varies a little here and there in its details, but its principle is the same everywhere: "i want your possessions, and get them i will, by hook or crook! i couldn't think of robbing you--o no; there might be jail or penal servitude on the back of that; and i won't accept your gifts--good gracious, no! that would involve the loss of self-respect. no, no. let us humbug each other. i will rob you if i can, and you will rob me if you can, and we'll mutually agree to throw dust in each other's eyes and call it `play'! nothing, surely, could be fairer than that!" of course poor mozwa did not reason thus. he was not cultured enough for that. in fact, he did not reason at all about the matter, as far as we know, but there can be no question that the poor fellow was smitten with the disease of covetousness, and instead of seeking for a cure, like a manly savage, he adopted the too civilised plan of encouraging and excusing it. aware of his propensities, mrs mozwa was much too knowing to allow the goods and trinkets destined for herself and family to remain in his power. she at once appropriated them, and secreted such of them as she did not require for present use. but there were articles which she could not well treat in that way with any shadow of excuse: for instance, the gun, powder and shot, bows and arrows, tobacco and pipes, hatchets and scalping-knives, blankets and masculine garments, which were in daily use. these were frequently lost and re-won before winter had fairly begun, but mozwa was too fond of the excitement of gambling to make desperate ventures all at once. he liked to spin it out. one night he had what is styled a "run of bad luck." being in something of a reckless mood, he went to visit a young friend who was as fond of gambling as himself, and took most of his worldly possessions with him. the friend, with a number of companions, was seated beside the wigwam fire, and quite ready to begin. taking a button, or some such object, in his hand, and putting both hands behind his back, the friend began to bob his head and shoulders up and down in an idiotic fashion, at the same time chanting in a sing-song monotone, "ho yo, yo ho, hi ya yoho!" for a considerable length of time, while mozwa staked his blanket, a fine thick green one, purchased at great bear lake. we forget the friend's stake, but it was probably supposed to be an equivalent. suddenly the yo-ho-ing ceased, both hands, tightly closed, were brought to the front, and the whole party gazed at mozwa with intense expectation. he was not long in making up his mind. he pointed to the left hand. it was opened, and found to be empty! the blanket was lost. back went the hands again, and the "yo-ho-ing" was continued. the new gun was the next stake. it also was lost; and thus the game was carried on far into the night, with smaller stakes, until mozwa had lost almost all that he had brought with him--gun, blanket, pipes, tobacco, flint and steel, fire-bag, and even his coat, so that he walked home a half-naked and nearly ruined man! but ruin in the wilderness of north america is not usually so thorough as it often is in civilised lands, owing partly to the happy circumstance that strong drink does not come into play and complete the moral destruction, as well as the physical, which gambling had begun. the character therefore, although deteriorated, is not socially lost. the nature of property, also, and the means of acquiring it, render recovery more easy. when mozwa returned home _minus_ his new blanket and the beautiful deerskin coat which his wife had made and richly ornamented for him with her own brown hands while he was away, he found his old coat and his old blanket ready for him. the old gun, too, was available still, so that he was not altogether disabled from attending to the duties of the chase, and in a short time afterwards, "luck" being in his favour, he had won back some of his lost possessions. but he was too often in that fluctuating state of alternating excitement and depression which is the invariable accompaniment, in a greater or less degree, of the gambler's sin, whether carried on in the depths of the arctic wilderness, the well-named "hells" of london, or the gilded _salons_ of monaco. "you are a fool," said nazinred one day to his friend--for even among savages there are plain-spoken familiar friends gifted with common sense enough to recognise folly, and spiritual honesty to point it out and warn against it. "why does my brother say so?" asked mozwa, who was not in the least offended by the observation. "because you gain nothing by all your gaining except trouble and excitement, and sometimes you gain loss. here you are, now, obliged to take to your old gun, whose flint will hardly strike fire more than four times out of ten; you are obliged to wrap yourself in the old blanket full of holes; and you come to me to borrow powder and ball." "that is true," replied mozwa, with a look of self-condemnation. "but," he added, with a sort of brightly apologetic glance, "sometimes i win, and then i am well off, and it is magadar who is the fool." "does it make you less of a fool because magadar is one also? are you comforted to-day, in your poverty, by the thought that you were well off yesterday?" mozwa's bright glance faded slowly. he was no match for his friend in argument, and, possessing an honest spirit, the look of self-condemnation began to creep again over his visage, but, being of a sanguine temperament and hopeful nature, the bright glance returned suddenly. "wisdom falls from the lips of my brother," he said. "i was well off yesterday and i am badly off to-day, but i may be well off again to-morrow--if i have good luck." "yes, and if magadar has bad luck?" returned his friend. "you cannot both have good luck. whatever one gains the other must lose--and so it goes on. should wise men act thus?" mozwa was silent. his friend had never before spoken to him in this way. indeed, no member of the tribe had ever before given utterance to such curious opinions. he knew not what to reply, and nazinred relapsed into the moody silence which had characterised him more or less since he became aware of his daughter's departure. the short autumn of those hyperborean regions having passed away, the land was speedily locked in a garment of ice and snow, and the long stern winter began. it was not long before all the lakes and rivers set fast. at first only the lakes solidified, then the more sluggish streams, while the rapids showed out inky black by contrast. gradually the liquid margins of these were encroached on by the irresistible frost, until they were fairly bridged over, and their existence was only recalled to memory by hollow rumblings below the ice. at last the intensity of the cold overcame the salt sea itself; the floes, hummocks, and bergs became united into one universal mass, and every sign of liquid disappeared from the polar regions. it was when this condition of things had arrived that the heart-crushed nazinred proceeded to carry out a plan over which he had been brooding ever since his return from great bear lake. his inquiries had led him to believe that the eskimo who had carried off his child belonged to the tribe which had recently been pursued by his compatriots, and that they probably dwelt among the islands, some of which were seen, and others known to exist, off the arctic coast opposite the mouth of the greygoose river. moreover, a faint hope, that he would have found it difficult to define, was aroused by the fact that the kidnapper of his child had formerly been the rescuer of his wife. as we have seen, his first attempt to go off in his canoe in search of adolay was frustrated by young ice forming on the sea, and for a considerable time afterwards the arctic sea was impassable to any kind of craft. now that the sea had set fast, however, his difficulty was removed, and he resolved to undertake the journey on foot. well he knew that no man of his tribe, not even mozwa, would agree to accompany him on such a wild-goose chase. he therefore not only refrained from making to any of them the proposal, but avoided any allusion to his intentions. knowing also that isquay was gifted with such an intense desire for sympathy that she could not resist communicating whatever she knew to a few of her dearest friends--in the strictest confidence--he did not mention the matter to her until all his preparations were completed. then he told her. like a good submissive squaw, she made no objection, though the expression of her face showed that she felt much anxiety. "who goes with you?" she asked. "no one." "is it wise to go alone?" she ventured to suggest. "it may not be wise, but no one would go with me, i know, and i am determined to find adolay!" "how will you travel?" "with a sledge and four dogs. that will enable me to carry food enough for a long journey. i will take my gun, of course." "but what will you do for fire?" objected isquay; "there are no woods on the ice." "i will do without it." the poor woman was so amazed at this reply that she gave up further questioning. "you have plenty strong moccasins ready, have you not?" asked nazinred, "and pemmican, and dried meat?" "yes, plenty. and your snow-shoes are mended, and very strong." "that is well. i will take them, but i do not expect to use them much, for the snow on the great salt lake is not soft like the snow in the woods." it was afternoon when this conversation was held, and very dark, for the sun had by that time ceased to rise much above the horizon, even at noon. late in the night, however, there was brilliant light both from the stars and the aurora. taking advantage of this, nazinred left his lodge and hastened to the outskirts of the village, where a little boy awaited him with the sledge and team of dogs all ready for a start. without saying a word the indian put on his snow-shoes and took hold of the tail-line of the sledge, which was heavily laden, and well packed. with a slight crack of the whip he set the team in motion. "tell the old chief," he said to the boy at parting, "that i go to seek for my daughter among the people of the frozen lake. when i find her i will return." chapter seventeen. nazinred's journey over the arctic sea. while our indian travelled through the woods he and his dogs were on familiar ground. he encamped at night in the way to which he had been accustomed all his life. that is to say, he selected a spot under a spreading fir-tree, dug away the snow until he got to the ground, which he covered with a carpet of pine branches. at one end of this encampment--or hole in the snow of ten feet or so in diameter--he made a huge fire of dead logs. at the other end he spread his blanket, unpacked his sledge, fed his dogs with some willow-grouse provided for the purpose, warmed up his pemmican and dried meat, melted some snow for drink, and spent the night in comparative comfort. and it is wonderful, reader, how cosy such an encampment in the snow is, when food is plentiful and health strong. but when our indian quitted the shore, and began his daring journey on the arctic sea, he was surrounded by new and unfamiliar conditions. no trees were to be had for firewood, no branches for bedding, no overhanging pines for shelter. he had gone there, however, prepared for the change. the sea near the shore had been set fast when in a comparatively smooth condition, so that, the first day's march over, it was easy. as he had expected, the surface of the snow had been drifted quite hard, so that he could dispense with snow-shoes altogether, and the four dogs found the sledge so light that they felt disposed now and then to run away with it; but nazinred checked this propensity by holding on to the tail-line, thus acting as a drag. ere long the shore was left out of sight behind, and the first of the islets--a small group--also passed and left behind. when night was well advanced the indian found himself on the ice of the open sea with nothing but hummocks and bergs to shelter him. being acquainted, by hearsay at least, with some of the methods of the eskimos, he avoided the bergs, for there was the danger of masses falling from their sides and from overhanging ice-cliffs, and selected a small hummock--a heap of masses that had been thrown or crushed up earlier in the winter, covered with snow, and formed into a solid mound. the light air that blew over the frozen plain was scarcely worth taking into account, nevertheless the indian chose the lee side of the hummock and then began to try his "prentice hand" at the erection of a snow-hut. nazinred had indeed some doubts as to the value of such a cold habitation without fire, but he knew that eskimos sometimes used such, and what they could do he could dare. besides, love is strong as death--and he meant to find adolay or die! his hut, as might have been expected, was not such as an eskimo architect would have praised, but it was passable for a first attempt. he knew that the northern masons built their winter dwellings in the form of a dome, therefore he essayed the same form; but it fell in more than once before the keystone of the arch was fixed. "never mind," thought nazinred; "they have done it--i can do it." nothing is impossible to men of this stamp. he persevered, and succeeded after a couple of hours in producing a sort of misshapen bee-hive about six feet in diameter, and four feet high. the slabs of snow of which it was composed were compact and solid, though easily cut with his scalping-knife, and formed bricks that could resist the influence of the fiercest gale. at one side of the hut he cut a hole for a doorway, and reserved the piece cut out for a door. it was just big enough to let his broad shoulders pass through, and when he got inside and lay down at length to test it, he gave a slight "humph!" of satisfaction. not that the chamber was cheerful--far from it, for it was intensely dark,--but our indian was a practical man. he did not require light to enable him to sleep or rest. while engaged in constructing the hut, he observed that the four dogs were sitting on their tails doing nothing except gazing in curiosity, if not surprise, at his unwonted proceedings. being a busy man, he naturally disliked idlers, and therefore unlashed some food from his sledge and served out their supper by way of giving them something to do. they ceased idling at once, but after supper sat down on their tails again to watch as before, though in a more languid frame of mind. when the hut was finished he sat down outside, the night being clear and comparatively warm, or rather, we should say, not bitterly cold. during the meal he kept up the interest of the dogs to a keenly hopeful point by occasionally tossing a morsel to each. when the meal was over, and they knew from long experience that nothing more was to be hoped for, they curled themselves up in the lee of the hut, and, with a glorious disregard of bedding and all earthly things, went to sleep. it was found rather difficult to get the sledge into the hut, as nazinred had forgotten to make allowance for its size, but by enlarging the door and manoeuvring, the difficulty was overcome--a matter of considerable importance, for there was no knowing what arctic monsters might take a fancy to play havoc with its contents while its owner slept. then the indian spread a large deerskin with the hair on over the floor of his hut, and was about to spread his blankets above that, when he remembered that he would want water to drink in the morning--for it is well-known that eating snow during the intense cold of arctic winters is very hurtful. he had provided for this by taking a bladder with him, which he meant to fill with snow each night and take it to bed with him, so that his animal heat--and he had plenty of that--might melt some of it before morning. he was then on the point of closing up the doorway when it occurred to him that if the dogs were inside they might make the place warmer, but upon reflection he feared that they might also make it suffocating--for the dogs were large and the hut was small. after pondering the subject for a few minutes, he decided to take only one of them inside. "attim, come," he said quietly, as if speaking to a human friend. attim, without any remark save a wag of his tail, arose promptly, entered the hut, and lay down. you see, he was accustomed to little attentions of the sort. at last, everything being completed, nazinred closed the door, plastered it well with snow round the seams, so as to render the place air-tight, wrapped himself in his blankets, took the bladder of snow to his bosom, laid his wearied head on one of his bundles, and prepared to slumber. but ere he reached the land of forgetfulness an idea struck him, which, indian though he was, caused him to smile even in the dark. "attim," he murmured. "here you are," replied attim's tail with a flop that was quite as expressive as the tongue--and softer. "you take charge of that," said the sly man, transferring the bladder of snow from his own bosom to that of the dog; "you have more heat than i have." whether the indian was right in this belief we cannot say, but the humble-minded dog received the charge as a special favour, and with an emphatic "i will" from its ever-sensitive tail again lay down to repose. thereafter the two went to sleep, and spent six or seven hours of unbroken rest, awaking simultaneously and suddenly to find that the dogs outside were also awake and wishing to get in. indeed, one of them had already scraped a hole in the wall that would soon have admitted him had not his master given him a tap on the nose with the butt of his gun. of course it was still dark, for the morning was not far advanced, but the star-light and the aurora were quite sufficient to enable them to see their way, as they set out once more on their lonesome journey. breakfast was a meal of which nazinred made no account. supper was his chief stand-by, on the strength of which he and his dogs slept, and also travelled during the following day. soon after they had awakened, therefore, they were far from the hut in which the night had been spent. the indian's plan was to travel in a straight line in the direction in which the eskimos had been last seen. by so doing he counted upon either crossing their tracks, which he would follow up, or, coming to some large island which might prove to be their winter quarters, would skirt the shores of it in the hope of meeting with some of the tribes of which he was in search. the expedition, it will be seen, was somewhat of the nature of a forlorn hope, for drifting snow quickly obliterates tracks, and if the natives, when found, should turn out to be hostile, they would probably take from him his little possessions, if not also his life. but nazinred's love for adolay was too strong to admit of his allowing such thoughts to weigh with him. ere long, he found himself far from his woodland home, lost among the rugged solitudes of ice, with a fast diminishing supply of provisions, and, worst of all, no sign of track or other clue to guide him. one day, as he was plodding slowly northward, guided by the stars, his faith in the success of his mission began to flag. hard continuous toil and a weakening frame had no doubt something to do with his depression. his dogs, also, were in much the same condition with himself,--growing thin, and becoming less lively. clambering to the top of a hummock, he surveyed the prospect before him. it was not cheering. the faint daylight of noon was spreading over the frozen sea, bringing the tops of the larger bergs out into bold relief against the steel-blue sky, and covering the jumble of lumps and hummocks with a cold grey light. despite his resolute purpose the poor man sat down on a lump of ice, buried his face in his hands, and meditated. "can it be," he thought, "that the great manitou knows my grief and does not care? surely that cannot be. i love my child, though she has fled from me. i am a child of the manitou. does he not love me? i will trust him!" a cold object touched his hand at the moment. it was the nose of the faithful attim. nazinred regarded the touch as a good omen. he rose up and was about to resume the journey in a more hopeful frame of mind when a dark cloud on the horizon arrested his eye. after a long gaze he came to the conclusion that it was land. two hours later he arrived at waruskeek, and with a beating heart made straight for the huts, which could be plainly seen on the shore. but terrible disappointment was in store for him. on reaching the eskimo village he found that it was deserted. nevertheless the improved state of mind did not quite forsake him. it was a comfort to have made a discovery of any kind, and was it not possible that, during the brief daylight of the morrow, he might be able to distinguish the tracks made by the party when they left the place and follow them up? with this idea in his mind he resolved to encamp on the spot, and indulge himself as well as his dogs with a good feed and sleep. with this purpose in view he collected all the bits of wood he could find, and, with a few lumps of much-decayed blubber, made a rousing fire in one of the huts. the flame cheered his canine friends as well as himself, and filled the place with a ruddy glow. as the hut was sufficiently large, he invited all the dogs to sup with him--an invitation which, it is needless to say, they gladly accepted--and we may add that the humble-minded attim was not jealous. the hut of which nazinred thus took possession was that which belonged to old mangivik. with his usually observant nature, our indian looked keenly about him while cooking his pemmican, noting every particular with an intelligent eye. suddenly his gaze became fixed on a particular corner. rising slowly, as if afraid of frightening away some living creature, he advanced step by step toward the corner with eyeballs starting nearly out of his head. then with a light bound he sprang forward, grasped a little piece of cord, and pulled out from beneath a heap of rubbish what appeared to be an old cast-off moccasin. and such indeed it was. it had belonged to adolay! nazinred, hastening to the fire, examined it with minute care, and a deep "hoh!" of satisfaction escaped from him; for he knew it well as being one of a pair made by isquay for her daughter's little feet. need we say that joy filled the indian's heart that night, and a feeling of gratitude to that mysterious ever-present yet never visible being, who--he had come to recognise in his philosophical way--must be the author of all good, though his philosophy failed to tell him who was the author of evil. nazinred was not by any means the first savage philosopher who has puzzled himself with that question, but it is due to him to add--for it proves him more scientific than many trained philosophers of the present day--that he did not plead his ignorance about his creator as an excuse for ingratitude, much less as a reason for denying his existence altogether. but there was a surprise in store for our indian chief which went far to increase his grateful feelings, as well as to determine his future course. on looking about the deserted village the following day for further evidences of his child having been there, he came upon a post with a piece of birch-bark fastened to it. the post was fixed in the ice close to the shore, where in summer-time the land and sea were wont to meet, and from which point tracks in the snow gave clear indication that the eskimos had taken their departure. this post with its piece of bark was neither more nor less than a letter, such as unlettered men in all ages have used for holding intercourse with absent friends. knowing her father's love for her, and suspecting that, sooner or later, he would organise a search party--though it never occurred to her that he would be so wild as to undertake the search alone--adolay had erected the post when the tribe set out for winter quarters, and had fixed the bark letter to it for his guidance. the writing on the letter, we need hardly say, was figurative, brief, and easily read. it did not give the intelligent father much trouble in the decipherment. at the top was the picture of a hand fairly, if not elegantly, drawn, with one finger pointing. below it were several figures, the last of which was a girl in unmistakable indian costume. the figure in front of her was meant to represent cheenbuk; in advance of him was an eskimo woman with her tail flowing gracefully behind, while before her was a hazy group of men, women, and children, which represented the tribe on the march. adolay had obviously the artistic gift in embryo, for there was a decided effort to indicate form and motion, as well as to suggest an idea of perspective, for the woman and the tribal group were drawn much smaller than the foreground figures, and were placed on higher planes. the sketchiness of the group, too, also told of just ideas as to relative degrees of interest in the legend, while the undue prominence of the leading facial feature was an attempt to give that advice which is so forcibly expressed in the well-known phrase, "follow your nose." ten dots underneath, with a group of snow-huts at the end of them, were not so clear at first, but in the end nazinred made out a sentence, of which the following may be given as a free-and-easy translation: "my hand points the direction in which we have gone. your loving daughter is following the man who ran away with her. the eskimo women and men, and dogs, and all the rest of them, are marching before us. follow me for ten days, and you will come to the snow-huts where we are to winter." could anything be plainer? the happy father thought not. he took an extra meal. his team gave themselves an extra feed of bits of old blubber picked up in the camp, and while daylight was still engaged in its brave though hopeless struggle with the arctic night, he tied up his sledge, thrust the old moccasin into his bosom, gave attim the order to advance, and set off with revived strength and hope on his now hopeful journey. chapter eighteen. a surprise and a catastrophe. the trail of the eskimos as they traversed the frozen sea, although not always very distinct on the hard snow, was as plain as a highway to one so skilled in tracking as the indian chief nazinred. the weather having been clear and calm ever since he left home, the marks had not been obliterated, and he pursued his way without halt or hesitation. but on the fourth day out there came symptoms of a change. the chief had adopted the plan of travelling during every hour of the short day, or twilight, in order to make more sure of not missing the trail, and the stars with frequent aurora borealis had made each night so brilliant that he advanced almost as easily as during the day-time. the fourth day, however, on awaking, his ears were greeted with sounds that caused him to rise in haste and force out the door of his sleeping hut, when to his dismay he found that a furious gale was blowing, that the sky was black, and that he could hardly see the poor dogs, whom he found crouching as close as possible on the sheltered side of the hut. in these circumstances, to advance without losing his way was impossible, so that he was compelled to make the most of his time by sleeping as much as he could. to do him justice he possessed a wonderful capacity in that way. having put the sledge outside in order to make room, he called all the dogs in, resolving that the poor things should not be exposed to the pitiless storm. then, having fed himself and them, he lay down with them and was soon in happy oblivion. of course he had no artificial means of measuring time, and, the sky being overclouded, darkness visible pervaded the region. but a healthy stomach helped in some degree to furnish a natural chronometer, and its condition when he awoke suggested that he must have slept till near daylight of the following day. rousing the dogs, he gave them a feed, ate heartily himself, and then went out to look at the weather. the sight which the grey dawn rendered barely visible was one which caused him to return to the hut with extreme promptitude for his gun, for, about fifty yards off, were two white polar bears of apparently, colossal size, frolicking about in a curious manner, and evidently amusing themselves with something. the something turned out to be the chief's sledge, which the bears had unpacked; eating whatever they had a fancy for, scattering about what they did not want, smashing the sledge itself to pieces, and twisting the leathern wraps and cordage into unimaginable knots. nazinred did not discover all this at once, being too much excited by the unexpected visit to note trifling details. besides, prompt action was necessary, for the four dogs, on becoming aware of what was transacting outside, made a united and clamorous dash at the foe. two of them, being too valorous, ran close up to the bears, who seemed to regard them with haughty surprise. another movement and the two dogs rose into the air with a yell in unison, and fell back upon the snow, where they lay motionless. the other two, learning wisdom from experience, kept back and barked furiously. nazinred, although taken by surprise, was used to sudden alarms and not easily frightened. knowing that the two dogs were very courageous, and therefore all the more likely to run into danger, he sprang forward towards the nearer of the two bears. it rose on its hind-legs to receive him, and in this position appeared to stand at least eight feet high. without a moment's hesitation the indian pointed his gun when the muzzle was not more than a foot from the creature's breast, and fired. the bear fell dead on the instant, shot through the heart. the loud report and flash frightened the other bear away. it was closely followed, however, by the dogs, and the chief availed himself of the opportunity to re-load. while he was thus engaged a peculiarly loud yell told only too plainly that one of the remaining dogs was injured, if not killed. he called to the remaining one to come back. obedient to the call it returned, and, to its master's great relief, proved to be his favourite attim, a good deal cut about the shoulders and much crestfallen, but not seriously injured. "down, attim," said his master. the poor creature obeyed at once, and his master hurried forward, but the bear had retired. the result of this encounter was that three of the dogs were killed, many of his things destroyed, and his provisions rendered almost useless, while the sledge was irreparably broken to pieces. there was daylight enough to render the extent of his misfortune visible, and to show him that the trail which he had been following so long was drifted over and entirely obliterated. to a man of weak resolution this might have been overwhelming, but nazinred was very much the reverse of weak, and his utter recklessness of life in his endeavour to recover his lost child would have rendered him a hero for the time being, even if he had not been one by nature. after collecting the remains of his property, and ascertaining that the sledge was hopelessly destroyed, he made up his mind to carry the provisions on his back and push forward in the direction pointed out by adolay until he found her. if he did not succeed, the failure of his food would soon end the struggle. it was some consolation to the unfortunate man that his favourite dog had been spared. the amount of "company" afforded even by an ordinary dog is well-known, but the civilised world can but feebly understand the value of a more than usually affectionate creature in the forlorn circumstances in which our indian was now placed. like many other people, he had got into the habit of talking to the dog about himself and his affairs, as if it were human. whether he held the opinion we have heard so often expressed that "he understands every word i say," we cannot tell, but the gravity of his expression and the solemnity of his tone when conversing with it, encouraged that belief, and the very earnest attention of the dog almost justified it. but the friendly feelings existing between them did not relax the chief's notions of discipline. attim was not permitted to follow his master as an idle companion. he was made to carry, or rather to drag, his own food, by means of a collar with two pieces of stick attached, the ends of which trailed on the ice, thus forming as it were a pair of trains without wheels. this is a simple contrivance, largely used by the prairie indians with their horses as well as dogs. the two sticks or poles, being long, project a good way behind the animal, thus leaving space for a load. as the poles are suited to their size, each horse or little dog is loaded with an appropriate bundle, and it is to be presumed does not feel overburdened. when all was arranged, nazinred started off with a large pack on his broad shoulders, and attim, with a small bundle, followed close at his heels. of course the indian shouldered his gun, and he slung upon it his snow-shoes, for the hard-driven snow rendered these unnecessary at the time. he also carried with him a bow and quiver of arrows, with the ornamented fire-bag--made for him by adolay--which contained his flint, steel, and tinder as well as his beloved pipe and tobacco. things went well with him for the first few days, and although the trail was now lost, he guided himself easily by the stars, of which he had been careful to take note and make comparison with the hand in the letter before disturbing its position. but one night the sky became overcast, and he would have been compelled to halt had he not previously laid his course by several huge icebergs which towered up in the far distance. when he had passed the last of these bergs, however, he began to hesitate in his movements, and attim, trotting quietly by his side, looked inquiringly up into his face once or twice with the obvious question, "what's the matter?" in his soft brown eyes--or some dogrib idiom equivalent thereto. "i'm afraid to go on," murmured the indian gravely. to this attim replied with a reassuring wag of his tail. "without stars it won't be easy to keep the straight line," continued the chief, stopping altogether and looking up at the clouds. attim also looked up, but evidently could make nothing of it, for he turned his eyes again on his master and wagged his tail dubiously. at the moment a rift in the clouds revealed some of the stars, and the indian, regaining his direction again, hurried forward--all the more rapidly that a pretty stiff fair wind was blowing, to speak nautically, right astern of him. by degrees the breeze increased to a gale, and then to a regular hurricane, which whirled among the bergs and hummocks, shrieked round the ice-pinnacles, and went howling over the plain of the solid sea as if all the hyperborean fiends had been let loose and told to do their worst. its violence was so great that the indian was forced to scud before it, and more than once attim's little bundle caught the blast and whirled him round like a weathercock, while the drifting snow at last became so thick that it was impossible to see anything more than a few yards ahead. in these circumstances to advance was madness. "it won't do, pup," cried nazinred, turning suddenly to his right round a mass of ice, and taking shelter in the lee of a towering berg; "come, we will encamp here." he had scarcely uttered the words when a tremendous rending sound was heard above the noise of the hurricane. the indian looked up quickly, but nothing was to be seen anywhere save that wild confusion of whirling snow, which in more southerly lands is sometimes called a blizzard, and the back-whirl of which nearly suffocated man and dog. suddenly there came a crash as if a mountain were being shattered near them. then nazinred saw, to his horror, that an ice-pinnacle as big as a church steeple was bowing forward, like some mighty giant, to its fall. to escape he saw was impossible. it was too near and too directly above his head for that. his only hope lay in crushing close to the side of the berg. he did so, on the instant, promptly followed by the dog, and happily found that the ice-wall at the spot was slightly concave. another moment and the stupendous mass fell with an indescribable crash, which was prolonged into sounds that bore quaint resemblance to the smashing up of gigantic crockery, as the shivered atoms shot far away over the frozen plain. but the chief heard nothing of this save the first great crash, for the avalanche, although it passed harmlessly over his head, had buried him in what seemed to him a living tomb. the chamber in which he and his dog were thus enclosed was of course absolutely dark--a darkness that might be felt; and the man would have been more than human if he had not experienced a sinking of the heart as he contemplated his awful position. once again arose in his mind the question, does the maker of all care nothing about such things? the feeling deepened in him that such could not be true,--that the all-father must certainly care _more_ for his children than ordinary fathers for theirs, and with that thought came also the old feeling, "i will trust him." the poor dog, too, had the consolation of trust, for it rubbed its head against its master with a touch that implied implicit belief in his power to deal effectively with any difficulty whatever. feeling his way carefully round the walls of his prison, the indian ascertained that it was not much more than about twelve feet long by three or four broad. on one side was the comparatively smooth wall of the berg, but for the hollow in which he would have been crushed; in front was the rugged heap of confused masses which had thoroughly closed him in. there was no outlet anywhere; he felt assured of that after three careful examinations of the chamber, and how many thousand tons of ice lay between him and liberty of course he could not guess. there was only one course open to him now, and that was to cut his way out with his hatchet. before beginning to act he unstrapped his bundle and sat down to eat, having previously relieved attim of his load and given him some food. everything he did had to be done by feeling, for he could not see his hand even when held only an inch from his face. then he set to work. it was difficult at first, for he had to strike out at random, sometimes hitting a lump of ice unexpectedly, sometimes just tipping it, and occasionally missing it altogether, when the axe would swing round behind him, to the great danger of attim, who insisted on keeping close to his master's heels wherever he went. by degrees, however, he learned to guess more correctly the position of the walls, especially after he had advanced a few feet and cut a tunnel, with the shape and dimensions of which he soon became familiar. for hours he laboured with unflagging diligence, clearing back the ice debris into the cavern from which he had started. but no sign of open air rewarded him. at last, when almost exhausted, he made preparations for passing the night where he was. before lying down he ate a hearty meal and fed the dog, who indicated his satisfaction by an occasional whine and the usual wag of the tail, which could be faintly heard though not seen. a pipe of course followed, and during the process of lighting it he and attim obtained a fleeting glimpse of their abode. as his materials could not produce a flame--only a dull red glow--the glimpse was not cheering, or of much value. then nazinred spread a deerskin on the ice, rolled himself in his blanket, pillowed his head on the dog, who seemed to be perfectly satisfied with the arrangement, and went to sleep till--we cannot say morning, for pitch darkness still prevailed, but till that point of time when the stomachic chronometer awoke them. after another feed the chief again set to work with indomitable perseverance, and extended the tunnel during many hours; yet when he had accomplished what appeared to him a long and severe day's work, it seemed as if he were as far off as ever from deliverance. just as he was giving way to weary disappointment, however, a rush of cold air came against his face, and with an irrepressible exclamation of satisfaction he found that his last blow with the axe had opened a way to the outer world. a few more strokes, delivered with unwonted vigour, set him free, to find that the gale was over, that a profound calm prevailed, and that the faint grey light of the arctic noon was illuminating the ghostly scene. he also discovered that during his imprisonment a heavy fall of snow had taken place, so that he sank a full foot into it--if not more--at every step. congratulating himself on having brought his snow-shoes with him, he at once put on those useful implements, and, having secured the pack on his back, he once more set forth on his journey, beating a track as he went on which the dog followed him with ease, though without such a track the poor thing could not have travelled at all until the surface of the snow had hardened. but although our indian's heart was lighter after his deliverance, the toil which he had undergone, and the cold which he had experienced in the berg, had told somewhat severely even on his hardy frame, and when he built his hut that night it was with a feeling of despondency, for he became aware of a considerable diminution of strength. an unusually keen frost on the following day increased this feeling, and when he was about to encamp at night, nazinred said to himself, as well as to his dog, that he feared they would never complete their journey. but "hope springs eternal in the human breast." on looking round for a sheltered spot on which to build the snow-hut he observed three objects in the distance which bore a strong resemblance to eskimo dwellings. pushing forward eagerly, he soon reached them, and found that they were indeed huts of these children of the ice, but that they were deserted. the disappointment was very great, yet our chief bore up against it manfully. he made use of one of the huts as a resting-place for the night. next morning he found that the prolonged strain had rendered him much weaker than he had believed to be possible. diminishing provisions, also, had increased the evil, and a still further fall in the temperature induced a feeling of feebleness which the hitherto vigorous man had never before experienced. the idea of giving in, however, had never once entered his mind. to persevere in the search until success or death should arrest him had been his fixed resolve from the beginning. "come on, pup," he said, patting the head of his faithful friend, as he fastened on his snow-shoes and set forth. to his surprise he found that he staggered a little at first, but as he warmed to the work his vigour increased and his powers of endurance seemed almost as strong as ever. chapter nineteen. the eskimos again, and a great discovery and rescue. while nazinred, under the influence of strong affection, was thus fighting with the unfamiliar difficulties and dangers of the polar sea, cheenbuk and his eskimo friends were enjoying life in what may be called their native element. "will adolay come for a drive?" said our gallant eskimo one day when the sun had risen near enough to the eastern horizon to almost, but not quite, extinguish the stars. "we go to seek for walruses." the indian maiden was sitting at the time in the snow residence which belonged to mangivik. mrs mangivik was sitting opposite to her mending a seal-skin boot, and cowlik the easy-going was seated beside her, engaged with some other portion of native attire. nootka was busy over the cooking-lamp, and old mangivik himself was twirling his thumbs, awaiting the result of her labours. oolalik was there too--he was frequently there--courting nootka in the usual way, by prolonged silent staring. the process might have been trying to some women, but nootka did not mind. like many young damsels, she was fond of admiration, and could stand a good deal of it, no matter how peculiar the mode in which it was expressed. "i don't care to go," said adolay, with a sigh. cheenbuk did not repeat the invitation or press for a reason. he was a considerate as well as a gallant youth. he knew that the poor girl was pining for her parents, and that she regretted having left them--even although remaining in her native village might have involved her being wed against her will to the hated magadar, or subjected to his persecutions during her father's absence. cheenbuk did his best to comfort her with the assurance that he would take her back to her home with the very first of the open water. but when adolay began to realise what a very long time must elapse before the ice would reopen its portals and set the waters free, her heart sank and she began to mope. "we may as well have some women with us," remarked oolalik, with a pointed glance at nootka, but nootka took no notice of either the observation or the glance. even eskimo girls understand how to tease! "will cowlik go?" asked cheenbuk. "yes." cowlik smiled, and was quite ready to go. "no, she won't," said mrs mangivik, with a positiveness almost european in its tone. "very well." cowlik smiled, and was equally ready to remain. mangivik himself expressed no opinion on the subject, but twirled his thumbs faster as he expressed a hope that the cooking would be soon completed. it was finally arranged that only young men should go, with sledges and teams of dogs to fetch the meat home. the little town in which this scene was being enacted was composed of between twenty and thirty whitey-brown bee-hives of snow, of the usual shape, ranged on the ice near the shore of a large island. the scene presented was a lively one, for while some of the inhabitants were creeping into the small tunnels which formed as it were porches before the doors, others were creeping out. men and dogs were moving about-- the former harnessing the latter to sledges in preparation for the approaching hunt, while hairy little balls of children were scampering about in play, or sitting on the tops of the snow bee-hives, watching the proceedings with interest. the eskimo sledge is a contrivance of wood capable of accommodating five or six men, and usually drawn by a team of from six to ten dogs, each dog being fastened to it by means of a separate line of tough walrus-hide. in a short time the long-lashed, short-handled, powerful whips cracked, the teams yelped, the men shouted, and away they all went with much noise over the frozen sea. after a short run the parties separated and went in different directions. cheenbuk and his men drove in a southerly direction. soon they came to a place which had been kept open by walruses as a breathing-hole. here they got out, hid the sledge and dogs behind a hummock, and, getting ready their spears and harpoons, prepared for an encounter. after waiting some time a walrus thrust its ungainly head up through the young ice that covered the hole, and began to disport itself in elephantine, or rather walrusian, gambols. tiring of this in a few minutes, it dived, and the natives ran to the edge of the hole to be ready when it should come up again. the animal was a female, and a small one. when it re-appeared harpoons and lances were at once driven into it, and it was killed almost immediately. this is not always the result of such an encounter, for this elephant of the polar seas is naturally a ferocious brute, and when bulls are attacked they are prone to show fight rather than take fright. leaving the young men to skin and cut up the meat, cheenbuk went on, with only anteek to keep him company, in search of another breathing-hole. "you must harpoon the next one all alone, and kill him without help," said cheenbuk to his companion soon after they had started. "i'll try," returned the boy, with the air of confidence befitting a knight who had already won his spurs, yet with the modesty of a youth who was aware of his fallibility. but anteek was not destined to distinguish himself that day, for, about three miles beyond the place where the walrus had been slain, they came across a track so singular that, on beholding it, they were stricken dumb with surprise. stopping the dogs, they gazed at it for a few moments in speechless wonder. "i am not an old man," said cheenbuk at length in a solemn tone, "but i have seen most of the wonderful things in this world, yet have i never seen a track like that!" he pointed to the track in question, and turned a look of blazing inquiry on anteek. "and i am not an old boy," returned the other, "but i too have seen a good many of the wonderful things of this world, yet have i never even dreamed of the like of that!" it will doubtless strike the reader here, as an evidence that eskimos are under similar delusions to the rest of the human family, that these two referred to that world of theirs as equivalent to the world at large! "what can it be?" murmured cheenbuk. "the very biggest bear that ever was, come to frighten the wisest people that ever lived, out of their wits," suggested anteek. the face of the elder eskimo underwent a sudden change, and an intelligent expression flitted over it as he said-- "i know now--i remember--i guess. you have often heard me talk of the fire-spouters, anteek? well, the snow where they live is very deep and soft--not at all like the snow here, except when our snow is new-fallen--so that they cannot travel in the cold time without great things on their feet. that,"--pointing downward--"must be the track of those great things, and there must be a fire-spouter not far off." "perhaps a number of fire-spouters--a war-party," suggested anteek, becoming excited. "i think not, for there is only one track." "but they may have walked in a row--behind each other." "that is true. you notice well, anteek. you will be a good hunter soon." he stooped as he spoke, to examine more carefully the track, which was indeed none other than that made by the snow-shoes of nazinred on his weary and well-nigh hopeless journey over the frozen sea. "look here, cheenbuk," cried the boy, whose excitement was increasing. "is there not here also the track of a dog, with a strange mark on each side of it, as if it were drawing two lines as it went along?" "you are right again, boy. there is here the track of a dog, but there is only one man. come, we will follow it up." jumping on the sledge again, the eskimo cracked his whip and set the dogs off at full gallop. for some time they advanced, looking eagerly forward, as if expecting every minute to come in sight of the man and dog who had made the tracks, but nothing appeared for some hours. then they arrived at the three huts where the indian had received such a disappointment on finding them deserted. a close examination showed that the stranger had spent a night in one of them, and, from various indications, cheenbuk came to the conclusion that he had been much exhausted, if not starving, while there. getting on the sledge again, he continued to follow up the trail with renewed diligence. they had not gone far when an object was seen lying on the ice not far ahead of them. anteek was first to catch sight of it, and point it out to his companion, who did not speak, but let out his lash and urged the dogs on. as they approached, the object was seen to move, then there came towards them what sounded like a prolonged melancholy howl. "the dog is alive," whispered anteek. "i hope the man is--but i fear," returned his comrade. in a few moments more they were alongside, and the dog started up with a snarl as if to defend its master, who was lying motionless on the ice; but the snarl was feeble, and the poor beast was obviously in a state of exhaustion. "he is not dead," said cheenbuk, putting his hand over the indian's heart, while anteek caught poor attim by the nose and held him gently back. it turned out as the eskimo had said. nazinred was not dead, but he was very nearly so, and it is probable that another hour of exposure and inaction would have ended the career of both himself and his dog. he had walked on persistently until that peculiar feeling of an irresistible desire to lie down and sleep overcame him. no one knew better than himself the danger of his condition, yet the fatal lethargy is such that no resolution is sufficient to overcome it. lying, or rather falling, down, he had remained still for a few moments--then the state of quiet, but deadly repose had supervened and he would never have risen again if succour had not been sent. as it was, the eskimos set to work with tremendous energy to chafe and resuscitate him, but it seemed at first that they were too late. by dint of untiring perseverance, however, they became successful. a slight effort to exert himself was observable in the indian, and then, getting him on his feet, cheenbuk on one side and anteek on the other, they forced him to stagger about until vitality began to revive. "now, boy, we'll get him into the sledge, and away back to the igloes." without delay they led nazinred to the sledge, rolled him in a large white bearskin, and tied him on. while thus engaged anteek observed that cheenbuk gazed for a few moments intently into the indian's face, and then became much and strangely excited. "is he going to die?" asked the boy anxiously. "no, it is not that--but--but, i have seen this fire-spouter before. i know him! quick, we _must_ save his life!" if the life of nazinred had depended on the speed of the eskimo dogs there would have been much hope of it, for cheenbuk made them fly like the wind until he regained the three igloes. as for attim, having, with prompt sagacity, perceived that the strangers were friendly, he resigned himself to his fate. indeed, his master had, in a dazed sort of way, adopted the same course, and willingly submitted to whatever was done to him. arrived at the deserted huts, the indian was allowed to lie in his white bearskin until the eskimo had kindled a lamp, cooked some food, warmed some water, and prepared a comfortable couch. then he went out to unlash the sleeper. "now, anteek, i'm going to send you away, and will expect you to be quick and act like a man. drive the sledge back to where we killed the walrus. let the men pack the meat on it and away back to our igloes. it is not far. you will soon get there if you make the dogs yelp. when you have arrived, and told your story, get a fresh team of dogs, and two men, and come back here with a little meat and some more bearskins--and do it all, boy, as fast as you can." "i will," answered anteek in a tone and with a look of decision that were quite satisfactory. it was difficult to rouse the indian at first so as to get him to stagger into the snow-hut, and he was more than half asleep all the time, insomuch that when inside he fell down on the couch prepared for him, and again sank into profound slumber. then anteek started up, jumped on the sledge, and set off for home at full speed. chapter twenty. strange converse and discoveries. returning to the hut, cheenbuk continued his culinary preparations with great diligence, gazing often and earnestly, as he did so, at the thin and careworn countenance of the sleeper. although nazinred was considerably altered by fatigue and suffering, the eskimo entertained not the smallest doubt that he was the same indian with whom he had once struggled on the banks of the whale, or greygoose, river. equally sure was he that the indian, owing to his worn-out condition when discovered, had not recognised himself, and the fancy occurred to him that he would at first try to avoid recognition. to this end he pulled his hood a little more over his eyes, deepened the colour of his face by rubbing it with a little lamp-black and oil, and resolved to lower his voice a note or two when the time for speaking should arrive. that time was not long of coming; probably the increasing warmth of the hut, or the smell of the seal-steak in the nostrils of the half-starved man, may have had something to do with it, but the meal was hardly ready when the indian yawned, stretched himself, sat up and gazed solemnly around. "you are feeling better?" said cheenbuk in his deepened tone, and in broken dogrib tongue. the indian fixed a steady gaze on him for nearly a minute before replying. "yes," he said, in a dreamy tone, "i'm better. if the eskimo had not been sent to me i had now been with my ancestors." "no one sent me to you," returned cheenbuk; "i found you lying on the snow." "the great manitou sent you," said the indian gravely. it was this touch of seriousness which had originally drawn those two men together, but the eskimo remembered that he was acting a part at the moment, and that any expression of sympathy might betray him. he therefore made no rejoinder, but, placing the seal-steak on a flat stone, bade the hungry man eat. nazinred required no pressing; he began at once, and was ready for more almost before more was ready for him. by persevering industry, however, cheenbuk kept his guest supplied, and when appetite began to fail he found time to attend to his own wants and keep the other company. silence reigned at first. when the indian had finished eating he accepted a draught of warm water, and then had recourse to his fire-bag and pipe. cheenbuk expected this, and smiled inwardly, though his outward visage would have done credit to an owl. at last he looked up and asked the indian how he came to be travelling thus alone and so far from his native land. nazinred puffed a voluminous cloud from his lips and two streaming cloudlets from his nose ere he replied. "when my son," he said, "was on the banks of the greygoose river his voice was not so deep!" cheenbuk burst into a laugh and threw back his hood. "you know me, then, you man-of-the-woods," said he, holding out his hand in the white trader fashion which the other had taught him. "when the men-of-the-woods see a face once, they never forget it," returned the indian, grasping the proffered hand heartily, but without a sign of risibility on his countenance, for in this, as we know, he differed considerably from his companion; yet there was a something about the corners of his eyes which seemed to indicate that he was not quite devoid of humour. "but how did you discover me?" resumed cheenbuk. "i not only spoke with a deeper voice, but i put black and oil on my face, and pulled my hood well forward." "when the eskimo wants to blind the man-of-the-woods," answered nazinred, sententiously, "he must remember that he is a man, not a child. the cry of the grey geese is always the same, though some of them have deeper voices than others. a face does not change its shape because it is dirtied with oil and black. men draw hoods over their faces when going out of a lodge, not when coming in. when smoking tobacco is seen for the _first_ time, surprise is always created.-- waugh!" "what you say is true, man-of-the-woods," returned cheenbuk, smiling. "i am not equal to you at deceiving." whether the indian took this for a compliment or otherwise there was no expression on his mahogany face to tell, as he sat there calmly smoking and staring at the lamp. suddenly he removed the pipe from his lips and looked intently at the eskimo, who in turn regarded him with evident expectation. "my son," said nazinred, "i have one or two questions to put to you. you and i agree about many things. tell me, what would you think of the fawn that would forsake its dam?" cheenbuk was puzzled, but replied that he thought there must be something the matter with it--something wrong. "i will tell you a story," continued the indian, "and it is true. it did not come into my head. i did not dream it. there was a man-of-the-woods, and he had a squaw and one child, a girl. the parents were very fond of this girl. she was graceful like the swan. her eyes were large, brown, and beautiful like the eyes of a young deer. she was active and playful like the young rabbit. when she was at home the wigwam was full of light. when she was absent it was dark. the girl loved her father and mother, and never disobeyed them or caused them to suffer for a moment. one day, when the father was far away from home, a number of bad eskimos came and fought with the men-of-the-woods, who went out and drove their enemies away. they took one prisoner, a strong fine-looking man. one night the prisoner escaped. it was discovered that the girl helped him and then went away with him." he paused and frowned at this point, and the startled cheenbuk at once recognised himself and adolay as the hero and heroine of the story. "did the girl," he asked, "go away with the escaped prisoner of her own will, or did he force her to go?" "she went of her own will," returned the indian. "one of the women of the tribe followed her and heard her speak. but the father loved his child. he could not hate her, although she forsook her home. at first he thought of taking all his young men and going on the war-path to follow the eskimos, slay the whole tribe, and bring back his child. but manitou had put it in the father's mind to think that it is wrong to kill the innocent because of the guilty. he therefore made up his mind to set off alone to search for his child." again nazinred paused, and cheenbuk felt very uncomfortable, for although he knew that it was impossible for the indian to guess that the eskimo with whom he had once had a personal conflict was the same man as he who had been taken prisoner and had escaped with his daughter, still he was not sure that the astute red man might not have put the two things together and so have come to suspect the truth. "so, then, man-of-the-woods," said cheenbuk at last, "_you_ are the father who has lost his daughter?" "i am," returned the indian, "and i know not to what tribe the young man belongs with whom she has gone away, but i am glad that i have met with you, because you perhaps may have heard if any strange girl has come to stay with any of the tribes around you, and can tell me how and where to find her. we named her adolay, because she reminds us of that bright season when the sun is hot and high." cheenbuk was silent for some time, as well he might be, for the sudden revelation that the indian who had once been his antagonist, and for whom he had taken such a liking, was the father of the very girl who had run away with him against her inclination, quite took his breath away. it was not easy to determine how or when the true facts should be broken to the father, and yet it was evident that something must be said, for cheenbuk could not make up his mind to lie or to act the part of a hypocrite. "i have heard of the girl-of-the-woods you speak of," he said at last; "i have seen her." for the first time since they met, the characteristic reserve of the indian broke down, and he became obviously excited, yet even then he curbed his tongue for a few moments, and when he again spoke it was with his habitual calmness. "does my son know the tribe to which she has been taken? and is it well with the girl?" "he does. and it is well with adolay." "do they dwell far from here?" asked nazinred, anxiously in spite of himself. "not far. i can soon take you to their igloes. but tell me, man-of-the-woods, do you think your child had no reason for leaving home in this way except fondness for the young man?" "i know not," returned the indian, with a doubtful, almost a hopeful look. "what other reason could she have? her mother and i loved her more than ourselves. all the young men loved her. one of them--a bad one--had sworn to his comrades that he would have her for a wife in spite of her father,"--he smiled very slightly at this point, with a look of ineffable contempt--"but magadar did not venture to say that in her father's ears!" "may it not have been fear of this man, this magadar, which drove her away?" suggested cheenbuk. "you were not there to defend her. she may have been afraid of him, although you fear him not." "that is true," returned the indian, with a brighter look, "though i thought that adolay feared nothing--but she is not her father." this wise and obvious truism, or the words of the eskimo, seemed to afford some comfort to the poor man, for he became more communicative and confidential after that. "do you think," asked cheenbuk, "that your daughter has married this young man?" "i know not." "don't you think it is likely?" "i fear it is not unlikely." "why should you fear it? are not the eskimos as strong and brave as the men-of-the-woods?" for a moment the indian looked at his companion with high disdain, for the boastful question had aroused within him the boastful spirit; but the look quickly disappeared, and was replaced by the habitual air of calm gravity. "it may be, as you say, that your nation is as brave and strong as ours--" "i did not say that," remarked the free-and-easy eskimo, interrupting his companion in a way that would have been deemed very bad manners in an indian, "i asked you the question." with a look of deeper gravity than usual the indian replied: "to your question no true answer can be given till all the men of both nations have tried their courage and their strength. but such matters should only be discussed by foolish boys, not by men. yet i cannot help confessing that it is a very common thing among our young braves to boast. is it so among the eskimos?" the eskimo laughed outright at this. "yes," said he, "our young men sometimes do that--some of them; but not all. we have a few young men among us who know how to hold their tongues and when to speak." "that is useful knowledge. will my son speak now, and tell me what he knows about adolay?" "he knows that she is well spoken of, and much loved by the tribe with which she lives." "that is natural," said the indian, with a pleased look. "no one who sees adolay can help loving her. does the young man who took her away treat her kindly?" "no one can tell that but herself. what if he treated her ill?" "i would hope never to meet with him face to face," replied nazinred, with a frown and a nervous clenching of the fist that spoke volumes. "i have heard," continued cheenbuk in a quiet way, "that the girl is very sad. she thinks much of her old home, and blames herself for having left it." "good," said the indian emphatically. "that is like the child, to be sorry when she has done wrong." "and i have heard that the young man who took her away is very fond of her--so fond that he will do whatever she likes to please her. his name is cheenbuk. she asked him to take her home again, and he has promised to do so when the hot sun and the open water come back." "good. the young man must be a good man. will he keep his promise?" "yes. i know him well. he loves truth, and he will do what he says." "it is a long time till the open water comes. will the young eskimo's mind not change?" "cheenbuk's mind will not change. he loves adolay better than himself." nazinred pondered this statement for some time in silence, caressing the sleek head of attim as he did so. "will this young man, this cheenbuk, be willing, do you think, to leave her in the lodges of her people and give her up altogether?" he asked, with a somewhat doubtful look. "if adolay wishes to be given up, he will," replied the eskimo confidently. "and you know him well?" "very well. no one knows him better." again the indian was silent for some time. then he spoke in a low tone: "my son has made glad the heart of the man-of-the-woods. when we met by the river and strove together, we were drawn by a cord that anger could not snap. it is strange that you should now be chosen by manitou to bring me such good news." "manitou can do stranger things than this, my father." no more was said at that time, for, as both were thoughtful men, a considerable space of time was allowed to elapse between each question and answer. before it could be resumed the crack of a whip and loud yelping were heard in the distance, and in a few minutes anteek and two men drove up to the igloe with the sledge and a fresh team of dogs. "i sent for them," explained cheenbuk. "my father is tired, he will lie down on the sledge with a bearskin round him, while i take him to the igloes of my people. after that i will take him to adolay." "nazinred will not lie down. he is no longer tired, for his heart is glad." chapter twenty one. kick-ball and an important meeting. we beg the reader now to accompany us to the eskimo village, where the men and boys are having a game at kick-ball, a favourite game with those men-of-the-ice, which goes far to prove their kinship with ourselves. but the details of the game are dissimilar in many ways--only the spirit is the same; namely, an effort to rouse the bodily system to as near the bursting-point as possible without an absolute explosion. it was a lovely northern night. there was a clearness in the still frosty air which gave to the starry host a vivid luminosity, and seemed to reveal an infinite variety of deep distances instead of the usual aspect of bright spots on a black surface. besides the light they shed, the aurora was shooting up into the zenith with a brilliancy that almost equalled that of moonlight, and with a vigour that made the beholder think there was a rustling sound. indeed, some of the natives stoutly asserted that these lights did rustle--but among eskimos, as among ourselves, there are highly imaginative people. oolalik was there of course. no game was thought complete without the co-operation of that robust eskimo. so was raventik, for the game of kick-ball suited his bold reckless nature to perfection, and there were none of the other players except himself capable of opposing oolalik with any hope of success. aglootook the magician also took part. the dignity of his office did not forbid his condescending to the frivolities of recreative amusement. gartok was also there, but, alas! only as a spectator, for his wound was not sufficiently healed to permit of his engaging in any active or violent work. his fellow-sufferer ondikik sat beside him. he, poor man, was in a worse case, for the bullet which was in him kept the wound open and drained away his strength. he was wrapped in a white bearskin, being unable to withstand the cold. the whole male population, except the old men and the wounded, took part in the game, for the ball frequently bounded to the outskirts of the ice-field, where the boys of every shape and size had as good a chance of a kick as the men. as the women stood about in all directions looking on, and sending back the ball when it chanced to be kicked out of bounds, it may be said to have been an exceedingly sociable game. old mangivik took great interest, though no part, in it, and mrs m was not a whit behind him in enthusiastic applause whenever a good kick was given. of course the fair nootka was beside them, for--was not oolalik one of the players? she would have scorned the insinuation that that was the reason. nevertheless there is reason to believe that that had something to do with her presence. our friend adolay, however, was not there. the absence of cheenbuk may have had something to do with her absence, but, as she was seated in mangivik's igloe moping over the lamp, it is more charitable to suppose that a longing for home--sweet home--was weighing down her spirits. old and young uleeta were looking on with great delight, so was cowlik the easy-going, and rinka the sympathetic; and it was noticeable that, every now and then, the latter distracted her mind from the play in order to see that the bearskin did not slip off the shoulders of ondikik, and to replace it if it did. not that rinka had any special regard for ondikik, but it afforded her intense pleasure merely to relieve suffering in any way--so strong was the weakness for which she got credit! the game had lasted for a considerable time, and the players were beginning to blow hard, when the ball, kicked by a surprisingly small boy in disproportionately big seal-skin boots, chanced to fall between raventik and oolalik. "oh!" exclaimed nootka to herself, with a gasp of hope. "ho!" exclaimed oolalik, with a shout of determination. raventik exclaimed nothing, but both young men rushed at the ball with furious vigour. the active oolalik reached it first. "ah!" sighed nootka with satisfaction. "hoh!" cried oolalik, with a kick so full of energy that it would have sent the ball far over a neighbouring iceberg, if it had not been stopped dead by the broad face of raventik, who went flat on his back in consequence--either from the tremendous force of the concussion, or because of a slip of the foot, or both. this incident was received with shouts of laughter and great applause, while raventik sprang to his feet. instead of taking it in good part, however, the reckless man allowed his temper to get the better of him, and made a rush at oolalik, who, being naturally peaceful in temperament, dodged his adversary, and, with a laugh, ran away from him; but the other was not to be baulked in this way. a fight he was bent on, so he gave chase at the top of his speed. the man of peace, however, was too fleet for him. he kept just out of his reach, thereby stimulating his rage and inducing many a "spurt" which proved abortive. at last, being desirous of putting an end to the chase--or himself losing patience, who knows?--oolalik suddenly dropped on his hands and knees, and raventik, plunging headlong over him, fell flat on his breast and went scooting over the ice for about ten or fifteen yards before he could stop himself. what would have happened after that no one can tell, for just then the attention of the whole party was diverted by a shout in the distance, accompanied by the cracking of a whip and the usual sounds that announced an arrival. a few seconds later and cheenbuk drove his team into the village. he had warned anteek to say nothing about the finding of the indian, and the boy had been faithful to his trust, so that the whole population was thrown into a state of wide-eyed amazement, not to mention excitement, when the tall form of the fire-spouter was seen to rise from the sledge and turn his grave countenance upon them with the calm dignity characteristic of his race. the dogs of the village showed not only surprise, but also their teeth, on observing attim among the newcomers, and they made for him, but a well-directed and sweeping cut from the whip of the watchful anteek scattered them right and left, and rebuked their inhospitality. thereafter cheenbuk began to tell how he had discovered the indian on the ice, and introduced the subject with some prolixity, like not a few white men when they have a good story to tell. moreover, the wily man had an eye to dramatic effect, and, observing that adolay was not among the women, he made up his mind to what is called "prolong the agony" as far as possible. unfortunately for his purpose, there happened to be blowing at the time a gentle nor'-west breeze, which, in its direct course towards them, had to pass over the igloe that belonged to mangivik, and the humble-minded attim, keen of scent, recognised something there that caused him suddenly to cock his ears and tail, open his eyes, and give vent to a sharp interrogative yelp! next moment he charged through the canine throng--scattering them in abject terror--dashed into the tunnel of mangivik's dwelling, and disappeared from view. another moment and there issued from the igloe-- not a scream: indian girls seldom or never scream--but a female ebullition of some sort, which was immediately followed by the sudden appearance of adolay, with the dog waltzing around her, wriggling his tail as if he wished to shake off that member, and otherwise behaving himself like a quadrupedal lunatic. eager inquiry was intensified in every line of her expressive face, and, withal, a half-scared look, as if she expected to see a ghost. if she had really seen one the effect could scarcely have been more impressive when her eyes encountered those of her father. she stood for a few moments gazing, and utterly unable to move, then, with a wild cry of joy, she bounded towards him. in like manner the indian stood at first as if thunderstruck, for cheenbuk's information had not led him to expect this. then his wonted dignity utterly forsook him; for the first time in his life, perhaps, he expressed his feelings of affection with a shout, and, meeting the girl half-way, enfolded her in an embrace that lifted her completely off her legs. the eskimos, as may well be imagined, were not only surprised but profoundly interested in the scene, and cheenbuk was constrained to draw his narrative to an abrupt conclusion by informing them hurriedly that the fire-spouter was the father of adolay; that he had left home alone and on foot to search for her; that he was also the very man with whom, on the banks of the whale river, he had fought and fraternised, and that therefore it behoved them to receive him hospitably as his particular friend. cheenbuk spoke the concluding sentence with a look and tone that was meant to convey a warning to any one who should dare to feel or act otherwise; but there was little need of the warning, for, with the exception of aglootook the medicine-man, the chief leaders of the fire-eating portion of the tribe, gartok and ondikik, were at the time helpless. while this irrepressible display of dogrib affection was enacting, attim was performing a special war-dance, or rather love-dance, of his own round the re-united pair. he was an unusually wise dog, and seemed to know that he could expect no attention just then; he therefore contented himself with a variety of hind-legged pirouettes, and a little half-suppressed yelping, knowing that his turn would surely come in time. meanwhile an incident occurred which seemed further to enhance the dramatic character of the meeting. there burst suddenly and without warning upon the amazed and horrified multitude a miniature thunder-clap, which, being absolutely new to their experience, shook them to their spinal marrow. several boys of unusually inquisitive disposition, taking advantage of the pre-occupation of the tribe, ventured to poke about the sledge which had just arrived, and discovered the fire-spouter of the indian. with awe-stricken countenances they proceeded to examine it. of course, when they came to the trigger it went off. so did the boys--excepting the one who had touched the trigger. he, having the butt against his chest at the moment, received a lesson which he never forgot, and was laid flat on his back--as much with fright as violence. fortunately there was nothing in front of the gun at the time save the tip of a dog's tail. into this one lead-drop entered. it was enough! the owner of the tail sprang into space, howling. every one else, including dogs and bairns, with the exception of mrs mangivik--who, being as it were petrified with consternation, remained absolutely immovable--fled for shelter behind the igloes, leaving nazinred, adolay, cheenbuk and anteek in possession of the field. by degrees their fears were calmed, and according to their courage the rest of the population returned to the scene of the explosion, some half ashamed of having run away, others more than half ready to run again. "do they sometimes do like that by themselves?" asked cheenbuk, referring to the gun. "never," said the indian. "some one must have touched it." "the boys," remarked anteek; "i know them!" adolay laughed. "yes," she said, "i know them too, and they meddle with everything." "come, man-of-the-woods," said cheenbuk, "and see my father's igloe. he is hiding inside of it since the spouter made its noise. this is my sister, nootka, and that," he added, pointing to mrs mangivik, who was gradually becoming untransfixed, "is my mother." "have you told my father all, cheenbuk?" asked adolay as they went towards the hut. the indian stopped abruptly and looked with a piercing glance at the eskimo. "cheenbuk!" he exclaimed, in a low voice. "yes, that is my name," said the young man, with a smile, and yet with a something in his face which implied that he was not ashamed to own it. for a moment the indian frowned as if he were displeased, at the same time drawing his daughter close to him. the prejudices of race were at work within him then, and that very human weakness which shows itself in esteeming all nations inferior to one's own strove with his better feelings; but as he looked on the handsome face and brave bearing of the young man-of-the-ice, and remembered his sentiments and sympathy, he suddenly stepped up to him and held out his hand. "the white trader has taught me," he said, "that the difference in men is only skin-deep. the same manitou made us all. cheenbuk, my son, i am grateful to you for your care of my child." "my father," said the eskimo, returning his grasp, "your mind is in a good state. so is mine! you must be tired and hungry. let us go and feed." chapter twenty two. tells of hunting extraordinary. this advent of a male fire-spouter into the little community was a source of much interest and delight to old and young--all the more that he had brought the mysterious spouter with him. not less interesting to nazinred was the community in the midst of which he found himself, for, as we have more than once indicated, our indian was intellectually far in advance of his fellows, and the opportunity he now had of observing closely the life of the men-of-the-ice in all its details could not be otherwise than full of interest to an inquiring and large-minded man. on the day, or rather the night, of his arrival he was allowed quietly to eat his supper in the igloe of mangivik, and go to sleep in peace, but next morning there was a crowding of relatives and friends into the hut, which rendered the meal of breakfast not quite so pleasant as it might have been, for the indian, having been accustomed all his life to the comparatively open wigwam, did not relish the stifling atmosphere of the densely crowded snow-hut. however, he belonged to a race of stoics, and, restraining his feelings, ate his meal with moderate appetite and becoming gravity. there is reason to believe that he rather liked the earnest attention with which all his movements were closely and openly scrutinised; at all events he proceeded with his meal as calmly as if he had been alone, and in his own wigwam with none but the faithful isquay and amiable adolay to observe him. staring, as we have already said, is not considered rude among the eskimos; they therefore sat open-mouthed and eyed, taking mental notes in silence, till breakfast was over, when nazinred, according to custom, opened his fire-bag, took out his pipe, and began to fill it. this created a sensation which was expressed by hard breathing and eloquent looks. they had been waiting for this. of course cheenbuk had often descanted to them on the subject of smoking, besides showing them how the thing was done, but now they were going to see the amazing thing done, in the right way, by the real simon pure--a live fire-spouter! "my father," said cheenbuk at this point, "the igloe is hot, and there are many more who wish to see you do that thing. will you come outside?" with a condescending smile the indian rose. it was somewhat destructive of his dignity that he was obliged to go down on hands and knees, and creep out through the short snow tunnel, but as there was no other mode of egress he had to submit, and did it with the best grace possible, making up for the brief humiliation by raising himself when outside with ineffable dignity, and throwing his deerskin robe over one shoulder _a la_ roman toga. he was greeted with something like a british cheer by the entire community of men, women, children, and even dogs, who were waiting outside for him. sitting down on a snow-clad rock he went through the process of filling the pipe, striking a light and beginning to smoke, to the unutterable delight of the natives. this delight became not only utterable but obstreperous when cheenbuk gravely took out the pipe which adolay had given him and began to keep him company, at the same time bestowing a look--a wink not yet being known to him--on anteek, who forthwith went off into uncontrollable laughter and was promptly hustled out of the crowd. the interest aroused by the pipe, however, was as nothing compared with that bestowed on the fire-spouter. for there was a mystery, noise, and deadliness about the latter which tended to evoke feelings of awe rather than amusement. "i don't like to trouble your father too much, adolay," whispered cheenbuk; "would you say to him that we wish very much to see him use the spouter?" nazinred was an amiable man. he at once consented, and went back to the hut for his gun, which, remembering the tendency of the boys to meddle, he had kept close beside him all night. loading it inside, he re-appeared with it ready. taking up a lump of ice about the size of one's hand, he set it up on a hummock, and retired to a distance of about thirty yards. "tell them all to keep back, out of the way of that, cheenbuk," said nazinred. the excitement and nervous expectation of the eskimos had been worked up considerably by these preparations, so that they not only retired to a safe distance, but some of them even took refuge behind the igloes, and all held their breath while their guest took aim. he had loaded with shot, and when the explosion took place the piece of ice vanished, having been blown to atoms. of course a yell of admiration greeted the result, and all the dogs of the tribe fled on the wings--or paws--of terror, while attim sat quietly looking on with somewhat of his master's dignity. but the curiosity of the eskimos was only whetted by this. they immediately began to clamour for explanations, so that the indian found himself at last obliged to undertake a lecture on gunnery, as far as he understood it. "my father," said cheenbuk, whose respect for the indian was rapidly deepening, "some of my people want to know if you can kill bears with the spouter." "yes, it will kill bears. i killed a white one not long before you found me." "and will it kill the walrus too?" "yes; it will kill the walrus. it kills anything that has life." there was an expression of great astonishment at this. some even ventured to doubt it. then there was a noisy consultation for a few minutes, after which cheenbuk was told to ask if their guest would go with them then and there to hunt for a walrus. "oh yes;" the indian was quite ready to go, whereupon the men scattered to harness the dogs and make preparation for an immediate hunt. "go and get my sledge ready," said cheenbuk to anteek. the boy was only too glad to obey, for the mission implied that he should have a place on the sledge along with the fire-spouter. in a very short time several sledges were ready. nazinred seated himself on one. cheenbuk and the others jumped in, the whips cracked, and away they went amid the shouting of the drivers and the yells of children and women left behind. it did not take long to find one of those giants of the frozen seas. some miles out on the ice they came to a place which the walruses had kept open as a breathing-hole. at the time of their arrival it had not been disturbed for some hours, for the water was covered by a coat of young ice, which was quite able to bear the weight of the men singly, though scarcely sufficiently strong for the sledges. just as they arrived a walrus took it into its very thick head to crash up through the young ice and have a gambol. the party retired behind a hummock and prepared for action. "will the man-of-the-woods go first and try the spouter?" asked cheenbuk. "no," replied nazinred; "the man-of-the-woods prefers to watch how the men-of-the-ice do their work. after that he will use the spouter, which _we_ call _pasgissegan_. the white traders call it _gun_." harpoons and lances were at once got ready. "come, anteek, with me; bring a harpoon and a coil with you. we will show the man-of-the-woods what we can do." he said this with a look of self-confidence, for cheenbuk, being a noted hunter among his fellows, was naturally rather proud of his powers. waiting until the walrus dived, the eskimo and his companion ran towards the hole of open water, and then suddenly lay down, for they knew the habits of the brute, and that he would soon reappear. this, in fact, happened before they had lain more than a few minutes. after another gambol the ungainly animal dived again. up got the two eskimos and ran at full speed to the very edge of the hole. on rising the third time the walrus found cheenbuk standing with the harpoon raised. one look of huge astonishment it gave at the man, who instantly drove the harpoon deep into its side, and then ran from the hole as fast as he could, uncoiling the long line of hide until he was some distance off. then he struck a piece of bone, sharp-pointed, into the ice, and put the loop at the end of the line over it. this checked the dive of the walrus, which in furious rage came up and smashed another hole in the ice, looking fiercely around as if in search of its persecutor. anteek's opportunity had now come. he ran towards the creature, which, so far from being afraid, smashed up the ice in vain attempts to get upon it. another harpoon was deftly driven into it, and the boy, running back, fixed his line as the man had done. these two now began to "play" the walrus, easing off and tightening their lines as required. meanwhile the other eskimos ran forward, and, taking advantage of the creature's combative disposition, fixed several more harpoons in it, besides giving it many severe thrusts with their lances. but the hide of a walrus is nearly an inch thick, and it was not easy to pierce it with an effective thrust. at last, however, they succeeded in killing it after a battle of over three hours. "that is hard work," observed nazinred to cheenbuk, as they stood watching the cutting up and packing of their prize on the sledges, "and takes a long time." "come, now, let my father show us what the--the pass--pass-gi--spouter-- gun can do," said cheenbuk, pointing to his sledge, which anteek had got ready. "there are more walruses yonder." he pointed to another hole, not far off, where several were seen rolling about in the water. the indian stepped on the sledge, the others followed, and in a short time the whole party was concealed behind a hummock close to the hole. nazinred now loaded his gun with ball. "you must first throw a harpoon for fear it should sink," he said, when ready to start. without a word cheenbuk grasped his harpoon and coil and ran forward, for the walrus had dived at that moment. anteek followed, and nazinred kept close to both. once they lay down to let the animal come up and dive again. the moment it did so they ran at full speed as before to the edge of the hole and waited. "send it deep in," muttered the indian. "i will," replied the eskimo. "so will i," thought the boy, but he was too modest to say so. the thought had barely passed when the walrus came up with a puff and snort that might have been heard a mile off. cheenbuk's weapon was successfully launched in a moment. so was that of anteek, though he missed the animal's side, but hit in the neck. nazinred took quick but sure aim at one of its glaring eyes, and before the smoke of the shot had cleared away the walrus fell over dead with a bullet in its brain. chapter twenty three. a bear-hunt and a sad end. the indian chief was after this an object of almost veneration to the eskimo men, of admiration to the women, and of delight to the boys and girls, who highly appreciated his kindly disposition as well as his skill with the spouter. he was taken out on all their hunting expeditions, and fully initiated into all the mysteries of seals, walrus, deer, and musk-ox killing. of course the wonderful gun was brought into frequent requisition, but its owner was obliged to have regard to his powder and shot, and had to explain that without these the spouter would refuse to spout, and all its powers would vanish. when this was thoroughly understood, his hosts ceased to persecute him with regard to displays of his skill. one day, in the dead of the long winter, cheenbuk proposed to nazinred to go on a hunt after bears. the latter declined, on the ground that he had already arranged to go with mangivik to watch at a seal-hole. cheenbuk therefore resolved to take anteek with him instead. gartok was present when the expedition was projected, and offered to accompany it. "i fear you are not yet strong enough," said cheenbuk, whose objection, however, was delivered in pleasant tones,--for a change for the better had been gradually taking place in gartok since the date of his wound, and his old opponent not only felt nothing of his ancient enmity towards him, but experienced a growing sensation of pity,--for the once fire-eating eskimo did not seem to recover health after the injury he had received from the fire-spouter's bullet. "i am not yet stout enough to fight the bears," he said with a half-sad look, "but i am stout enough to look on, and perhaps the sight of it might stir up my blood and make me feel stronger." old mangivik, who was sitting close by, heaved a deep sigh at this point. doubtless the poor man was thinking of his own strength in other days--days of vigour which had departed for ever--at least in this life; yet the old man's hopes in regard to the life to come were pretty strong, though not well defined. "well, you may come," said cheenbuk, as he rose and went out with anteek to harness the dogs. in less than half an hour they were careering over the ice in the direction of a bay in the land where fresh bear-tracks had been seen the day before. the bay was a deep one, extending four or five miles up into the interior of the island. we have assumed that the land in question was an island because of its being in the neighbourhood of a large cluster of islands which varied very considerably in size; but there is no certainty as to this, for the region was then, and still is, very imperfectly known. indeed, it is still a matter of dispute among geographers, we believe, whether continents or seas lie between that part of the coast of america and the north pole. as far as appearance went the land might have been the edge of a vast continent, for the valley up which the eskimos were driving extended inwards and upwards until it was lost in a region where eternal glaciers mingled with the clouds, or reared their grey ridges against the dark winter sky. it was a scene of cold, wild magnificence and desolation, which might have produced awe in the hearts of civilised men, though of course it must have seemed commonplace and tame enough to natives who had never seen anything much softer or less imposing. the party had travelled about four miles up the valley, and reached a steep part, which was trying to the mettle of the dogs, when a track was observed a short distance to their right. "bear," said gartok in a low voice, pointing towards it. cheenbuk made no reply, but at once ran the team under the shelter of a neighbouring cliff and pulled up. the dogs were only too glad to obey the order to halt, and immediately lay down, panting, with their tongues out. fastening the sledge to a rock, and leaving it in charge of a little boy who had been brought for the purpose, the other three set off to examine the track and reconnoitre; intending, if they had reason to believe the bear was near, to return for the dogs and attack it in force. the track was found to be quite fresh. it led upwards in the direction of a neighbouring ridge, and towards this the party hastened. on reaching the summit they bent low and advanced after the manner of men who expected to see something on the other side. then they dropped on hands and knees, and crawled cautiously, craning their necks every now and then to see what lay beyond. now, the little boy who had been left in charge of the sledge happened to be a presumptuous little boy. he was not a bad boy, by any means. he did not refuse to obey father, or mother, or anybody else that claimed a right to command, and he was not sly or double-tongued, but he was afflicted with that very evil quality, presumption: he thought that he knew how to manage things better than anybody else, and, if not actually ordered to let things remain as they were, he was apt to go in for experimental changes on his own account. when, therefore, he was left in charge of the dogs, with no particular direction to do or to refrain from doing anything, he found himself in the condition of being dissatisfied with the position in which the team was fastened, and at once resolved to change it only a few yards farther to the right, near to a sheltering cliff. with this end in view he untied the cord that held the sledge, and made the usual request, in an authoritative voice, that the team would move on. the team began to obey, but, on feeling themselves free, and the sledge light, they proceeded to the left instead of the right, and, despite the agonising remonstrances of the little boy, began to trot. then, appreciating doubtless the eskimo version of "home, sweet home," they suddenly went off down-hill at full gallop. the presumptuous one, puckering his face, was about to vent his dismay in a lamentable yell, when it suddenly occurred to him that he might thereby disturb the hunters and earn a severe flogging. he therefore restrained himself, and sat down to indulge in silent sorrow. meanwhile the explorers topped the ridge, and, peeping over, saw a large white bear not more than a hundred yards off, sitting on its haunches, engaged, apparently, in contemplation of the scenery. at this critical moment they heard a noise behind them, and, glancing back, beheld their dogs careering homeward, with the empty sledge swinging wildly in the rear. cheenbuk looked at gartok, and then both looked at the bear. apparently the ridge prevented the distant sound from reaching it, for it did not move. "we must go at it alone--without dogs," said gartok, grasping his spear, while a flash of the old fire gleamed in his eyes. "you must not try," said cheenbuk; "the drive here has already tired you out. anteek will do it with me. this is not the first time that we have hunted together." the boy said nothing, but regarded his friend with a look of gratified pride, while he grasped his spear more firmly. "good," returned gartok, in a resigned tone; "i will stand by to help if there is need." nothing more was said, but cheenbuk looked at anteek and gave the brief order-- "go!" the boy knew well what to do. grasping his spear, he ran out alone towards the bear and flourished it aloft. turning with apparent surprise, the animal showed no sign of fear at the challenge of such an insignificant foe. it faced him, however, and seemed to await his onset. the boy moved towards the right side of the bear. at the same time cheenbuk ran forward towards its left side, while gartok went straight towards it at a slow walk, by way of further distracting its attention. as the three hunters approached from different directions, their prey seemed a good deal disconcerted, and looked from one to the other as if undecided how to act. when they came close up the indecision became more pronounced, and it rose on its hind-legs ready to defend itself. gartok now halted when within five or six yards of the animal, which was anxiously turning its head from side to side, while the other two ran close up. the plan was that usually followed by eskimos in similar circumstances. anteek's duty was to run forward and prick the bear on its right side, so as to draw its undivided attention on himself, thereby leaving its left side unguarded for the deadly thrust of cheenbuk. of course this is never attempted by men who are not quite sure of their courage and powers. but cheenbuk and anteek knew each other well. the latter was not, perhaps, quite strong enough to give the death-dealing thrust, but he had plenty of courage, and knew well how to administer the deceptive poke. as for gartok, besides being incapable of any great exertion, he would not on any account have robbed the boy of the honour of doing his work without help. he merely stood there as a spectator. with active spring anteek went close in and delivered his thrust. the bear uttered a savage roar and at once turned on him. just at the moment the boy's foot slipped and he fell close to the animal's feet. in the same instant the two men sprang forward. cheenbuk's spear entered the bear's heart, and that of gartok struck its breast. but the thrust of the latter was feeble. in his excitement and weakness gartok fell, and the dying bear fell upon him. his action, however, saved anteek, who rolled out of the way just as his preserver fell. cheenbuk and anteek did not hesitate, but, regardless of the few death-struggles that followed, rushed in, and grasping its thick hair dragged the monster off the fallen man. gartok was insensible, and it was a considerable time before he fully recovered consciousness. then it was found that he could not rise, and that the slightest motion gave him intolerable pain. "he will die!" exclaimed anteek, with a look of painful anxiety. "yes, he will die if we do not quickly get him home," said cheenbuk. "he cannot walk, and he would freeze long before we could make an igloe. i must depend on you now, anteek. go back as fast as you can run, and send men with a sledge and skins and something to eat. the boy will remain with me. away!" without a word anteek leaped up, and, dropping his spear, ran as if his own life depended on his speed. the little boy, who had acted so foolishly, came up with an anxious look on being hailed, but soon forgot himself in his anxiety to be of use to the injured man. there was a mound of snow within three yards of the spot where the combat had taken place. to the lee side of this cheenbuk carried gartok. being very strong, he was able to lift him tenderly, as if he had been a child, but, despite all his care, the poor man suffered terribly when moved. it was well that this mound happened to be so close, for a dark cloud which had been overspreading the sky for some time began to send down snow-flakes, and frequent gusts of wind gave indications of an approaching storm. having placed gartok in such a position that he was quite sheltered from the wind, cheenbuk took off his upper seal-skin coat, laid it on the snow, and lifted the injured man on to it. he then wrapped it round him and folded the hood under his head for a pillow, bidding the boy bank up the snow beside him in such a way as to increase the shelter. while thus engaged he saw with some anxiety that gartok had become deadly pale, and his compressed lips gave the impression that he was suffering much. "come here," said cheenbuk to the boy quickly; "rub his hands and make them warm." the boy obeyed with alacrity, while the other, hastening his movements, began to skin the bear. being an expert with the knife in such an operation, he was not long of removing the thick-skinned hairy covering from the carcass, and in this, while it was still warm, he wrapped his comrade--not a moment too soon, for, despite the boy's zealous efforts, the intense cold had taken such hold of the poor man that he was almost unconscious. the warmth of the bearskin, however, restored him a little, and cheenbuk, sitting down beside him, took his head upon his lap, and tried to shelter him from the storm, which had burst forth and was raging furiously by that time--fine snow filling the atmosphere, while the wind drove it in huge volumes up the valley. cheenbuk noted this, and congratulated himself on the fact the wind would favour the progress of the rescue sledge. sometimes the whirling snow became so suffocating that the little boy was compelled to cease his labours on the sheltering wall and crouch close to it, while cheenbuk buried his nose and mouth in the white fur of the bear until the violence of the blasts abated. by keeping the skin well over the face of the wounded man, he succeeded in guarding him from them effectually. but his mind misgave him when he tried to look through the whirling confusion around, and thought of the long tramp that anteek would have ere he could commence his return journey with the sledge. it turned out, however, that this was one of those short-lived squalls, not uncommon in the arctic regions, which burst forthwith unwonted fury, sweep madly over the plains of the frozen seas, rush up into the valleys of the land, and then suddenly stop, as though they felt that all this energy was being spent in vain. in a short time, which however seemed interminable to the watchers on the hillside, the wind began to abate and the wild gusts were less frequent. then it calmed down; finally it ceased altogether; and the storm-cloud, passing away to the south-east, left the dark sky studded with the myriad constellations of the starry host. uncovering gartok's face to see how it fared with him, and hoping that he slept, cheenbuk found that he was wide awake, but in a condition that made him more anxious than ever. he looked up at the face of his protector with a faint but grateful smile. "i have always been your enemy," he said, in a low voice, "but you have been my friend." "that does not matter now," replied cheenbuk. "i have never been _your_ enemy. we will be friends from this time on." gartok closed his eyes for a few seconds, but did not speak. then he looked up again earnestly. "no," he said, with more of decision in his tone; "we shall neither be friends nor enemies. i am going to the country where all is dark; from which no sound has ever come back; where there is nothing." "our people do not talk in this way. they think that we shall all meet again in the spirit-land, to hunt the seal, the walrus, and the bear," returned cheenbuk. "our people talk foolishness. they _think_, but they do not _know_," rejoined this hyperborean agnostic, as positively and as ignorantly as if he had been a scientific briton. "how do you know that there is `_nothing_' in the place where you are going?" asked cheenbuk, simply. gartok was silent. probably his logical faculty told him that his own thinking, and coming to a conclusion without knowing, was as foolish in himself as in his comrades. the subject of conversation happened to be very congenial to cheenbuk's cast of mind. he remained thinking and gazing upwards for a minute or two, then he said meditatively, as if he were trying to work out some mental problem-- "did you ever make a sledge, or a spear, and then destroy it utterly while it was yet good and new?" "never. i have been bad, it may be, but i am not a fool." "is the great maker of all a fool? he has made _you_, and if he lets you die now, utterly, he destroys you in your best days. is it not more likely that he is calling you to some other land where there is work for you to do?" "i don't understand. i do not know," replied gartok, somewhat doggedly. "but you do understand, and you do know, that he would be foolish to kill you now, _unless_ he had some work and some pleasure for you in the unknown land from which no sound ever comes back. when a father gives his son a work to do, he does not destroy his son when the work is done. he gives him another piece of work; perhaps sends him on a long journey to another place. when the maker of all sees that we have finished our work here, i ask again, is it not likely that he will send us to work elsewhere, or is it more likely that he will utterly destroy us--and so prove himself to be more foolish than we are?" "i do not know," repeated gartok, "but i do know that if the maker of all is good, as i have heard say, then i have not done _his_ work here-- for you know, everybody knows, i have been bad!" cheenbuk was much perplexed, for he knew not "how to minister to a mind diseased." "i have often wondered," he said at last, "why it is that some things are wrong and some right. the maker of all, being good and all-powerful, could have made things as he pleased--all right, nothing wrong. perhaps men, like children, will understand things better when they are older--when they have reached the land from which no sound comes back. but i am not much troubled. the maker of all must be all-good and all-wise. if he were not, he could not be the maker of all. i can _trust_ him. he will throw light into our minds when the time comes. he has already thrown some light, for do we not know right from wrong?" "true, but although i have known right i have always done wrong," returned gartok moodily. "i am sorry now. if you had not been kind to me, your enemy, cheenbuk, i should never have been sorry. ever since i was hurt by the fire-spouters you have been kind to me, and now you would save my life if you could. but it is too late. you have known right, and done it." "you mistake," rejoined cheenbuk gravely. "like you, i have known right but i have not always done it; only sometimes. it is not long since i began to think, and it is since i have been thinking that my spirit seems to have changed, so that i now hate wrong, and desire right. i think that the maker of all must have caused the change, as he makes the ice-mountains melt, for it is not possible that i could change myself. i had no wish to change till i felt the change." "i wish," said gartok earnestly, "that--if he exists at all--he would change me." at that moment cheenbuk, who was gazing up into the brilliant sky, seemed to be moved by a sudden inspiration, for he gave utterance to the first audible prayer that had ever passed his lips. "maker of all," he said, "give to gartok the spirit that loves right and hates wrong." the dying eskimo raised his eyes to cheenbuk's face in astonishment; then he turned them to the starry host, as if he almost expected an immediate answer. "do you think he hears us?" he asked in a faint voice, for the strength of his feelings and the effort at conversation had exhausted him greatly. "i will trust him," answered cheenbuk. "i will trust him," repeated gartok. for some time they sat in profound silence, and gartok closed his eyes as if he were falling asleep. the silence was broken by a distant sound. it was the approach of anteek with the sledge. he had found the runaway dogs anchored fast between two masses of ice where the sledge had got jammed. turning the team round he plied his whip with vigour, insomuch that they would have arrived much sooner if the storm had not caused delay. having arranged the sledge and its wraps so as to form a comfortable couch for the wounded man, they lifted him on to it, but when they removed the bearskin from his face it was found that he was beyond earthly care: he had passed over to the land from which no sound has ever come back. chapter twenty four. the traders at work. wherever half a dozen average men are banded together and condemned to make the best of each other's society for a prolonged period, there is apt to be a stagnation of ideas as well as of aspirations, which tends more or less to develop the physical, and to stunt the spiritual, part of our nature. so thought macsweenie as he sat one fine spring morning on a rude chair of his own making in front of the outpost on great bear lake which he had helped to build. the scottish highlander possessed a comparatively intellectual type of mind. we cannot tell precisely the reach of his soul, but it was certainly "above buttons." the chopping of the firewood, the providing of food, the state of the weather, the prospects of the advancing spring, and the retrospect of the long dreary winter that was just vanishing from the scene, were not sufficient to appease his intellectual appetite. they sufficed, indeed, for his square, solid, easy-going, matter-of-fact interpreter, donald mowat; and for his chief fisherman, guide, and bowman, bartong, as well as for his other men, but they failed to satisfy himself, and he longed with a great longing for some congenial soul with whom he might hold sweet converse on something a little higher than "buttons." besides being thus unfortunate in the matter of companionship, our highlander was not well off as to literature. he had, indeed, his bible, and, being a man of serious mind, he found it a great resource in what was really neither more nor less than banishment from the world; but as for light literature, his entire library consisted of a volume of the voyages of sir john franklin, a few very old numbers of _chambers's edinburgh journal_, and one part of that pioneer of cheap literature, _the penny magazine_. but poor macsweenie was not satisfied to merely imbibe knowledge; he wished also to discuss it; to philosophise and to ring the changes on it. he occasionally tried his hand on mowat, who was undoubtedly the most advanced of his staff intellectually, but the results were not encouraging. donald was good-natured, amiable, ready to listen and to accord unquestioning belief, but, not having at that time risen above "buttons," he was scarcely more able to discuss than an average lamp-post. occupying the position of a sort of foreman, or confidential clerk, the interpreter had frequent occasion to consult his superior on the details of the establishment and trade. "i'm thinking, sir," said he, approaching his master on the spring morning in question, "that we may as well give the boat an overhaul, for if this weather lasts the open water will soon be upon us." "you are right, tonal'," answered the trader, knocking the ashes out of his pipe, and proceeding to refill it. "that iss just what wass in my own mind, for we must be thinkin' about makin' preparations for our trip to the ukon ruver. we will hev to start whenever my successor arrives here. man, it will be a goot job when we are off, for i am seek--tired of this place. wan hes nothin' in the world to think about but his stamik, an' that iss not intellectooal, whatever." "are we to use the inch or the inch-an'-a-half nails?" asked mowat, after a moment's pause. "whichever you like, tonal'. there iss plenty of both in the store, an' ye are as goot a judge o' these metters as i am myself. just help yoursel', man; only see that the work is done well, for there iss a rough trup before us when we do git away. an' the load will be heavy moreover, for there will be a deal of stuff needed if we are to build an outpost fit to spend a winter in. man, it iss pleasant to think that we will break up new ground--open up a new country among savitches that scarce knows what like a white man iss. we will feel quite like what we felt as boys when we was readin' robinson crusoe." "we will need two pit-saws," remarked the practical orkney-man in a meditative tone. "no doubt, no doubt," returned macsweenie, "and a grindstone too. do you remember what that man nazinred said when he came here on his last trup,--that the indians about his country would be fery pleased to see traders settle among them? he little thought--an' no more did i--that we would be so soon sent to carry out their wishes; but our governor is an active-minded man, an' ye never know what he'll be at next. he's a man of enterprise and action, that won't let the gress grow under his feet--no, nor under the feet of anybody that he hes to do wi'. i am well pleased, whatever, that he hes ordered me on this service. an' no doubt ye are also well pleased to go, tonal'. it will keep your mind from gettin' rusty." "i am not ill-pleased," returned the interpreter gravely.--"i'm thinkin' there won't be enough o' pitch to go over all the seams o' the boat. i was--" "hoot, man! never mind the putch, tonal'. what there iss will do fery well, an' the boat that comes with supplies for the new post will be sure to hev plenty. by the way, i wonder if that fine man nazinred will hev come back when we get to the ukon river. it wass a strange notion of his the last comers told us about, to go off to seek his daughter all by himself. i hev my doubts if he'll ever come back. poor man! it wass naitural too that he should make a desperate attempt to get back his only bairn, but it wass not naitural that a wise man like him should go off all his lone. i'm afraid he wass a little off his head. did they tell you what supplies he wass supposed to have taken?" "yes. the wife said he had a strong sled with him, an' the best team o' dogs in the camp.--do you think the boat will need a new false keel? i was lookin' at it, an' it seemed to me rather far gone for a long trup." "i will go an' hev a look at it, tonal'. but i hev been wonderin' that mozwa, who seemed so fond o' his frund, should hev let him start away all by his lone on such a trup." "he couldn't help lettin' him," said mowat, "for he didn't know he was goin' till he was gone." "you did not tell me that," said the trader sharply. "well, perhaps i did not," returned the interpreter, with an amiable smile. "it is not easy to remember all that an indian says, an' a good deal of it is not worth rememberin'.--would you like me to set-to an' clean up the store to-day, or let the men go on cuttin' firewood?" "let them do whatever you think best, tonal'," replied macsweenie, with a sigh, as he rose and re-entered his house, where he busied himself by planning and making elaborate designs for the new "fort," or outpost, which he had been instructed to establish on the ukon river. afterwards he solaced himself with another pipe and another dip into the well-worn pages of the _penny magazine_. not long after the conversation just narrated, the boat arrived with the gentleman appointed to relieve macsweenie of his charge on great bear lake, and with the supplies for the contemplated new post. action is not usually allowed to halt in those wild regions. a few days sufficed to make over the charge, pack up the necessary goods, and arrange the lading of the expedition boat; and, soon after, macsweenie with donald mowat as steersman, bartong as guide and bowman, and eight men--some orkney-men, some half-breeds--were rowing swiftly towards the arctic shore. passing over the voyage in silence, we raise the curtain again on a warm day in summer, when animal life in the wild nor'-west is very lively, especially that portion of the life which resides in mosquitoes, sand-flies, and such-like tormentors of man and beast. "we should arrive at the ukon to-morrow, if my calculations are right-- or nixt day, whatever," said macsweenie to his interpreter and steersman, as he sat smoking his pipe beside him. "bartong is of the same opeenion," returned mowat, "so between you we should come right. but bartong is not quite sure about it himself, i think. at least he won't say much." "in that respect the guide shows himself to be a wise man," returned macsweenie sententiously. "it iss only geese that blab out all they think to everybody that asks them questions." "ay, that is true," rejoined mowat, with a cynical smile, "an' some geese manage, by sayin' nothin' at all to anybody, and lookin' like owls, to pass themselves off as wise men--for a time." bartong, who was being thus freely discussed in the stern of the boat, sat in his place at the bow-oar, pulling a steady stroke and casting serious looks right and left at the banks of the river as they went along. he was a dark fine-looking stalwart man, of what may be called mixed nationality, for the blood of scotchmen, french canadians, and indians flowed in his veins--that of indians predominating, if one were to judge from appearance. he was what is called in the parlance of the nor'-west a "good" man--that is to say he was mentally and physically well adapted for the work he had to do, and the scenes in the midst of which his lot had been cast. he pulled a good oar; he laboured hard; could do almost any kind of work; and spoke english, french, and indian almost equally well. he also had a natural talent for finding his way almost anywhere in the wilderness. hence he had been sent as guide to the expedition, though he had never been at the ukon river in his life. but he had been to other parts of the arctic shore, and had heard by report of the character and position of the river in question. "it iss gettin' late, bartong; don't you think it would be as well to camp here?" asked macsweenie. the bowman ceased rowing, and the crew followed his example, while he glanced inquiringly up at the sky and round his limited horizon, as guides and seamen are wont to do when asked for an opinion as to professional movements. "there will yet be daylight for an hour, and there is a small lake ahead of us. if we cross it, we come to a place where one of the indians said he would meet us if we came to his country." "that is true, tonal'," said the leader, turning quickly to his steersman, "i had almost forgot that, it wass so long ago since we met them. both nazinred and mozwa said something about meetin' us, if we came to settle, though i paid little attention at the time. but are ye sure, bartong, that this is the lake?" "i know not. it is not unlikely. if it is the lake, it is small, and we will soon come to the end of it. if it is not the lake, an' turns out to be big, we can camp on the shore. the night will be fine." "go ahead then, boys," cried the leader, "we will try." the oars were dipped at once, and the men pulled with a will, encouraged by the conversation, which seemed to indicate the approaching end of their voyage. the lake over the bosom of which they were soon sweeping proved to be a small one, as they had hoped, but whether it was the one referred to by the indians remained to be seen. a sharp look-out was kept for the smoke of wigwams, but nothing of the kind was seen on either side, and the end of the lake was finally reached without any sign of the presence of natives being observed. "no doubt mozwa has forgotten, or it may be that he iss away to seek for his frund nazinred among the eskimos. no metter. we will camp here, whatever, for the night. i think on the other side o' that point will be a goot campin' ground." he pointed in the direction indicated, and there was just daylight enough left to enable mowat to steer into a narrow creek. there is something calming, if not almost solemnising, in the quietude with which a boat glides ashore, on a dark night, under the overhanging trees of a wilderness lake. the oars are necessarily stopped, and the voices hushed, while the bowman, standing erect, with a long pole in hand, tries to penetrate the thick mysterious darkness that seems to be the very gate of erebus. bartong stood ready to thrust the head of the boat off any rocks that might suddenly appear in their course, or give the order to "back all" should the water become too shallow. but no obstacles presented themselves, and the boat forged slowly ahead until it lay alongside a ledge of rock or natural jetty. then the spell was broken as the men leaped ashore and began to unload the things that were required for the night's bivouac. still, the voices were moderated, for it is not easy to shake off the tranquillising effect of such a scene at such an hour, and it was not till the camp-fire was lighted, and the kettles were on, and the pipes going full blast, that the cheering effect of light chased the depressing influence of darkness away. then, indeed, macsweenie, dropping the _role_ of leader, assumed that of _bon camarade_; and mowat, descending from the dignity of steersman, enlarged upon his experiences in other days; and bartong, still retaining his dignity however, relaxed his anxious frown and listened with an air of intelligent appreciation that charmed every speaker, and induced the belief that he could cap every anecdote and story if he only chose to open his mouth; while the men divided their sympathies between the narratives, the tobacco-pipes, and the music of the frying-pan and bubbling kettle. then, too, the darkness into which they had penetrated fled away,--not indeed entirely, but forsaking the bright spot thus created in the wilderness, it encircled the camp as with a wall of ebony. it was not long, however, ere appetites were appeased, and the voyagers sought repose; for men who have to work hard all day at a healthy occupation are not addicted to late hours--at least not in the wildernesses of the nor'-west. ere long every man was rolled in his blanket, stretched out with his feet to the fire and his head on his coat, while the blaze sank low, until at last the red embers alone remained to render darkness visible. among the last to seek repose were the leader of the expedition, the interpreter, and the bowman. having the cares of state on their shoulders, these three naturally drew together for a little consultation after the others had retired. "what iss your opeenion, bartong?" asked macsweenie, pushing down the tobacco in his pipe with the end of a very blunt and much charred forefinger; "do you think the savitches will come here at all?" "maybe they will, and maybe they won't," answered the guide, with a caution worthy of the scottish portion of his blood. "we niver know what injins is goin' to do till they do it." "umph!" ejaculated the highlander; "if solomon had been your grandfather you could scarcely hev made a wiser speech.--what think you, tonal'?" "weel, as ye put it to me, i must say that i'm strongly of bartong's opeenion." "just so," remarked macsweenie, with a thoughtful air; "so, as i agree wi' you both, i think it iss about time for us all to turn in." he turned in accordingly, by lying back in his place and drawing his blanket over him. the other statesmen immediately followed his example, and the camp subsided into silence. chapter twenty five. the outpost, and effect of a "fuddle." soon afterwards the expedition of the fur-traders reached the ukon river, a comparatively insignificant stream, but, from its character and position with reference to the indians of that region, well suited for the establishment of an outpost. at least so thought the natives who had reported upon it. "there iss no doubt," remarked macsweenie, as he surveyed the banks of the river, "that the place is no' that bad, but in my opeenion the summer will be short, whatever, an' the winter it will be long." "ye may be sure that you are not far wrong if it's like the rest o' this country," replied mowat. "there now, look at that," cried macsweenie, who was a sketcher, and an enthusiast in regard to scenery; "did ever you see a prettier spot than that, tonal'? just the place for a fort--a wee burn dancin' doon the hull, wi' a bit fa' to turn a grindstone, an' a long piece o' flat land for the houses, an' what a grand composeetion for a pictur',--wi' trees, gress, water, sky, an' such light and shade! man, it's magneeficent!" "i'm thinkin' that it'll be a bad job if that keg o' screw-nails we forgot at our last camp is lost--" "hoot, man, never mind the screw-nails. we can easy send back for it. but, wow! there's a far grander place we're comin' in sight of--an'--iss that an indian tent i see?" "ay, an' there's more than wan tent," said mowat, giving his steering oar a sweep that sent the boat farther out into the stream, and enabled them better to see what lay beyond the bend of the river in front of them. "hold on, lads; stop pullin'!" the men lay on their oars and turned round to look ahead. the view presented there was indeed a pleasant and inspiring one, though it was scarcely entitled to the appellation "magneeficent," which macsweenie applied to it. the river at that place made a wide sweep on the right, round a low cliff which was crowned with luxuriant foliage. the stream opened out into something like a miniature lake, and the water was so calm that the cliff and its foliage made a clear dark reflection. the left bank was edged by a wide grass plateau some fifty yards wide, beyond which was a background of bushes and trees, with another "wee burn," which doubtless suggested to macsweenie the useful as well as the picturesque. the distance was closed by ground varied in form as well as in character, indicating that a stream of considerable size joined the ukon at that point. but that which interested the beholders most of all was a number of indian wigwams, which were pitched on the grassy plateau above referred to. "yonder are our frunds, i make no doubt," said macsweenie in high glee. "that man mozwa iss as goot as his word; an' i do believe they have chosen the spot an' been waitin' for us. gif way, boys; an', tonal', make for that landin'-slup--it must either be a naitural wan, or the redskins hev made it for us." by that time the natives, having observed the boat, had launched several of their canoes. the first man who came alongside was mozwa himself. "what cheer? what cheer, mozwa?" cried the trader as he reached over the side and shook the indian heartily by the hand. "watchee! watchee!" repeated mozwa, returning the shake with equal good-will, though undisturbed solemnity. the trader's surmise proved to be correct. mindful of the prospect which had been held out to him and nazinred, that an expedition might possibly be sent to establish an outpost and open up the fur trade in their immediate neighbourhood on the ukon river, mozwa had made more than one trip to the contemplated scene of operations, after the disappearance of his friend nazinred, with the view of making himself well acquainted with the land, and ascertaining the best site for the new fort. he did not of course suppose that the pale-faces would be guided entirely by his opinion, but he thought it not unlikely that they might weigh that opinion, and, if acted on at once, much time might be saved during the very brief summer season they had in which to place themselves comfortably in winter quarters before the hard weather should set in. "you are a wise man, mozwa," said macsweenie, when the indian had explained his views to him in the united smoke of their pipes and the camp-fire. "your notion of a place for a fort iss not a bad one, an' efter i hev had a look round i hev no doubt that i will agree wi' you that this is the very best site in the neighbourhood. tell him that, tonal', an' say that i am fery much obleeged to him for all the forethought and trouble he hes taken." whether donald translated all this as it was delivered we know not. from the peculiar cast of his mind, however, coupled with the moderate depth of his knowledge of the indian tongue, it is probable that his translation was neither literal nor comprehensive. indeed, it is not unlikely that his subsequent remark to one of his comrades,--"we told mozwa it was very good of him to come to meet us, an' the place would do well enough,"--was more like the sentence to which he had reduced it. but whatever he said mozwa seemed to be quite pleased with it. "by the way, tonal', ask him about his friend nazinred." the serious way in which the indian shook his head showed that he had no good news to tell. in a short time he had related all that was known about the sudden departure of his friend. while mozwa was thus engaged with the leader of the expedition, their guide bartong was wandering among the wigwams and making himself agreeable to the natives, who, because of his mixed blood and linguistic powers, regarded him as a half-brother. "who is this man nazinred that our leader is always talking about?" he asked of the old chief while seated in his tent. "he is one of our chiefs, one of our boldest braves--" "but not so brave as he looks," interrupted magadar, who was present; "he is fonder of peace than of fighting." "foolish man!" exclaimed bartong, with a smile so peculiar that magadar did not feel quite sure that his remark was sincere. "but has he not left your tribe? i heard our steersman say something about that." "he left us in the winter to seek for his daughter, who was carried off by an eskimo and has never come back since. we don't expect to see either of them again." magadar said this with a grave countenance, for, however little he cared for the loss of the father, that of the daughter distressed him a little--not much, however; for could he not console himself with another wife? having questioned the old chief a little more on this point, he wandered off into other subjects, and finally left--intending to visit the wife of nazinred on his way back to camp. isquay was sitting beside her niece idazoo, embroidering a moccasin, when bartong entered, squatted on a deerskin unceremoniously, and began to fill his pipe. "what kind of a man is your husband?" asked the guide. "a good man," replied isquay, who was tender-hearted, and could not speak of him without moist eyes. "he was a good hunter. none of the young men could equal him. and he was kind. he always had plenty of things to give me and adolay." "they say he did not love war," remarked bartong. "no; he hated it: but he was brave, and a good fighter--the best in the tribe. none of the young men dared to touch him." "was the young brave alizay afraid to touch him?" asked the guide, with a sly glance at the younger woman. at this idazoo flushed and looked up angrily. "no," she said sharply; "alizay fears nothing." bartong took no notice of the remark, but continued gravely to question the other. "was nazinred very fond of his daughter?" he asked. "yes, very." "and was the girl fond of him and of you?" "yes," replied the poor woman, beginning to weep gently. "and she seems to have been very fond of this eskimo, who, they tell me, saved your life once." "she was, but i did not think she would go away with him. it was not like her--she was always so good and biddable, and told me everything." "why did your husband go off alone?" "i cannot tell. i suppose he knew that none of the young men would go with him, or feared they might lose heart and turn back. no doubt he thought it best to go by himself, for he was very brave; nothing would turn _him_ back!" a fresh though silent dropping of tears occurred here, and a severe pang of remorse shot through the heart of idazoo as she thought of her unkind report of what had taken place beside the dead tree under the cliff. "don't cry, isquay; nazinred will come back, you may be sure of that," said the guide, in a confident tone, "and he will bring your little girl along with him, for when a man is good and brave he _never_ fails!" the brevity of summer near the shores of the arctic sea rendered it advisable that no time should be wasted in looking about too particularly for a site for the new trading-post; and as macsweenie was well pleased with mozwa's selection he at once adopted it and set to work. deeming it important to open the campaign by putting a good taste in the mouths of his friends the indians, he began by distributing a few gratuities to them--some coloured beads to the women, and a few lines, fish-hooks, and tobacco to the men. then he marked out a site for the future dwelling-house and store, got out the tools and set to work to fell, saw, and shape suitable timber for the buildings. he constituted magadar chief hunter to the establishment, supplied him with a new gun, powder and ball, and sent him off to the woods as proud as, and doubtless much happier than, a king. mozwa he kept by him, as a counsellor to whom he could appeal in all matters regarding the region and the people, as well as an overseer of those among his countrymen who were hired to render assistance. alizay was sent off in a canoe--much to the satisfaction of mowat--for that forgotten keg of screw-nails which had lain so heavy on his mind, and the old chief was supplied with unlimited tobacco, and allowed to wander about at will, under the agreeable impression that he was superintendent-general of the works. isquay, idazoo, and some of the other women were furnished with moose-deer skins and needles, and employed to make moccasins for the men, as well as to do all the needful repairs to garments. thus the plateau on the banks of the ukon river presented, during the weeks that followed, a scene of lively bustle and unfamiliar noise to the furred and feathered inhabitants of those vast solitudes, and formed to the red men a new and memorable era in their monotonous existence. at last there came a day when the roof of the principal dwelling was completely covered, the doors were fixed up, and the glazed windows fitted in. "now, tonal'," remarked macsweenie, on the morning of that auspicious day, "it iss a house-warming that i will be giving to-night, for the indians will be expectin' something o' the sort, so you will be telling the cook to make the biggest lump o' plum-duff he ever putt his hands to; an' tell him not to spare the plums. it iss not every day we will be givin' thiss goot people a blow-out, an' it iss a matter of great importance, to my thinking, that first impressions should be good ones. it iss the duty of a new broom to sweep clean. if it continues, goot and well, but if it does not begin that way it iss not likely to come to it, whatever. there iss far more than people think in sentiment. if you fail to rouse a sentiment of goot-will, or confidence, or whatever it may be, at a first start-off it iss not easy to rouse it afterwards. hev ye not noticed that, tonal'?" "i can't say that i have," answered the interpreter, with a matter-of-fact frown at the ground, "but i have noticed that the pit-saw they was usin' yesterday has been allowed to saw into the holdin'-irons and damaged half o'--" "hoots, man! never mind the pit-saw!" exclaimed macsweenie, with a touch of asperity. "all the planks we want are sawn, an' if they were not, surely we could mend--tut, man, i wonder ye can play the fuddle. it always seemed to me that a goot fuddler must be a man of sentiment, but ye are the exception, tonal', that proves the rule. away wi' you an' gie my orders to the cook, an' see that you have the fuddle in goot tune, for we will want it to-night. an' let him hev plenty of tea, for if we gain the women we're sure o' the men." mowat retired with a smile on his broad benignant face. he understood his leader, and was not offended by his plain speaking. besides, it was not easy to make the interpreter take offence. his spirit was of that happy nature which hopeth all things and believeth all things. it flowed calm and deep like an untroubled river. nothing short of a knock-down blow would have induced donald mowat to take offence, but that would certainly have stirred him, and as he possessed vast physical strength, and was something awful to behold when roused, and his comrades were aware of these facts, the serenity of his life was not often or deeply ruffled. the cook, who was an enthusiast in his art, did his best, and was eminently successful. his plum-duff dumpling was bigger than any gun-- at least of ancient type--could have swallowed, and the plums, as mowat afterwards said, did not need to seek for each other. he made enough of delightfully greasy cakes to feed an army, and, according to his own statement, infused "lashin's o' tea." before the hour for the feast arrived that night, mowat got out his violin and went into one of the rooms of the new house to put it in order. the window of the room looked towards the back of the house, where the forest was seen just beyond the plateau. drawing a bench to the window, he sat down and opened the case. of course he found the first string broken, but that did not break his heart, for he had a good supply of spare strings, and if these should fail--well, there were plenty of deer-sinews in the land. it was soon put to rights, and, leaning his back against the wall, he began to tickle the strings gently. whatever he was at other times, there is no doubt that the interpreter was full of genuine sentiment the moment he got the violin under his chin. now at that moment three young dogrib braves chanced to be passing under the window, which was about seven feet from the ground. though equally young, and no doubt equally brave, as well as equally dogribbed, those three youths were not equally matched, for one was tall and thin, another was short and thick, while the third was middle-sized and fat. they had been hunting--successfully--for the thick man carried a small deer on his lusty shoulders. on hearing the first notes of the instrument the three youths started into three different attitudes as if of petrified surprise, and remained so, waiting for more. they had not to wait long, for, after tickling the fiddle once or twice to get it in perfect tune, mowat raised his eyes to the pine-plank ceiling and glided softly into one of those exquisite scottish airs by means of which a first-rate performer on the violin can almost draw the soul out of a man's body. we think it was "the flowers of the forest." whatever it was the three dogribs were ravished. they turned their heads slowly, as if afraid to break the spell, and looked at each other, showing the whites of their great eyes increasingly, while each raised a hand with spread fingers as if to keep the others from speaking. they had never heard anything approaching to it before. they had never even imagined anything like it. it was an utterly new sensation. what could it be? they had heard of something strange in the musical way from nazinred and mozwa, but with the carelessness of youth they had scarce listened to the comments of these men. now it burst upon their awakened sense like sounds from some other planet. their mouths opened slowly as well as their eyes, and there was an expression of awe in their faces which betokened a touch of superstitious fear. suddenly mowat drew his bow across all the strings with a skirl that might have shamed the bagpipes, and burst into the reel o' tullochgorum. the effect was electrical. the thick man dropped the deer; the thin man sloped forward; the fat man sprang into the air, and all three made for the woods as if all the spirits of evil were after them in full cry. we need hardly say, after this, that those dogrib indians spent an excited and agreeable evening with the fur-traders. they appreciated the dancing, undoubtedly, though very few of them would condescend to join. they appreciated the plum-duff and the greasy cakes highly, and they more than appreciated the tea--especially the women--which macsweenie took care to provide hot, strong, and sweet. but there is no doubt that the lion of the evening was--the "fuddle." chapter twenty six. a mysterious journey and a great discovery. putting on the wings of imagination, good reader, let us once more fly over the snow-fields of the lone nor'-west and return to the regions of thick-ribbed ice. we have to apologise humbly for asking you also to fly back a little in time, and plunge once more into the dreary winter, from which, no doubt, you thought you had fairly escaped. one morning toward the beginning of spring, referred to in last chapter, while yet the northern seas were covered with their solid garment, cheenbuk announced to all whom it might concern that he intended to go off on a long journey to the eastward--he called it the place where the great light rises--for purposes which he did not see fit publicly to reveal. at that time the great light to which he referred had begun to show symptoms of intention to return to the dark regions which it had forsaken for several months. the glimmer on the eastern sky had been increasing perceptibly each day, and at last had reached the point of producing a somewhat rosy twilight for two or three hours before and after noon. king frost, however, still reigned supreme, and the dog-sledge as yet was the only mode of travelling among the islands or on the sea. "why go you towards the rising sun?" asked nazinred when cheenbuk invited him to be one of the party. "because it is from my countrymen who dwell there that we get the hard stuff that is so good for our spear-heads, and lances, and arrows. we know not where they find the stuff, and they won't tell. i shall go and find out for myself, and take back plenty of it to our people." the "hard stuff" referred to was hoop-iron, which, as well as nails and a few hatchets, the eskimos of the eastern parts of the arctic shores obtained from whale-ships and passed on to their friends in the more remote regions of the farther north. "i can tell you how they get it," said the indian. "white traders to whom our people go with their furs have spoken of such things, and my ears have been open. they say that there are white men who come over the great salt lake from far-off lands in big _big_ canoes. they come to catch the great whales, and it is from them that the hard stuff comes." for some minutes the eskimo was silent. a new idea had entered his head and he was turning it over. "have you ever seen these white men or their _big_ canoes?" asked cheenbuk with great interest. "never. the salt lake where they kill the whale is too far from my people's hunting-grounds. but the white traders i have visited have seen them. some traders have come from the same far-off lands in big canoes of the same sort." "is it very far from here to the seas to which these whale-killers come?" "very far from the hunting-grounds of the dogribs, but it may not be far from here." "i will go and see," said cheenbuk, with much decision, and he went off forthwith to make preparations. the expedition consisted of one large sledge with a team of twelve dogs. being resolved not to risk failure by taking too many companions, the eskimo limited the number to seven, besides himself--namely, nazinred, with his fire-spouter; oolalik, whom he deemed the strongest and bravest among the young men; anteek, the most plucky of the big boys; aglootook, the medicine-man, whom he took "for luck;" and nootka, as being the most vigorous and hardworking among the women. she could repair the boots, etcetera, and do what little cooking might be required. cowlik the easy-going was also taken to keep nootka company. it was high noon when the party set out on their mysterious journey, and a brighter glow than usual was suffusing the eastern sky, while a gleam of direct sunshine, the first seen that spring, was tipping the peaks of the higher bergs as if with burnished gold. it was merely a whim that induced cheenbuk to throw an air of mystery over the expedition. having no definite idea himself of what he was going in search of, or how long he should be away, he thought it wisest to look solemn and keep his thoughts to himself; thereby impressing his kinsmen with the belief that he was one of the wisest men of the tribe, which in truth he was. being, as we have said elsewhere, a man of humour and a good-natured fellow, he thought that the presence of the magician, whom he believed to be an arrant humbug, would add mystery as well as interest to the expedition. aglootook was himself thoroughly convinced on this point, and sought by every means to induce the leader to disclose his object and plans, but as cheenbuk maintained inflexible reticence on this matter, the magician made a virtue of necessity, shook his head solemnly when spoken to about it, and gave it to be understood generally that in his and the leader's minds there were rolling about thoughts and intentions that were far too deep for utterance. cheenbuk would have offered a seat to adolay, but her father thought it better to decline for her. she was therefore left in the camp in care of old mangivik and his amiable spouse. travelling by dog-sledge among the eskimos is rapid and exhilarating when the ice is unbroken. when the explorers left the village and made for the far east, the plain of ice before them was level and smooth as far as the eye could reach. they therefore went along at a swinging pace, the team stretching out at full gallop, a crack from the whip resounding only now and then, when one of the dogs inclined to become refractory. the short day soon vanished, and the long night with its galaxy of stars and shooting aurora still found them gliding swiftly over the white plain. at last a line of hummocks and icebergs rose up before them, as if to bar their further progress, and the dogs reduced their speed to a trot, until, on reaching the broken ice, they stopped altogether. "we will camp here," said cheenbuk, jumping off and stretching himself. "make the igloe there," he added, pointing to a convenient spot in the lee of a small berg. the whole party went to work, and in a wonderfully short time had constructed one of their snow bee-hives large enough to contain them all. here they ate a hasty supper and spent several hours in a slumber so profound and motionless that it seemed as if they were all dead; not a sigh, not even a snore, broke the stillness of the night. next morning they were up and off long before the first glimmer of dawn proclaimed the advent of a new day. fortunately a passage among the ridges of broken ice was found, through which the sledge was hauled with comparative ease, and before noon they had reached the open sea-ice beyond, over which they again set forth at full swing. little food had been brought, for they depended chiefly on their weapons to supply them, and as seals abounded everywhere, as well as walruses, they had no lack. thus they advanced for several days, sometimes being retarded a little by broken ice, but for the most part dashing at full speed over smooth surfaces. one day they came to a long stretch of land, extending to the right and left as far as the eye could reach, which seemed to be a check to their progress, for it was extensively covered with willow bushes. cheenbuk climbed a neighbouring berg with nazinred to have a look at it. the eskimo looked rather glum, for the idea of land-travelling and struggling among willows was repugnant to him. "i don't like the look of this," he said, turning to his companion; "there seems no end to it." "let not my son be cast down," returned the indian; "men-of-the-woods understand the nature of land. this looks like a low flat, running out from the mainland. if so, it is not likely to be very wide, and we shall be sure to find the great salt lake on the other side of it. besides, away to the left i see something like a small lake. if we go there we may find hard snow on which the dogs can run." "there is bad fortune here," said aglootook, endeavouring to look oracular, as he came up at that moment with anteek. "we must go far away in _that_ direction," he added, pointing to the right, and looking at his leader with the aspect as well as the wisdom of an owl. the fact was that from the start the magician had been thirsting for some opportunity to display his profound sagacity, and in his opinion the time had arrived, for in other men's extremity he was wont to find his opportunity. true, he knew no more than the king of ashantee which was the best line to take--right or left,--but much of the power he had acquired over his fellows was due to his excessive self-sufficiency, coupled with reckless promptitude in taking action. if things went well he got the credit; if wrong--well, he was ingenious in devising explanations! "aglootook is wise," said cheenbuk, with gravity and a glance at anteek; "i will act on his advice, but first i must take just a little run to the _left_, to find out something that i see there." anteek was not naturally rude, but there was a sensation in him at that moment which induced him to turn his back on the magician and become absorbed in the contemplation of a neighbouring berg. when he turned round again his face was a little flushed. nazinred was right. there was not only a lake at the place which he pointed out, but a chain of small lakes, over which the dogs scampered as well as if they had been on the open sea. that night, however, they were obliged to encamp among the willows, but next night they reached the other side of what was evidently a large promontory, and finally swept out again on the familiar frozen sea. the day following they arrived at an obstruction which it appeared as if neither the wisdom of aglootook, the sagacity of nazinred, nor the determination of cheenbuk could enable them to surmount. this was a mighty barrier of broken ice, which had probably been upheaved by the flow of cross currents when the sea was setting fast in autumn, or the action of conflicting bergs, many of which were imbedded in the mass, thus giving to it the appearance of a small mountain range with higher peaks rising above the general elevation. on beholding it aglootook recovered some of his self-respect, and, with a look of wisdom quite inconceivable by those who have not seen it, expressed his solemn belief that they would have escaped this difficulty if they had only acted on his advice, and travelled to the _right_. cheenbuk admitted that he seemed to have been mistaken, in a tone which again set anteek contemplating one of the neighbouring bergs with a countenance not altogether devoid of colour, and the leader drove the team towards the least forbidding part of the ridge. "you will never get across," said aglootook in a low voice. "i will try," returned cheenbuk. "it is madness," said the magician. "people have often called me mad," responded cheenbuk, "so if they were right i am well fitted to do it." it was an exceedingly difficult crossing. in some places the blocks and masses were heaped together in such confusion that it seemed as if the attempt to pass were useless, and the magician solaced himself by frequent undertoned references to the advantage in general of travelling right instead of left. but always when things looked most hopeless the indefatigable cheenbuk found a passage--often very narrow and crooked, it is true,--through which they managed to advance, and when the way was blocked altogether, as it was more than once, cheenbuk and the indian cleared a passage with their axes, while anteek led the dogs over the obstruction, and oolalik guided the sledge over it. nootka usually stood on a convenient ice-mound and admired the proceedings, while aglootook, who had no axe, stood beside her and gave invaluable advice, to which nobody paid the slightest attention. at last, after many a fall and slip and tremendous slide, they reached the other side of the ridge, and once again went swiftly and smoothly over the level plain. "we shall not find them," remarked oolalik, becoming despondently prophetic as he surveyed the wide expanse of frozen sea, with nothing but bergs and hummocks here and there to break its uniformity. "we must find them," replied cheenbuk, with that energy of resolution which usually assails a man of vigorous physique and strong will when difficulties accumulate. "but, my son, if we do not find them it will not matter much, for the white traders of the woods have plenty of the hard stuff, and all other things also, and when we return to the greygoose river at the opening of the waters, we may take the teeth of the walrus and the skins of the seal and begin a trade with them. i have much of their goods in my own wigwam, and cheenbuk knows that i can guide him to the home of the trader on the great fresh lake." oolalik glanced at nootka while the indian spoke, as if he felt that a splendid prospect of decorative, ornamental, and other delights was opening up to her. nootka returned the glance as if she felt that a splendid opportunity of securing such delights for her was opening up to _him_. cheenbuk did not reply, being engaged in the profound abysses of thought which had been opened up by his red friend's suggestion. before he could find words to reply, nazinred, whose vision was keen and practised, pointed out something that appeared like a cloud on the horizon ahead of them, and which he declared to be land. "i have noticed that the eyes of the man-of-the-woods are sharper than those of the eskimo," said cheenbuk. the indian received this compliment with a gaze of calm indifference, as though he heard it not. just then an exclamation from anteek attracted general attention. he pointed to a mound of snow on the ice a short way to the left of the track which had a peculiar shape. "something covered over with snow," said cheenbuk, turning the dogs in that direction by the simple but significant expedient of sending his long whip with a resonant crack to the right of the team. "it is a man," remarked nazinred as they drew near. he was right. on clearing away the snow they found the dead body of a man, some portions of whose costume resembled that of a sailor, though of course none of those who discovered it were aware of that fact. "kablunet!" exclaimed cheenbuk, using the eskimo term for white man. how long the poor man had lain there it was not easy to guess, for the body was frozen stiff, so that decay was impossible, but the fact that it had not been discovered by bears argued that it could not have lain long. its emaciated appearance and the empty sack slung across the shoulder showed that death must have been the result of starvation. there was a short loaded carbine lying beside the body, and in a pouch a flask of powder with a few bullets. "i think," said nazinred, after careful inspection of the remains, "that this is one of the white men who come over the salt lake in their big canoes." "if so," said cheenbuk, "we will follow his track, and may come to the big canoe itself; perhaps some of the kablunets may be yet alive." the indian shook his head. "men do not start off alone on a journey to nowhere," he replied. "the big canoe must have been crushed in the ice, and the men must have started off together to search for eskimos. i think they must all have died on the way, and this one walked farthest." "the man-of-the-woods is wise," said oolalik. "if we follow the track we shall soon find out." "yes," said aglootook, putting on his most prophetic air. "go on the track straight as we can go--that is _my_ advice, and we shall be quite sure to come to _something_." cheenbuk acted on the advice. having buried the body of the unfortunate sailor in a snow-grave, and taken possession of the carbine and other things, they leaped on the sledge again, and continued to advance along the track, which, though in some places almost obliterated, was easily followed. they had not advanced more than a mile when another mound was discovered, with another seaman below it, whom they buried in the same way, and close to it a third, whose costume being in some parts a little finer, they correctly guessed to be a chief. at last they came in sight of a large mound, and on uncovering it found a boat with four dead men lying near it. all seemed to have died of starvation, and the reason why some of them had forsaken the boat was obvious, for it was crushed out of shape by ice; the bottom having been cut completely away, so that all the provisions they had to depend on had no doubt been lost. "this is not the big canoe," remarked the indian, while they examined it. "the big one must have been sunk, and they had to try to escape in the little one." the party spent a long time in examining the boat, and as there was a good deal of iron about it which might be useful, they resolved to re-visit it on the homeward journey. setting off again, they now made straight for the land discovered by nazinred, which now lay like a dark blue line of hills in the far distance. from the abrupt termination of the land at either extremity of the range it was judged to be a large island. as the night was clear and the ice level, the party travelled all that night, and arrived at the island about daybreak the following morning. the shore was rocky and desolate, with high cliffs behind it, so that further progress to the eastward was evidently impossible, unless by passing round the island to the north or south of it. "i said you would come to _something_," said the magician, sententiously, as they drew near to the forbidding coast. "you were right, aglootook. indeed, it would be impossible for you to be wrong," replied cheenbuk, with one of those glances at anteek which rendered it hard for the boy to preserve his gravity; yet he was constrained to make the effort, for the magician was very sensitive on the point, and suspected the boy. they were by this time running between the headlands of a small bay, and suddenly came in sight of an object which caused them all to exclaim with surprise and excitement--for there, under the shelter of a high cliff, lay a three-masted ship, or, as the indian termed it, the white man's big canoe. chapter twenty seven. interesting, amusing, and astounding discoveries. although close under the cliffs, and apparently on the rocks, the vessel was by no means a wreck, neither had it the aspect of one. there were no broken masts or tattered sails or ropes dangling from the yards. on the contrary, the masts were straight and sound; such of the yards as had not been lowered were squared, and all the ropes were trim and taut. the deck was covered over with a roof of canvas, and the snow banked up all round so as to meet the lower edges of it and form a protection from the wind. up one side of this bank of snow a flight of stairs had been cut, leading to the port gangway, and the prints of many feet were seen all round the ship converging towards the stairs, the steps of which were worn as if by much use. at first the natives approached the vessel with extreme caution, not being sure of what might be their reception if any man should be on board, and with a sense of awe at beholding a mysterious object which had hitherto been utterly beyond the range of their experience, though not quite unknown to them by report. by degrees, however, they drew nearer and nearer, until they reached the bottom of the snow staircase. still there was no sound to be heard in the white man's big canoe to indicate the presence of a human being. at last cheenbuk uttered a shout with the view of attracting attention, but there was no reply. "make the fire-spouter speak," he said, looking at his indian friend. nazinred silently obeyed, pointed his gun at the clouds, and fired; then the whole party awaited the result, listening intently. they heard much more than had been expected, for the cliffs embraced several echoes, which, being thus rudely awakened, sent the shot crashing back with multiplied violence, to the no little surprise, as well as alarm, of the hearers. still all was silent on board of the ship, and at last, coming to the conclusion that there was no living soul there at all, the indian, having reloaded his gun, began to ascend the staircase, closely followed by cheenbuk, oolalik, anteek, and aglootook--which last, being a cautious man, was careful to bring up the rear. nootka and cowlik remained on the ice to observe the end of it all--the former anxiously curious, the latter curiously easy. for some time these two stood in silent expectancy. then oolalik appeared at the top of the staircase, and, looking down with a face in which solemn wonder had reached its utmost limit of expression, beckoned them to come up. nootka obeyed with alacrity; her companion, leisurely. what the party saw on entering the vessel was well fitted to arouse wonder in their unsophisticated minds. whether it was one of the numerous discovery ships that have invaded those regions in the present century, or a whaler which had been driven out of its course by stress of weather or power of ice, is uncertain, for although some relics of the expedition ultimately reached the outpost of the fur-traders, nothing was brought away by the eskimos which bore name or date or writing of any kind. although ignorant of the meaning as well as the uses of almost everything they saw, those natives were quite sufficiently intelligent to guess that the white man's big canoe had been set fast in the ice the previous autumn, and laid up for the winter in this place of safety to serve as a big igloe or hut. their examination of the ship was at first very slow, for they stepped about on tiptoe as if afraid of disturbing some of the ghosts of its former inhabitants. then, a speculative gaze had to be turned on each object for a few moments, followed by an inquiring glance at each other. the deck and its accompaniments of masts rising through the canvas roof, and ropes, and blocks, hatches, skylights, companions, etcetera, afforded them matter for unbounded astonishment; though what they afterwards discovered below was productive of unutterable amazement. "hoi!" exclaimed cheenbuk, pointing at something with all his ten fingers expanded. he had discovered the binnacle, and was gazing for the first time at the mariner's compass! "hi!" cried the responsive anteek in a wide-eyed condition. he had discovered the after-companion, which was partially open, and was gazing solemnly into the depths below. the unwonted nature of their surroundings developed an unsuspected vein of curiosity in cowlik, who pushed the companion-door open, and, seeing a flight of steps with some degree of light below, she began to descend. whether nootka's surprise at this sudden act of self-assertion, or her curiosity, was the stronger, it would be hard to say, but she immediately went after cowlik. the men, seeing the way thus indicated, did not hesitate to follow. of course they all held tenaciously by the brass rail, being afraid to slip on the steep stair, and some of them, slewing round almost naturally, went down in true sailor fashion, backwards. reaching the bottom, the girls, probably by chance, turned to the left and entered the after-cabin. the men of the party turned to the right, and became absorbed in contemplation of the steward's pantry. it smelt deliciously, but that was all that remained of its native attractions, for of food or drink there was nothing left. they had just made this discovery when a loud laugh and then a wild scream from the cabin horrified them. cheenbuk and oolalik drew their knives, nazinred cocked his gun, anteek grasped a rolling-pin that lay handy, and all four sprang to the rescue. the scream came from cowlik. she had suddenly faced a mirror that hung in the cabin, and beheld a perfect representation of her own fat face. it was by no means an unknown face, for she had often had an imperfect view of it in pools and in calm seas, but it quite took her aback when thus unexpectedly and clearly presented. the blaze of astonishment that followed the first glance caused the burst of laughter referred to, and the display of her wide mouth and white teeth in the changed expression induced the scream of alarm. it also made her start backward so quickly that she sent poor nootka crashing against the starboard bulkhead. "look!" cried the frightened girls, pointing to the mirror. the three eskimos sprang forward and received something like an electric shock on beholding their own faces. cheenbuk turned to nazinred, but that usually grave indian was indulging in a patronising smile instead of sharing their surprise. "i know what it is," he said quietly. "i have seen it before, in the stores of the fur-traders, but never so big as that." familiarity, it is said, breeds contempt. after gazing at themselves in the miraculous mirror for some time, an idea occurred to anteek. he suddenly shot out his tongue, which happened to be a very long one. anteek's reflection did the same. thereupon oolalik opened his mouth wide and laughed. so did oolalik's reflection, which had such an effect upon cheenbuk that he also burst into a fit of laughter. the girls, pressing forward to see what it was, likewise presented grinning faces, which formed such a contrast to the grave countenance of nazinred, as he stood there in all the dignity of superior knowledge, that the whole party went off into uncontrollable explosions, which fed upon what they created until the tears were running down the cheeks of the eskimos, and the indian himself was constrained at last to smile benignly. but mirth gave place to solemnity again, not unmingled with pity, as they spent hour after hour examining the various parts of the forsaken ship. of course they could go over only a small part of it that day. when the short day came to a close they went to the shore and encamped in their usual way--not daring to sleep on board a big canoe, about which as yet they knew so little. on shore they found more subjects of interest and perplexity, for here were several mounds marked by crosses, and a large mound surmounted by a pole on the top of which were fluttering a few remnants of red cloth. the shape of the smaller mounds naturally led them to infer that they were the graves of white men who had died there, but the large mound was inexplicable until nazinred recollected having seen a flag hoisted on a pole at the fort on great bear lake. "i remember," he said to cheenbuk, "that the traders used to hoist a piece of cloth to the top of a pole like this, at times, when something of importance happened. perhaps the chief of the big canoe died and was buried here, and they hoisted the red cloth over him to mark the place." "my father may be right," observed the eskimo; "but why did they put such a heap of stones above him?" "perhaps to keep the bears from getting at him," returned the indian thoughtfully, "or, it may be, to show him great respect." resting satisfied with these surmises, the two men returned to their encampment without disturbing the mound, which was, in all probability, a cairn covering a record of the expedition which had come to such an untimely end. next day, the moment there was enough of light to enable them to resume the search, the eskimos hurried on board the ship and began to ransack every hole and corner, and they found much that caused their eyes to glitter with the delight of men who have unexpectedly discovered a mine of gold. among other things, they found in a small room which had been used as a blacksmith's forge, large quantities of hoop, bar, and rod-iron. while cheenbuk and oolalik were rejoicing over this find, anteek rushed in upon them in a state of considerable excitement with something in his hand. it was a large watch of the double-cased "warming-pan" tribe. "listen!" exclaimed the boy, holding it up to cheenbuk's ear, and giving it a shake; "it speaks." "what is it?" murmured the eskimo. "i don't know, but it does not like shaking, for it only speaks a little when i shake it. i tried squeezing, but it does not care for that." here again nazinred's superior knowledge came into play, though to a limited extent. "i have seen a thing like that," he said. "the trader at the great fresh-water lake had one. he carried it in a small bag at his waist, and used often to pull it out and look at it. he never told me what it was for, but once he let me hear it speak. it went on just like this one--_tik, tik, tik_--but it did not require shaking or squeezing. i think it had a tongue like some of our squaws, who never stop speaking. one day when i went into the trader's house i saw it lying on the thing with four legs which the white men put their food on when they want to eat, and it was talking away to itself as fast as ever." they were still engaged with this mystery when a cry of delight from nootka drew them back to the cabin, where they found the girl clothed in a pilot-cloth coat, immensely too large for her. she was standing admiring herself in the mirror--so quickly had her feminine intelligence applied the thing to its proper use; and, from the energetic but abortive efforts she made to wriggle round so as to obtain a view of her back, it might have been supposed that she had been trained to the arts of civilisation from childhood. with equal and earnest assiduity cowlik was engaged in adorning her head with a black flannel-lined sou'-wester, but she had some trouble with it, owing to the height of her top-knot of hair. ridiculous though the two girls might have looked in our eyes, in those of their companions they only seemed peculiar and interesting, for the step between the sublime and ridiculous is altogether relative, in eskimo-land as elsewhere. there was no opportunity, however, to dwell long in contemplation of any new thing, for the discoveries came thick and fast. cowlik had barely succeeded in pulling the ear-pieces of the sou'-wester well down, and tying the strings under her fat chin, when a tremendous clanking was heard, as of some heavy creature approaching the cabin door. cheenbuk dropped forward the point of his spear, and nazinred kept his gun handy. not that they were actually alarmed, of course, but they felt that in such unusual circumstances the least they could do was to be ready for whatever might befall--or turn up. a moment later and aglootook stalked into the cabin, his legs encased in a pair of fishermen's sea-boots, so large that they seemed quite to diminish his natural proportions. in all their discoveries, however, they did not find a single scrap of any kind of food. it was quite clear that the poor fellows had held by the ship as long as provisions lasted, in the hope, no doubt, that they might ultimately succeed in working their way out of the ice, and then, when inevitable starvation stared them in the face, they had tried to escape in their boats, but without success--at least in one case, though how many boats had thus left to undertake the forlorn hope of storming the strongholds of the polar seas it was impossible to tell. on the second night, as the eskimos sat in their igloe at supper talking over the events of the day, nazinred asked cheenbuk what he intended to do-- "for," said he, "it is not possible to take back with us on one sledge more than a small part of the many good things that we have found." "the man-of-the-woods is right," interposed the magician; "he is wise. one sledge cannot carry much. i told you that we were sure to find _something_. was i not right? have we not found it? my advice now is that we go back with as much as we can carry, and return with four or five sledges--or even more,--and take home all that it is possible to collect." "aglootook is always full of knowledge and wisdom," remarked cheenbuk, as he drove his powerful teeth into a tough bear-steak, and struggled with it for some moments before continuing his remarks; "but--but--ha! he does not quite see through an iceberg. i will--(give me another, nootka, with more fat on it),--i will go back, as he wisely advises, with as much as the sledge will carry, and will return not only with four or five sledges, but with all the sledges we have got, and all the dogs, and all the men and women and children--even to the smallest babe that wears no clothes and lives in its mother's hood, and sucks blubber. the whole tribe shall come here and live here, and make use of the good things that have fallen in our way, till the time of open water draws near. then we will drive to the place where we have left our kayaks and oomiaks, some of us will go to waruskeek, and some to pay a visit to the fire-spouters at whale river.--give me another lump, nootka. the last was a little one, and i am hungry." the grandeur of cheenbuk's plan, as compared with aglootook's suggestion, was so great that the poor magician collapsed. anteek looked at him. then he covered his young face with his hands and bent his head forward upon his knees. it was too early for going to rest. the boy might have been sleeping, but there was a slight heaving of the young shoulders which was not suggestive of repose. later on in the evening, while nazinred was enjoying his pipe, and the eskimos were looking on in unspeakable admiration, cheenbuk remembered that the last time he quitted the ship he had left his spear behind him. "i'll go and fetch it," said anteek, who possessed that amiable and utterly delightful nature which offers to oblige, or do a service, without waiting to be asked. in a few minutes he was out upon the ice on his errand. soon he gained the snow staircase, and, running up, made his way to the cabin where the spear had been left. now it chanced that a polar bear, attracted perhaps by the odour of cooked food, had wandered near to the ship and observed the young eskimo ascend. polar bears are not timid. on the contrary, they are usually full of courage. they are also full of curiosity. the night was clear, and when that bear saw the youth go up the stair, it immediately went to the place to inspect it. courage and caution are not necessarily antagonistic. on arriving at the foot of the stair it paused to paw and otherwise examine it. then it began to ascend slowly, as if doubtful of consequences. now, if it were not for coincidences a great many of the extraordinary events of this life would never have happened. for instance--but the instances are so numerous that it may be well not to begin them. it happened that just as the bear began to ascend the snow staircase anteek with the spear in his hand began to ascend the companion-ladder. but the chief point of the coincidence lay here--that just as the bear reached the top of the stair the boy reached the very same spot, and next moment the two stood face to face within four feet of each other. we will not go into the irrelevant question which was the more surprised. anteek at once uttered a yell, compounded of courage, despair, ferocity, horror, and other ingredients, which startled into wild confusion all the echoes of the cliffs. the bear opened its mouth as if to reply, and the boy instantly rammed the spear into it. he could not have done anything worse, except run away, for a bear's mouth is tough. happily, however, the monster was standing in a very upright position, and the violence of the thrust sent him off his balance. he fell backwards down the stair, and came on the ice with an astounding crash that doubled him up and crushed all the wind out of his lungs in a bursting roar. fortunately his great weight caused the destruction of five or six of the lower steps, so that when he rose and tried viciously to re-ascend, he was unable to do so. of course the uproar brought the men on shore to the rescue, and while the bear was making furious attempts to reconstruct the broken staircase, nazinred went close up and put a bullet in its brain. chapter twenty eight. the ship re-visited and re-explored. cheenbuk's plan was afterwards fully carried out. on the return of the party with all their wonderful news and wealth of old iron, the greatest excitement prevailed in the tribe, and the persons composing the expedition became heroes and heroines for the time being. each member formed a centre of attraction and a subject of cross-examination to its own particular relatives and friends. in the igloe of aglootook was assembled, perhaps, one of the most surprised, if not one of the most credulous, of the gatherings--for the magician had a strong hold on the imagination of the greater number of his tribe, and a wonderful power of oratory. his wife in particular idolised him, which said much for his amiability, and his only sister worshipped him, which spoke volumes for her gullibility. "yes," he exclaimed, gazing round on the circle of his admirers; "i said from the first that this would be a wonderful trip, and that we would be sure to find _something_. and did we not find it?" (vigorous assent by look and voice from the audience.) "and," he continued, with a lowered voice and solemn look, "if cheenbuk had not turned to the _left_ when i told him, we never would have found it." "but what was it like?" asked an elderly man with a squat-nose, whose mind was not quite clear, although he had already listened to an elaborate description. "like? ho! it was like--like--" "like a big kayak?" remarked some one. "no, no. far, far bigger," said the magician, making an imbecile attempt to indicate inconceivable size by waving arms and outspread fingers; "it was--as big--as--as--" "a whale?" suggested squat-nose. "bigger--bigger!" said aglootook, with a lost look in his eyes. "you could stuff twenty igloes into it; and there were three great poles rising out of it as thick as--as _me_, with other poles across them, low down and high up, and walrus-lines hanging about in all directions, some as thick as my wrist, others as thin as my finger, and strange igloes inside of it--not of snow, but of wood--with all kinds of things you could think of in there; and things that--that--you could _not_ think of even if you were to try--that nobody ever thought of since the world began--wonderful!" this seemed to fairly take away the breath of the audience, for they could only glare and remain dumb. for a few moments they breathed hard, then squat-nose said in a deep whisper-- "go on." aglootook did go on, and kept going on so long that his audience were forced to go off and assuage the pangs of hunger which prolonged abstinence and mental excitement at last rendered unendurable. but no sooner was appetite appeased than the magician and his hearers returned to the subject with redoubled energy. "is it very, _very_ far away?" asked aglootook's wife, with a sigh, when he explained to her the wonders of the mirror. "yes, a long, long way, and some of the ice is very rough for the dogs." "not too far for some of us to go and return before the open water?" squat-nose ventured to hope. "plenty of time," returned aglootook, with a patronising smile. "in fact i advised cheenbuk to start away back as fast as possible with many sledges, so that my woman will see it with her own eyes." "and me too?" exclaimed the sister, bringing her palms together with a smack. "and you too. i advised cheenbuk to take the whole tribe there to stay till the time of open water, and he agreed. cheenbuk is a wise young man: he always takes my advice." the subject of this eulogium was meanwhile giving a graphic and much more truthful account of the expedition to adolay, mangivik, his mother, and a select circle of friends; yet, although he did his best, like aglootook, to convey an adequate impression of what they had seen, we make bold to say that the utmost power of language in the one, and of imagination in the other, failed to fill the minds of those unsophisticated natives with a just conception of the truth. but they did succeed in filling most of their hearts with an unconquerable desire to go and see for themselves, so that no difficulty was experienced in persuading the whole tribe--men, women, children, and dogs--to consent to a general migration. even anteek held his court that night in the tent of old uleeta. since the death of gartok anteek had shown much sympathy with that poor old woman. ill-natured people, (for there are such in eskimo-land), said that sympathy with young uleeta had something to do with his frequent visits to the tent. well, and why not? the sympathy was not the less sincere that it was extended to both. anyhow, a large circle of juvenile admirers of both sexes assembled under the snow roof to hear the young lecturer, and we are inclined to think that his discourse was quite as instructive and interesting as the narratives of his seniors. he did not exaggerate anything, for anteek was essentially truthful in spirit. nothing would induce him to lie or to give a false impression if he could help it, but the vivid play of his fancy and the sparkling flow of his young imagination were such that he kept his audience in a constant ripple of amusement and fever of anticipation. he was particularly strong on aglootook, and whatever that wily magician gained in the esteem of the adults, he certainly lost among the juveniles. so eager were the eskimos to see the wonderful sights that had been described to them, that they at once set about preparation for departure. on the second day after the return of the exploring party the entire village, having previously hidden away in a secure place the things already obtained from the ship, mounted their sledges and commenced their journey amid much noise and glee in the direction of what was to them the far east. it is needless, and would be tedious, to carry the patient reader a second time over the same ground. suffice it to say that when they reached the spot, and were introduced to the white man's "big kayak," they felt disposed to echo the words of the queen of sheba, and exclaim that half had not been told them--not even although that huge humbug aglootook had told them a great deal too much! new circumstances are apt to engender new conditions in savage as well as civilised life. it is scarcely credible what an amount of hitherto latent vanity was evoked by that mirror in the cabin, and that too in the most unlikely characters. mangivik, for instance, spent much of his time the first few days in admiring his grey locks in the glass. and old uleeta, although one of the plainest of the tribe, seemed never to tire of looking at herself. squat-nose, also, was prone to stand in front of that mirror, making hideous faces at himself and laughing violently; but there is reason to believe that it was not vanity which influenced him so much as a philosophical desire to ascertain the cause of his own ugliness! aglootook likewise wasted much of his valuable time before it. a new sense of shame was by this means developed among these natives, as well as the power to blush; because after people had been interrupted frequently in this act of self-admiration, they were laughed at, and the constant recurrence of this laughter aroused a feeling of indignation, at the same time a tendency to hop away and pretend interest in other things! squat-nose never did this. all his actions were open as the day--of course we mean the _summer_ day,--and he would sometimes invite an intruder to come and have a look at his reflection, as if it were a treat. hence our opinion of his motive. not so the magician. the very way he stood, and moved about, and frowned at his double, betrayed his state of mind, while the sensitive way in which he started off to gaze out at the stern windows or have a look at the swinging barometer showed his feeling of guilt when caught in the act. anteek soon found this out, and was wont to lie in wait so as to catch him in the act suddenly and with exasperating frequency. after the first excitement of arrival was over, the eskimos built igloes on the shore and settled down to dismantle the vessel and take possession of her stores, and of all that could be of use to them. they built an elongated oval igloe on the shore as a store to receive the lighter and, as they esteemed them, more valuable articles. among these were included all the axes, hoop-iron, and other pieces of manageable metal that could be easily carried. there were also numbers of tin cans, iron pots, cups, glass tumblers, earthenware plates, and other things of the kind, which were esteemed a most valuable possession by people whose ordinary domestic furniture consisted chiefly of seal-skin bowls and shallow stone dishes. during the few days that followed, the whole colony of men, women, and children were busily occupied in running between the ship and the big store with loads proportioned to their strength, and with joviality out of all proportion to their size, for it must be borne in mind that these children of the ice had discovered not only a mine of inconceivable wealth, but a mine, so to speak, of inexhaustible and ever recurring astonishments, which elevated their eyebrows continually to the roots of their hair, and bade fair to fix them there for ever! perplexities were also among the variations of entertainment to which they were frequently treated. sometimes these were more or less cleared up after the assembled wit and wisdom of the community had frowned and bitten their nails over them for several hours. others were of a nature which it passed the wit of man--eskimo man at least--to unravel. a few of these, like the watch, had some light thrown on them by nazinred, who had either seen something like them in use among the fur-traders, or whose sagacity led him to make a shrewd occasional guess. one object, however, defied the brain-power alike of indian and eskimo; and no wonder, for it was a wooden leg, discovered by anteek in what must have been the doctor's cabin--or a cabin which had been used for doctor's stuff and material. like letters of the alphabet given in confusion for the purpose of being formed into words, this leg puzzled investigators because of their inevitable tendency to lead off on a wrong scent by assuming that the leg part was the handle of the instrument, and the part for the reception of the thigh a--a--something for--for--doing, they couldn't tell what! sitting round the stone lamp after supper, some of them passed the mysterious object from hand to hand, and commented on it freely. the leg was quite new, so that there were no marks of any kind about it to afford a clue to its use. probably it had been made by the ship's carpenter for some unfortunate member of the crew who had come by an accident, and died before he could avail himself of it. suddenly the magician exclaimed-- "i know! i always knew that i would know, if i only thought hard enough. it is a club for fighting with. when the white men go to war they always use these things." grasping it in both hands, he swung it round his head, and made as though he would knock oolalik down with it, causing that young eskimo to shrink back in feigned alarm. "that may be so," said cheenbuk, with serious gravity. "i wonder we did not think of it before." "but if so," objected nazinred, who always took things seriously, "what is the use of the hollow in its head, and for what are these lines and ties fixed about it?" "don't you see?" said cheenbuk, with increased seriousness, "after knocking your enemy down with it you pour his blood into the hollow till it is full, let it freeze, and then tie it up to keep it safe, so that you can carry it home to let your wife see what you have done." the usual quiet glance at anteek had such an effect on that youth that he would have certainly exploded had he not been struck by an idea which displaced all tendency to laugh. "_i_ know," he cried eagerly. "you're all wrong; it is a _hat_!" so saying, he seized the leg out of the magician's hand and thrust it on his head with the toe pointing upwards. there was a tendency to approve of this solution, and the boy, tying two of the straps under his chin, sprang up, in the pride of his discovery. but his pride had a fall, for the leap thrust the leg through the snow roof of the hut, and the novel head-dress was wrenched off as he staggered back into cheenbuk's arms. despite this mishap, it was received by most of those present as a probable explanation of the difficulty, and afterwards anteek went proudly about wearing the wooden leg on his head. the style of cap proved rather troublesome, however, when he was engaged in his researches between decks, for more than once, forgetting to stoop low, he was brought up with an unpleasant jerk. in a forest, as nazinred suggested, the high crest might have been inconvenient, but out on the floes the unencumbered immensity of the arctic sky afforded the boy room to swagger to his heart's content. another discovery of great interest was the carpenter's cabin. unlike most of the other cabins, the door of this one was locked, and the key gone, though if it had been there no one would have guessed its use. peeping in through a crack, however, cheenbuk saw so many desirable things that he made short work of the obstruction by plunging his weight against it. the door went down with a crash, and the eskimo on the top of it. the sight that met his gaze amply repaid him, however, for there were collected in symmetrical array on the walls, saws, chisels, gimlets, gouges, bradawls, etcetera, while on a shelf lay planes, mallets, hammers, nails, augers--in short, every variety of boring, hammering, and cutting implement that can be imagined. an hour after the discovery of that cabin, there was not a man or boy in the tribe who was not going about with cut fingers, more or less. experience, however, very soon taught them caution. and here again the superior knowledge of nazinred came in usefully. like most indians, he was a man of observation. he had seen the fur-traders in their workshops, and had noted their tools. taking up a hand-saw he seized a piece of stick, and, although not an expert, sawed a lump off the end of it in a few seconds. as this would probably have cost an eskimo full half an hour to accomplish with his blunt knives, they were suitably impressed, and cheenbuk, seizing the saw, forthwith attempted to cut off the end of a rod of iron--with what effect it is scarcely necessary to explain. in the course of a few days the quantity of material brought on shore was so great that it was found necessary to begin a second storehouse. while most of the natives were engaged on this, cheenbuk and the indian continued their researches in the ship, for a vast part of its deep hold still remained unexplored, owing partly to the slowness of the investigation in consequence of the frequent bursts of amazement and admiration, as well as the numerous discussions that ensued--all of which required time. while going more minutely into the contents of the cabin, they came, among other things, on a variety of charts and books. "have you ever seen things like these?" asked cheenbuk in a tone of veneration, based on the belief that the indian had seen nearly everything the world contained. "never--except that," he replied, pointing to a log-book; "the traders use things like that. they open them and make marks in them." cheenbuk immediately opened the book in question and found marks--plenty of them; but of course could make nothing of them, even after turning them sideways and upside-down. as the indian was equally incapable, they returned the whole into the locker in which they had found them, intending to carry them on shore when the new store should be ready for the reception of goods. this was unfortunate, in some respects, as the next chapter will show. chapter twenty nine. curiosity and presumption followed by catastrophe. most of the able-bodied men and a few of the youngsters set off next day to obtain a supply of walrus, seal, and musk-ox flesh--or anything else that happened to be procurable. mrs mangivik and other ladies were left to look after the camp and prepare for the return of the men, strict orders being left that no one should go on board the ship on any pretext whatever. but strict orders are not always obeyed. there was one little boy in that community--not a bad boy, but a precocious and very ambitious boy-- who chanced not to hear the orders given. whether he was partially deaf, or purposely did not hear the orders, we cannot say. this little boy's chief weakness was a desire to mimic. having admired the wooden leg on anteek's head, and having observed where anteek had stowed the leg away before setting off with the hunters, he possessed himself of it, put it on his head, and strutted about the camp to the admiration and envy of all his compeers; for he was a very daring and domineering boy, although small. his name was doocheek. another of doocheek's weaknesses was a desire to ape the men, and think himself a man in consequence. this, coupled with a consuming curiosity in regard to nazinred's tobacco-pipe, caused him to observe--for he was remarkably observant--that the indian had, for the first time since he resided among them, gone off on an expedition and left his pipe behind him--accidentally, no doubt. doocheek watched his opportunity and secured the fire-bag which contained the smoking implements. stolen waters are sweet, even in cold climates where all the waters freeze, and the boy cast about for a secluded place in which he might enjoy the sweetness of his pipe to the full without fear of interruption. a blue cavern in an iceberg might do, but the atmosphere in such caves was rather cold. under the cliffs there were many sheltered places, but the juvenile members of the community were playing there, and would certainly intrude. out on the floes was an exposed place--to vision as well as to wind and drift. what was left to him, then, but the ship? hurrying through the village in order to carry out his plans, the boy encountered mrs mangivik at the entrance to her hut. "where are you going, doocheek?" demanded the woman, with a look of suspicion born of frequent experience. with that spirit of ambiguous contradiction which would seem to prevail among the youth of all nations, doocheek replied, "nowhere." it is interesting to observe how that remarkable answer seems to satisfy inquirers, in nine cases out of ten, everywhere! at all events mrs mangivik smiled as if she were satisfied, and re-entered her hut, where nootka was engaged in conversation with adolay, while she taught her how to make eskimo boots. "did not cheenbuk forbid every one to go near the big kayak while the men were away?" demanded the woman. "yes he did," answered nootka, without raising her eyes.--"now look here, ad-dolay. you turn the toe up this way, and the heel down that way, and shove your needle in so, and then--" "i am very sure," interrupted mrs mangivik, "that little doocheek has gone down there. there's not another little boy in the tribe but himself would dare to do it." "he will lose some of his skin if he does," said nootka quietly-- referring not to any habit of the eskimos to flay bad boys alive, but to their tendency to punish the refractory in a way that was apt to ruffle the cuticle. quite indifferent to all such prospects in store for him, the boy hurried on until he reached the foot of the snow staircase. it had been repaired by that time, and the deck was easily gained. descending to a part of the interior which was rather dark--for the boy was aware that his deeds were evil--he sat down on a locker and opened his fire-bag. eskimos are not quite free from superstition. doocheek had plenty of natural courage, but he was apt to quail before the supernatural. apart from the conscience, which even in arctic bosoms tends to produce cowardice, the strange surroundings of the place--the deep shadows, merging into absolute obscurity, and the feeling of mystery that attached to everything connected with the vessel--all had the effect of rendering doocheek's enjoyment somewhat mixed. to look at him as he sat there, glaring nervously on all sides, one would have been tempted to say that his was what might be called a fearful joy. if a rat or a mouse had scurried past him at that moment he would have fled precipitately, but no rat or mouse moved. probably they were all frozen, and he had the place entirely to himself--too much to himself. he began at that point to wish that he had brought another little boy, or even a girl, with him, to keep up his courage and share in his triumphant wickedness. however, as nothing happened, his courage began to return, and he emptied the contents of the bag on the locker. he knew exactly what to do, for many a time had he watched the indian fill his pipe and produce fire with flint, steel, and tinder. beginning with the pipe, he filled it, and then proceeded to strike a light. of course he found this much more difficult than he had expected. it seemed so easy in the indian's hands--it was so very difficult in his! after skinning his knuckles, however, chipping his thumb-nail, and knocking the flint out of his hand several times, he succeeded in making the right stroke, and a shower of sparks rewarded his perseverance. this was charming. the place was so dark that the sparks seemed as large and bright as stars, while the darkness that followed was deeper by contrast. forgetting the pipe and tobacco in this new-found joy, doocheek kept pelting away at the flint, sending showers of sparks past his knees, and some of them were so large that they even fell upon the deck before going out. but an abrupt stop was put to his amusement. whether it was that something or other in the sides of the ship had given way, or the energetic action of the boy had shaken some fastening loose, we cannot say, but just as he was in the act of raising his hand for another _feu-de-joie_, a shelf over his head gave way, and a perfect avalanche of pots, pans, and noisy tin articles came down with a hideous crash on the deck! to leap from the locker like a bomb-shell, and go straight up the hatchway like a rocket, was only natural. doocheek did that as far as was compatible with flesh and blood. he could not remember afterwards by what process he reached the ice and found himself on the skirts of the village. but at that point his self-control returned, and he sauntered home--flushed, it is true, and a little winded, yet with the _nonchalant_ air of a man who had just stepped out to "have a look at the weather." his conscience was rather troubled, it is true, when he thought of the fire-bag and the pipe, etcetera, left behind, but nothing would have induced him to return for these at that time. towards evening the walrus-hunters returned. they had been very successful. the sledges were loaded up with the meat of several large animals, so that there was a prospect of unlimited feasting for more than a week to come. "now, old woman," said cheenbuk with cheery irreverence to his mother, and with that good-natured familiarity which is often engendered by good fortune, "stir up the lamps and get ready the marrow-bones!" regardless of lamps and marrow-bones, all the children of the community, even to the smallest babes, were sucking raw blubber as children in less favoured lands suck lollipops. "had you to go far?" asked adolay. "not far. we found them all close by, and would have been back sooner, but some of them fought hard and took up much time," answered cheenbuk, who awaited the cooking process; for since he had discovered the indian girl's disgust at raw meat, he had become a total abstainer on the point. "and," he added, beginning to pull off his boots, "if your father had not been there with the spouter we should have been out on the floes fighting still, for some of the walruses were savage, and hard to kill." after supper, as a matter of course, nazinred looked round with an air of benign satisfaction on his fine face. "is my fire-bag behind you, adolay?" he asked in a low voice. doocheek was present and heard the question, but of course did not understand it, as it was put in the dogrib tongue. the search, however, which immediately began induced him to retire promptly and absent himself from home for the time being. "it is not here, father." a more careful search was made, then a most careful one, but no fire-bag was to be found. "perhaps nootka took it to her sleeping-place to keep it safe," suggested old mangivik. no; nootka had seen nothing of it, and nootka was not a little annoyed when, in spite of her assertion, a search was made in her boudoir, and not a little triumphant when the search proved fruitless. "surely no one has taken it away," said cheenbuk, looking round with an expression that would have sunk doocheek through the snow into the earth if he had been there. "_if_ any one has taken it away," said aglootook, with a profundity of meaning in his tone that was meant to paralyse the guilty, and serve as a permanent caution to the innocent, "_something_ awful will happen. i don't say what, but _something_; so it will be as well to confess, for i'm sure to find it out--if not soon, then in a long time." for some moments after this there was dead silence, but nobody confessed, and they all looked at each other as if they expected some one to go off like a cannon shot through the roof suddenly, and were somewhat disappointed that no one did. by degrees they began to breathe more freely, and at last some went out to seek repose in their own huts, while the inmates of mangivik's dwelling began to turn in for the night. nootka and adolay retired to the boudoir, and the men, drawing bear or seal-skins over them, lay down, each where he had feasted. nazinred alone remained sitting up, the victim of unsatisfied craving. north american indians are noted for their power to conceal their feelings, and nazinred was not an exception to the rule, for no sign did he betray of the longing desire for a pipe that consumed him. only a tendency to silence, and a deeper solemnity than usual, seemed to indicate that all was not as he would wish. at last he lay down. about an hour afterwards, finding that he could not sleep, he arose, cast an envious glance at the peaceful slumberers around him, crept through the entrance tunnel, and stood erect outside, with a gaze of subdued inquiry at the starry host overhead. bringing his eyes slowly down to the things of earth, his gaze changed suddenly into one of wild alarm. the cause was obvious enough. when doocheek fled from the avalanche of pots and tins, as before mentioned, he failed to observe that one of the sparks, which had filled him with delight, had remained nestling and alive in a mass of cotton-waste, or some such rubbish, lying on the lower deck. with the tendency of sparks to increase and propagate their species, this particular one soon had a large and vigorous family of little sparks around it. a gentle puff of wind made these little ones lively, and induced them, after the manner of little ones everywhere, to scatter on exploring rambles. like juveniles, too, their food at first was simple,--a few more mouthfuls of waste and a bit of rope here and there; hence their progress was slow and quiet. but time and increasing strength soon made them impatient of such light food. ere long they created a draught of their own, and were blown into a flame. then some of them laid hold of some bedding, while others seized upon a bulkhead, and, gathering courage from success, they finally enveloped the 'tween-decks in a mass of flame. it was at this point in the business that the eyes of nazinred beheld a column of smoke rising from the after-companion hatch which threw his own smoking powers entirely into the shade, and induced him to utter an unreasoning war-whoop that roused the eskimo tribe as if by a shock of electricity. the entire population rushed out like one man. they saw the smoke, with a lurid flame licking out here and there amid the blackness, and seeing the indian flying down the beach as if he were witch-possessed--as indeed he was--they uttered a united howl, and made off in the same direction. fire brigades, of course, are unknown among the eskimos, but the way in which cheenbuk improvised and organised an arctic brigade might have roused the envy even of the london force! great men are always with us, though not always recognised. it requires specially great occasions to draw them forth, and make them visible even to themselves. many a time in former years had cheenbuk spilt water on the cooking-lamp and put it out. water at once occurred to his mind in connection with the tremendous lamp that was now fairly alight. but water was at that time locked up seven or eight feet under the solid ice. the active mind of the eskimo naturally reverted to snow ere yet he had covered the distance between ship and shore. we say naturally, because he was quite aware that snow also extinguished lamps. cutting a huge block of snow with his bone knife from the beaten plain, he shouted in a voice of thunder: "hi! every one. look at me! do as i do!" he shouldered the mass, sprang up the snow stair, and plunged down the smoking hatchway. cheenbuk and oolalik, who were as quick to obey as to command--perhaps quicker--followed their leader's example. others followed suit according to their respective natures and capacities. anteek, bearing a mass nearly as big as himself, also dashed below in wild excitement. some of the young men tumbled their burdens of snow down the smoking hole and went back for more. even old mangivik did that as fast as his rheumatic limbs would let him. raventik, reckless as usual, sprang down with a mighty lump, but finding the atmosphere below uncongenial, hurled it towards his predecessors, and sprang up again for a fresh supply, watering at the eyes and choking. the poor invalid ondikik walked as hard as his fast-failing strength would permit. the women even, led by the thoroughly roused cowlik, bore their share in the work. the children took prompt advantage of the occasion to enjoy by far the wildest game that had ever yet been suggested to their imaginations, and aglootook the magician, seeing that _something_ had come at last to verify his predictions, stood by the capstan and appointed himself to the command of the upper deck brigade, while the others were battling with the flames below. the battle was indeed a tough one; for the fire had got a firm hold, not only of the materials already mentioned, but also of a mass of canvas and cordage in what must have been the sail-maker's department, and the smoke was growing so dense that it was becoming difficult for the firemen to breathe. "here! nazinred, oolalik, throw the biggest lumps you can lift over _there_." cheenbuk pointed to what seemed a red-hot spot in the dense smoke before them, and set them the example by heaving a gigantic mass at the same place. a tremendous hiss came forth as the snow was converted into steam, but there was no abatement in the roar of the devouring element as it licked up everything around it, making the iron bolts red, and, though not themselves combustible, assistants to combustion. "more snow, anteek! more snow!" gasped cheenbuk. the boy, with a mass of half-melted snow still in his hand, sprang up the ladder, scarce knowing what he did, and appeared on deck, blackened and wildly dishevelled. aglootook was close to the opening at the moment, giving sententious directions to some little boys. anteek hurled the snow-mass full at his face with the force of an ardent nature intensified by contempt, and sent him sprawling among the children as he leaped over the side to carry out his orders. but no energy on the part of cheenbuk and his comrades, no efforts on the part of their assistants, strong or feeble, could avert that ship's doom. ere long the smoke and heat between decks became unbearable, and drove the gallant leaders back, inch by inch, foot by foot, until they were compelled to take refuge on the upper deck, when nothing more could be done to arrest the progress of the flames. they retired therefore to the quarter-deck, where the whole of the eskimos--men, women, and children--assembled to look on at the destruction which they could not now prevent. "this is a great loss," observed cheenbuk regretfully, as he sat on the after-rail, mopping the perspiration off his blackened face with his sleeve. "it might have been a greater loss," said nazinred, glancing towards the well-filled storehouses on shore. "that is true; but just think of what a supply of wood for spears and sledges! it would have been enough to last the lives of our children's children, if not longer." "did i not tell you that _something_ would happen?" said aglootook, coming forward at that moment. "yes, and something did happen," said old mangivik, "though i could not see how it happened, for the smoke. did not a lump of snow fly in your face and knock you over among the children?" the magician ignored the question altogether, and, turning to cheenbuk, asked if he thought there was yet any chance of saving the ship. "not unless you manage to send some of your magic down and stop the fire." "that is not possible," returned the other, with a wisely grave look. "i can do much, but i cannot do that." as he spoke, a fresh roar of the fire up the hatch-way attracted attention. gathering strength, it burst up in a bright flame, showing that the quarter-deck could not long remain a place of security. suddenly nazinred showed signs of excitement which were very unusual in him. fighting the walrus or bear, or battling with the fire, had never produced such an expression as crossed his face, while he cast a hasty glance round on the women and children, whose forms were by that time lit up by the dull red glow that issued from the column of smoke. "cheenbuk," he said in a low voice, "the black stuff that i put in my spouter is kept by traders in round things--i forget the name. if there is one of these round things here, and it catches fire, we shall, every one of us, with the ship, be sent up to the stars!" the remark was meant to reach the ear of the leader alone, but several of those around heard it, and a wild rush was instantly made for the snow stair, amid feminine and juvenile shrieks. aglootook incontinently hurled himself over the side, and fell on his hands and knees on the ice, where an opportune snow-drift saved him. most of the party ran or leaped out of the threatened danger. "does not my father think that we should go?" asked cheenbuk, who began to feel uneasy as a fresh burst of flame set fire to the canvas awning, and made the place they stood on unpleasantly hot. "yes, my son, he does," replied nazinred; "but it does not become men to _run_ from danger." so saying he began to move as if in a funeral procession, closely followed by cheenbuk, oolalik, and old mangivik. as they reached the head of the staircase something like an explosion occurred, for the deck was partially burst up by the heat. the three eskimos, who did not think their dignity affected by haste, leaped down the stair in two bounds, but nazinred did not alter his walk in the least. step by step he descended deliberately, and walked in stolid solemnity to the spot on which the community had assembled as a place of safety. they did not speak much after that, for the sight was too thrilling and too novel to admit of conversation. shouts and exclamations alone broke forth at intervals. the danger to which they had been exposed while on the quarter-deck became more apparent when a clear bright flame at length shot upwards, and, catching some of the ropes, ran along and aloft in all directions. hitherto the fire had been much smothered by its own smoke and the want of air below, but now that it had fairly burst its bonds and got headway, it showed itself in its true character as a fierce and insatiable devourer of all that came in its way. catching hold of the awning over the deck, it swept fore and aft like a billow, creating such heat that the spectators were forced to retreat to a still safer distance. from the awning it licked round the masts, climbed them, caught the ropes and flew up them, sweeping out upon the yards to their extreme ends, so that, in a few minutes, the ship was ablaze from hold to truck, and stem to stern. then the event which nazinred had referred to occurred. the flames reached the powder magazine. it exploded, and the terrified natives yelled their feelings, while the entire structure went up into the heavens with a roar to which the loudest thunder could not compare, and a sheet of intense light that almost blinded them. the explosion blew out every fork of flame, great and small, and left an appalling blackness by contrast, while myriads of red-hot fragments fell in a shower on the ice, and rebounded from it, like evil spirits dancing around the tremendous wreck that they had caused. fortunately the eskimos were beyond the range of the fiery shower. when they ventured, with awe-stricken looks, to approach the scene of the catastrophe, only a yawning cavern in the floe remained to tell of the stately vessel that had thus ended her final voyage. chapter thirty. a declaration, an interruption, and a great fight. the loss which the eskimos sustained in the destruction of the ship was in one sense considerable, for the woodwork about her would have been of immense value to them; nevertheless their gains in what had already been stored were very great, so that they were able to regard their losses with philosophic composure. the weeks that followed--weeks of ever increasing light and warmth--were spent in examining and sorting their material into packages suitable for transport on sledges to their summer quarters at waruskeek. and here again the knowledge possessed by nazinred of the habits and implements of the white men was of great service. adolay also helped to instruct, for when among the sail-maker's tools they found a number of the finer sort of needles and threads, as well as a few feminine thimbles, so to speak, she was able to show the women at once how to use them, and thus saved them from the trouble of puzzling out the matter for themselves. "what is this?" asked anteek of nazinred one day, presenting a file which he had just picked up. "that is a thing," replied the indian, who, being ignorant of the names of most tools, got over the difficulty by calling all objects "things"--"that is a thing made for cutting iron with; rubbing it down and cutting it short. it cuts things that are too hard for a knife." "i think," returned the boy, regarding it attentively, "we might try it on aglootook's nose. that wants cutting short, and rubbing down too, for it seems very hard to look at it." nazinred did not smile. he was slow to understand a joke. perhaps he thought it a poor one, but cheenbuk appreciated it, and met it with the suggestion that an axe might be more effective. they were gravely debating this point in front of the snow stores, when ondikik came up and asked when it was likely that a start would be made for home, as he styled their old winter village. "go and ask mangivik. when he gives the order i'm ready," said cheenbuk. "don't say a word to aglootook," said anteek, as the young man turned to go; "he will be sure to say that _something_ will happen if you do." "yes, and as something always does happen," remarked cheenbuk, "he's sure to be right, the moosquat." "moo-squat" seemed to be used as a term of extreme contempt; it may not therefore be incorrect to translate it--"humbug!" on being consulted, old mangivik, who was generally credited with being weather-wise and intelligent, gave it as his opinion that, as the things from the white man's kayak were all ready packed on the sledges, and the weather was very warm, and the days were growing long, and the ice and snow were melting fast, the sooner they set out the better. aglootook coincided with that opinion, because he had been led to the same conclusion some days before, chiefly in consequence of profound thought during the dark hours of night. "and if we don't start off now," he added at the end of a portentous oration, "no one can tell what will happen--something fearful, i know, though of course it is not possible to say what." as no one felt disposed to object, the preparations were hurried forward, and, soon after, the whole tribe went off on the return journey, leaving behind them a black and yawning gulf in the arctic solitude where so lately a noble ship had been. arrived at the old village, these lively and energetic nomads occupied themselves during the brief remainder of winter and the early spring in securely hiding the goods of which they had become possessed, excepting such light portions as they meant to carry along with them to their summer retreat. among these were a number of bows, spears, and arrows made from the wood of the burnt vessel, with cleverly adapted iron heads, filed to fine sharp points, and burnished until they glittered in the light. of knives and axes there were also sufficient to equip most of the young men, and those, for whom there were none, made to themselves pretty good knives out of pieces of hoop-iron. when at last the ocean currents and summer heat broke up the solid floes and set the icebergs free to resume their majestic southward course, our eskimos put their sledges _en cache_, got out kayaks and oomiaks, and, wielding both the short and the long paddle, started off towards the southwest, in the direction of waruskeek--some of the tribe, however, with a few of the old people, remaining behind. "now, adolay, we are going to take you home," said cheenbuk, the day they started, while walking with her towards the oomiak in which she was to take her seat and a paddle. "will the indian girl be glad to leave us?" the faintest possible tinge of red suffused her cheek, as she dropped her eyes and replied-- "she will be glad to get home." "when you have got home, and stayed for a time with your people," returned cheenbuk, who was usually blunt and to-the-point in his conversation, "will you come away with me and be my woman--my squaw?" he added, accommodating his words to the indian vocabulary. "i cannot leave my mother," answered the maiden in a low voice. "that is good," returned the gallant eskimo, "but cheenbuk can leave _his_ mother and his father too. if i go and live with the men-of-the-woods, will you be my squaw?" adolay with downcast eyes gave no answer. it is said that silence gives consent. we are ignorant as to arctic opinion on this point, but before light could be thrown on the subject, anteek came rushing round the corner of a stranded berg with the exclamation-- "hoi! cheenbuk--here you are! we thought you must have got into the teeth of a walrus or the arms of a bear!" cheenbuk frowned savagely, caught anteek by his nether garments and the nape of his neck, and, lifting him high above his head, seemed about to dash him on the ground. but, instead, he replaced him gently on his feet, and, with a benignant smile, told him to run down to the shore and put his kayak in the water so as to be ready for him. anteek, who was obedience personified, hastened away at once, rubbing his nether garments, and sorely perplexed as to the strange spirit which seemed so suddenly to have taken possession of the friend he so ardently idolised. it was arranged that nazinred, being unaccustomed to the eskimo kayak, should voyage with the women in one of the oomiaks. to a younger brave this might have been regarded as an undignified position, but to a man of his years and tried experience it was only a subject for a passing smile. but the indian did not accept the position of an idle passenger. although inexpert in the use of the two-bladed paddle and the light kayak, he was thoroughly capable of using the women's paddle with the single blade, as it bore much resemblance in shape and size to that used in his native canoe. he therefore quietly assumed the post of steersman in the oomiak, which contained madam mangivik, nootka, the easy-going cowlik, the gentle rinka, adolay, and a variety of children and babies. the young man oolalik, in defiance of immemorial custom, also took a seat and a paddle in that oomiak--out of pure hospitality of course, and for the sole purpose of keeping their guest company. nootka said nothing, but she seemed amused as well as pleased at the innovation. so were the children, for oolalik was a prime favourite with young as well as old. old uleeta was the captain of another of the oomiaks, and it was observed that aglootook cast longing and frequent glances in her direction, believing, no doubt, that a place by her side would be an easier berth than in his own kayak, with nothing but the strength of his own lazy arm to urge it on; but as there was no guest in this case to justify the breach of ancient custom on the ground of hospitality, he felt that manhood required him to stay where he was. it was a pretty sight the starting of the little flotilla on a brilliant spring morning, with the sea as calm as a millpond, fantastic masses of white ice floating about in all directions, and mountainous bergs here and there giving dignity as well as variety, by their size and light-green sides and deep blue caverns, to a scene which might otherwise have been too suggestive of wedding-cake. seals, walruses, sea-birds, and numerous denizens of the deep and air, were sporting about in fearless indifference to the presence of their great enemy, man, but these were unheeded until hunger began to affect the eskimo. then the war began, with its usual result--"the survival of the fittest." one day, however, there was a battle in which it came about that the tables were almost turned, and the survival, as regards the animals, very nearly reversed. it happened thus. we have already referred to the ferocity of the walrus when attacked. as a rule, man is the assailant. sometimes, however, the monster of the arctic deep assumes the offensive. on the occasion we are about to describe the attack was made in force. the day had been brilliantly fine. the bergs had absolutely duplicated and inverted themselves by reflection, so that the sunlit pinnacles became submarine fires, and refraction stepped in to reverse, and as it were shatter, the floes on the horizon, while three mock suns glowed in the heavens at the same time--thus making the beautiful confusion still more exquisitely confounded. "walrus!" said cheenbuk, pointing with the end of his long paddle in the direction of a large berg just ahead of them. nazinred, who was close alongside of him, ceased to paddle, and shaded his eyes with his hand. so did his crew. the whole flotilla ceased to paddle, and skimmed slowly along for some moments in dead silence. then aglootook, in virtue of his office and presumption, spoke in a low voice-- "let us pull softly, and speak not at all. there are plenty of beasts. wonders shall be done to-day if you attend to what i say." they all acted on his advice, whether they heard it or not, for eskimos need no caution to be wary and silent when approaching a herd of walruses. there appeared to be at least a hundred animals lying sunning themselves on the various ice-lumps into which the floes were broken up. on one mass about half a mile off there were some twenty rolling about and grunting comfortably to each other. towards these the flotilla slowly drifted, for the dipping of the paddles could scarcely be seen, and was quite noiseless. by slow degrees they drew near, and then the oomiaks hung back, with the exception of that steered by nazinred, who had got his fire-spouter ready, while oolalik stood in the bow, harpoon in hand, and lance ready by his side. the women were not expected to take part in the action--only to look on,--but all the men in kayaks advanced. while these last went on towards the main herd, our indian steered straight for the ice-cake on which the largest number lay, and as they drew near, the extreme ugliness of the creatures' faces and black heads became very apparent. there was an old bull with tusks not far short of three feet long among the herd. beside him was a young bull, which seemed from his wicked expression to be screwing up his courage to assault the old one. the rest were females and young ones of various ages, down to what seemed the very last walrus baby. those that were grown up had bristling moustaches like porcupine-quills on their flat lips, and the young ones had tusks in different degrees of development--except the baby, whose head resembled an ill-shaped football. they did not seem in the least afraid of the approaching oomiak. perhaps they thought it a very dirty piece of ice covered with rather grotesque seals. at all events, although they looked at it, they went on with their mooing and rolling about, quite regardless of it, until oolalik sent his harpoon deep into the side of one of the cows. then indeed there was tremendous roaring and confusion, as the whole herd tumbled off the ice raft into the sea. the splash sent a cataract of spray over the eskimos; and no wonder, for the old bull was full sixteen feet long, with barrel-bulk equal to a hogshead. some of the others were not much smaller. the harpoon thrown was attached to a short line, to the end of which an inflated seal-skin was fastened for the purpose of forming a drag on the animal harpooned, and, by coming to the surface, showing its whereabouts. but on this occasion the creatures required no such contrivance to bring them up, for no sooner were the two bulls in their native element than they uttered a horrible succession of roars, and made straight for the oomiak. a rip in the side of the skin boat would have been fatal, or, if one of the animals were to hook on to it with his tusks, an upset would be certain. oolalik therefore grasped his long lance, while nazinred steered so as to keep the bow end-on to the assailants. another moment and oolalik dealt the oldest bull a thrust in the neck that sent it back roaring. the cry seemed to be a summons, for answering cries were heard all round, and the walruses were seen to be converging towards their savage old chief. meanwhile the young bull had reached the right side of the oomiak, where cowlik sat with an easy-going look on her placid face, admiring the scene. nazinred was so intent on keeping the craft right that he failed to notice it until its ugly head and ponderous tusks rose above the gunwale. but cowlik proved equal to the occasion. the easy-going look vanished, and the end of her paddle went into the throat of the brute with a thrust so vigorous that the boat was driven to one side and the tusks missed their mark. at the same moment adolay, who sat close to her, grasped her paddle like a double-handed sword, and brought it down with surprising force on the creature's left eye. a shot from the fire-spouter followed; the ball entered the same eye, reached the brain, and the young bull sank to rise no more. the indian reloaded as fast as he could, but not in time for another charge from the old bull, which oolalik met with a stab in the side that again turned him off bellowing. a still younger bull, anxious, perchance, to win its spurs, took advantage of the situation, and made a dash at the opposite side, but nootka sent about two feet of her paddle down its throat, which induced it to reconsider its intentions. just then a loud report told that the spouter was again to the front. this time the ball took effect on the old bull's forehead, and remained there. it neither killed nor stunned, though it probably surprised it, for it sheered off permanently, and all the rest of the herd went away to sea along with it. after this unexpected and dangerous encounter was over, it was found that several other animals were splashing about in a dying state, or fast to seal-skin buoys which the men in the kayaks had managed to affix to them. one of these was closely followed up by anteek, who had very cleverly launched his harpoon. aglootook was also seen to be struggling with a buoy, which he was trying to haul in. "keep off!" he cried in great excitement when old mangivik paddled to his assistance; "i have lanced it twice. i need no help. see, the water is full of blood!" "that is my beast you are fighting," remarked oolalik, as the oomiak came up. "look at the float: it is mine." the magician looked crestfallen. he had hoped, probably, to kill the wounded animal, secure it to his kayak, and cast loose the buoy, so that no one could claim it. he made the most of the situation, however, by asserting stoutly that if he had not lanced it well it would certainly have broken loose from the buoy. when the whole party was assembled on a large floe, cutting up and stowing away the meat, some of the younger men began to comment on the success of the hunt, and to congratulate themselves on the large supply of fresh provisions which they had secured. "did i not tell you," said aglootook, who appeared to be superintending the workers, "that wonders would be done to-day?" "you did," replied cheenbuk gravely, "and one of the greatest wonders was that you managed to lance a walrus!" "it was indeed a great wonder," returned the magician, with a smile of supreme satisfaction, "for i was not hunting at all at the time--only looking on by way of encouraging the young men. it just came in my way and i killed it, easily, in passing. if i had been really hunting, then indeed," he added, with solemn emphasis, "you would have seen something to astonish you." "i have no doubt of that!" remarked cheenbuk. at the same moment anteek went off into an explosion of laughter, which he accounted for by pointing at a baby-walrus which had just put its head out of the water with an expression of surprise on its innocent face that clearly indicated its inability to understand what was going on. chapter thirty one. an expedition and a disappointment. a few days later the whole tribe arrived at their summer quarters, and no civilised family of boys and girls ever arrived at their seaside home with a more genuine expression of noisy delight than that with which those eskimos took possession of the turf-mud-and-stone-built huts of waruskeek. it was not only the children who thus let loose their glee. the young men and maidens also began to romp round the old dwellings in the pure enjoyment of ancient memories and present sunshine, while the elders expressed their satisfaction by looking on with approving nods and occasional laughter. even old mangivik so far forgot the dignity of his advanced age as to extend his right toe, when anteek was rushing past, and trip up that volatile youth, causing him to plunge headlong into a bush which happened to grow handy for his reception. nazinred alone maintained his dignity, but so far condescended to harmonise with the prevailing spirit as to smile now and then. as for adolay, she utterly ignored the traditions of her people, and romped and laughed with the best of them, to the great delight of nootka, who sometimes felt inclined to resent her stately ways. cheenbuk adopted an intermediate course, sometimes playing a practical joke on the young men, at other times entering into grave converse with his indian guest. aglootook of course stuck to his own _role_. he stood on a bank of sand which overlooked the whole, and smiled gracious approval, as though he were the benignant father of a large family, whom he was charmed to see in the enjoyment of innocent mirth. cheenbuk soon formed his plans for the future, and laid them before the elders of the tribe the same evening after supper--at that period when poor nazinred would have been enjoying his pipe, if that implement had not been blown with all his tobacco and tinder into the arctic sky. it is but just to the indian to add that he took his heavy loss in a philosophical spirit, and had by that time quite got over the craving-- insomuch that he began to wonder why he had ever come under the sway of such a taste. "now," said cheenbuk, with an air of decision, "listen to my plans." "hoi! ho!" exclaimed every one, especially aglootook, who added "hay!" in a peculiar tone, thus giving him leave, as it were, to talk as much as he pleased. "you all know that i have promised to take adolay back to her own home, and you know that i never break my promises. it is therefore my intention to set off to the whale river after two suns have gone round the sky." "hoi!" exclaimed some of the young men, with looks of surprise at such promptitude. we may observe here that in those regions the sun in summer describes nearly an unbroken circle in the sky, and that cheenbuk's reference was to the next two days. "i will take with me as many men and women as choose to go, but no children. we will take our spears and bows to procure food, but not to fight, for i go to make friends with the fire-spouters and the white traders. so, if any one wants to fight,"--he looked at raventik here, but that fire-eater happened to be absent-minded at the moment, and sat with downcast eyes,--"_to fight_," he repeated with emphasis, "he will have to remain at home and fight the walrus--or the women!" a faint "ho!" here indicated a desire for more. "nazinred says he is sure his people will be glad to meet us. i am sure we shall be glad to meet his people. what will happen after that, i cannot tell." "_something_ will certainly happen," murmured aglootook, as if holding converse with his own spirit, or with his familiar. "i know it; i am sure of it. i tell you all beforehand." "and you will accompany us," said cheenbuk, turning to the magician with a nod of approval. "when we go on an errand of peace we need our wisest men with us, men whose knowledge and experience will make the fire-spouters think much of us, and men who don't like fighting." "now, then," continued the eskimo, turning again to the young men, "who will go? i shall not allow any to go who are not quite willing." there was no lack of volunteers. the party was then and there arranged, and two days later they set out on their mission, a goodly band, in kayaks and oomiaks. the weather continued fine; the days were long; islets for camping-places were numerous, and in process of time the party reached the mouth of the whale--otherwise greygoose--river, which they began to ascend. "oh!" exclaimed adolay, with glistening eyes, as she looked from bank to bank; "i know it so well--almost every bush and tree." "and you love it?" said nootka. "yes, yes; is it not my own country?" nootka sighed. "i wish i could love my country like you; but your country sticks. mine melts away--most of it--every hot sun-time; and it is not easy to care much for things that melt." "but waruskeek does not melt," said adolay sympathetically. "that is true," returned nootka, as if pleased to think of something solid, round which her affections might entwine; "but we stay such a short time there--only while the hot sun-time lasts, and i have not time to get very fond of it--not so as to make my eyes open and my cheeks grow red like yours." "then you must come and live with me and love _my_ country," said the indian girl in a patronising tone. "what! and forsake oolalik?" exclaimed the eskimo maiden, with heightened colour and flashing eyes. "no, never. _he_ will not melt, what ever else does." "right, nootka," exclaimed adolay, with a laugh. "it would take a very hot sun indeed to melt oolalik. but perhaps the whole tribe will stay in my country. i think that cheenbuk will get us over this difficulty. it is wonderful what can be done by a man with a determined mind like cheenbuk." "yes, some of us eskimos have very determined minds," said nootka, complacently. adolay laughed lightly. "and don't you think that some of the fire-spouters have also a good deal of determination--especially one of them who left the lodges of his people and wandered over the great salt lake all alone in search of his child?" "you speak truth," returned nootka, with a pleasant nod. "i'll tell you what i think: both our nations are very determined--very." having come to this satisfactory conclusion, the maidens relapsed into general conversation. but a disappointment was in store which none of the party had counted on. when the village of the fire-spouters was reached, not a soul was to be seen. the tent-poles remained, and the ashes of the hearths were still there; but the ashes were cold, and not a man, woman, or child remained--not even a dog. nazinred and adolay hurried at once along the well-known foot-path which led to the spot where their own wigwam had stood, but the place was deserted. as in the case of all the other lodges, only the bare poles, according to custom, were left--the coverings having been carried away. father and child looked at each other for some time in silent dismay. it was a terrible homecoming--so different from what each had been fondly anticipating! the anxious father had strode on in advance of the eskimo party, but cheenbuk had followed. he hung back a little from feelings of delicacy as they neared the old home, and was much moved when he saw irrepressible tears flowing from the eyes of adolay. "have enemies been in the camp?" he asked, when they had contemplated the scene for some minutes in silence. "no; enemies have not been here," answered the indian. "there is no blood on the ground; no sign of a struggle. the tent-poles are not thrown down; the ashes of the fires have not been scattered. this would not have been so if there had been a fight. keep up heart, adolay!" he added, turning to the weeping girl; "no evil can have come to our people, for they have left of their own will for a new camp; but i am perplexed, for this is the best place in all the dogrib lands for a village, and we had lived long here in contentment." "but if that be so, there must be good reason for their having left," suggested cheenbuk. "good reason--yes, the men-of-the-woods never act without good reason." "my father may be perplexed about reasons," continued the eskimo, "but surely he will have no difficulty in finding his people, for are not the men-of-the-woods good at following up a trail?" "truly you say what is true. it will be easy to find and follow the trail of a whole tribe," returned nazinred, with a smile. "but it is disappointing to find that they have forsaken the old place, and it may be many days before we find them." "father!" exclaimed adolay at this point, a bright look overspreading her features, "mother must have left some sign on a piece of bark, as i did at waruskeek." "i had expected as much," said the indian, looking round the camp, "and i had thought to find it here." "not here," returned the girl, with a soft laugh; "you don't know mother as well as i do! there is a tree, under the shade of which she and i used to work when the days were long. if there is a message anywhere, it is there." she bounded away as she spoke, like a fawn, and in a few minutes returned with a piece of bark in her hand. "here it is, father. i knew it would be there. let us sit down now and make it out." sitting down beside the cold hearth of the old home, father and child began to spell out isquay's letter, while cheenbuk looked on in admiring silence and listened. the letter bore a strong family likeness to that which had formerly been written--or drawn--by adolay at waruskeek, showing clearly whence the girl had derived her talent. "the hand at the top points the way clear enough," said the indian, "but were you careful to observe the direction before you moved it?" "of course i was, father. i'm not a baby now," returned the girl, with a laugh and a glance at cheenbuk. "that you certainly are not!" thought the eskimo, with a look of open admiration. "it pointed _there_," she continued, extending her hand in a north-westerly direction. "the ukon river flows there," returned nazinred thoughtfully, as he traced the various parts of the letter with his forefinger. "is that river better than the greygoose one?" asked cheenbuk. "no. it is as good--not better," replied the indian, in an absent mood. "adolay, this piece of bark carries some strange news. here we have the whole tribe starting off for the ukon with all their tents, provisions, and everything in sledges. so they left in the cold season--" "yes, father," interrupted adolay, knitting her pretty brows as she earnestly scanned the letter, "but don't you see the line of geese flying over the tree-tops? that shows that it was at the beginning of the warm time." "adolay is the worthy daughter of a dogrib chief!" said nazinred, patting the girl's shoulder. "i hope she'll be the worthy wife of an eskimo youth some day," thought cheenbuk, but, as usual, he said nothing. "and look here, father," continued adolay,--"what do they mean by having all their snow-shoes slung on their guns instead of on their feet?" "it means that the snow was very soft, beginning to melt, and it was easier to tramp through it without snow-shoes than with them. i hope they have been careful, for there is great danger in crossing lakes and rivers at such a time of the year." "no fear of danger," said adolay, with a laugh, "when magadar leads the way. don't you see him there in front? mother knows how to draw faces--only his nose is too long." "that is to show that he is the guide," observed nazinred. "did you not do the very same thing yourself when you made cheenbuk's nose far too long--for the same purpose?" adolay laughed heartily at this, and cheenbuk joined her, feeling his nose at the same time, as if to make sure that its handsome proportions were not changed. "and look--look, father!" resumed the girl, growing excited over the letter; "that is your friend mozwa! i feel sure of it by the shape of his legs. who could mistake his legs? nobody is like mother. she does legs as well as faces. but what is that on his wife's back--not a new baby, surely?" "why not, my child?" "poor man!" sighed adolay. "he had enough to provide for before." "poor woman!" thought cheenbuk, but he maintained a discreet silence. of course it was decided to follow up the trail of the tribe without delay. as nazinred had surmised, it was easily found and not difficult to follow. that night, however, the party encamped round the hearths of the deserted village. chapter thirty two. an unexpected meeting. the brief summer had fled, and autumn, with its bright sunshine and invigorating frosts, had returned to the far north, when one day, during that short delightful period styled the indian summer, our friend macsweenie and his inseparable henchman mowat sauntered down to the beach in front of the new fort. "iss it here the canoe wass lyin', tonal'?" "ay, yonder it is, just beyond the palin', bottom up." "man, this iss fine weather--whatever." "it is that," replied mowat, who could hardly have replied otherwise, for the fact did not admit of a doubt. there was an intense brilliancy yet a hazy softness in the air, which was particularly exhilarating. trumpeting wild-geese, piping plover, the whistling wings of wild-ducks, and the notes of other innumerable feathered tribes, large and small, were filling the woods and swamps with the music of autumnal revelry, as they winged their way to southern lands. every view was beautiful; all the sounds were cheerful. an absolute calm prevailed, so that the lake-like expanse in front of the fort formed a perfect mirror in which the cliffs and brilliant foliage of the opposite banks were clearly reflected. "we will go down to the bend o' the ruver," said macsweenie, as they launched their canoe, "an' hide in the bushes there. it iss a grand spote for birds to fly over, an' there's plenty o' ducks an' geese, so we may count on soon gettin' enough to fill the larder to overflow." "ay, there's plenty o' birds," remarked mowat, with the absent air of a man whose mind is running on some other theme. macsweenie was a keen sportsman, and dearly loved a day with his gun. as a boy, on his own highland hills, he had been addicted to sporting a good deal without the formality of a licence, and the absolute freedom from conventional trammels in the wild north was a source of much gratulation to him. perhaps he enjoyed his outings all the more that he was a stern disciplinarian--so deeply impressed with a sense of duty that he would neither allow himself nor his men to indulge in sport of any kind until business had been thoroughly disposed of. "it hes often seemed to me," he said, steering towards the bend of the river above referred to, "that ceevilisation was a sort o' mistake. did ye ever think o' that, tonal'?" "i can't say that i ever did. but if it is a mistake, it's a very successful one--to judge from the way it has spread." "that iss true, tonal', an' more's the peety. i cannot but think that man was meant to be a huntin' animal, and to get his victuals in that way. what for wass he gifted wi' the power to hunt, if it wass not so? an' think what enjoyment he hes in the chase until ceevilisation takes all the speerit out o' him. h'm! it never took the speerit out o' me, whatever." "maybe there wasn't enough o' ceevilisation in the place where you was brought up," suggested the interpreter. "ha! ye hev me there, tonal'," returned the trader, with a short laugh. "weel, i must admit that ye're not far wrong. the muddle o' the grampians iss but a wildish place, an' it wass there my father had his sheep-farm an' that i first made the acquaintance o' the muir-cock an' the grouse. o man! but there's no place like the heeland hills after a', though the wild-woods here iss not that bad. tonal', man, catch hold o' that bush an' draw close in to the bank. there's a flock comin', an' they're fleein' low." the last words were spoken in a hoarse whisper, for they had just turned the bend of the river, and macsweenie had caught sight of a flock of wild-geese, flying low, as he said, and crossing over the land, which at that place jutted out into the stream. mowat, though naturally sluggish, was quick in action when circumstances required him to be so. the canoe was drawn close under an overhanging bush, and quite concealed by it. the two men, laying down the paddles, took up their guns and examined the priming to see that it was dry, long before the flock drew near. then they sat motionless and silent, crouching a little and looking upwards. the unsuspicious flock of wild-geese came over the point in that curious angular formation in which they usually travel--an old grey gander, as usual, leading. a deep trumpet-note now and then told of their approach. then the soft stroke of their great wings was heard. next moment the flock appeared over the edge of the bush that concealed their human foes. at the same instant sportsmen and geese beheld each other. the guns flew to the shoulders of the former; the angle was thrown into dire confusion, and the woods and cliffs reverberated with two shots, which crashed forth at the same moment. trumpeting and screaming, the scattered flock passed on, and the hunters pushed out from the bank to pick up two plump birds which lay dead upon the water. but those two shots did more than carry death and confusion into the ranks of the grey geese. they caused surprise and something like wild excitement in the hearts of a number of eskimos who, in their kayaks, happened to be at that moment pushing up the ukon river, pioneered by a birch-bark canoe, which was propelled by an indian man and woman. submitting to authority while among the ice-floes of the polar seas, nazinred had, as we have seen, consented to take his place humbly among the women and children in one of the oomiaks. anteek and one of his companions were permitted to paddle the birch-bark canoe, to their very great satisfaction, until whale river was reached. but the moment the party entered on the lakes and rivers of the land, nazinred ordered adolay to take the bow paddle of his native craft, himself took the steering paddle, and from that moment he had quietly assumed the office of guide to the expedition. "fire-spouters!" exclaimed cheenbuk, on hearing the shots of the traders' guns. "yes--my countrymen," replied nazinred. the kayak of cheenbuk was about half a length behind the canoe, else the eskimo would have seen that though the indian's voice was low and calm, his black eyes glittered with excitement. "it is not like the gun of the dogribs," remarked adolay, glancing back at her father. "why does adolay think so?" "because there is too much noise. you have yourself told me, father, that the indian uses a smaller charge both of powder and shot than the white trader, as he cannot afford to waste it. i never heard the guns of our men speak so loud. perhaps we are going to meet white men." the chief regarded his daughter with a pleased smile and a look of pride. "adolay observes well," he said; "she is like her mother. the sound was loud because the charges were big--also because two guns were fired at once." "i heard only one," returned the girl. "that is because you have not heard much firing of guns. adolay is not yet as old as her father. the traders from the great fresh lake must have come to our land, and that is the reason why our people have forsaken the old home." as he spoke the flotilla rounded a point on the river, and came in sight of macsweenie's canoe making for the land after having picked up the geese. an impartial observer would not have found it easy to determine which party expressed more surprise. "fire-spouters!" shouted the new arrivals. "eskimos!" exclaimed mowat. "savitches--whatever!" said macsweenie. "wow! but this _iss_ goot luck! gif way, my boy, an' we will meet them more than half-way." suddenly the trader ceased to paddle, and raised a hand to shade his eyes from the sun. "tonal', man!" he growled with a gaelic expletive which it is impossible to spell, "iss that a birch-bark canoe that i am seein'?" "it is that," answered the interpreter, "an' i do believe that--that--" "man! tonal'," interrupted the trader, as he dipped his paddle violently into the water. "it's wishin' i am that i may never see the grampians again in this world if yon iss not nazinred himself wi' his daater in the bow! it iss my belief there will be rechoicing in the dogrib camp this night--though wi' such a band o' eskimos there will be no small risk o' fechtin' also!" by this time the canoe and flotilla were so near that nazinred recognised the trader, and threw up a hand in salutation, whereupon macsweenie and mowat, taking off their caps, treated the party to a rousing british cheer, which was so congenial to the lively eskimos that they burst into a sympathetic howl, mingled with laughter and some fair attempts to imitate the cheer, while they splashed up the water with their paddles, and otherwise conducted themselves jovially. of course nazinred would not condescend to conduct so undignified, but in his way he expressed great satisfaction at the happy meeting. then all the paddles were dipped again with vigour and the whole party made for the fort--the two canoes leading. chapter thirty three. the last. "i will be thinkin'," said macsweenie to mowat, "that it will be safer for our two canoes to go first to the fort an' leave the eskimos behind the point till we warn the indians o' their arrival; for there iss no knowin' what these fiery savitches may do if their old enemies come on them all of a sudden. tell nazinred that." the interpreter obeyed, and as the chief was of the same opinion, a halt was called; cheenbuk was consulted, and ultimately the eskimos in their kayaks were left concealed behind the nearest point below the fort, while the two canoes advanced side by side. "we will take them by surprise, tonal'. i'm fond o' givin' people a surprise," said macsweenie in an undertone as they drew near to the little wharf that had been run out from the land in front of the main building. a few indians were watching the arrival with some curiosity. but there was one passenger in nazinred's canoe who cared little for interfering with human plans--namely, attim, whose shaggy head rested on the gunwale as he gazed and snuffed anxiously. the moment the canoes came within a few yards of the shore, the excited dog plunged over the side with a huge bound. he was a magnificent swimmer, and reached the land in a few seconds. springing up the bank, he shook a shower from his sides and bounded into the bushes, with the certain knowledge, no doubt, that he had reached home at last, and that his faithful nose would not fail to guide him to the tent of isquay. "o ye rascal!" growled macsweenie, "you've let the cat out o' the bag-- for i make no doubt that every man an' wummin o' the tribe knows you by sight." and the highlander was right, for in a few minutes the whole camp was roused, and the sight of the dog told them that nazinred had come back. but had he found his daughter? that was a point which every one who could walk, run, or hobble, hurried to the wharf to ascertain. but the point was cleared up sooner than they expected, for, before they reached the wharf, a graceful figure was seen to be bounding through the bushes, apparently in hot pursuit of the dog. immediately after that a treble scream was heard to issue from a coppice behind the fort. it was followed by an equally treble squeal, with a bass accompaniment of barking. no one took the trouble to inquire the cause of this, for they knew, somehow, intuitively. as we have said more than once, it is unusual for north american indians to demonstrate, but isquay and adolay were, like nazinred, in advance of their times, and were in the habit of snapping their fingers in the hideous face of the red indian mrs grundy! meanwhile, macsweenie and his man were informing the indians at the wharf that a band of their old foes, the eaters-of-raw-flesh, were at that moment lying on the other side of the point in their kayaks. the news was received with surprise, not unmingled with frowns. every one looked at nazinred inquiringly, but that astute red man was engaged in profound contemplation of the clouds. "moreover," said the trader, "your old prisoner who gave you the slip and ran away with adolay is among them." "then," cried magadar, starting forward, "we will get our guns and go after them. the young men have long wished for a chance of revenge." "the young men hev wished for nothing o' the sort," cried macsweenie, with a fierce expression in his blue eyes that was very impressive. "there iss no wan here wants to fecht but yourself, magadar; but i will not disappoint ye. if you must fecht wi' some wan, ye shall fecht wi' me. but it iss jokin' ye are.--come now, men; these eskimos hev come here on a veesit, an' full well do i know that there's not an indian tribe in all the land equal to the dogribs for hospitality; so you'll go and get ready a feast for our veesitors, an' i'll gie you some goot things out o' the store to help it." whatever magadar thought about this address he shrouded his feelings behind an air of impenetrable and stern reserve; for he saw that the young men sympathised with the trader. nazinred also, in a few words, helped to confirm their sympathy by telling them that the eaters-of-raw-flesh were not a war-party, but had brought some of their women and old people along with them. the end of it was that a shot was fired as a preconcerted signal for the eskimos to advance. in a few minutes the kayaks and oomiaks came sweeping round the point and made straight for the landing-place. the reception of the men-of-the-ice by the traders was of course hearty and sincere, but the hereditary ill-will of the indians was not quite overcome at the first. it was not until there had been several meetings, and a feast in the fort, and donald mowat's violin had exercised its soothing influence on the savage breasts, that harmony was produced in some degree between the two parties. at length macsweenie began to see his way to the establishment of a permanent peace, and he made arrangements to have a great palaver, a solemn treaty, and a grand feast in connection with it. "you must know, tonal'," he said one evening when in consultation with his interpreter in the privacy of his own room, "i hev got a plan in my head which iss calcoolated to make things go smooth, if anything will." he paused rather a long time, and as mowat looked at him in expectation of hearing more, it struck him that the deepened bronze on his chief's face, and the slight motion of his shoulders, indicated suppressed laughter. but the orkney-man was much too sedate a character to express undue curiosity. he waited patiently. "yes, tonal'," said the trader, taking a few whiffs of the long clay pipe which was his usual evening comforter, "i hev a plan, and, strange as it may seem to an unsentimental man like you, love is at the bottom of it." "well, you might have a worse foundation," returned mowat, with something of good-natured cynicism on his rugged face. "yes," continued macsweenie, "that iss at the bottom of it--at least weemen are, an' that's the same thing." mowat shook his head doubtfully. "i'm not so sure o' that," he said; "no doubt women have a good deal to do wi' love--but they're hardly the same thing." "weel, tonal', we will not fall out on that point to-night, for i hev got no leisure to dispute. another time we may tackle it, but i hev other fish to fry just now, an' we must begin this very night wi' a grand palaver." after a few more vigorous whiffs, and a frown indicative of intense thought, the trader continued-- "i hev no doubt, tonal', that you hev observed the curious and, if i may say so, extensive variety of love-makin' that has broken out in the camp since the arrival o' these eskimos?" "i can't say that i have," returned mowat, gravely. "wow, man! for a fuddler ye exhibit a most extraordinary want o' perception in the more delicate affairs o' human life. well, well, it is strange. but i hev observed it, an' i'm goin' to turn it to account, if i can. "you must know that i hev been troubled in my thoughts about that warlike fellow magadar, for, as you know, he was sweet upon the girl adolay before she was carried off by the eskimo; an' cheenbuk is such a strong and bold lad that i felt sure there would be mischief between the two about her; but to my surprise an' satisfaction magadar hes gone over head an' ears wi' that little eskimo girl cowlik, who must, i think, hev been born in an easy-going frame of mind, which seems to hev stuck to her ever since, and to hev gone on increasing with her years. then, as we all know, our indian alizay has for long been efter the girl idazoo. there's no accountin' for taste, tonal'. i would sooner be married to a ship's figure-head myself, but that's his look-out, whatever. i hev also observed--'deed it would be difficult not to observe--that the man oolalik iss castin' sheep's-eyes at that girl nootka. all this hes impressed me so much that i hev set myself to observe more closely than i'm used to do in such matters, and i hev discovered two more cases-- namely, that poor young eskimo that was wounded in the last fecht, but seems to be slowly recovering. they call him ondikik, and he would hev kicked altogether if it had not been for the nursin'--so they say--o' that nice little craitur they call rinka, or something like that. the other case is that lively stripling anteek. he's scarcely more than a boy yet, but young uleeta, as they call the girl, seems to think that no great objection. "now, tonal', my plan iss to marry them all off-hand on the same day! you know that by virtue of my poseetion in the service i am empowered to perform the marriage ceremony. of course, as a christian man, i would not fail to impress them with the fact that no real marriage can take place without the blessin' o' their manitou, but i think that the readin' o' the marriage service over them may impress them favourably, an' help in the caause of peace and goot-will. it shall be tried, whatever, so you had better go an' get your fuddle in order, an' send the cook to me." that night macsweenie had the central hall of his fort lighted up, and called together a united council of the indians and eskimos. "my friends," he said, after passing the pipe of peace round among the former, and offering it to the latter, who each took a whiff out of courtesy, "this is a great night, for we hev met to join ourselves together in a bond of friendship which i trust will not soon be broken.--tell them that, tonal'." when the interpreter had done his duty, cheenbuk was asked to translate it into the eskimo tongue. the process was rather slow, but as natives and traders alike had plenty of time on their hands, and the proceedings were a great novelty, no one felt impatient. then macsweenie continued: "we pale-faces, as you call us, believe that our god, our manitou, takes a great interest in all our affairs, from the least to the greatest, and in the book in which some of us hev written down our prayers, we ask, among many other things, that `there may be peace in our time.' (for myself, i may give my opeenion that the prayer would hev seemed less selfish if it had run `peace in _all_ time'--but that iss by the way, whatever).--now, tonal', go ahead." donald went ahead, but he took the liberty of omitting what he deemed the irrelevant commentary. "peace, then, iss the thing that i am drivin' at,--peace and goot-will between the pale-faces and the men-o'-the-woods and the men-of-the-ice also. there are many things that make for peace. the first an' most important thing iss goot feelin'. another thing is trade--commerce, barter, or exchange. (i don't see how the eskimo will translate these words, tonal', but he will hev to do his best.) then there iss common sense; and, lastly, there is marriage. now, i hev said my say, for the time, whatever, and nazinred will continoo the discourse." thus directly appealed to, our indian rose, and, looking calmly round on the assembly, said-- "every word that our white father has said is true; and a great many more words that he has not said are also true." "waugh!" from the red men, who evidently regarded the last remark as a self-evident proposition. dispensing with the services of mowat, nazinred turned to the eskimos and acted the part of his own interpreter. they received his words with an emphatic "hoh!" as if they were equally clear on the subject of the last words being indisputable. "our white father has said," continued the chief, "that the first and most important thing in producing peace is good-feeling. that is true. it was good-feeling in my child that led her to save the life of cheenbuk. it was good-feeling in cheenbuk that made him care for my child, and treat her well, and bring her back here to her mother and her tribe. it was good-feeling in the eskimos that made them kind to the indian chief, and receive him hospitably, when they might have taken his scalp and kept his daughter. it is good-feeling, very strong good-feeling, that makes the young eskimo wish to make adolay his squaw, and it is the same good-feeling that now makes nazinred willing that he should have her." "hoh!" exclaimed the eskimos at this point, with evident satisfaction, and "ho!" exclaimed the indians, with equally evident surprise, for it was contrary to all their notions of propriety that an indian chief's daughter should wed an eater-of-raw-flesh! however, they said nothing more, and after gazing a few moments at each other in silent solemnity, they turned their eyes again on nazinred. changing his tone somewhat, that wily red man went on in a persuasive manner to expatiate on the advantages of peace in general, and of peace with the eskimos in particular. he also enlarged on the great comforts to be derived from trade--which could be carried on with the white traders on the one hand and the eskimos on the other, so that, between the two, the men-of-the-woods could not fail to obtain a double benefit. as to common sense being favourable to peace, he did not quite understand what his white father meant by that, for there was only one kind of sense among the dogribs--though perhaps there might be two or three kinds where the traders came from! but in regard to marriage, there could be no doubt of his opinion on that point, seeing that he was going to give his daughter to cheenbuk. having finished what he had to say, nazinred sat down, after expressing a desire to hear the opinions of his people on these matters. for some time nothing was said, and it seemed as if the indians were not quite sure of their own minds, when magadar arose suddenly. "braves," he began, in his brusque manner, "i like fair-play. if cheenbuk is going to carry off one of our maidens, it seems to me reasonable that an eskimo maid should be left in her place. there is one of their girls who is named cowlik. i am willing to take cowlik and make her my squaw. waugh!" magadar sat down with the prompt air of a man who has conferred a favour at great personal sacrifice. then mozwa rose and delivered himself of an oration full of wise remarks and poetical allusions, in which he backed his friend nazinred. after him came cheenbuk, who said that he was much gratified by the speeches of mozwa and nazinred; that from the latter he had learned his first lesson of good-feeling towards the men-of-the-woods, on the day when he strove with him on the banks of the greygoose river; that his second lesson was taught him by adolay--a lesson that he would never forget and could never repay, for she had not only saved his life but made him happy. at this point macsweenie broke in with, "yes, my friends, an' there iss a goot many more people here besides cheenbuk that wants to be made happy. for instance, there's the young brave alizay, an' that pleasant craitur idazoo, that's thinkin' about marriage just now; an' there's magadar and cowlik, and oolalik and nootka, and ondikik and rinka, and anteek and young uleeta; an' i'm not sure that there may not be some more of you in the same case. if so, all right; the more the merrier. ay, ye may look surprised, my friends, but i've got a way o' findin' out these things that is not known to every wan.--now, tonal', gif them that as best ye can, and look sherp, for there iss more to come. "now, my fruends, i want to explain to ye that when white people get married they go through a kind of ceremony, an' put gold rings on the weemen's fingers--by way o' makin' it all shipshape an' secure, you know. now, i understand how to go about this matter, an' we hev plenty o' brass curtain-rings in the store that's as goot as gold any day--in this country, whatever. so if it iss agreeable to the chiefs and the braves around me, i'm quite willin' to marry ye all off at the same time, and will gif ye as much baccy as ye can smoke in wan night; an' we'll hev a glorious feast on the back o't, an' a dance that'll keep my fuddler's fingers goin' as long as they can wag.--now, tonal', if ye tell them all that, ye're a cliverer man than i take ye for." whether mowat told them all that as faithfully as might be desired we cannot tell, but he addressed himself to the task with a genial fluency that at all events had the desired effect, for after nazinred had translated it to the eskimos, it was found that they, as well as the indians, were quite disposed to fall in with the eccentric trader's views. arrangements were accordingly made without delay for carrying them into execution. of course the ladies concerned had no objections to offer; and it is generally believed to this day, in those regions, that the interest aroused by the promised ceremonial, not to mention the brass curtain-rings, as well as the tobacco, and the feast and fiddle, had much to do with the ready assent of all parties to this somewhat violent innovation on ancient custom. be this as it may, the wholesale wedding eventually took place; the feast came off; tonal' mowat charmed the souls of the eskimos with his violin, even more powerfully than he had charmed those of the indians; and aglootook, almost carried out of himself with delight, volunteered an oration in which he reminded his hearers that he had told them that _something_ would certainly happen. they all heartily admitted the fact, and solemnly proclaimed him the most wonderful magician in the land. from that day to this, as far as we know, nothing has occurred to interrupt the flow of kindly intercourse that was at this time established. the eskimos returned to their icy fastnesses laden with some of the wealth of the white traders. but every spring they came back to barter for more of it, as well as for the purpose of seeing the friends whom they had left behind them. for cheenbuk, being unable to tear himself away from nazinred, took up his permanent abode at the fort as one of the hunters to the establishment. he did not however forsake his people, but frequently visited old mangivik and his mother at waruskeek, and the old folk sometimes returned the visit by spending a few months on the banks of the ukon river. anteek also elected to stay with the men-of-the-woods, being unable to forsake cheenbuk, and of course young uleeta remained with him. every year nootka found it quite impossible to exist without seeing her brother cheenbuk in his own home, and having a satisfactory gossip with her dear friend adolay. as oolalik agreed with nootka in all things, there was no difficulty in arranging the matter. in the course of time cheenbuk's youngsters and nootka's progeny insisted on keeping up the intercourse that had been so auspiciously begun, and even the easy-going cowlik became uneasy unless the fire-eating magadar went with her occasionally to waruskeek. as for the unselfish and tender-hearted rinka, she of course returned with ondikik to the realms of ice, and made that fortunate savage happy. indeed, she made every one happy who came within her benign influence, and if the truth had been spoken out by every one, we suspect it would have been found that to her attractive powers was due much of the enthusiasm for intercommunication that existed between the red men and the walrus-hunters, for the principle still holds good, in savage not less than in civilised lands, that "love is the fulfilling of the law." the end. (this file was produced from images generously made available by the canadian institute for historical microreproductions (www.canadiana.org)) the first landing on wrangel island, with some remarks on the northern inhabitants. by irving c. rosse, m.d. on may , , through the courtesy of the chief of revenue marine, mr. e.w. clark, i was allowed to take passage from san francisco, cal., on board the united states revenue steamer _corwin_, whose destination was alaska and the northwest arctic ocean. the object of the cruise was, in addition to revenue duty, to ascertain the fate of two missing whalers and, if possible, to communicate with the arctic exploring yacht _jeannette_. our well-found craft made good headway for seven or eight uneventful days of exceptionally fine weather, while the ocean, somewhat deserving the adjective that designates it, displayed its prettiest combinations of blue tints and sunset effects as we steamed through miles of medusidæ; and had it not been for the sight of occasional whales and the strange marine birds that characterize a higher latitude, we should scarcely have known of our approach to the north. soon, however, we were beset by pelting hail and furious storms of snow and all the discomforts of sea life, causing a _pénible navigation_ in every sense of the term. on may we were somewhat disoriented while trying to make a landfall in a blinding snowstorm, and groped about for several hours before anchoring under one of the alp-like cliffs of the aleutian islands. * * * * * without going into further details of the cruise, i will state that on the previous year five unsuccessful attempts were made by the _corwin_ to reach herald island, and that wrangel island was approached to within about twenty miles. this "problematical northern land," the existence of which the russian admiral wrangel reported from accounts of siberian natives, and which he tried unsuccessfully to find; a land that captain kellett, of her britannic majesty's ship _herald_, in , thought he saw, but which, under more favorable circumstances of weather and position, was not seen by the united states ship _vincennes_; a land, in fact, that from the foregoing statements and from the imperfect accounts of whalemen we had begun to regard as a myth, was actually seen; and i shall never forget the tinge of regret i felt when the necessity of the position obliged the withdrawal of the ship and i took a last lingering look at the ice-bound and unexplored coast, fully realizing at the time the joyous satisfaction that must animate the discoverer and explorer of an unknown land. however, better luck was in store; for captain kellett's discovery was afterwards completed by the _corwin_. i now purpose to narrate a few circumstances attending this first landing on wrangel island, which may be best told by further reference to herald island. captain kellett, the only person known to have landed at the latter place previously to this account, reports that the extent he had to walk over was not more than thirty feet, from which space he scrambled up a short distance; that with the time he could spare and his materials "the island was perfectly inaccessible." he expresses great disappointment, as from its summit much could have been seen, and all doubts set aside regarding the land he supposed he saw to westward. an extract from one of captain de long's letters, making known his intention to retreat upon the siberian settlements in the event of disaster to the _jeannette_, says, in reference to a ship's being sent to obtain intelligence of him: "if the ship comes up merely for tidings of us let her look for them on the east side of kellett land and on herald island." being in a measure guided by this information, the _corwin_ made the forementioned places objective points in the search. it was not, however, till after the coal bunkers were replenished with bituminous coal from a seam in the cliff above cape lisburne, that an effort was made to reach the island. during the run westward--a distance of miles--the fine weather enabled us to witness some curious freaks of refraction and other odd phenomena for which the high latitudes are so remarkable. on july , the fine weather continuing, everybody was correspondingly elate and merry when both herald and wrangel islands were sighted from the "cro'-nest" and, as they were neared, apparently free from ice. this illusion, however, was soon dispelled. on approaching the land strong tide rips were encountered, and finally the ice, the drift of which was shown by the drop of a lead-line to be west-northwest. we steamed through about fifteen miles of this ice before being stopped, less than half a mile from the southeast end of the island by the fixed ice, to which the ship was secured with a kedge. we got off, and after considerable climbing and scrambling up and down immense hummocks, and jumping a number of crevices, finally set foot on the land we had been so long trying to reach. our advent created a great commotion among the myriads of birds that frequent the ledges and cliffs, and the intrusion caused them to whirl about in a motley cloud and scream at each other in ceaseless uproar. a few minutes sufficed to survey the situation, before attempting to ascend at a spot that seemed scarcely to afford footing for a goat. near the foot of the cliffs were seen on the one hand several detached pinnacles of sombre-looking weather-worn granite that had withstood the vigor of many arctic winters; on the other hand a seemingly inaccessible wall, vividly recalling the eastern face of the rock of gibraltar. this sight, strange and weird beyond description, did not fail to awaken odd thoughts and emotions, far removed as we were from all human intercourse, amid solitude and desolation, and for a moment the mind absorbed a dash of the local coloring. selecting what was believed to be the most favorable spot to ascend the cliff, two of our party in making the attempt would occasionally detach large bowlders, which came bounding, down like a bombardment. the attempt was abandoned after climbing a few hundred feet. in company with several others, i tried what seemed to be a more practicable way--a gully filled with snow--up which we had gone scarcely a hundred feet when it, too, had to be abandoned. in the meantime the skin boat had been brought over the ice, and one of the men pointing out another place where he thought we might ascend, it was the work of but a few minutes to cross a bit of open water which led to the foot of a steep snowbank, somewhat discolored from the gravel brought down by melting snow. without despairing, and being in that frame of mind prepared to incur danger to a reasonable extent for the sake of knowledge, we climbed several hundred feet over the snow and ice, having to cut steps with an axe that we had brought along, before reaching the top. the latter stage of this proceeding was like scrambling over the dome of the washington capitol with a great yawning cliff below, and was well calculated to try the nerve of any one except a competent mountaineer or a sailor accustomed to a doddering mast. a ravine was next reached, through which tumbled with loud noise and wild confusion, over broken rocks and amid some scant lichens and mosses, a stream of pure water, which had hollowed out a shaft or funnel, forming a glacier mill or moulin. it was over the roof of this tunnel that we had passed, and it caused an awesome feeling to come over one to see the water leap down its mouth to an unseen depth with a loud rumbling noise. after a tiresome ascent of the ravine, this hitherto inaccessible island, like a standing challenge of nature inviting the muscular and ambitious, was at last climbed to the very summit; and it may be remarked, with pardonable vanity, that the feat was never done before. the view revealed from the top of the island was a veritable apocalypse. there was something unique about the desolate grandeur of the novel surroundings that would cause a man of the sir charles coldstream type to say there "is something in it," and the most hackneyed man of the world would acknowledge a new sensation. it was midnight, and the sun shone with gleaming splendor over all this waste of ice and sea and granite; on one hand wrangel island appeared in well-defined outline, on the other an open sea extended northward as far as we were able to make out by the aid of strong glasses. from our position about the middle of the island the two extreme points of wrangel island bore southwest and west-by-south respectively. in shape, herald island is something like a boot with a depression at the instep, and at the westernmost extremity, near which it may be climbed with considerable ease, are found a number of jagged peaks and splintered pinnacles of granite, some of which resemble the giant remains of ancient sculpture, all the worse for exposure to the weather. on a promontory , feet high at the northeast point of the island i placed in a cairn a bottle containing written information of our landing and a copy of the new york _herald_ of april .[ ] beyond the extraordinary bird life, no signs of life appeared, except a small fox, and a polar bear. the latter put in an appearance just after we had returned on board at three o'clock in the morning, and the circumstances attending his slaughter, which were about as enlivening as shooting a sheep, put an end to this episode of our mission. after great difficulty in getting out of the ice we ran all day on sunday, july , along the edge of the pack with wrangel island in sight, but were unable to find a favorable lead that would take us nearer the land than twelve or fifteen miles. the principal events that go to make up the record of our cruise for the next ten days were the finding of a ship's lower yard; the fabulous numbers of eider ducks seen off the siberian coast, and the usual encounters with fogs, bears, and ice. on the morning of august , we were so near the unexplored land that we were most sanguine about getting ashore, although it seemed as if a journey would have first to be made over the ice. in the afternoon the chances were so good that i volunteered to go ashore on the ice on the morning of the th in company with lieutenant reynolds, engineer owen, and two men. preparations were made accordingly; the skin boat, rations, etc., being got ready, and we spent a restless night in anticipating the events of the coming day. we were called at five o'clock on the morning of the th, and while eating a hurried breakfast the ship steamed inshore. we were fully prepared for the undertaking; but finding the leads in the ice more favorable than on the preceding evening, the little steamer jammed and crashed along in a labyrinthine course not without great difficulty, for at times she was completely beset by great masses of ice, which she steamed against at full speed for several minutes before they showed sign of giving way, and it seemed that all endeavors to get out of the pack would be futile. happily, all these difficulties yielded, and a clear way being seen to a water hole just off the mouth of a river, we anchored in ten fathoms near some grounded floebergs, about a quarter of a mile off shore. a boat was then got away, and on the calm bright morning of august , , the first landing on wrangel island was accomplished! on the beach, composed of black slaty shingle, we found the skeleton of a whale from which the baleen was absent; also a quantity of driftwood, some of it twelve inches in diameter; a wooden wedge; a barrel-stave; a piece of a boat's spar and a fragment of a biscuit-box. the river, which we named _clark river_, was about one hundred yards wide, two fathoms deep near the mouth, and rapid. from the top of a neighboring cliff, four hundred feet high, it could be seen trending back into the mountains some thirty or thirty-five miles. the mountains, devoid of snow, were seen under favorable circumstances through a rift in the clouds, and appeared brown and naked, with smooth rounded tops. during a tramp of some miles over a muddy way, composed of argillaceous clay and black pebbles, i observed fragments of quartz and granite. several specimens containing iron pyrites were also found. the cliffs in the vicinity of our landing are composed of slate, and the land over which i travelled seemed almost as barren as a macadamized road; but on searching closely several species of hyperborean plants were found, such as saxifrages, anemones, grasses, lichens and mushrooms. the mosses and lichens were but feebly developed, and the phanerogamous plants were in the same state of severe repression. the following plants were collected; and i am indebted to professor john muir for their names: _saxifraga flegellaris_, willd. _stellaris_, l. var. _cornosa_, poir. _sileneflora_, sternb. _hieracifolia_, waldst. & kit. _rivularis_, l. var. _hyperborea_, hook. _bronchialis_, l. _serpyllifolia_, pursh. _anemone parviflora_, michx. _papaver nudicaule_, l. _draba alpina_, l. _cochleria officinalis_, l. _artemisia borealis_, willd. _nardosmia frigida_, hook. _saussurea monticola_, richards. _senecio frigidus_, less. _potentilla nivea_, l. _frigida_, vill. ? _armeria macrocarpa_, pursh. _vulgaris_, willd. _stellaria longipes_, goldie, var. _edwardsii_, t. & g. _cerastium alpinum_, l. _gymnandra stelleri_, cham. & schlecht. _salix polaris_, wahl. _luzulu hyperborea_, r. br. _poa arctica_, r. br. _aira cæspitosa_, l. var. _arctica_. _alopecurus alpinus_, smith. i made a collection of several spiders and of some larvæ. the spider, it appears, is an "undescribed species of _erigone_," and the larvæ are probably lepidopterous. a small shrike was also secured as a specimen. we saw several species of gulls, a snowy owl--which by the way was very shy--a few lemmings, and the tracks of foxes and of bears. microscopic examination of mud obtained from the bottom, in the vicinity of our anchorage, revealed some shells of foraminifera. the density of the sea water, and the dip of the magnetic needle were ascertained here, as well as at other points in the arctic; and as the observations are entirely new, i give the results in the accompanying tables. the water densities are from observations of mr. f.e. owen, assistant engineer of the _corwin_. the instruments used in obtaining the results were a thermometer and a hydrometer. water was drawn at about six feet below the surface and heated to a temperature of ° f., and the saturation, or specific gravity is shown by the depth to which the hydrometer sank in the water. as sea water commonly contains one part of saline matter to thirty-two parts of water, the instrument is marked in thirty-seconds, as / , / , etc., and the densities are fractional parts of one thirty-second: --------------------------------------------------------------------- points of observation. temperature. density. --------------------------------------------------------------------- at saint michael's, bering sea / off plover bay, asia / arctic ocean, near bering straits / arctic ocean, near ice on siberian coast / bering sea, off saint lawrence island / golovine bay, bering sea, july / bering sea between king's island and cape prince of wales, july / entrance to kotzebue sound, july / cape thompson, arctic ocean, july / icy cape, july / herald island, in the ice, july / cape wankarem, siberia, august / wrangel island (surface, in ice), august / wrangel island (below surface feet), august / --------------------------------------------------------------------- the following table, showing the dip of the magnetic needle, was prepared from observations made by lieut. o.d. myrick: ---------------------+------------+------------+----------- | latitude, | longitude, | | north. | west. | dip. locality. | deg. min. | deg. min. | deg. min. ---------------------+------------+------------+----------- alaska-- | | | ounalaska | | | . st. michael's | | | . kotzebue sound | | | . cape sabine | | | . icy cape | | | . point barrow | | | . | | | asia-- | | | plover bay | | | . cape wankarem | | | . wrangel island | | | . ---------------------+------------+------------+----------- to commemorate our visit, a flag, placed on a pole of driftwood, was erected on a cliff, and to the staff was secured a wide-mouthed bottle and a tin cylinder, in which i enclosed information of our landing, etc. on raising the flag three cheers were given, and a salute was fired from the cutter in honor of our newly acquired territory. these evidences of our short visit, which was soon afterward supplemented by the more extended exploration of the _rodgers_, having now become matters of history, it may be remarked with pardonable pride that the acquisition of this remote island, though of no political or commercial value, will serve the higher and nobler purpose of a perpetual reminder of american enterprise, courage and maritime skill. general remarks on the northern inhabitants. from an anthropological point of view the eskimo coming under observation proved most interesting. the term eskimo may be held to include all the innuit population living on the aleutian islands, the islands of bering sea, and the shores both of asia and america north of about latitude °. in this latitude on the american coast the ethnical points that difference the north american from the eskimo are distinctly marked. it cannot, however, be said that the designating marks of distinction are so plain between the american eskimo and the so-called tchuktschi of the asiatic coast. i have been unable to see anything more in the way of distinction than exists between englishmen and danes, for instance, or between norwegians and swedes. indeed, it may be said that much of the confusion and absurdity of classification found in ethnographic literature may be traced to a tendency to see diversities where few or none exist. to the observant man of travel who has given the matter any attention, it seems that the most sensible classification is that of the ancient writers who divide humanity into three races, namely, white, yellow, and black. cuvier adopted this division, and the best contemporary british authority, dr. latham, also makes three groups, although he varies somewhat in details from cuvier. in accordance with the nomenclature of latham, the eskimo may be spoken of as hyperborean mongolidæ of essentially carnivorous and ichthyophagous habits, who have not yet emerged from the hunting and fishing stage. physical peculiarities. their physical appearance and structure having been already described by others, it is unnecessary to mention them here, except incidentally and by way of noting a few peculiarities that seem to have been heretofore overlooked or slightly touched upon by other writers. although as a rule they are of short build, averaging about five feet seven inches, yet occasional exceptions were met with among the natives of kotzebue sound, many of whom are tall and of commanding appearance. at cape kruzenstern a man was seen who measured six feet six inches in height. this divergence from the conventional eskimo type, as usually described in the books, may have been caused by inter-marriage with an inland tribe of larger men from the interior of alaska, who come to the coast every summer for purposes of trade. the complexion, rarely a true white, but rather that of a chinaman, with a healthy blush suffusing each cheek, is often of a brownish-yellow and sometimes quite black, as i have seen in several instances at tapkan, siberia. nor is the broad and flat face and small nose without exception. in the vicinity of east cape, the easternmost extremity of asia, a few eskimo were seen having distinctive hebrew noses and a physiognomy of such a jewish type as to excite the attention and comment of the sailors composing our crew; others were noticed having a milesian cast of features and looked like irishmen, while others resembled several old mulatto men i know in washington. however, the mongoloid type in these people was so pronounced that our japanese boys on meeting eskimo for the first time took them for chinamen; on the other hand the japs were objects of great and constant curiosity to the eskimo, who doubtless took them for compatriots, a fact not to be wondered at, since there is such a similarity in the shape of the eyes, the complexion, and hair. in regard to the latter it may be remarked that scarcely anything on board the _corwin_ excited greater wonder and merriment among the eskimo than the presence of several persons whom professor huxley would classify in his xanthocroic group because of their fiery red hair. the structure and arrangement of the hair having lately been proposed as a race characteristic upon which to base an ethnical classification, i took pains to collect various specimens of innuit hair, which, in conjunction with dr. kidder, u.s.n., i examined microscopically and compared with the hair of fair and blue-eyed persons, the hair of negroes, and as a matter of curiosity with the reindeer hair and the hair-like appendage found on the fringy extremity of the baleen plates in the mouth of a "bowhead" whale. some microphotographs of these objects were made but with indifferent results. to the man willing and anxious to make more extended research into the matter of race characteristics, i venture to say that a northern experience will afford him ample opportunity for supplementing mr. murray's paper on the ethnological classification of vermin; and he may further observe that the eskimo, whatever may be his religious belief or predilection, apparently observes the prohibitions of the talmud in regard both to filth and getting rid of noxious entomological specimens that infest his body and habitation. whatever modification the bodily structure of the eskimo may have undergone under the influence of physical and moral causes, when viewed in the light of transcendental anatomy, we find that the mode, plan, or model upon which his animal frame and organs are founded is substantially that of other varieties of men. some writers go so far, in speaking of the eskimo's correspondence, mental and physical, to his surroundings as to mention the seal as his correlative, which, in my opinion, is about as sensible as speaking of the reciprocal relations of a cincinnati man and a hog. unlike the seal, which is preëminently an amphibian and a swimmer, the eskimo has no physical capability of the latter kind, being unable to swim and having the greatest aversion to water except for purposes of navigation. he wins our admiration from the expert management at sea of his little shuttle-shaped canoe, which is a kind of marine bicycle, but i doubt very much the somersaults he is reported to be able to turn in them. in fact, after offering rewards of that all-powerful incentive, tobacco, on numerous occasions, i have been unsuccessful in getting any one of them to attempt the feat, and when told that we had heard of their doing it they smiled rather incredulously. the eskimo are clearly not successes in a cubistic or saltatorial line, as i have had ample opportunities to observe. they seem to be unable to do the simplest gymnastics, and were filled with the greatest delight and astonishment at some exhibitions we gave them on several occasions. receiving a challenge to run a foot-race with an eskimo, i came off easy winner, although i was handicapped by being out of condition at the time; a challenge to throw stones also resulted in the same kind of victory; i shouldered and carried some logs of driftwood that none of them could lift, and on another occasion the captain and i demonstrated the physical superiority of the anglo-saxon by throwing a walrus lance several lengths farther than any of the eskimo who had provoked the competition. as a rule they are deficient in biceps, and have not the well-developed muscles of athletic white men. the best muscular development i saw was among the natives of saint lawrence island, who, by the way, showed me a spot in a village where they practiced athletic sports, one of these diversions being lifting and "putting" heavy stones, and i have frankly to acknowledge that a young eskimo got the better of me in a competition of this kind. it is fair to assume that one reason for this physical superiority was the inexorable law of the survival of the fittest, the natives in question being the survivors of a recent prevailing epidemic and famine. eskimo appetites. as far as my experience goes the eskimo have not the enormous appetites with which they are usually accredited. the eskimo who accompanied lieutenant may, of the nares expedition, on his sledge journey, is reported to have been a small eater, and the only case of scurvy, by the way; several eskimo who were employed on board the _corwin_ as dog-drivers and interpreters were as a rule smaller eaters than our own men, and i have observed on numerous occasions among the eskimo i have visited, that instead of being great gluttons, they are, on the contrary, moderate eaters. it is, perhaps, the revolting character of their food--rancid oil, a tray of hot seal entrails, a bowl of coagulated blood, for example--that causes overestimation of the quantity eaten. persons in whom nausea and disgust are awakened at tripe, putrid game, or moldy and maggoty cheese affected by so-called epicures, not to mention the bad oysters which george i. preferred to fresh ones, would doubtless be prejudiced and incorrect observers as to the quantity of food an eskimo might consume. from some acquaintance with the subject i therefore venture to say that the popular notion regarding the great appetite of the eskimo is one of the current fallacies. the reported cases were probably exceptional ones, happening in subjects who had been exercising and living on little else than frozen air for perhaps a week. any vigorous man in the prime of life who has been shooting all day in the sharp, crisp air of the arctic will be surprised at his gastronomic capabilities; and personal knowledge of some almost incredible instances amongst civilized men might be related, were it not for fear of being accused of transcending the bounds of veracity. origin and development. there is so much about certain parts of alaska to remind one of scotland that we wonder why some of the more southern eskimo have not the intrepidity and vigor of scotchmen, since they live under almost the same topographical conditions amid fogs and misty hills. perhaps if they were fed on oatmeal, and could be made to adopt a few of the scotch manners and customs, religious and otherwise, they might, after infinite ages of evolution, develop some of the qualities of that excellent race. it is probably not so very many generations ago that our british progenitors were like these original and primitive men as we find them in the vicinity of bering straits. here the mind is taken back over centuries, and one is able to study the link of transition between the primitive men of the two continents at the spot where their geographical relations lead us to suspect it. indeed, the primitive man may be seen just as he was thousands of years ago by visiting the village perched like the eyry of some wild bird about feet up the side of the cliff at east cape, on the asiatic side of the straits. this bold, rocky cliff, rising sheer from the sea to the height of , feet, consists of granite, with lava here and there, and the indications point to the overflow of a vast ice sheet from the north, evidences of which are seen in the trend of the ridges on the top, and the form of the narrow peninsula joining the cliff to the mainland. from the summit of the cape the diomedes, fairway rock, and the american coast are so easily seen that the view once taken would dispel any doubts as to the possibility of the aboriginal denizens of america having crossed over from asia, and it would require no such statement to corroborate the opinion as that of an officer of the hudson bay company, then resident in ungava bay, who relates that in an eskimo family crossed to labrador from the northern shore of hudson's straits on a raft of driftwood. natives cross and recross bering straits to-day on the ice and in primitive skin canoes, not unlike cape cod dories, which have not been improved in construction since the days of prehistoric man. indeed, the primitive man may be seen at east cape almost as he was thousands of years ago. evolution and development, with the exception of firearms, seem to have halted at east cape. the place, with its cave-like dwellings and skin-clad inhabitants, among whom the presence of white men creates the same excitement as the advent of a circus among the colored population of washington, makes one fancy that he is in some grand prehistoric museum, and that he has gone backward in time several thousand years in order to get there. while we may do something towards tracing the effects of physical agents on the eskimo back into the darkness that antedates history, yet his geographical origin and his antiquity are things concerning which we know but little. being subjects of first-class interest, deserving of grave study and so vast in themselves, they cannot be touched upon here except incidentally. attempting to study them is like following the labyrinthal ice mazes of the arctic in quest of the north pole. we may, however, venture the assertion that the eskimo is of autocthonic origin in asia, but is not autocthonous in america. his arrival there and subsequent migrations are beyond the reach of history or tradition. others, though, contend from the analogy of some of the western tribes of brazil, who are identical in feature to the chinese, that the eskimo may have come from south america; and the fashion of wearing labrets, which is common to the indigenous population both of chili and alaska, has been cited as a further proof. touching the subject of early migrations, mr. charles wolcott brooks, whose sources of information at command have been exceptionally good, reports in a paper to the california academy of sciences a record of sixty japanese junks which were blown off the coast and by the influence of the kuro-shiwo were drifted or stranded on the coast of north america, or on the hawaiian or adjacent islands. as merchant ships and ships of war are known to have been built in japan prior to the christian era, a great number of disabled junks containing small parties of japanese must have been stranded on the aleutian islands and on the alaskan coast in past centuries, thereby furnishing evidence of a constant infusion of japanese blood among the coast tribes. leaving aside any attempt to show the ethnical relations of these facts, the question naturally occurs whether any of these waifs ever found their way back from the american coast. on observing the course of the great circle of the kuro-shiwo and the course of the trade winds, one inclines to the belief that such a thing is not beyond the range of possibility. indeed, several well-authenticated instances are mentioned by mr. brooks; and in connection with the subject he advances a further hypothesis, namely, the american origin of the chinese race, and shows in a plausible way that-- the ancestry of china may have embarked in large vessels as emigrants, perhaps from the vicinity of the chincha islands, or proceeded with a large fleet, like the early chinese expedition against japan, or that of julius cæsar against britain, or the welsh prince madog and his party, who sailed from ireland and landed in america a.d. ; and, in like manner, in the dateless antecedure of history, crossed from the neighborhood of peru to the country now known to us as china. if america be the oldest continent, paleontologically speaking, as agassiz tells us, there appears to be some reason for looking to it as the spot where early traces of the race are to be found, and the fact would seem to warrant further study and investigation in connection with the indigenous people of our continent, thereby awakening new sources of inquiry among ethnologists. linguistic peculiarities. the sienite plummet from san joaquin valley, california, goes back to the distant age of the drift; and the calaveras skull, admitting its authenticity, goes back to the pliocene epoch, and is older than the relics or stone implements from the drift gravel and the european caves. it is doubtful, though, whether these data enable us to make generalizations equal in value to those afforded by the study of vocabularies. it is alleged that linguistic affinities exist between some of the tribes of the american coast and our oriental neighbors across the pacific. mr. brooks, whom i have already quoted, reports that in march, , he took an indian boy on board the japanese steam corvette _kanrin-maru_, where a comparison of coast-indian and pure japanese was made at his request by funkuzawa ukitchy, then admiral's secretary; the result of which he prepared for the press and published with a view to suggesting further linguistic investigations. he says that quite an infusion of japanese words is found among some of the coast tribes of oregon and california, either pure or clipped, along with some very peculiar japanese "idioms, constructions, honorific, separative, and agglutinative particles"; that shipwrecked japanese are invariably enabled to communicate understandingly with the coast indians, although speaking quite a different language, and that many shipwrecked japanese have informed him that they were enabled to communicate with and understand the natives of atka and adakh islands of the aleutian group. with a view to finding out whether any linguistic affinity existed between japanese and the eskimo dialects in the vicinity of bering straits, i caused several japanese boys, employed as servants on board the _corwin_, to talk on numerous occasions to the natives both of the american and asiatic coasts; but in every instance they were unable to understand the eskimo, and assured me that they could not detect a single word that bore any resemblance to words in their own language. the study of the linguistic peculiarities which distinguish the population around bering straits offers an untrodden path in a new field; but it is doubtful whether the results, except to linguists like cardinal mezzofanti, or philologists of the max müller type, would be at all commensurate with the efforts expended in this direction, since it is asserted that the human voice is incapable of articulating more than twenty distinct sounds, therefore whatever resemblances there may be in the particular words of different languages are of no ethnic value. although these may be the views of many persons not only in regard to the eskimo tongue but in regard to philology in general, the matter has a wonderful fascination for more speculative minds. much has been said about the affinity of language among the eskimo--some asserting that it is such as to allow mutual intercourse everywhere--but instances warrant us in concluding that considerable deviations exist in their vocabularies, if not in the grammatical construction. for instance, take two words that one hears oftener than any others: on the alaska coast they say "na-koo-ruk," a word meaning "good," "all right," etc.; on the siberian coast "mah-zink-ah," while a vocabulary collected during lieutenant schwatka's expedition gives the word "mah-muk'-poo" for "good." the first two of these words are so characteristic of the tribes on the respective shores above the straits that a better designation than any yet given to them by writers on the subject would be _nakoorooks_ for the people on the american side and _mazinkahs_ for those on the siberian coast. these names, by which they know each other, are in general use among the whalemen and were adopted by every one on board the _corwin_. again, on the american coast "am-a-luk-tuk" signifies plenty, while on the siberian coast it is "num-kuck-ee." "tee-tee-tah" means needles in siberia, in alaska it is "mitkin." in the latter place when asking for tobacco they say "te-ba-muk," while the asiatics say "salopa." that a number of dialects exists around bering straits is apparent to the most superficial observer. the difference in the language becomes apparent after leaving norton sound. the interpreter we took from saint michael's could only with difficulty understand the natives at point barrow, while at saint lawrence island and on the asiatic side he could understand nothing at all. at east cape we saw natives who, though apparently alike, did not understand each other's language. i saw the same thing at cape prince of wales, the western extremity of the new world, whither a number of eskimo from the wankarem river, siberia, had come to trade. doubtless there is a community of origin in the eskimo tongue, and these verbal divergencies may be owing to the want of written records to give fixity to the language, since languages resemble living organisms by being in a state of continual change. be that as it may, we know that this people has imported a number of words from coming in contact with another language, just as the french have incorporated into their speech "le steppeur," "l'outsider," "le high life," "le steeple chase," "le jockey club," etc.--words that have no correlatives in french--so the eskimo has appropriated from the whalers words which, as verbal expressions of his ideation, are undoubtedly better than anything in his own tongue. one of these is "by and by," which he uses with the same frequency that a spaniard does his favorite _mañana por la mañano_. in this instance the words express the state of development and habits of thought--one the lazy improvidence of the eskimo, and the other the "to-morrow" of the spaniard, who has indulged that propensity so far that his nation has become one of yesterday. the change of the eskimo language brought about by its coming in contact with another forms an important element in its history, and has been mentioned by the older writers, also by gilder, who reports a change in the language of the iwillik eskimo to have taken place since the advent among them of the white men. among other peculiarities of their phraseology occurs the word "tanuk," signifying whiskey, and it is said to have originated with an old eskimo employed by moore as a guide and dog-driver when he wintered in plover bay. every day about noon that personage was in the habit of taking his appetizer and usually said to the eskimo, "come, joe, let's take our tonic." like most of his countrymen, joe was not slow to learn the meaning of the word, and to this day the firm hold "tanuk" has on the language is only equalled by the thirst for the fluid which the name implies. among the asiatic eskimo the word "um-muck" is common for "rum," while "em-mik" means water. even words brought by whalers from the south sea islands have obtained a footing, such as "kow-kow" for food, a word in general use, and "pow" for "no," or "not any." they also call their babies "pick-a-nee-nee," which to many persons will suggest the spanish word or the southern negro idiom for "baby." the phrase "pick-a-nee-nee kowkow" is the usual formula in begging food for their children. an eskimo, having sold us a reindeer, said it would be "mazinkah kow-kow" (good eating), and one windy day we were hauling the seine, and an eskimo seeing its empty condition when pulled on to the beach, said, "'pow' fish; bimeby 'pow' wind, plenty fish." the fluency with which some of these fellows speak a mixture of pigeon english and whaleman's jargon is quite astonishing, and suggests the query whether their fluency results from the aggressiveness of the english or is it an evidence of their aptitude? it seems wonderful how a people we are accustomed to look upon as ignorant, benighted and undeveloped, can learn to talk english with a certain degree of fluency and intelligibility from the short intercourse held once a year with a few passing ships. how many "hoodlums" in san francisco, for instance, learn anything of norwegian or german from frequenting the wharves? how many "wharf rats" or stevedores in new york learn anything of these languages from similar intercourse? or, for that matter, we may ask, how many new york pilots have acquired even the smallest modicum of french from boarding the steamers of the compagnie générale transatlantique? from a few examples it will be seen that the usage followed by the eskimo in its grammatical variations rests on the fixity of the radical syllable and upon the agglomeration of the different particles intended to modify the primitive sense of this root, that is to say upon the principle of agglutinative languages. one or two instances may suffice to show the agglutinate character of the language. canoe is "o-me-uk;" ship "o-me-uk-puk;" steamer "o-me-uk-puk-ignelik;" and this composite mechanical structure reaches its climax in steam-launch, which they call "o-me-uk-puk-ignelik-pick-a-nee-nee." for snow and ice in their various forms there are also many words which show further the polysynthetic structure of the language--a fact contrary to that primitive condition of speech where there are no inflections to indicate the relations of the words to each other. it will not do to omit "o-kee-chuck" from this enumeration--a word signifying trade, barter, or sale, and one most commonly heard among these people. when they wish to say a thing is bad they use "a-shu-ruk," and when disapproval is meant they say "pe-chuk." the latter word also expresses general negation. for instance, on looking into several unoccupied houses a native informs us "innuit pechuk," meaning that the people are away or not at home; "allopar" is cold, and "allopar pechuk" is hot. persons fond of tracing resemblances may find in "ignik" (fire) a similarity to the latin _ignis_ or the english "ignite," and from "un-gi doo-ruk" (big, huge) the transition down to "hunky-dory" is easy. those who see a sort of complemental relation to each other of linguistic affinity and the conformity in physical characters may infer from "mikey-doo-rook" (a term of endearment equivalent to "mavourneen" and used in addressing little children) that the inhabitants within the polar circle have something of the emerald isle about them. but no, they are not irish, for when they are about to leave the ship or any other place for their houses they say "to hum"; consequently they are yankees. i do not wish to be thought frivolous in my notions regarding the noble science of philology; but when one considers the changes that language is constantly undergoing, the inability of the human voice to articulate more than twenty distinct sounds, and the wonderful amount of ingenious learning that has been wasted by philologists on trifling subjects, one is disposed to associate many of their deductions with the savage picture-writing on dighton rock, the cardiff giant, and the old wind-mill at newport. eskimo dietetics. attempts to trace or discover the origin of races through supposed philological analogies do not possess the advantage of certainty afforded by the study of the means by which individuals of the race supply the continuous demands of the body with the nutriment necessary to maintain life and health. everybody has heard of the seal, bear, walrus, and whale in connection with eskimo dietetics, and doubtless the stomachs of most persons would revolt at the idea of eating these animals, the taste for which, by the way, is merely a matter of early education or individual preference, for there is no good reason why they should not be just as palatable to the northern appetite as pig, sheep, and beef are to the inhabitants of temperate latitudes. as food they renew the nitrogenous tissues, reconstruct the parts and restore the functions of the eskimo frame, prolong his existence, and produce the same animal contentment and joy as the more civilized viands of the white man's table. there are more palatable things than bear or eider duck, yet i know many persons to whom snails, olive oil, and _paté de fois gras_ are more repugnant. a tray full of hot seal entrails, a bowl of coagulated blood, and putrid fish are not very inviting or lickerish to ordinary mortals, yet they have their analogue in the dish of some farmers who eat a preparation of pig's bowels known as "chitterlings," and in the blood-puddings and limburger cheese of the germans. blubber-oil and whale are not very dainty dishes, yet consider how many families subsist on half-baked saleratus biscuits, salted pork, and oleomargarine. on the mess table of the fur company's establishment at st. paul island, seal meat is a daily article of consumption, and from personal experience i can testify as to its palatability, although it reminded one of indifferent beef rather overdone. hair seal and bear steaks were on different occasions tried at the mess on board the corwin, but everybody voted eider duck and reindeer the preference. it is not so very long since that whale was a favorite article of diet in england and holland, and arctic whalemen still, to my personal knowledge, use the freshly tried oil in cooking; for instance in frying cakes, for which they say it answers the purpose as well as the finest lard, while others breakfast on whale and potatoes prepared after the manner of codfish balls. the whale i have tasted is rather insipid eating, yet it appears to be highly nutritious, judging from the well-nourished look of natives who have lived on it, and the air of greasy abundance and happy contentment that pervades an eskimo village just after the capture of a whale. being ashore one day with our pilot, we met a native woman whom he recognized as a former acquaintance, and on remarking to her that she had picked up in flesh since he last saw her, she replied that she had been living on a whale all the winter, which explained her plumpness. it must not be supposed, however, that the whale, seal and walrus constitute the entire food supply of the arctic. there is scarcely any more toothsome delicacy than reindeer, the tongue of which is very dainty and succulent. there is one peculiarity about its flesh--in order to have it in perfection it must be eaten very soon after being killed; the sooner the better, for it deteriorates in flavor the longer it is kept. indeed, the eskimo do not wait for the animal heat to leave the carcass, as they eat the brains and paunch hot and smoking. while our gastronomic enthusiasm did not extend this far, we dined occasionally on fresh trout from a siberian mountain lake, young wild ducks as fat as squabs, and reindeer, any of which delicacies could not be had in the same perfection at delmonico's or any similar establishment in new york for love or money. there is scarcely any better eating in the way of fish than _coregonus_--a new species discovered at point barrow by the _corwin_--and certainly no more dainty game exists than the young wild geese and ptarmigan to be found in countless numbers in hotham inlet. at the latter place, doubtless the warmest inside the straits, are found quantities of cranberries about the size of a pea, which not only make a delicious accessory to roasted goose, but act as a valuable antiscorbutic. these berries and a kind of kelp, which i have seen eskimo eating at tapkan, siberia, seem to be the only vegetable food they have. the large quantities of eggs easily procurable, but in most cases doubtful, also constitute a standard article of diet among these people, who have no scruples about eating them partly hatched. they seemed never to comprehend our fastidiousness in the matter and why our tastes differed so much from theirs in this respect. they will break an egg containing an embryonic duck or goose, extract the bird by one leg and devour it with all the relish of an epicure. gull's eggs, however, are in disrepute among them, for the women--who, by the way, have the same frailties and weaknesses as their more civilized sisters--believe that eating gull's eggs causes loss of beauty and brings on early decrepitude. the men, on the other hand, are fond of seal eyes, a tid-bit which the women believe increases their amorousness, and feed to their lords after the manner of "open your mouth and shut your eyes." game is, as a rule, very tame, and during the moulting season, when the geese are unable to fly, it is quite possible to kill them with a stick. at one place, cape thompson, eskimo were seen catching birds from a high cliff with a kind of scoop-net, and i saw birds at herald island refuse to move when pelted with stones, so unaccustomed were they to the presence of man. in addition to being very tame, game is plentiful, and it is not uncommon, off the siberian coast, to see flocks of eider ducks darkening the air and occupying several hours in passing overhead. it was novel sport to see the natives throw a projectile known as an "apluketat" into one of these flocks with astonishing range and accuracy, bringing down the game with the effectiveness of a shotgun. game keeps so well in the arctic that an instance is known of its being perfectly sweet and sound on an english ship after two years' keeping, and whalemen kill a number of pigs, which they hang in the rigging and keep for use during the cruise. it is also noticeable that leather articles do not mildew as they generally do at sea, some shoes kept in a locker on board the _corwin_ having retained their polish during the entire cruise. the food of the eskimo satisfies their instinctive craving for a hydrocarbon, but they do not allow themselves to be much disturbed or distracted in its preparation, as most of it is eaten raw. they occasionally boil their food, however, and some of them have learned the use of flour and molasses, of which they are very fond. their aversion to salt is a very marked peculiarity, and they will not eat either corned beef or pork on this account. it may be that physiological reasons exist for this dislike. social and domestic relations. omitting other ethnographic facts relative to the eskimo, which might be treated in a systematic way except for their triteness, we pass from the means of the renewal of the animal economy to its reproduction. courtship and marriage, which, it is said, are conducted in the most unsentimental manner possible, are for that reason not to be discussed; and for obvious reasons many of the prenatal conditions cannot here be dwelt upon. having never witnessed the act of parturition in an eskimo my knowledge of the subject is merely second-hand, and consequently not worth detailing. it appears, though, that parturition is a function easily performed among them, and that it is unattended by the post-partum accidents common to civilization. as a rule the women are unprolific, it being uncommon to find a family numbering over three children, and the mortality among the new-born is excessive, owing to the ignorance and neglect of the ordinary rules of hygiene. they seem, however, to be kind to their children, who in respect to crying do not show the same peevishness as seen in our nurseries; indeed, the social and demonstrative good nature of the race seems to crop out even in babyhood, as i have often witnessed under such circumstances as a baby enveloped in furs in a skin canoe which lay along side the ship during a snowstorm; its tiny hands protruding held a piece of blubber, which it sucked with apparent relish, the unique picture of happy contentment. it was quick to feel itself an object of attraction, and its chubby face returned any number of smiles of recognition. the manner of carrying the infant is contrary to that of civilized custom. it is borne on the back under the clothes of the mother, which form a pouch, and from which its tiny head is generally visible over one or the other shoulder, but on being observed by strangers it shrinks like a snail or a marsupian into its snug retreat. when the mother wants to remove it she bends forward, at the same time passing her left hand up the back under her garments, and seizing the child by the feet, pulls it downward to the left; then, passing the right hand under the front of the dress, she again seizes the feet and extracts it by a kind of podalic delivery. another common way of carrying children is astride the neck. the subject is one that the chucki artist often carves in ivory. the play impulse manifests itself among these people in various ways. they have such mimetic objects as dolls, miniature boats, etc. i have seen a group of boys, sailing toy boats in a pond, behave under the circumstances just as a similar group has been observed to do at provincetown, cape cod, and the same act, as performed in the frog pond of the boston common, may be called only a differentiated form of the same tendency. their dolls, of ivory and clothed with fur, seem to answer the same purpose that they do in civilized communities--namely, the amusement of little girls--for at one place where we landed a number of eskimo girls, stopping play on our approach, sat their dolls up in a row, evidently with a view to giving the dolls a better look at the strange visitors. spinning tops, essentially eskimo and unique in their character, are held in the hand while spinning; on the siberian coast football is played, and among other questionable things acquired from contact with the whalemen, a knowledge of card-playing exists. we were very often asked for cards, and at one place where we stopped and bartered a number of small articles with the natives they gave evidence of their aptitude at gaming. the game being started, with the bartered articles as stakes, one fellow soon scooped in everything, leaving the others to go off dead-broke, amid the ridicule of some of our crew, and doubtless feeling worse than dead, for among no people that i have seen, not even the french, does ridicule so effectually kill. personal ornamentation. among the means taken by these people to produce personal ornamentation that of tattooing the face and wearing a labret is the most noticeable. the custom of tattooing having existed from the earliest historical epochs is important, not only from an ethnological but from a medical and pathological point of view, and even in its relation to medical jurisprudence in cases of contested personal identity. without going into the history of the subject, it may not be irrelevant to mention that tattooing was condemned by the fathers of the church, tertullian, among others, who gives the following rather singular reason for interdicting its use among women: "certi sumus spiritum sanctum magis masculis tale aliquid subscribere potuisse si feminis subscripsisset."[ ] in addition to much that has been written by french and german writers, the matter of tattoo-marks has of late claimed the attention of the law courts of england, the chief-justice, cockburn, in the tichbourne case, having described this species of evidence as of "vital importance," and in itself final and conclusive. the absence of the tattoo-marks in this case justified the jury in their finding that the defendant was not and could not be roger tichbourne, whereupon the alleged claimant was proved to be an impostor, found guilty of perjury, and sentenced to penal servitude.[ ] [illustration: style of personal ornamentation adopted by the women of saint lawrence island.] why the ancient habit of tattooing should prevail so extensively among some of the primitive tribes as it does, for instance, in the polynesian islands and some parts of japan, and we may say as a survival of a superstitious practice of paganism among sailors and others, is a psychological problem difficult to solve. whether it be owing to perversion of the sexual instinct, which is not unlikely, or to other cause, it is not proposed to discuss. be that as it may, the prevalence of the habit among the eskimo is confined to the female sex, who are tattooed on arriving at the age of puberty. the women of saint lawrence island, in addition to lines on the nose, forehead and chin, have uniformly a figure of strange design on the cheeks, which is suggestive of cabalistic import. it could not be ascertained, however, whether such is the case. the lines drawn on the chin were exactly like the ones i have seen on moorish women in morocco. another outlandish attempt at adornment was witnessed at cape blossom in a woman who wore a bunch of colored beads suspended from the septum of her nose. these habits, however, hardly seem so revolting as the use of the labret by the "mazinka" men on the american coast, of whom it is related that a sailor seeing one of them for the first time, and observing the slit in the lower lip through which the native thrust his tongue, thought he had discovered a man with two mouths. the use of the labret, like many of the attempts at primitive ornamentation, is very old, its use having been traced by dall along the american coast from the lower part of chili to alaska. persons fond of tracing, vestiges of savage ornamentation amid intellectual advancement and æsthetic sensibility far in advance of the primitive man, may observe in the wearers of bangles and earrings the same tendency existing in a differentiated form. diversions. i doubt whether shakespeare's dictum in regard to music holds good when applied to the eskimo, for they have but little music in their souls, and among no people is there such a noticeable absence of "treason, stratagem and spoil." a rude drum and a monotonous chant, consisting only of the fundamental note and minor third, are the only things in the way of music among the more remote settlements of which i have any knowledge. mrs. micawber's singing has been described as the table-beer of acoustics. eskimo singing is something more. the beer has become flat by the addition of ice. one of our engineers, who is quite a fiddler, experimented on his instrument with a view to seeing what effect music would have on the "savage breast," but his best efforts at rendering "madame angot" and the "grande duchesse" were wasted before an unsympathetic audience, who showed as little appreciation of his performance as some people do when listening to wagner's "music of the future." where they have come in contact with civilization their musical taste is more developed. at saint michael's i was told that some of their songs are so characteristic that it is much to be regretted that some of them cannot be bottled up in a phonograph and sent to a musical composer. on the coast of siberia i heard an eskimo boy sing correctly a song he had learned while on board a whaling vessel, and on several of the aleutian islands the natives play the accordeon quite well; have music-boxes, and even whistle strains from "pinafore." from music to dancing the transition is obvious, no matter whether the latter be regarded in a darwinian sense as a device to attract the opposite sex or as the expression of joyous excitement. this manifestation of feeling in its bodily discharge, which moses and miriam and david indulged in, which is ranked with poetry by aristotle, and which old homer says is the sweetest and most perfect of human enjoyments, is a pastime much in vogue among the eskimo, and it required but little provocation to start a dance at any time on the _corwin's_ decks when a party happened to be on board. the dancing, however, had not the cadence of "a wave of the sea," nor was there the harmony of double rotation circling in a series of graceful curves to strains like those of strauss or gungl. on the contrary, there was something saltatorial and jerky about all the dancing i saw both among the men and women. it is the custom at some of their gatherings, after the hunting season is over, for the men to indulge in a kind of terpsichorean performance, at the same time relating in homeric style the heroic deeds they have done. at other times the women do all the dancing. being stripped to the waist they are more _décolleté_ than our beauties at the german, and the men take the part of spectators only in this choreographical performance. art instinct. the aptitude shown by eskimo in carving and drawing has been noticed by all travellers among them. some i have met with show a degree of intelligence and appreciation in regard to charts and pictures scarcely to be expected from such a source. from walrus ivory they sculpture figures of birds, quadrupeds, marine animals, and even the human form, which display considerable individuality notwithstanding their crude delineation and imperfect detail. i have also seen a fair carving of a whale in plumbago. evidences of decoration are sometimes seen on their canoes, on which are found rude pictures of walruses, etc., and they have a kind of picture-writing, by means of which they commemorate certain events in their lives, just as sitting bull has done in an autobiography that may be seen at the army medical museum. when we were searching for the missing whalers off the siberian coast, some natives were come across with whom we were unable to communicate except by signs, and wishing to let them know the object of our visit, a ship was drawn in a note-book and shown to them, with accompanying gesticulations, which they quickly comprehended, and one fellow, taking the pencil and note-book, drew correctly a pair of reindeer horns on the ship's jib-boom--a fact which identified, beyond doubt, the derelict vessel they had seen. at point hope an eskimo, who had allowed us to take sketches of him, desired to sketch one of the party, and taking one of our note-books and a pencil, neither of which he ever had in his hand before, produced the accompanying likeness of professor muir: [illustration] at saint michael's there is an eskimo boy who draws remarkably well, having taught himself by copying from the _illustrated london news_. he made a correct pen-and-ink drawing of the _corwin_, and another of the group of buildings at saint michael's, which, though creditable in many respects, had the defect of many chinese pictures, being faulty in perspective. as these drawings equal those in dr. rink's book, done by greenland artists, i regret my inability to reproduce them here. as evidences of culture they show more advancement than the carvings of english rustics that a clergyman has caused to be placed on exhibition at the kensington museum. sir john ross speaks highly of his interpreter as an artist; beechy says that the knowledge of the coast obtained by him from innuit maps was of the greatest value, while hall and others show their geographical knowledge to be as perfect as that possible of attainment by civilized men unaided by instruments. i had frequent opportunities to observe these eskimo ideas of chartography. they not only understood reading a chart of the coast when showed to them, but would make tracings of the unexplored part, as i knew a native to do in the case of an alaskan river, the mouth only of which was laid down on our chart. manifestation of the plastic art, which is found among tribes less intelligent, is rare among the eskimo. in fact, the only thing of the kind seen was some rude pottery at saint lawrence island, the design of which showed but crude development of ornamental ideas. the same state of advancement was shown in some drinking cups carved from mammoth ivory and a dipper made from the horn of a mountain sheep. combativeness. in one of the acts of shakespeare's "seven ages" the eskimo plays a very unimportant _rôle_. perhaps in no other race is the combative instinct less predominant; in none is quarrelling, fierceness of disposition, and jealousy more conspicuously absent, and in none does the desire for the factitious renown of war exist in a more rudimentary and undeveloped state. perhaps the constant fight with cold and hunger is a compensation which must account for the absence of such unmitigated evils as war, taxes, complex social organization and hierarchy among the curious people of the icy north. the pursuits of peace and of simple patriarchal lives, notwithstanding the fact of much in connection therewith that is wretched, and forbidding to a civilized man, seem to beget in these people a degree of domestic tranquility and contentment which, united to their light-hearted and cheery disposition, is an additional reason for believing the sum of human happiness to be constant throughout the world. mental character and capacity. the intellectual character of the eskimo, judging from the information which various travellers have furnished, as well as my personal knowledge, produces more than a feeble belief in the possibility of their being equal to anything they choose to take an interest in learning. the eskimo is not "muffled imbecility," as some one has called him, nor is he dull and slow of understanding, as vitruvius describes the northern nation to be "from breathing a thick air"--which, by the way, is thin, elastic and highly ozonized--nor is he, according to dr. beke, "degenerated almost to the lowest state compatible with the retention of rational endowments." on the contrary, the old greenland missionary, hans egede, writes: "i have found some of them witty enough and of good capacity;" sir martin frobisher says they are "in nature very subtle and sharp-witted;" sir edward parry, while extolling their honesty and good nature, adds, "indeed, it required no long acquaintance to convince us that art and education might easily have made them equal or superior to ourselves;" sauer tells of a woman who learned to speak russian fluently in rather less than twelve months, and beechy and others have acknowledged the intelligent help they have received from eskimo in making their explorations. before going further, it may not be amiss to speak in a general way of the bony covering which protects the organ whose function it is to generate the vibrations known as thought. of one hundred crania, collected principally at saint lawrence island, a number were examined by me at the army medical museum, through the courtesy of dr. huntington, with the result of changing and greatly modifying some of the previous notions of the conventional eskimo skull as acquired from books on craniology. perhaps after the inspection and examination of a large collection of crania, it may be safe to pronounce upon their differential character; but whether the differences in configuration are constant or only occasional manifestations, admits of as much doubt as the exceptions in professor sophocles's greek grammar, which are often coextensive with the rule.[ ] the typical eskimo skull, according to popular notion, is one exhibiting a low order of intelligence, and characterized by small brain capacity, with great prominence of the superciliary ridges, occipital protuberance and zygomatic arches, the latter projecting beyond the general contour of the skull like the handles of a jar or a peach basket; and lines drawn from the most projecting part of the arches and touching the sides of the frontal bone are supposed to meet over the forehead, forming a triangle, for which reason the skull is known as pyramidal. the first specimen, examined from a vertical view, shows something of the typical character as figured in a, and when viewed posteriorly there is noticed a flattening of the parietal walls with an elongated vertex as shown in d; while a second specimen, represented by b, shows none of the foregoing characteristics, the form being elongated and the parietal walls so far overhanging as to conceal the zygomatic arches in the vertical view, so that if lines be drawn as previously mentioned, instead of forming a triangle they may, like the asymptotes of a parabola, be extended to infinity and never meet. for purposes of comparison a number of orthographic outlines, showing the contour of civilized crania, from a vertical point of observation, are herewith annexed. no. is that of an eminent mathematician who committed suicide; no. , a prominent politician during the civil war; no. , a banker; and no. , a notorious assassin. nos. and are negro skulls. further comparison may be made with the jewish skull, as represented in no. , in which the nasal bones project so far beyond the general contour as to form a bird-like appendage. [illustration: a] [illustration: b] [illustration: c] [illustration: d] a collection of aleutian heads, as seen from a vertical point of observation, when i looked down from the gallery of the little greek church at ounalaska, presented at first certain collective characters by which they approach one another. but anatomists know that a careful comparison of any collection will show extremely salient differences. in fact, individual differences, so numerous and so irregular as to prevent methodical enumeration, constitute the stumbling-block of ethnic craniology. take, for instance, a number of the skulls under consideration: in proportions they will be found to present very considerable variations among themselves. the skulls figured by a and b are respectively brachycephalic and dolichocephalic. the former has an internal capacity of , , the latter , cubic centimeters; but the facial angle of each is °, and in one eskimo cranium it runs up to °. if the facial angle be trustworthy, as a measure of the degree of intelligence, we have shown here a development far in excess of the negro, which is placed at °, or of the mongolian at °, and exceeding that observed by me in many german skulls, which do not, as a rule, come up to the ° of jupiter tonans or of cuvier, in spite of the boasted intelligence of that nationality. [illustration: _no. ._] [illustration: _no. ._] [illustration: _no. ._] [illustration: _no. ._] [illustration: _no. ._] [illustration: _no. ._] in none of the skulls of the collection is there observable the heavy superciliary ridges alleged to be common in lower races, but which exist in many of the best-formed european crania--shall we say as anomalies or as individual variations? nor is the convexity of the squamo-parietal suture such as characterizes the low-typed cranium of the chimpanzee or the mound builder. on the contrary, the orbits are cleanly made and the suture is well curved. besides, a low degree of intelligence is not shown by observing the index of the foramen magnum, which is about the same as that found in european crania; and the same may be said of the internal capacity of the cranium. to illustrate the latter remark is appended a tabular statement made up from welcker, broca, aitken and meigs: cubic centimeters. australian , polynesian , hottentot , mexican , malay , ancient peruvian , french , to , german , english , an average of the eskimo skull, some of which measure as much as , and , c.c., will show the brain capacity to be the same as that of the french or of the germans. none of them, however, approaches the anomalous capacities of two indian skulls on exhibition at the army medical museum, one of which shows , c.c., and the other the unprecedented measurement of , c.c. if the foregoing means for estimating the mental grasp and capacity for improvement be correct, then we must accord to the most northern nation of the globe a fair degree of brain energy--potential though it be. aside from the mere physical methods of determining the degree of intelligence, it is urged by some writers, among them the historian robertson, that tact in commerce and correct ideas of property are evidence of a considerable progress toward civilization. the natural inference from this is that they are tests of intellectual power, since mind is a combination of all the actual and possible states of consciousness of the organism, and an examination of the eskimo system of trade draws its own conclusion. their fondness for trade has been known for a long time, as well as the extended range of their commercial intercourse. they trade with the indians, with the fur companies, the whalers and among themselves across bering straits. many of them are veritable shylocks, having a through comprehension of the axiom in political economy regarding the regulation of the price of a thing by the demand. [illustration: _no. ._] the moral sense and the religious instinct. with the aptitudes and instincts of our common humanity eskimo morals, as manifested in truth, right and virtue, also admit of remark. except where these people have had the bad example of the white man, whose vices they have imitated, not on account of defective moral nature, but because they saw few or no virtues, they are models of truthfulness and honesty. in fact their virtues in this respect are something phenomenal. the same cannot be said, however, for their sexual morals, which, as a rule, are the contrary of good. even a short stay among the hyperboreans causes one to smile at lord kames's "frigidity of the north americans," and at the fallacy of herder who says, "the blood of man near the pole circulates but slowly, the heart beats but languidly; consequently the married live chastely, the women almost require compulsion to take upon them the troubles of a married life," etc. nearly the same idea expressed by montesquieu, and repeated by byron in "happy the nations of the moral north," are statements so at variance with our experience that this fact must alone excuse a reference to the subject. so far are they from applying to the people in question that it is only necessary to mention, without going into detail, that the women are freely offered to strangers by way of hospitality, showing a decided preference for white men, whom they believe to beget better offspring than their own men. in this regard one is soon convinced that salacious and prurient tastes are not the exclusive privilege of people living outside of the arctic circle; and observation favors the belief in the existence of pederasty among eskimo, if one may be allowed to judge from circumstances, which it is not necessary to particularize, and from a word in their language signifying the act. since morality is the last virtue acquired by man and the first one he is likely to lose, it is not so surprising to find outrages on morals among the undeveloped inhabitants of the north as it is to find them in intelligent christian communities among people whose moral sense ought to be far above that of the average primitive man in view of their associations and the variations that have been so frequently repeated and accumulated by heredity; and where there is no hierarchy nor established missionaries it is still more surprising to find any moral sense at all among a people whose vague religious belief does not extend beyond shamanism or animism, which to them explains the more strange and striking natural phenomena by the hypothesis of direct spiritual agency. it must not be understood by this, however, that these people have no religion, as many travellers have erroneously believed; that would be almost equivalent to stating that races of men exist without speech, memory or knowledge of fire. a purely ethnological view of religion which regards it as "the feeling which falls upon man in the presence of the unknown," favors the idea that the children of the icy north have many of the same feelings in this respect as those experienced by ourselves under similar conditions, although there is doubtless a change in us produced by more advanced thought and nicer feeling. on the other hand, how many habits and ideas that are senseless and perfectly unexplainable by the light of our present modes of life and thought can be explained by similar customs and prejudices existing among these distant tribes. is there no fragment of primitive superstition or residue of bygone ages in the supposed influence of the "evil eye" in ireland, or in the habit of "telling the bees" in germany? is there not something of intellectual fossildom in the popular notion about friday and thirteen at table, and in the ancient rite of exorcising oppressed persons, houses and other places supposed to be haunted by unwelcome spirits, the form of which is still retained in the roman ritual? and is not our enlightened america "the land of spiritualists, mesmerism, soothsaying and mystical congregations"? when the native of saint michael's invokes the moon, or the native of point barrow his crude images previously to hunting the seal, in order to bring good luck, is not the mental and emotional impulse the same as that which actuates more civilized men to look upon "outward signs of an inward and spiritual grace," or not to start upon any important undertaking without first invoking the blessing of deity? and are not the rites observed by the natives on the siberian coast, when the first walrus is caught, the counterpart of our puritan thanksgiving day? perhaps the untutored eskimo has the same fear of the dangerous and terrible, the unknown, the infinite, as ourselves, and parts with life just as reluctantly: but it cannot be said that our observation favors the fact of his longevity, although long life seems to prevail among some of the circumpolar tribes, the laps, for instance, who, according to scheffer, in spite of hard lives enjoy good health, are long-lived, and still alert at eighty and ninety years.--(de medecina laponum.) owing to his hard life, the conflict with his circumstances and his want of foresight, the eskimo soon becomes a physiological bankrupt, and his stock of vitality being exhausted, his bodily remains are covered with stones, around which are placed wooden masks and articles that have been useful to him during life, as i have seen at nounivak island, or they are covered with driftwood as observed in kotzebue sound, or as at tapkan, siberia, where the corpse is lashed to a long pole and is taken some distance from the village, when the clothes are stripped off, placed on the ground and covered with stones. the cadaver is then exposed in the open air to the tender mercies of crows, foxes and wolves. the weapons and other personal effects of the decedent are placed near by, probably with something of the same sentiment that causes us to use chaplets of flowers and immortelles as funeral offerings--a custom that schiller has commemorated in "bringet hier die letzen gaben." the future destiny of these people is a question in which the theologian and politician are not less interested than the man of science. some observers seem to think that their numbers are diminishing under the evil influence of so-called civilization. but as every race participates in the same moral nature, and the entire history of humanity, according to herder, is a series of events pointing to a higher destiny than has yet been revealed, there is no reason why the sum of human happiness, under proper auspices, should not be increased among the innuit race. arch-deacon kirkby, a church of england clergyman who has lately visited them in a missionary capacity as far as boothia, speaks in the highest terms of their intelligence and capacity for improvement. here, then, is a brilliant opportunity for some one full of propagandism and charity to repeat the acts of the modern apostles and extend the influence of civilization to the gay, lively, curious and talkative hyperboreans whose home is under the midnight sun and on the borders of the icy sea. [illustration: wrangel island. journal, american geographical society, vol. xv, . bulletin nº. . rosse.] footnotes: [footnote : in november, , while in london, i met mr. gilder, the _herald_ correspondent, who accompanied the u.s. ship _rodgers_, and he showed me this record and paper which he had taken from the cairn during a subsequent visit to the island.] [footnote : de virginibus velandis. lutetiæ parisiorum. fº., p. .] [footnote : see guy's hospital report, xix, ; also "histoire médicale du tatouage," in archives de médecine navale, tom. and , paris, .] [footnote : retzius, finska kranier, stockholm: .] red rooney, by r.m. ballantyne. a tale of eskimo (innuit) life in greenland at the end of the eighteenth century. chapter one. the last of the crew. lost and found. there is a particular spot in those wild regions which lie somewhere near the northern parts of baffin's bay, where nature seems to have set up her workshop for the manufacture of icebergs, where polar bears, in company with seals and greenland whales, are wont to gambol, and where the family of jack frost may be said to have taken permanent possession of the land. one winter day, in the early part of the eighteenth century, a solitary man might have been seen in that neighbourhood, travelling on foot over the frozen sea in a staggering, stumbling, hurried manner, as if his powers, though not his will, were exhausted. the man's hairy garb of grey sealskin might have suggested that he was a denizen of those northern wilds, had not the colour of his face, his brown locks, and his bushy beard, betokened him a native of a very different region. although possessing a broad and stalwart frame, his movements indicated, as we have said, excessive weakness. a morsel of ice in his path, that would have been no impediment even to a child, caused him to stumble. recovering himself, with an evidently painful effort, he continued to advance with quick, yet wavering steps. there was, however, a strange mixture of determination with his feebleness. energy and despair seemed to be conjoined in his look and action--and no wonder, for red rooney, although brave and resolute by nature, was alone in that arctic wilderness, and reduced to nearly the last extremity by fatigue and famine. for some days--how many he scarcely remembered--he had maintained life by chewing a bit of raw sealskin as he travelled over the frozen waste; but this source of strength had at last been consumed, and he was now sinking from absolute want. the indomitable spirit of the man, however, kept his weakened body moving, even after the mind had begun to sink into that dreamy, lethargic state which is said to indicate the immediate approach of death, and there was still a red spot in each of his pale and hollow cheeks, as well as an eager gleam of hope in his sunken eyes; for the purpose that red rooney had in view was to reach the land. it was indeed a miserably faint hope that urged the poor fellow on, for the desolate shore of western greenland offered little better prospect of shelter than did the ice-clad sea; but, as in the case of the drowning man, he clutched at this miserable straw of hope, and held on for life. there was the bare possibility that some of the migratory eskimos might be there, or, if not, that some scraps of their food--some bits of refuse, even a few bones--might be found. death, he felt, was quickly closing with him on the sea. the great enemy might, perhaps, be fought with and kept at bay for a time if he could only reach the land. encouraging himself with such thoughts, he pushed on, but again stumbled and fell--this time at full length. he lay quiet for a few seconds. it was so inexpressibly sweet to _rest_, and feel the worn-out senses floating away, as it were, into dreamland! but the strong will burst the tightening bands of death, and, rising once more, with the exclamation, "god help me!" he resumed his weary march. all around him the great ocean was covered with its coat of solid, unbroken ice; for although winter was past, and the sun of early spring was at the time gleaming on bergs that raised their battlements and pinnacles into a bright blue sky, the hoary king of the far north refused as yet to resign his sceptre and submit to the interregnum of the genial sun. a large hummock or ridge of ice lay in front of the man, blocking his view of the horizon in that direction. it had probably been heaved up by one of the convulsions of the previous autumn, and was broken into a chaotic mass. here he stopped and looked up, with a sigh. but the sinking of the heart was momentary. deep snow had so filled up the crevices of the shattered blocks that it was possible to advance slowly by winding in and out among them. as the ascent grew steeper the forlorn man dropped on all-fours and crawled upwards until he reached the top. the view that burst upon him would have roused enthusiasm if his situation had been less critical. even as it was, an exclamation of surprise broke from him, for there, not five miles distant, was the coast of greenland; desolate, indeed, and ice-bound--he had expected that--but inexpressibly grand even in its desolation. a mighty tongue of a great glacier protruded itself into the frozen sea. the tip of this tongue had been broken off, and the edge presented a gigantic wall of crystal several hundred feet high, on which the sun glittered in blinding rays. this tongue--a mere offshoot of the great glacier itself--filled a valley full ten miles in length, measuring from its tip in the ocean to its root on the mountain brow, where the snow-line was seen to cut sharply against the sky. for some minutes red rooney sat on one of the ice-blocks, gazing with intense eagerness along the shore, in the hope of discerning smoke or some other evidence of man's presence. but nothing met his disappointed gaze save the same uniform, interminable waste of white and grey, with here and there a few dark frowning patches where the cliffs were too precipitous to sustain the snow. another despairing sigh rose to the man's lips, but these refused to give it passage. with stern resolve he arose and stumbled hurriedly forward. the strain, however, proved too great. on reaching the level ice on the other side of the ridge he fell, apparently for the last time, and lay perfectly still. ah! how many must have fallen thus, to rise no more, since men first began to search out the secrets of that grand mysterious region! but red rooney was not doomed to be among those who have perished there. not far from the spot where he fell, one of the short but muscular and hairy-robed denizens of that country was busily engaged in removing the skin from a polar bear which he had just succeeded in spearing, after a combat which very nearly cost him his life. during the heat of the battle the brave little man's foot had slipped, and the desperately wounded monster, making a rush at the moment, overturned him into a crevice between two ice-blocks, fortunately the impetus of the rush caused the animal to shoot into another crevice beyond, and the man, proving more active than the bear, sprang out of his hole in time to meet his foe with a spear-thrust so deadly that it killed him on the spot. immediately he began to skin the animal, intending to go home with the skin, and return with a team of dogs for the meat and the carcass of a recently-caught seal. meanwhile, having removed and packed up the bear-skin, he swung it on his broad shoulders, and made for the shore as fast as his short legs would carry him. on the way he came to the spot where the fallen traveller lay. his first act was to open his eyes to the uttermost, and, considering the small, twinkling appearance of those eyes just a minute before, the change was marvellous. "hoi!" then burst from him with tremendous emphasis, after which he dropped his bundle, turned poor rooney over on his back, and looked at his face with an expression of awe. "dead!" said the eskimo, under his breath--in his own tongue, of course, not in english, of which, we need scarcely add, he knew nothing. after feeling the man's breast, under his coat, for a few seconds, he murmured the word "kablunet" (foreigner), and shook his head mournfully. it was not so much grief for the man's fate that agitated this child of the northern wilderness, as regret at his own bad fortune. marvellous were the reports which from the south of greenland had reached him, in his far northern home, of the strange kablunets or foreigners who had arrived there to trade with the eskimos--men who, so the reports went, wore smooth coats without hair, little round things on their heads instead of hoods, and flapping things on their legs instead of sealskin boots--men who had come in monster kayaks (canoes), as big as icebergs; men who seemed to possess everything, had the power to do anything, and feared nothing. no fabrications in the _arabian nights_, or _gulliver_, or _baron munchausen_, ever transcended the stories about those kablunets which had reached this broad, short, sturdy eskimo--stories which no doubt began in the south of greenland with a substratum of truth, but which, in travelling several hundreds of miles northward, had grown, as a snowball might have grown if rolled the same distance over the arctic wastes; with this difference--that whereas the snowball would have retained its original shape, though not its size, the tales lost not only their pristine form and size, but became so amazingly distorted that the original reporters would probably have failed to recognise them. and now, at last, here was actually a kablunet--a _real_ foreigner in the body; but not alive! it was extremely disappointing! our sturdy eskimo, however, was not a good judge of kablunet vitality. he was yet rubbing the man's broad chest, with a sort of pathetic pity, when a flutter of the heart startled him. he rubbed with more vigour. he became excited, and, seizing red rooney by the arms, shook him with considerable violence, the result being that the foreigner opened his eyes and looked at him inquiringly. "hallo, my lad," said rooney, in a faint voice; "not quite so hard. i'm all right. just help me up, like a good fellow." he spoke in english, which was, of course, a waste of breath in the circumstances. in proof of his being "all right," he fell back again, and fainted away. the eskimo leaped up. he was one of those energetic beings who seem to know in all emergencies what is best to be done, and do it promptly. unrolling the bear-skin, which yet retained a little of its first owner's warmth, he wrapped the kablunet in it from head to foot, leaving an opening in front of his mouth for breathing purposes. with his knife--a stone one--he cut off a little lump of blubber from the seal, and placed that in the opening, so that the stranger might eat on reviving, if so inclined, or let it alone, if so disposed. then, turning his face towards the land, he scurried away over the ice like a hunted partridge, or a hairy ball driven before an arctic breeze. he made such good use of his short legs that in less than an hour he reached a little hut, which seemed to nestle under the wing of a great cliff in order to avoid destruction by the glittering walls of an impending glacier. the hut had no proper doorway, but a tunnel-shaped entrance, about three feet high and several feet long. falling on his knees, the eskimo crept into the tunnel and disappeared. gaining the inner end of it, he stood up and glared, speechless, at his astonished wife. she had cause for surprise, for never since their wedding-day had nuna beheld such an expression on the fat face of her amiable husband. "okiok," she said, "have you seen an evil spirit?" "no," he replied. "why, then, do you glare?" of course nuna spoke in choice eskimo, which we render into english with as much fidelity to the native idiom as seems consistent with the agreeable narration of our tale. "hoi!" exclaimed okiok, in reply to her question, but without ceasing to glare and breathe hard. "has my husband become a walrus, that he can only shout and snort?" inquired nuna, with the slightest possible twinkle in her eyes, as she raised herself out of the lamp-smoke, and laid down the stick with which she had been stirring the contents of a stone pot. instead of answering the question, okiok turned to two chubby and staring youths, of about fifteen and sixteen respectively, who were mending spears, and said sharply, "norrak, ermigit, go, harness the dogs." norrak rose with a bound, and dived into the tunnel. ermigit, although willing enough, was not quite so sharp. as he crawled into the tunnel and was disappearing, his father sent his foot in the same direction, and, having thus intimated the necessity for urgent haste, he turned again to his wife with a somewhat softened expression. "give me food, nuna. little food has passed into me since yesterday at sunrise. i starve. when i have eaten, you shall hear words that will make you dream for a moon. i have seen,"--he became solemn at this point, and lowered his voice to a whisper as he advanced his head and glared again--"i have seen a--a--kablunet!" he drew back and gazed at his wife as connoisseurs are wont to do when examining a picture. and truly nuna's countenance _was_ a picture-round, fat, comely, oily, also open-mouthed and eyed, with unbounded astonishment depicted thereon; for she thoroughly believed her husband, knowing that he was upright and never told lies. her mental condition did not, however, interfere with her duties. a wooden slab or plate, laden with a mess of broiled meat, soon smoked before her lord. he quickly seated himself on a raised platform, and had done some justice to it before nuna recovered the use of her tongue. "a kablunet!" she exclaimed, almost solemnly. "is he dead?" okiok paused, with a lump of blubber in his fingers close to his mouth. "no; he is alive. at least he was alive when i left him. if he has not died since, he is alive still." having uttered this truism, he thrust the blubber well home, and continued his meal. nuna's curiosity, having been aroused, was not easily allayed. she sat down beside her spouse, and plied him with numerous questions, to which okiok gave her brief and very tantalising replies until he was gorged, when, throwing down the platter, he turned abruptly to his wife, and said impressively-- "open your ears, nuna. okiok is no longer what he was. he has been born only to-day. he has at last seen with his two eyes--a kablunet!" he paused to restrain his excitement. his wife clasped her hands and looked at him excitedly, waiting for more. "this kablunet," he continued, "is very white, and not so ruddy as we have been told they are. his hair is brown, and twists in little circles. he wears it on the top of his head, and on the bottom of his head also--all round. he is not small or short. no; he is long and broad,--but he is thin, very thin, like the young ice at the beginning of winter. his eyes are the colour of the summer sky. his nose is like the eagle's beak, but not so long. his mouth--i know not what his mouth is like; it is hid in a nest of hair. his words i understand not. they seem to me nonsense, but his voice is soft and deep." "and his dress--how does he dress?" asked nuna, with natural feminine curiosity. "like ourselves," replied okiok, with a touch of disappointment in his tone. "the men who said the kablunets wear strange things on their heads and long flapping things on their legs told lies." "why did you not bring him here?" asked nuna, after a few moments' meditation on these marvels. "because he is too heavy to lift, and too weak to walk. he has been starving. i wrapped him in the skin of a bear, and left him with a piece of blubber at his nose. when he wakes up he will smell; then he will eat. perhaps he will live; perhaps he will die. who can tell? i go to fetch him." as the eskimo spoke, the yelping of dogs outside told that his sons had obeyed his commands, and got ready the sledge. without another word he crept out of the hut and jumped on the sledge, which was covered with two or three warm bearskins. ermigit restrained the dogs, of which there were about eight, each fastened to the vehicle by a single line. norrak handed his father the short-handled but heavy, long-lashed whip. okiok looked at norrak as he grasped the instrument of punishment. "jump on," he said. norrak did so with evident good-will. the whip flashed in the air with a serpentine swing, and went off like a pistol. the dogs yelled in alarm, and, springing away at full speed, were soon lost among the hummocks of the arctic sea. chapter two. describes a rescue and a happy family. while the eskimos were thus rushing to his rescue, poor red rooney-- whose shipmates, we may explain at once, had thus contracted his christian name of reginald--began to recover from his swoon, and to wonder in a listless fashion where he was. feeling comparatively comfortable in his bear-skin, he did not at first care to press the inquiry; but, as okiok had anticipated, the peculiar smell near his nose tended to arouse him. drawing his hand gently up, he touched the object in front of his mouth. it felt very like blubber, with which substance he was familiar. extending his tongue, he found that it also tasted like blubber. to a starving man this was enough. he pulled the end of the raw morsel into his mouth and began to chew. ah, reader, turn not up your refined nose! when you have been for several months on short allowance, when you have scraped every shred of meat off the very last bones of your provisions, and sucked out the last drop of marrow, and then roasted and eaten your spare boots, you may perhaps be in a position to estimate and enjoy a morsel of raw blubber. regardless of time, place, and circumstance, our poor wanderer continued to chew until in his great weakness he fell into a sort of half slumber, and dreamed--dreamed of feasting on viands more delightful than the waking imagination of man has ever conceived. from this state of bliss he was rudely awakened by a roughish poke in the back. the poke was accompanied by a snuffing sound which caused the blood of the poor man to curdle. could it be a bear? he was not left long in doubt. after giving him another poke on the shoulder, the creature walked round him, snuffing as it went, and, on reaching the air-hole already referred to, thrust its snout in and snorted. rooney turned his face aside to avoid the blast, but otherwise lay quite still, knowing well that whatever animal his visitor might be, his only hope lay in absolute inaction. venturing in a few seconds to turn his face round and peep through the opening, he found that the animal was in very deed a large white bear, which, having found and abstracted the remains of the blubber he had been chewing, was at that moment licking its lips after swallowing it. of course, finding the morsel satisfactory, the bear returned to the hole for more. it is easier to conceive than to describe the poor man's feelings at that moment, therefore we leave the reader to conceive them. the natural and desperate tendency to spring up and defend himself had to be combated by the certain knowledge that, encased as he was, he could not spring up, and had nothing wherewith to defend himself except his fingers, which were no match for the claws of a polar bear. the blood which a moment before had begun apparently to curdle, now seemed turned into liquid fire; and when the snout again entered and touched his own, he could contain himself no longer, but gave vent to a yell, which caused the startled bear to draw sharply back in alarm. probably it had never heard a yell through the medium of its nose before, and every one must know how strong is the influence of a new sensation. for some minutes the monster stood in silent contemplation of the mysterious hole. rooney of course lay perfectly still. the success of his involuntary explosion encouraged hope. what the bear might have done next we cannot tell, for at that moment a shout was heard. it was followed by what seemed a succession of pistol shots and the howling of dogs. it was the arrival of okiok on the scene with his sledge and team. never was an arrival more opportune. the bear looked round with a distinct expression of indignation on his countenance. possibly the voice of okiok was familiar to him. it may be that relations or friends of that bear had mysteriously disappeared after the sounding of that voice. perhaps the animal in whose skin rooney was encased had been a brother. at all events, the increasing hullabaloo of the approaching eskimo had the effect of intimidating the animal, for it retired quickly, though with evident sulkiness, from the scene. a few seconds more, and okiok dashed up, leaped from his vehicle, left the panting team to the control of norrak, and ran eagerly to the prostrate figure. unwrapping the head so as to set it free, the eskimo saw with intense satisfaction that the kablunet was still alive. he called at once to norrak, who fetched from the sledge a platter made of a seal's shoulder-blade, on which was a mass of cooked food. this he presented to the starving man, who, with a look of intense gratitude, but with no words, eagerly ate it up. the eskimo and his son meanwhile stood looking at him with an expression of mingled interest, awe, and surprise on their round faces. when the meal was ended, red rooney, heaving a deep sigh of satisfaction, said, "thank god, and thank _you_, my friends!" there was reason for the increase of surprise with which this was received by the two natives, for this time the foreigner spoke to them in their own language. "is the kablunet a messenger from heaven," asked okiok, with increased solemnity, "that he speaks with the tongue of the innuit?" "no, my friend," replied rooney, with a faint smile; "i bring no message either from heaven or anywhere else. i'm only a wrecked seaman. but, after a fashion, you are messengers from heaven to _me_, and the message you bring is that i'm not to die just yet. if it had not been for you, my friends, it strikes me i should have been dead by this time. as to my speaking your lingo, it's no mystery. i've learned it by livin' a long time wi' the traders in the south of greenland, and i suppose i've got a sort o' talent that way; d'ye see?" red rooney delivered these remarks fluently in a curious sort of eskimo language; but we have rendered it into that kind of english which the wrecked seaman was in the habit of using--chiefly because by so doing we shall give the reader a more correct idea of the character of the man. "we are very glad to see you," returned okiok. "we have heard of you for many moons. we have wished for you very hard. now you have come, we will treat you well." "are your huts far off?" asked the seaman anxiously. "not far. they are close to the ice-mountain--on the land." "take me to them, then, like a good fellow, for i'm dead-beat, and stand much in need of rest." the poor man was so helpless that he could not walk to the sledge when they unrolled him. it seemed as if his power of will and energy had collapsed at the very moment of his rescue. up to that time the fear of death had urged him on, but now, feeling that he was, comparatively speaking, safe, he gave way to the languor which had so long oppressed him, and thus, the impulse of the will being removed, he suddenly became as helpless as an infant. seeing his condition, the father and son lifted him on the sledge, wrapped him in skins, and drove back to the huts at full speed. nuna was awaiting them outside, with eager eyes and beating heart, for the discovery of a real live kablunet was to her an object of as solemn and anxious curiosity as the finding of a veritable living ghost might be to a civilised man. but nuna was not alone. there were two other members of the household present, who had been absent when okiok first arrived, and whom we will now introduce to the reader. one was nuna's only daughter, an exceedingly pretty girl--according to eskimo notions of female beauty. she was seventeen years of age, black-eyed, healthily-complexioned, round-faced, sweet-expressioned, comfortably stout, and unusually graceful--for an eskimo. among her other charms, modesty and good-nature shone conspicuous. she was in all respects a superior counterpart of her mother, and her name was nunaga. nuna was small, nunaga was smaller. nuna was comparatively young, nunaga was necessarily younger. the former was kind, the latter was kinder. the mother was graceful and pretty, the daughter was more graceful and prettier. nuna wore her hair gathered on the top of her head into a high top-knot, nunaga wore a higher top-knot. in regard to costume, nuna wore sealskin boots the whole length of her legs--which were not long--and a frock or skirt reaching nearly to her knees, with a short tail in front and a long tail behind; nunaga, being similarly clothed, had a shorter tail in front and a longer tail behind. it may be interesting to note here that eskimos are sometimes named because of qualities possessed, or appearance, or peculiar circumstances connected with them. the word nuna signifies "land" in eskimo. we cannot tell why this particular lady was named land, unless it were that she was born on the land, and not on the ice; or perhaps because she was so nice that when any man came into her company he might have thought that he had reached the land of his hopes, and was disposed to settle down there and remain. certainly many of the eskimo young men seemed to be of that mind until okiok carried her off in triumph. and let us tell you, reader, that a good and pretty woman is as much esteemed among the eskimos as among ourselves. we do not say that she is better treated; neither do we hint that she is sometimes treated worse. the eskimo word nunaga signifies "_my_ land," and was bestowed by okiok on his eldest-born in a flood of tenderness at her birth. apologising for this philological digression, we proceed. besides nuna and nunaga there was a baby boy--a fat, oily, contented boy--without a name at that time, and without a particle of clothing of any sort, his proper condition of heat being maintained when out of doors chiefly by being carried between his mother's dress and her shoulders; also by being stuffed to repletion with blubber. the whole family cried out vigorously with delight, in various keys, when the team came yelping home with the kablunet. even the baby gave a joyous crow--in eskimo. but the exclamations were changed to pity when the kablunet was assisted to rise, and staggered feebly towards the hut, even when supported by okiok and his sons. the sailor was not ignorant of eskimo ways. his residence in south greenland had taught him many things. he dropped, therefore, quite naturally--indeed gladly--on his hands and knees on coming to the mouth of the tunnel, and crept slowly into the hut, followed by the whole family, except ermigit, who was left to unfasten the dogs. the weather at the time was by no means cold, for spring was rapidly advancing; nevertheless, to one who had been so reduced in strength, the warmth of the eskimo hut was inexpressibly grateful. with a great sigh of relief the rescued man flung himself on the raised part of the floor on which eskimos are wont to sit and sleep. "thank god, and again i thank _you_, my friends!" he said, repeating the phrase which he had already used, for the sudden change from despair to hope, from all but death to restored life, had filled his heart with gratitude. "you are weary?" said okiok. "ay, ay--very weary; well-nigh to death," he replied. "will the kablunet sleep?" asked nuna, pointing to a couch of skins close behind the seaman. rooney looked round. "thankee; yes, i will." he crept to the couch, and dropped upon it, with his head resting on an eider-down pillow. like a tired infant, his eyes closed, and he was asleep almost instantaneously. seeing this, the eskimos began to move about with care, and to speak in whispers, though it was needless caution, for in his condition the man would probably have continued to sleep through the wildest thunderstorm. even when baby, tumbling headlong off the elevated floor, narrowly missed spiking himself on a walrus spear, and set up a yell that might have startled the stone deaf, the wearied kablunet did not move. okiok did, however. he moved smartly towards the infant, caught him by the throat, and almost strangled him in a fierce attempt to keep him quiet. "stupid tumbler!" he growled--referring to the child's general and awkward habit of falling--"can't you shut your mouth?" curious similarity between the thoughts and words of civilised and savage man in similar circumstances! and it is interesting to note the truth of what the song says:-- "we little know what great things from little things may rise." from that slight incident the eskimo child derived his future name of "tumbler"! we forget what the precise eskimo term is, but the english equivalent will do as well. when supper-time arrived that night, okiok and nuna consulted as to whether they should waken their guest, or let him lie still--for, from the instant he lay down, he had remained without the slightest motion, save the slow, regular heaving of his broad chest. "let him sleep. he is tired," said okiok. "but he must be hungry, and he is weak," said nuna. "he can feed when he wakens," returned the man, admiring his guest as a collector might admire a foreign curiosity which he had just found. "kablunets sleep sounder than eskimos," remarked the woman. "stupid one! your head is thick, like the skull of the walrus," said the man. "don't you see that it is because he is worn-out?" eskimos are singularly simple and straightforward in their speech. they express their opinions with the utmost candour, and without the slightest intention of hurting each other's feelings. nuna took no offence at her husband's plain speaking, but continued to gaze with a gratified expression at the stranger. and sooth to say reginald rooney was a pleasant object for contemplation, as well as a striking contrast to the men with whom nuna had been hitherto associated. his brow was broad; the nose, which had been compared to the eagle's beak, was in reality a fine aquiline; the mouth, although partially concealed by a brown drooping moustache, was well formed, large, and firm; the beard bushy, and the hair voluminous as well as curly. altogether, this poor castaway was as fine a specimen of a british tar as one could wish to see, despite his wasted condition and his un-british garb. it was finally decided to leave him undisturbed, and the eskimo family took care while supping to eat their food in comparative silence. usually the evening meal was a noisy, hilarious festival, at which okiok and norrak and ermigit were wont to relate the various incidents of the day's hunt, with more or less of exaggeration, not unmingled with fun, and only a little of that shameless boasting which is too strong a characteristic of the north american indian. the women of the household were excellent listeners; also splendid laughers, and tumbler was unrivalled in the matter of crowing, so that noise as well as feasting was usually the order of the night. but on this great occasion that was all changed. the feasting was done in dead silence; and another very striking peculiarity of the occasion was that, while the six pairs of jaws kept moving with unflagging pertinacity, the twelve wide-open eyes kept glaring with unwinking intensity at the sleeping man. indeed this unwavering glare continued long after supper was over, for each member of the family lay down to rest with his or her face towards the stranger, and kept up the glare until irresistible nature closed the lids and thus put out the eyes, like the stars of morning, one by one; perhaps it would be more strictly correct to say two by two. okiok and his wife were the last to succumb. long after the others were buried in slumber, these two sat up by the lamp-light, solacing themselves with little scraps and tit-bits of walrus during the intervals of whispered conversation. "what shall we do with him?" asked okiok, after a brief silence. "keep him," replied nuna, with decision. "but we cannot force him to stay." "he cannot travel alone," said nuna, "and we will not help him to go." "we are not the only innuits in all the land. others will help him if we refuse." this was so obvious that the woman could not reply, but gazed for some time in perplexity at the lamp-smoke. and really there was much inspiration to be derived from the lamp-smoke, for the wick being a mass of moss steeped in an open cup of seal-oil, the smoke of it rose in varied convolutions that afforded almost as much scope for suggestive contemplation as our familiar coal-fires. suddenly the little woman glanced at her slumbering household, cast a meaning look at her husband, and laughed--silently of course. "has nuna become a fool that she laughs at nothing?" demanded okiok simply. instead of replying to the well-meant though impolite question, nuna laughed again, and looked into the dark corner where the pretty little round face of nunaga was dimly visible, with the eyes shut, and the little mouth wide-open. "we will marry him to nunaga," she said, suddenly becoming grave. "pooh!" exclaimed okiok--or some expression equivalent to that--"marry nunaga to a kablunet? never! do you not know that angut wants her?" it was evident from the look of surprise with which nuna received this piece of information that she was _not_ aware of angut's aspirations, and it was equally evident from the perplexed expression that followed that her hastily-conceived little matrimonial speculation had been knocked on the head. after this their thoughts either strayed into other channels, or became too deep for utterance, for they conversed no more, but soon joined the rest of the family in the realms of oblivion. chapter three. our hero and his friends become familiar. it was a fine balmy brilliant morning when red rooney awoke from the most refreshing sleep he had enjoyed for many a day, gazed thoughtfully up at the blackened roof of the eskimo hut, and wondered where he was. there was nothing that met his eyes to recall his scattered senses, for all the members of the family had gone out to their various avocations, and one of them having thrust a sealskin into the hole in the wall which served for a window the sun found admittance only through crevices, and but faintly illumined the interior. the poor man felt intensely weak, yet delightfully restful--so much so that mere curiosity seemed to have died within him, and he was content to lie still and think of whatever his wayward mind chose to fasten on, or not to think at all, if his mind saw fit to adopt that course in its vagaries. in short, he felt as if he had no more control over his thoughts than a man in a dream, and was quite satisfied that it should be so. as his eyes became accustomed to the dim light, however, he began slowly to perceive that the walls around him were made of rough unhewn stone, that the rafters were of drift timber, and the roof of moss, or something like it; but the whole was so thickly coated with soot as to present a uniform appearance of blackness. he also saw, from the position in which he lay, a stone vessel, like a primitive classical lamp, with a wick projecting from its lip, but no flame. several skulls of large animals lay on the floor within the range of his vision, and some sealskin and other garments hung on pegs of bone driven into the wall. just opposite to him was the entrance to the tunnel, which formed the passage or corridor of the mansion, and within it gleamed a subdued light which entered from the outer end. rooney knew that he saw these things, and took note of them, yet if you had asked him what he had seen it is probable that he would have been unable to tell--so near had he approached to the confines of that land from which no traveller returns. heaving a deep sigh, the man uttered the words, "thank god!" for the third time within the last four-and-twenty hours. it was an appropriate prelude to his sinking into that mysterious region of oblivion in which the mind of worn-out man finds rest, and out of which it can be so familiarly yet mysteriously summoned--sometimes by his own pre-determination, but more frequently by a fellow-mortal. he had not lain long thus when the tunnel was suddenly darkened by an advancing body, which proved to be the mistress of the mansion. nuna, on thrusting her head into the interior, looked inquiringly up before venturing to rise. after a good stare at the slumbering kablunet, she went cautiously towards the window and removed the obstruction. a flood of light was let in, which illumined, but did not awaken, the sleeper. cautiously and on tip-toe the considerate little woman went about her household duties, but with her eyes fixed, as if in fascination, on her interesting guest. it is at all times an awkward as well as a dangerous mode of proceeding, to walk in one direction and look in another. in crossing the hut, nuna fell over a walrus skull, upset the lamp, and sent several other articles of furniture against the opposite wall with a startling crash. the poor creature did not rise. she was too much overwhelmed with shame. she merely turned her head as she lay, and cast a horrified gaze at the sleeper. to her great joy she saw that red rooney had not been disturbed. he slept through it all with the placidity of an infant. much relieved, the little woman got up, and moved about more freely. she replenished the lamp with oil, and kindled it. then she proceeded to roast and fry and grill bear ribs, seal chops, and walrus steaks with a dexterity that was quite marvellous, considering the rude culinary implements with which she had to deal. in a short time breakfast was prepared, and nuna went out to announce the fact. slowly and with the utmost caution each member of the family crept in, and, before rising, cast the same admiring, inquiring, partially awe-stricken gaze at the unconscious kablunet. okiok, nunaga, norrak, ermigit, and tumbler all filed in, and sat down in solemn silence. okiok took tumbler on his knee, so as to be ready to throttle him on the shortest notice if he should venture to cry, or even crow. but as the best of human arrangements often fail through unforeseen circumstances, so the quietude was broken a second time that morning unexpectedly. one of the hungry dogs outside, rendered desperate by the delicious fumes that issued from the hut, took heart, dashed in, caught up a mass of blubber, and attempted to make off. a walrus rib, however, from norrak's unerring hand, caught him on the haunch as he entered the tunnel, and caused him to utter such a piercing howl that red rooney not only awoke, but sat bolt upright, and gazed at the horrified eskimos inquiringly. evidently the seaman was touched with a sense of the ludicrous, for he merely smiled and lay down again. but he did not try to sleep. having been by that time thoroughly refreshed, he began to sniff the scent of savoury food as the war-horse is said to scent the battle from afar-- that is, with an intense longing to "go at it." okiok, guessing the state of his feelings, brought him a walrus rib. red rooney accepted it, and began to eat at once without the use of knife or fork. "thankee, friend. it's the same i'll do for yourself if you ever come to starvation point when i've got a crust to spare." charmed beyond measure at hearing their native tongue from the mouth of a foreigner, the stare of the whole party became more intense, and for a few moments they actually ceased to chew--a sure sign that they were, so to speak, transfixed with interest. "my man," said rooney, after a few minutes' intense application to the rib, "what is your name?" "okiok," replied the eskimo. "okiok," muttered the seaman to himself in english; "why, that's the eskimo word for winter." then, after a few minutes' further attention to the rib, "why did they name you after the cold season o' the year?" "i know not," said okiok. "when my father named me i was very small, and could not ask his reason. he never told any one. before i was old enough to ask, a bear killed him. my mother thought it was because the winter when i was born was very cold and long." again the hungry man applied himself to the rib, and nothing more was said till it was finished. feeling still somewhat fatigued, rooney settled himself among his furs in a more upright position, and gave his attention to the natives, who instantly removed their eyes from him, and resumed eating with a will. of course they could not restrain furtive glances, but they had ceased to stare. in a few minutes okiok paused, and in turn became the questioner. "no kablunet ever came here before," he said. "we are glad to see you; but why do you come, and why alone, and why starving?" "not very easy to answer these questions off-hand to the likes of you," said rooney. "however, i'll try. you've heard of the settlements--the traders--no doubt, in the far-off land over _there_?" rooney pointed to the southward, the direction of which he knew from the position of the sun and the time of day, which latter he guessed roughly. the eskimo nodded. from the special character of the nod it was evident that he meant it to express intelligence. and it did! "well," continued rooney, "you may have heard that big, big--tremendous big--kayaks, or rather oomiaks, have come to that country, an' landed men and women, who have built houses--igloos--and have settled there to trade?" at this his host nodded with such decision, and so frequently, as to show that he not only knew of the kablunet settlements, but was deeply interested in them, and would be glad to know something more. "well, then," continued the sailor, "i came out from a great and rich country, called england, in one o' these big tradin' canoes, which was wrecked close to the settlements, and there i stayed with my mates, waiting for another big kayak to come an' take us off; but no kayak came for two winters--so that's the way i came to understand an' speak the eskimo--" at this point, as if it could endure the stranger's voice no longer, tumbler set up a sudden and tremendous howl. he was instantly seized, half strangled, metaphorically sat upon, and reduced to sobbing silence, when the sailor resumed his narrative. "all that time i was workin' off and on for the--" he stopped abruptly, not having any words in the native language by which to name the moravian missionaries. the eskimos waited with eager looks for the next word. "well, well," resumed rooney, with a pathetic smile, "it _is_ a pity the whole world don't speak one language. i was workin' for, for--these kablunets who have come to greenland, (that's the name we've given to your country, you must know)--who have come to greenland, not to trade, but to teach men about god--about torngarsuk, the good spirit--who made all the world, and men, and beasts." at this point the interest of okiok became, if possible, more intense. "do the kablunets know god, the good spirit? have they seen him?" he asked. "they haven't exactly seen him," replied the sailor; "but they have got a book, a writing, which tells about him, and they know something of his nature and his wishes." of course this reference to a book and a writing--which rooney had learned to speak of from the moravians--was quite incomprehensible to the eskimo. he understood enough of what was said, however, to see the drift of his visitor's meaning. "huk!" he exclaimed, with a look of satisfaction; "angut will be glad to hear this." "who is angut?" asked the sailor. the whole party looked peculiarly solemn at this question. "angut is a great angekok," answered okiok, in a low voice. "oh! he is one of your wise men, is he?" returned rooney, with an involuntary shrug of his shoulders, for he had heard and seen enough during his residence at the settlements to convince him that the angekoks, or sorcerers, or wise men of the eskimos, were mostly a set of clever charlatans, like the medicine-men of the north american indians, who practised on the credulity and superstition of their fellow-men in order to gain their own ends. some of these angekoks, no doubt, were partly self-deceivers, believing to some extent the deceptions which they practised, and desiring more or less the welfare of their dupes; but others were thorough, as well as clever, rogues, whose sole object was self-interest. "well, then," continued rooney, "after i'd been two winters with these kablunets, another big kayak came to the settlement, not to trade, nor to teach about god, but to go as far as they could into the ice, and try to discover new lands." "poor men!" remarked okiok pitifully; "had they no lands of their own?" "o, yes; they had lands at home," replied the sailor, laughing. "huk!" exclaimed several of the natives, glancing at each other with quite a pleased expression. it was evident that they were relieved as well as glad to find that their visitor could laugh, for his worn and woe-begone expression, which was just beginning to disappear under the influence of rest and food, had induced the belief that he could only go the length of smiling. "yes," continued the sailor; "they had lands, more or less--some of them, at least--and some of them had money; but you must know, okiok, that however much a kablunet may have, he always wants more." "is he _never_ content?" asked the eskimo. "never; at least not often." "wonderful!" exclaimed okiok; "when i am stuffed with seal-blubber as full as i can hold, i want nothing more." again the sailor laughed, and there was something so hearty and jovial in the sound that it became infectious, and the natives joined him, though quite ignorant of the exciting cause. even tumbler took advantage of the occasion to give vent to another howl, which, having something of the risible in it, was tolerated. when silence was restored, the visitor resumed-- "i joined these searchers, as they wanted an interpreter, and we came away north here. nothing particular happened at first. we had a deal of squeezing an' bumping in the ice of course, but got little damage, till about six days back i think, or thereabouts, when we got a nip that seemed to me to cut the bottom clean out o' the big kayak, for when the ice eased off again it went straight to the bottom. we had only time to throw some provisions on the ice and jump out before it went down. as our provisions were not sufficient to last more than a few days, i was sent off with some men over the floe to hunt for seals. we only saw one, asleep near its hole. bein' afraid that the sailors might waken it, i told them to wait, and i would go after it alone. they agreed, but i failed. the seal was lively. he saw me before i got near enough, and dived into his hole. on returnin' to where i had left the men i found a great split in the ice, which cut me off from them. the space widened. i had no small kayak to take me across. it was too cold to swim. the floe on which my comrades stood was driftin', along wi' the big floe, where the rest of them were. the ice on which i stood was fast. a breeze was blowin' at the time, which soon carried the pack away. in an hour they were out of sight, and i saw them no more. i knew that it was land-ice on which i stood, and also that the coast could not be far off; but the hummocks and the snow-drift prevented me from seein' far in any direction. i knew also that death would be my portion if i remained where i was, so i set off straight for land as fast as i could go. how long i've been on the way i can't tell, for i don't feel quite sure, and latterly my brain has got into a confused state. i had a small piece of seal meat in my pouch when i started. when it was done i cut a strip off my sealskin coat an' sucked that. it just kept body and soul together. at last i saw the land, but fell, and should have died there if the good spirit had not sent you to save me, okiok--so give us a shake of your hand, old boy!" to this narrative the natives listened with breathless attention, but at the conclusion okiok looked at the extended hand in surprise, not knowing what was expected of him. seeing this, rooney leaned forward, grasped the man's right hand, shook it warmly, patted it on the back, then, raising it to his lips, kissed it. stupid indeed would the man have been, and unusually savage, who could have failed to understand that friendship and good-will lay in these actions. but okiok was not stupid. on the contrary, he was brightly intelligent, and, being somewhat humorous in addition, he seized rooney's hand instantly after, and repeated the operation, with a broad smile on his beaming face. then, turning suddenly to tumbler, he grasped and shook that naked infant's hand, as it sat on the floor in a pool of oil from a lamp which it had overturned. an explosion of laughter from everybody showed that the little joke was appreciated; but okiok became suddenly grave, and sobered his family instantly, as he turned to rooney and said-- "i wish that angut had been there. he would have saved your big oomiak and all the men." "indeed. is he then such a powerful angekok?" "yes; very, very powerful. there never was an angekok like him." "i suppose not," returned rooney, with a feeling of doubt, which, however, he took care to hide. "what like is this great wise man--very big, i suppose?" "no, he is not big, but he is not small. he is middling, and very strong, like the bear; very active and supple, like the seal or the white fox; and very swift, like the deer--and very different from other angekoks." "he must be a fine man," said the sailor, becoming interested in this angekok; "tell me wherein he differs from others." "he is not only strong and wise, but he is good; and he cares nothing for our customs, or for the ways of other angekoks. he says that they are all lies and nonsense. yes, he even says that he is not an angekok at all; but we know better, for he is. everybody can see that he is. he knows everything; he can do anything. do i not speak what is true?" he turned to his wife and daughter as he spoke. thus appealed to, nuna said it was all true, and nunaga said it was all _very_ true, and blushed--and, really, for an eskimo, she looked quite pretty. don't laugh, good reader, at the idea of an eskimo blushing. depend upon it, that that is one of those touches of nature which prove the kinship of the world everywhere. while they were talking a step was heard outside, and the eskimos looked intelligently at each other. they knew that the comer must be a friend, because, had he been a stranger, the dogs would have given notice of his approach. besides, these animals were heard fawning round him as he spoke to them. "ujarak!" exclaimed okiok, in a low voice. "is ujarak a friend?" asked the sailor. "he is an angekok," said the eskimo evasively--"a great angekok, but not so great as angut." another moment, and a man was seen to creep into the tunnel. standing up when inside, he proved to be a tall, powerful eskimo, with a not unhandsome but stern countenance, which was somewhat marred by a deep scar over the left eye. chapter four. okiok becomes simple but deep, and the wizard tries to make capital out of events. of course ujarak, wise man though he was esteemed to be, could not help being struck dumb by the unexpected sight of the gaunt foreigner. indeed, having so long held supposed intercourse with familiar spirits, it is not improbable that he imagined that one of them had at last come, without waiting for a summons, to punish him because of his deceptive practices, for he turned pale--or rather faintly green--and breathed hard. perceiving his state, it suddenly occurred to the sailor to say--"don't be afraid. i won't hurt you." he inadvertently said it in english, however, so that ujarak was none the wiser. "who is he?" demanded the angekok--perhaps it were more correct to call him wizard. okiok, expecting rooney to reply, looked at him, but a spirit of silence seemed to have come over the stranger, for he made no reply, but shut his eyes, as if he had dropped asleep. "he is a kablunet," said okiok. "i could see that, even if i had not the double sight of the angekok," replied the other, with a touch of sarcasm, for eskimos, although by no means addicted to quarrelling, are very fond of satire. they are also prone to go straight to the point in conversation, and although fond of similes and figurative language, they seldom indulge in bombast. with much solemnity okiok rejoined that he had no doubt of ujarak's being aware that the man was a kablunet. "and i am glad you have come," he added, "for of course you can also tell me where the kablunet has come from, and whither he is going?" the angekok glanced at his host quickly, for he knew--at least he strongly suspected--that he was one of that uncomfortable class of sceptics who refuse to swallow without question all that self-constituted "wise men" choose to tell them. okiok was gazing at him, however, with an air of the most infantine simplicity and deference. "i cannot tell you that," replied the wizard, "because i have not consulted my torngak about him." it must be explained here that each angekok has a private spirit, or familiar, whose business it is to enlighten him on all points, and conduct him on his occasional visits to the land of spirits. this familiar is styled his "torngak." "did your torngak tell you that he was a kablunet?" asked okiok simply-- so simply that there was no room for ujarak to take offence. "no; my eyes told me that." "i did not know that you had ever seen a kablunet," returned the other, with a look of surprise. "nor have i. but have i not often heard them described by the men of the south? and has not my torngak showed them to me in dreams?" the wizard said this somewhat tartly, and okiok, feeling that he had gone far enough, turned away his sharp little eyes, and gazed at the lamp-smoke with an air of profound humility. "you have got seal-flesh?" said ujarak, glad to change the subject. "yes; i killed it yesterday. you are hungry? nuna will give you some." "no; i am not hungry. nevertheless i will eat. it is good to eat at all times." "except when we are stuffed quite full," murmured okiok, casting at nunaga a sly glance, which threw that eskimo maiden into what strongly resembled a suppressed giggle. it was catching, for her brothers norrak and ermigit were thrown into a similar condition, and even the baby crowed out of sympathy. indeed red rooney himself, who only simulated sleep, found it difficult to restrain his feelings, for he began to understand okiok's character, and to perceive that he was more than a match for the wizard with all his wisdom. whatever ujarak may have felt, he revealed nothing, for he possessed that well-known quality of the eskimo--the power to restrain and conceal his feelings--in a high degree. with a quiet patronising smile, he bent down in quite a lover-like way, and asked nunaga if the seal-flesh was good. "yes, it is good; _very_ good," answered the maiden, looking modestly down, and toying with the end of her tail. you see she had no scent-bottle or fan to toy with. to be sure she had gloves--thick sealskin mittens--but these were not available at the moment. "i knew you had a seal," said the angekok, pausing between bites, after the edge of his appetite had been taken off; "my torngak told me you had found one at last." "did he tell you that i had also found a bear?" asked okiok, with deeper simplicity than ever. the wizard, without raising his head, and stuffing his mouth full to prevent the power of speech, glanced keenly about the floor. observing the fresh skin in a corner, and one or two ribs, he bolted the bite, and said-- "o yes. my torngak is kind; he tells me many things without being asked. he said to me two days ago, `okiok is a clever man. though all the people are starving just now, he has killed a seal and a bear.'" "can torngaks make mistakes?" asked okiok, with a puzzled look. "it was _yesterday_ that i killed the seal and the bear." "torngaks _never_ make mistakes," was the wizard's prompt and solemn reply; "but they see and know the future as well as the past, and they sometimes speak of both as the present." "how puzzling!" returned the other meekly. "he meant you, then, to understand that i was _going_ to kill a seal and a bear. glad am i that i am not an angekok, for it would be very difficult work for a stupid man,--enough almost to kill him!" "you are right. it is difficult and hard work. so you see the torngak told me go feast with okiok, and at his bidding of course i have come, on purpose to do so." "that's a lie. you came to see my nunaga, and you hope to get her; but you never will!" said okiok. he said it only to himself, however, being far too polite to say it to his guest, to whom he replied deferentially-- "if they are starving at your village, why did you not bring your mother and your father? they would have been welcome, for a seal and a bear would be enough to stuff us all quite full, and leave something to send to the rest." for some minutes the wizard did not reply. perhaps he was meditating, perchance inventing. "i brought no one," he said at last, "because i want you and your family to return with me to the village. you know it is only two days distant, and we can take the seal and the bear with us. we are going to have a great feast and games." "did you not say the people were starving?" asked okiok, with a look of gentle surprise. "they _were_ starving," returned ujarak quickly; "but two walruses and four seals were brought in yesterday and my torngak has told me that he will point out where many more are to be found if i consult him on the night of the feast. will you come back with me?" okiok glanced at the kablunet. "i cannot leave my guest," he said. "true, but we can take him with us." "impossible. do you not see he is only bones in a bag of skin? he must rest and feed." "that will be no difficulty," returned the wizard, "for the feast is not to be held for twice seven days. by that time the kablunet will be well, and getting strong. of course he must rest and be well stuffed just now. so i will go back, and say that you are coming, and tell them also what you have found--a kablunet. huk!" "yes; and he speaks our language," said okiok. "that was not our language which he spoke when i came in." "no; yet he speaks it." "i should like to hear him speak." "you must not wake him," said okiok, with an assumed look of horror. "he would be sure to kill you with a look or a breath if you did. see; he moves!" rooney certainly did move at the moment, for the conversation had tickled him a good deal, and the last remark was almost too much for him. not wishing, however, to let the angekok go without some conversation, he conveniently awoke, yawned, and stretched himself. in the act he displayed an amount of bone and sinew, if not flesh, which made a very favourable impression on the eskimos, for physical strength and capacity is always, and naturally, rated highly among savages. our shipwrecked hero had now heard and seen enough to understand something of the character of the men with whom he had to deal. he went therefore direct to the point, without introduction or ceremony, by asking the angekok who he was and where he came from. after catechising him closely, he then sought to establish a kind of superiority over him by voluntarily relating his own story, as we have already given it, and thus preventing his being questioned in return by the wizard. "now," said red rooney in conclusion, "when you go home to your village, tell the people that the kablunet, having been nearly starved, must have some days to get well. he will stay with his friend okiok, and rest till he is strong. then he will go to your village with his friends, and join in the feast and games." there was a quiet matter-of-course tone of command about the seaman, which completely overawed the poor angekok, inducing him to submit at once to the implied superiority, though hitherto accustomed to carry matters with a high hand among his compatriots. his self-esteem, however, was somewhat compensated by the fact that he should be the bearer of such wonderful news to his people, and by the consideration that he could say his torngak had told him of the arrival of the kablunet--an assertion which they would believe all the more readily that he had left home with some mysterious statements that something wonderful was likely to be discovered. in truth, this astute wizard never failed to leave some such prediction behind him every time he quitted home, so as to prepare the people for whatever might occur; and, should nothing occur, he could generally manage to colour some event or incident with sufficient importance to make it fulfil the prediction, at least in some degree. when at last he rose to depart, ujarak turned to nunaga. as her father had rightly guessed, the wizard, who was quite a young man, had come there on matrimonial views intent; and he was not the man to leave the main purpose of his journey unattempted. "nunaga," he said, in a comparatively low yet sufficiently audible voice, "my sledge is large. it is too large for one--" he was interrupted suddenly at this point by rooney, who saw at once what was coming. "okiok," he said, "i want nunaga to mend and patch my torn garments for the next few days. her mother has enough to do with cooking and looking after the house. can you spare her for that work?" yes, okiok could spare her; and was very glad to do all that he could to accommodate the foreigner. "will ujarak carry a message from the kablunet to his village?" asked rooney, turning to the wizard. "he will," replied the latter somewhat sulkily. "does he know the angekok named angut?" it is doubtful whether anger or surprise was most strongly expressed in the countenance of the eskimo as he replied sternly, "yes." "then tell him that the kablunet will stay in his hut when he visits your village." having delivered this message, he turned his face to the wall, and, without awaiting a reply, coolly went to sleep, or appeared to do so, while ujarak went off, with a storm of very mingled feelings harrowing his savage breast. when he was gone red rooney raised himself on one elbow, and looked over his shoulder at okiok with a broad grin. okiok, who felt grave enough at the moment, and somewhat perplexed, opened his eyes gradually, and reciprocated the smile with interest. by degrees he closed the eyes, and allowed the smile to develop into a high falsetto chuckle which convulsed his broad hairy shoulders for full five minutes. from that hour okiok and the kablunet were united! they understood each other. the chords of sympathetic humour had vibrated within them in harmony. they were thenceforward _en rapport_, and felt towards each other like brothers, or rather like father and son, for okiok was forty-five years of age at least, while rooney was not yet thirty. "he's a very bad man, is he not?" asked the seaman, when the heaving of the shoulders had subsided. "ho! yes. bad, bad! _very_ bad! he lies, and steals, and cheats, and talks nonsense, and wants nunaga for a wife." "and you don't want him for a son?" "no!"--very decidedly. rooney laughed, and, turning away with a wink and a nod, lay down to sleep--this time in earnest. okiok responded with a falsetto chuckle, after which he proceeded to solace himself with a mass of half-cooked blubber. observing that tumbler was regarding him with longing looks, he good-naturedly cut off part of the savoury morsel, and handed it to the child. it is well-known that the force of example is strong-- stronger than that of precept. in a few minutes the entire family set to work again on the viands with as much gusto as though they had eaten little or nothing for a week. leaving them thus pleasantly and profitably occupied, let us follow ujarak to his village. every man and woman of superior intelligence in this world has probably one blind worshipper, if not more--some weak brother who admires, believes in, perhaps envies, but always bows to the demigod. such a worshipper had ujarak in ippegoo, a tall young man, of weak physical frame, and still weaker mental capacity. ippegoo was not malevolent, like his master, but he was sufficiently wicked to laugh at his evil doings, and to assist him in his various plans, in the implicit belief that he was aiding a great and wise man. he did so all the more readily that he himself aimed at the high and dignified office of an angekok, an aspiration which had at first been planted in him, and afterwards been carefully encouraged by his deceiver, because it made his dupe, if possible, a blinder and more willing tool. "ippegoo," said ujarak, on drawing near to the outskirts of his village, and coming unexpectedly on his satellite, who was in the act of dragging home a seal which he had just killed, "i meet you in the nick of time-- but that is no wonder, for did not my torngak tell me he would cause you to meet me near the village? i want your assistance just now." "i am glad, then, that we have met," said ippegoo, with a cringing motion not unlike a bow--though of the ceremonial bow the eskimos have no knowledge. "yes, strange things have happened," continued the angekok, rolling his eyes impressively. "did i not tell you before i started to visit okiok that strange things would happen?" ippegoo, who had a good deal of straightforward simplicity in his nature, looked puzzled, and tried hard to recollect what ujarak had told him. "you will never make an angekok," said ujarak, with a look of displeasure, "if you do not rouse up your memory more. do you not remember when i whispered to you in a dream last night that strange things were going to happen?" "o ye-e-es,--in a dream; yes, i remember now," returned the satellite in some confusion, yet with a good deal of faith, for he was a heavy feeder, and subject to nightmares, so that it was not difficult to imagine the "whisper" which had been suggested to him. "yes, you remember now, stupid walrus! well, then, what was the strange thing like?" ujarak looked awfully solemn while he put this question. "what was it like?" repeated the poor youth with hesitation, and an uneasy glance at the sky, as if for inspiration. "what--was--it--oh, i remember; it was big--big; very big--so high," (holding his hand up about seven feet from the ice). "no, ippegoo, not _so_ big. he was about my size. don't you remember? and he was pale, with hair twisted into little rings all over his head, and--" "yes, yes; and a nose as long as my leg," interrupted the eager pupil. "not at all, stupid puffin! a nose no longer than your own, and much better-shaped." the angekok said this so sternly that the too willing ippegoo collapsed, and looked, as he felt, superlatively humble. "now go," resumed ujarak, with an unrelaxed brow; "go tell your story to the people assembled in the big hut. they feast there to-night, i know. tell them what your dream has revealed. tell them how i spoke to you before i left the village--but don't be too particular in your description. let that be--like your own mind--confused, and then it will be true to nature. tell them also that you expect me soon, but say not that you have met me to-day, for that might displease my torngak, whom i go to consult." without giving his pupil time to reply, the wizard strode off, and disappeared among the ice hummocks, as a bad actor might strut behind the side scenes. deeply impressed with the solemnity of the whole affair, and with the importance of his mission, the young eskimo went off to the village, dragging his seal behind him, and wondering what new discovery had been made by his mysterious patron. that something of unusual import had occurred he never doubted, for although he had often seen ujarak, with unbounded admiration, wriggle out of unfulfilled prophecy like an eel, he had never seen him give way to demonstrations such as we have described without something real and surprising turning up ere long. strong in this faith, he ran into the large hut where a considerable party of his tribe were feasting on a recently captured walrus, and told them that something tremendous, something marrow-thrilling, had occurred to the great angekok ujarak, who, before leaving the village, had told him that he was going off to find a--a--something--he knew not exactly what--with rings of hair all over its body, pale as the ice-floe, more wonderful than the streaming lights--incomprehensible!--immense! at this point he glared, and became dumb. not knowing well what to say next, he judiciously remained silent, then sat down and gasped, while the united company exclaimed "huk!" with unusual emphasis. the consultation which ujarak had with his torngak was somewhat peculiar. it consisted chiefly in a wild run at full speed out upon the floes. having pretty well exhausted himself by this device, and brought on profuse perspiration, he turned homewards. drawing near to the village, he flung back his hood, ran his fingers through his long black hair until it was wildly dishevelled, then, springing suddenly into the midst of the festive party, he overturned feasters right and left, as he made his way to the part of the edifice furthest from the door. a close observer might have noted, however, that there was method in his madness, for he overturned only women and children, and kept carefully clear of men--at least of such men as he knew would resent his roughness. wheeling suddenly round, and facing the solemnised assembly, he addressed it, as if with difficulty, in a low-toned, awesome voice. chapter five. plots and counter-plots already. it is not necessary, neither would it be profitable, to give in full detail what ujarak said to the gaping crowd. enough to know that, like other statesmen, he made the most of his subject, and fully impressed his audience with the belief that this first of kablunets who had ever visited these ice-bound regions had been mysteriously, yet irresistibly, drawn there through his, ujarak's, influence, with the assistance of his torngak or familiar spirit. one man there was in that assembly, however, who seemed to be not very deeply touched by the wizard's eloquence. yet he did not express unbelief by his looks, but received all that was said with profound gravity. this was angut, the reputed angekok, to whom reference has been made in a previous chapter. although a thorough eskimo in dress and in cast of feature, there was a refinement, a gravity, a kindliness, and a _something_ quite indescribable about this man, which marked him out as an exceptional character among his fellows. as we have said elsewhere, he was not unusually large, though he was unusually strong, for his power lay rather in a well-knit and splendidly proportioned than a bulky frame. ujarak was taller and broader, yet did not possess half his muscular strength. ujarak knew this, and had hitherto avoided coming into collision with him. but there was also a moral strength and enthusiasm in angut, which placed him on a platform high above not only ujarak, but all the other men of his time and country. in short, he was one of those far-seeing and thoughtful characters, who exist in all countries, in all ranks and conditions of life, civilised and savage, and who are sometimes styled "nature's gentlemen." despite his surroundings, temptations, examples, trials, and worries, angut was at all times unvaryingly urbane, kind, sedate, equable, obliging, honest, and self-sacrificing. it mattered not that other men spoke freely--sometimes even a little boastfully--of their exploits. angut never did so of his, although no other man could hold a candle-- perhaps we should say a lamp--to him in the matter of daring. it signified not that eskimos in general were in the habit of treating friendless widows and orphans ill, even robbing as well as neglecting them, angut always treated well those with whom he had to do. other men might neglect people in distress, but he helped and defended them; and it was a matter of absolute indifference to him what "people" thought of his conduct. there is a modified "mrs grundy" even in eskimo land, but angut despised her. indeed she was the only creature or thing in his limited world that this good man did despise. he puzzled his countrymen very much, for they could not understand him. other men they could put to shame, or laugh out of their ideas and plans, or frighten into submission--at least into conformity. not so angut. he was immovable, like an ancient iceberg; proof against threats, wheedling, cajoling, terrifying, sarcasm--proof against everything but kindness. he could not stand before that. he went down before it as bergs go down before the summer sun. angut was shrewd also and profound of thought, insomuch that, mentally, he stood high above his kinsfolk. he seemed to see through his fellows as if their bosoms and brains had been made of glass, and all their thoughts visible. ujarak knew this also, and did not like it. but no one suffered because of angut's superior penetration, for he was too amiable to hurt the feelings of a mosquito. after all that we have said, the reader will perhaps be prepared to expect that angut never opened his mouth save to drop words of love and wisdom. not so. angut was modest to excess. he doubted his own wisdom; he suspected his own feelings; he felt a strong tendency to defer to the opinion of others, and was prone rather to listen than to speak. he was fond of a joke too, but seldom perpetrated one, and was seldom severe. while ujarak was speaking, angut listened with that look of unmoved gravity with which he always met a new thing or idea, and which effectually concealed his real feelings, though the concealment was unintentional. but when at last the wizard came to the most distasteful part of his discourse, namely the message from reginald rooney, that, on the occasion of his visit to the camp, he would take up his abode with angut, that hero's countenance lighted up with surprise, not unmingled with pleasure. "is ujarak sure that the kablunet said this?" asked angut. "quite sure," replied the wizard. "huk!" exclaimed angut, by which exclamation you may be sure that he meant to express much satisfaction. "but," continued the wizard, "the kablunet is ill. he is thin; he is weak. he wants rest. i have consulted with my torngak, who tells me he will get better soon if we do not trouble him." at this point ujarak glanced at angut, but that worthy's countenance had resumed its look of impenetrable gravity. "we must not worry him or go near him for some days," continued the wizard. "we must let him alone. and this will not try our patience, for my torngak tells me that seals have come. yesterday i went to the house of the great fury under the sea, and wrestled with her; and my torngak and i overcame her, and set many of the seals and other animals free." "huk!" exclaimed the assembly, in gratified surprise. lest the reader should feel some surprise also, we may as well explain what the greenlanders believed in former times. they held, (perhaps they still hold), that there were two great spirits--the one was good, named torngarsuk; the other was bad, and a female--a fury--without a name. this malevolent woman was supposed to live in a great house under the ocean, in which by the power of her spells she enthralled and imprisoned many of the sea monsters and birds, thus causing scarcity of food among the eskimos. the angekoks claimed to have the power of remedying this state of things by paying a visit to the abode of the fury. when an angekok has sufficient courage to undertake this journey, his torngak, after giving him minute instructions how to act, conducts him under the earth or sea, passing on the way through the kingdom of those good souls who spend their lives in felicity and ease. soon they come to a frightful vacuity--a sort of vasty deep--over which is suspended a narrow wheel, which whirls round with great rapidity. this awful abyss is bridged by a rope, and guarded by seal sentinels. taking the angekok by the hand, his torngak leads him on the rope over the chasm and past the sentinels into the palace of the fury. no sooner does the wicked creature spy the unwelcome visitors than, trembling and foaming with rage, she immediately sets on fire the wing of a sea-fowl, with the stench of which she hopes to suffocate angekok and torngak together, and make both of them captives. the heroes, however, are prepared for this. they seize the fury before she has succeeded in setting fire to the wing, pull her down, and strip her of those amulets by the occult powers of which she has enslaved the inhabitants of ocean. thus the spell is broken, for the time at least, and the creatures, being set free, ascend to their proper abodes at the surface of the sea! after this explanation the reader will easily understand the flutter of excitement that passed through the assembly, for, although feasting at that moment on a walrus, they had suffered much during the latter part of that winter from the scarcity of animals of all kinds. but angut did not flutter. that peculiar man was an incorrigible sceptic. he merely smiled, and, chucking a rotund little boy beside him under the chin, said, "what think ye of that, my little ball of fat?" or some eskimo equivalent for that question. our intelligent wizard had not, however, ventured on these statements without some ground to go on. the fact is, that, being a close observer and good judge of the weather, he had perceived a change of some sort coming on. while on his way to the hut of okiok he had also observed that a few seals were playing about on the margin of some ice-floes, and from other symptoms, recognisable only by angekoks, he had come to the conclusion that it would be safe as well as wise at that time to prophesy a period of plenty. "now i would advise," he said, in concluding his discourse, "that we should send off a hunting party to the south, for i can tell you that seals will be found there--if the young men do not put off time on the way." this last proviso was a judicious back-door of escape. slight delays, he knew, were almost inevitable, so that, if the hunt should prove a failure, he would have little difficulty in accounting for it, and saving his credit. the most of his credulous and simple-minded hearers did not reflect on the significance of the back-door remark, but angut did, and grinned a peculiar grin at the little fat boy, whom he chucked a second time under the chin. ujarak noted the grin, and did not like it. among the people there who gave strongest expression to their joy at the prospect of the good living in store for them, were several young and middle-aged females who sat in a corner grouped together, and conveyed their approval of what was said to each other by sundry smirks and smiles and nods of the head, which went far to prove that they constituted a little coterie or clique. one of these was the wife of simek, the best hunter of the tribe. her name was pussimek. she was round and short, comely and young, and given to giggling. she had a baby--a female baby--named after her, but more briefly, pussi, which resembled her in all respects except size. beside her sat the mother of ippegoo. we know not her maiden name, but as her dead husband had been called by the same name as the son, we will style her mrs ippegoo. there was also the mother of arbalik, a youth who was celebrated as a wonderful killer of birds on the wing--a sort of eskimo robin hood--with the small spear or dart. the mother of arbalik was elderly, and stern--for an eskimo. she was sister to the great hunter simek. kannoa, a very old dried-up but lively woman with sparkling black eyes, also formed one of the group. "won't we be happy!" whispered pussimek, when ujarak spoke in glowing terms of the abundance that was in prospect. she followed up the whisper by hugging the baby. "yes, a good time is coming," said the mother of ippegoo, with a pleasant nod. "we will keep the cooking-lamps blazing night and--" "and stuff," rejoined pussimek, with a giggle, "till we can hold no more." "do you want to grow fatter?" asked the mother of arbalik in a sharp tone, which drew forth a smothered laugh all round, for pussimek had reached that condition of _embonpoint_ which rendered an increase undesirable. "i would not object to be fatter," replied the wife of simek, with perfect good-humour, for eskimos, as a rule, do not take offence easily. "stuff, stuff," murmured kannoa, nodding her old head contemplatively; "that's what i'm fond of; stuff--stuff--stuff." "all your stuffing will never make _you_ fat," said the stern and rather cynical mother of arbalik. she paid no attention to kannoa's reply--which, to do her justice, was very mild--for, at the moment, arbalik himself rose to address the assembly. he was a fine specimen of an eskimo--a good-looking young savage; slim and wiry, with a nose not too flat, and only a little turned up; a mouth that was well shaped and pleasant to look at, though very large, and absolutely cavernous when in the act of yawning; and his eyes looked sharp and eager, as if always on the outlook for some passing bird, with a view to transfixion. "the words of ujarak are wise," he said. "i was down at the high bluffs yesterday, and saw that what he says is true, for many seals are coming up already, and birds too. let us go out to the hunt." "we would like much to see this wonderful kablunet," remarked the jovial big hunter simek, with a bland look at the company, "but ujarak knows best. if the kablunet needs rest, he must have it. if he needs sleep, he must have it. if he wants food, he must have it. by all means let him have it. we will not disturb him. what the torngak of ujarak advises we will do." several of the other leading men also spoke on this occasion--some inclining to accept the wizard's advice; others, who were intolerably anxious to see the kablunet, rather inclining to the opinion that they should remain where they were till he recovered strength enough to be able to pay his contemplated visit. ippegoo spoke last. indeed, it was not usual for him to raise his voice in council, but as he had been the first to carry the important news, and was known to be an ardent admirer and pupil of ujarak, he felt that he was bound to back his patron; and his arguments, though not cogent, prevailed. "let us not doubt the wisdom of the angekok," he said. "his torngak speaks. it is our business to obey. we have starved much for some moons; let us now feast, and grow fat and strong." "huk!" exclaimed the auditors, who had been touched on their weakest point. "but angut has not yet uttered his mind," said the jovial simek, turning with a bland expression to the man in question; "he is an angekok, though he will not admit it. has not his familiar spirit said anything to him?" angut looked gravely at the speaker for a moment or two, and shook his head. dead silence prevailed. then in a voice that was unusually soft and deep he said: "i am no angekok. no torngak ever speaks to me. the winds that whistle round the icebergs and rush among the hummocks on the frozen sea speak to me sometimes; the crashing ice-cliffs that thunder down the glens speak to me; the noisy rivulets, the rising sun and moon and winking stars all speak to me, though it is difficult to understand what they say; but no familiar spirit ever speaks to me." the man said this quietly, and in a tone of regret, but without the slightest intention of expressing poetical ideas, or laying claim to originality of thought. yet his distinct denial of being an angekok or wise man, and his sentiments regarding the voices of nature, only confirmed his countrymen in their belief that he was the greatest angekok they had ever seen or heard of. "but surely," urged simek, "if so many spirits speak to you, they must tell you _something_?" "they tell me much," replied angut in a contemplative tone, "but nothing about hunting." "have you no opinion, then, on that subject?" "yes, i have an opinion, and it is strong. let all the hunters go south after seals without delay; but i will not go. i shall go among the icebergs--alone." "he will go to hold converse with his numerous torngaks," whispered old kannoa to pussimek. "he will go to visit okiok, and see the kablunet, and court nunaga," thought the jealous and suspicious ujarak. and ujarak was right; yet he dared not follow, for he feared the grave, thoughtful man, in spite of his determination to regard and treat him with lofty disdain. utterly ignorant of the wizard's feelings towards him--for he was slow to observe or believe in ill-will towards himself when he felt none to any one else--angut set off alone next morning in the direction that led to the great glacier, while his countrymen harnessed their dogs, loaded their sledges with lines and weapons, and went away southward on a hunting expedition. wishing the latter all success, we will follow the fortunes of angut, the eccentric angekok. had you and i, reader, been obliged to follow him in the body, we should soon have been left far behind; fortunately, spirit is more powerful and fleet than matter! without rest or halt, the stalwart eskimo journeyed over the ice until he reached the residence of okiok. the dogs knew his step well, and gave no noisy sign of his approach, though they rose to welcome him with wagging tails, and rubbed their noses against his fur coat as he patted their heads. creeping into the hut, he presented himself unexpectedly. okiok bade him silent welcome, with a broad grin of satisfaction. nunaga did the same, with a pleased smile and a decided blush. the other inmates of the hut showed similar friendship, and tumbler, trying to look up, fell over into an oil-puddle, with a loud crow of joy. they all then gazed suddenly and simultaneously, with mysterious meaning, at red rooney, who lay coiled up, and apparently sound asleep, in the innermost corner. angut also gazed with intense interest, though nothing of the sleeping man was visible save the point of his nose and a mass of curling brown hair protruding from his deerskin coverings. seating himself quietly between nunaga and nuna, and taking the oily tumbler on his knee, the visitor entered into a low-toned conversation respecting this great event of their lives--the arrival of a real live kablunet! they also talked of kablunets in general, and their reported ways and manners. it is to be noted here that they did not talk in whispers. okiok and nuna had indeed begun the conversation thus, but had been immediately checked by angut, whose intelligence had long ago taught him that no sound is so apt to awaken a sleeper as the hiss of a whisper; and that a steady, low-toned hum of conversation is more fitted to deepen than interrupt slumber. "is he _very_ thin?" asked angut, who had been somewhat impressed by ujarak's description of the stranger, and his evident desire that no one should go near him. "he is not fat," answered okiok, "but he has not been starving long; sleeping and stuffing will soon make him strong. don't you think so, norrak? you saw him at his worst, when we found him on the ice." thus appealed to, okiok's eldest son laid down the piece of blubber with which he had been engaged, nodded his head several times, and said, "yes, he will be able to run, and jump soon." "and he speaks our language _well_," said okiok, with a look of great interest. "i know it," returned his friend; "ujarak told us about that. it is because of that, that i have come at once to see him." nunaga winced here, for she had timidly hoped that angut had come to see _her_! "i would not," continued the visitor, "that ujarak should be the first to speak to him, for he will poison his ears." "yes, ujarak is a dreadful liar," said okiok solemnly, but without the slightest touch of ill feeling. "an awful liar," remarked nuna softly. nunaga smiled, as though acquiescing in the sentiment, but said nothing. just as they gave utterance to this decided opinion as to the character of the wizard, red rooney turned round, stretched himself, yawned, and sat up. chapter six. angut and rooney hold converse on many things. at first rooney did not observe that there was a visitor in the hut, but, when his eyes alighted on him, he rose at once, for he felt that he was in the presence of a man possessed of intelligence vastly superior to that of the ordinary natives. it was not so much that angut's presence was commanding or noble, as that his grave expression, broad forehead, and earnest gaze suggested the idea of a man of profound thought. the angekok who had been so graphically described to him by okiok at once recurred to rooney's mind. turning to his host, he said, with a bland expression-- "i suppose this is your friend angut, the angekok?" "yes," replied okiok. while the mysterious foreigner was speaking, angut gazed at him with looks and feelings of awe, but when he stepped forward, and frankly held out his hand, the eskimo looked puzzled. a whispered word from his host, however, sufficed to explain. falling in at once with the idea, he grasped the offered hand, and gave it a squeeze of good-will that almost caused the seaman to wince. "i am glad to meet you," said rooney. "i am more than glad," exclaimed the eskimo with enthusiasm; "i have not language to tell of what is in my mind. i have heard of kablunets, dreamed of them, thought of them. _now_ my longings are gratified--i behold one! i have been told that kablunets know nearly everything; _i_ know next to nothing. we will talk much. it seems to me as if i had been born only to-day. come; let us begin!" "my friend, you expect too much," replied rooney, with a laugh, as he sat down to devote himself to the bear-steak which nunaga had placed before him. "i am but an average sort of sailor, and can't boast of very much education, though i have a smattering; but we have men in my country who do seem to know 'most everything--wise men they are. we call them philosophers; you call 'em angekoks. here, won't you go in for a steak or a rib? if you were as hungry as i am, you'd be only too glad and thankful to have the chance." angut accepted a rib, evidently under the impression that the kablunet would think it impolite were he to refuse. he began to eat, however, in a languid manner, being far too deeply engaged with mental food just then to care for grosser forms of nourishment. "tell me," said the eskimo, who was impatient to begin his catechising, "do your countrymen all dress like this?" he touched the sealskin coat worn by the sailor. "o no," said rooney, laughing; "i only dress this way because i am in eskimo land, and it is well suited to the country; but the men in my land--ireland we call it--dress in all sorts of fine cloth, made from the hair of small animals--why, what do you stare at, angut? oh, i see--my knife! i forgot that you are not used to such things, though you have knives--stone ones, at least. this one, you see, is made of steel, or iron--the stuff, you know, that the southern eskimos bring sometimes to barter with you northern men for the horns of the narwhal an' other things." "yes, i have seen iron, but never had any," said angut, with a little sigh; "they bring very little of it here. the innuits of the south catch nearly the whole of it on its journey north, and they keep it." "greedy fellows!" said rooney. "well, this knife is called a clasp-knife, because it shuts and opens, as you see, and it has three blades--a big one for cuttin' up your victuals with, as you see me doin'; and two little ones for parin' your nails and pickin' your teeth, an' mendin' pens an' pencils--though of course you don't know what that means. then here, you see, there are two little things stuck into the handle. one is called tweezers, an' is of no earthly use that i know of except to pull the hairs out o' your nose, which no man in his senses ever wants to do; and the other thing is, i suppose, for borin' small holes in things--it's almost as useless. this thing on the back is for pickin' stones out of horses' hoofs--but i forgot you never saw horses or hoofs! well, no matter; it's for pickin' things out of things, when--when you want to pick 'em out! but below this is an uncommon useful thing--a screw--a thing for drawin' corks out of bottles--there, again, i'm forgettin'. you never saw corks or bottles. happy people-- as the people who don't drink spirits would call you--and, to say truth, i think they are right. indeed, i've been one of them myself ever since i came to this region. give us another steak, nunaga, my dear--no, not a bear one; i like the walrus better. it's like yourself--tender." the fair nunaga fell into a tremendous giggle at this joke, for although our hero's eskimo was not very perfect, he possessed all an irishman's capacity for making his meaning understood, more or less; and truly it was a sight to behold the varied expressions of face--the childlike surprise, admiration, curiosity, and something approaching to awe--with which those unsophisticated natives received the explanation of the different parts of that clasp-knife! "but what did we begin our talk about?" he continued, as he tackled the walrus. "o yes; it was about our garments. well, besides using different kinds of cloths, our coats are of many different shapes: we have short coats called jackets, and long coats, and coats with tails behind--" "do your men wear tails behind?" asked angut, in surprise. "yes; two tails," replied rooney, "and two buttons above them." "strange," remarked angut; "it is only our women who have tails; and they have only one tail each, with one button in front--not behind--to fasten the end of the tail to when on a journey." "women with tails look very well," remarked okiok, "especially when they swing them about in a neat way that i know well but cannot describe. but men with tails must look very funny." here mrs okiok ventured to ask how the kablunet women dressed. "well, it's not easy to describe that to folk who have never seen them," said the sailor, with a slight grin. "in the first place, they don't wear boots the whole length of their legs like you, nuna." "surely, then," remarked the hostess, "their legs must be cold?" "by no means, for they cover 'em well up with loose flapping garments, extending from the waist all the way down to the feet. then they don't wear hoods like you, but stick queer things on their heads, of all shapes and sizes--sometimes of no shape at all and very small size-- which they cover over with feathers, an' flowers, an' fluttering things of all colours, besides lots of other gimcracks." how rooney rendered "gimcracks" into eskimo we are not prepared to say, but the whole description sent nunaga and her mother into fits of giggling, for those simple-minded creatures of the icy north--unlike sedate europeans--are easily made to laugh. at this point angut struck in again, for he felt that the conversation was becoming frivolous. "tell me, kablunet," he began; but rooney interrupted him. "don't call me kablunet. call me red rooney. it will be more friendly-like, and will remind me of my poor shipmates." "then tell me, ridroonee," said angut, "is it true what i have heard, that your countrymen can make marks on flat white stuff, like the thin skin of the duck, which will tell men far away what they are thinking about?" "ay, that's true enough," replied the sailor, with an easy smile of patronage; "we call it writing." a look of grave perplexity rested on the visage of the eskimo. "it's quite easy when you understand it, and know how to do it," continued rooney; "nothing easier." a humorous look chased away the eskimo's perplexity as he replied-- "everything is easy when you understand it." "ha! you have me there, angut," laughed the sailor; "you're a 'cute fellow, as the yankees say. but come, i'll try to show you how easy it is. see here." he pulled a small note-book from his pocket, and drew thereon the picture of a walrus. "now, you understand that, don't you?" "yes; _we_ draw like that, and understand each other." "well, then, we put down for that w-a-l-r-u-s; and there you have it-- walrus; nothing simpler!" the perplexed look returned, and angut said-- "that is not very easy to understand. yet i see something--always the same marks for the same beast; other marks for other beasts?" "just so. you've hit it!" exclaimed rooney, quite pleased with the intelligence of his pupil. "but how if it is not a beast?" asked the eskimo. "how if you cannot see him at all, yet want to tell of him in--in--what did you say-- writing? i want to send marks to my mother to say that i have talked with my torngak. how do you mark torngak? i never saw him. no man ever saw a torngak. and how do you make marks for cold, for wind, for all our thoughts, and for the light?" it was now red rooney's turn to look perplexed. he knew that writing was easy enough to him who understands it, and he felt that there must be some method of explaining the matter, but how to go about the explanation to one so utterly ignorant did not at once occur to him. we have seen, however, that rooney was a resolute man, not to be easily baffled. after a few moments' thought he said-- "look here now, angut. your people can count?" "yes; they can go up to twenty. i can go a little further, but most of the innuits get confused in mind beyond twenty, because they have only ten fingers and ten toes to look at." "well now," continued rooney, holding up his left hand, with the fingers extended, "that's five." yes, angut understood that well. "well, then," resumed rooney, jotting down the figure , "there you have it--five. any boy at school could tell you what that is." the eskimo pondered deeply and stared. the other eskimos did the same. "but what," asked okiok, "if a boy should say that it was six, and not five?" "why, then we'd whack him, and he'd never say that again." there was an explosion of laughter at this, for eskimos are tender and indulgent to their children, and seldom or never whack them. it would be tedious to go further into this subject, or to describe the ingenious methods by which the seaman sought to break up the fallow ground of angut's eminently receptive mind. suffice it to say that rooney made the discovery that the possession of knowledge is one thing, and the power to communicate it another and a very different thing. angut also came to the conclusion that, ignorant as he had thought himself to be, his first talk with the kablunet had proved him to be immeasurably more ignorant than he had supposed. the sailor marked the depression which was caused by this piece of knowledge, and set himself good-naturedly to counteract the evil by displaying his watch, at sight of which there was a wild exclamation of surprise and delight from all except angut, who, however deep his feelings might be, always kept them bridled. the expansion of his nostrils and glitter of his eyes, however, told their tale, though no exclamation passed his lips. once or twice, when rooney attempted to explain the use of the instrument, the inquisitive man was almost irresistibly led to put some leading questions as to the nature of time; but whenever he observed this tendency, the sailor, thinking that he had given him quite enough of philosophy for one evening, adroitly turned him off the scent by drawing particular attention to some other portion of the timepiece. the watch and the knife, to which they reverted later on, kept the lecturer and audience going till late in the evening, by which time our sailor had completely won the hearts of the eskimos, and they had all become again so hungry that okiok gave a hint to his wife to stir up the lamp and prepare supper. then, with a sigh of relief, they all allowed their strained minds to relax, and the conversation took a more general turn. it is but fair to add that, as the sailor had won the hearts of the natives, so his heart had been effectually enthralled by them. for angut, in particular, rooney felt that powerful attraction which is the result of similar tastes, mutual sympathies, and diversity of character. rooney had a strong tendency to explain and teach; angut a stronger tendency to listen and learn. the former was impulsive and hasty; the latter meditative and patient. rooney was humorously disposed and jovial, while his eskimo friend, though by no means devoid of humour, was naturally grave and sedate. thus their dispositions formed a pleasing contrast, and their tastes an agreeable harmony. "what did you say was the name of your country?" asked angut, during a brief pause in the consumption of the meal. "england," said rooney. "that was not the name you told me before." "true; i suppose i said ireland before, but the fact is, i can scarcely claim it as my own, for you see my father was irish and my mother was scotch. i was born in wales, an' i've lived a good bit o' my life in england. so you see i can't claim to be anything in particular." as this was utterly incomprehensible to the eskimo, he resumed his bit of blubber without saying a word. after a brief silence, he looked at the kablunet again, and said-- "have they houses in your land?" "houses? o yes; plenty of 'em--made of stone." "like the summer-houses of the innuit, i suppose?" said angut. "are they as big?" rooney laughed at this, and said, yes; they were much bigger--as big as the cliffs alongside. "huk!" exclaimed the eskimos in various tones. okiok's tone, indeed, was one of doubt; but angut did not doubt his new friend for a moment, though his credulity was severely tested when the seaman told him that one of the villages of his countrymen covered a space as big as they could see--away to the very horizon, and beyond it. "but, angut," said rooney, growing somewhat weary at last, "you've asked me many questions; will you answer a few now?" "i will answer." "i have heard it said," began the sailor, "that angut is a wise man--an angekok--among his people, but that he denies the fact. why does he deny it?" the eskimo exchanged solemn glances with his host, then looked round the circle, and said that some things could not be explained easily. he would think first, and afterwards he would talk. "that is well said," returned rooney. "`think well before you speak' is a saying among my own people." he remained silent for a few moments after that, and observed that okiok made a signal to his two boys. they rose immediately, and left the hut. "now," said okiok, "angut may speak. there are none but safe tongues here. my boys are good, but their tongues wag too freely." "yes, they wag too freely," echoed mrs okiok, with a nod. thus freed from the danger of being misreported, angut turned to the seaman, and said-- "i deny that i am an angekok, because angekoks are deceivers. they deceive foolish men and women. some of them are wicked, and only people-deceivers. they do not believe what they teach. some of them are self-deceivers. they are good enough men, and believe what they teach, though it is false. these men puzzle me. i cannot understand them." the eskimo became meditative at this point, as if his mind were running on the abstract idea of self-delusion. indeed he said as much. rooney admitted that it _was_ somewhat puzzling. "i suppose," resumed the eskimo, "that kablunets never deceive themselves or others; they are too wise. is it so?" "well, now you put the question," said rooney, "i rather fear that some of us do, occasionally; an' there's not a few who have a decided tendency to deceive others. and so that is the reason you won't be an angekok, is it? well, it does you credit. but what sort o' things do they believe, in these northern regions, that you can't go in with? much the same, i fancy, that the southern eskimos believe?" "i know not what the southern eskimos believe, for i have met them seldom. but our angekoks believe in torngaks, familiar spirits, which they say meet and talk with them. there is no torngak. it is a lie." "but you believe in one great and good spirit, don't you?" asked the seaman, with a serious look. "yes; i believe in one," returned the eskimo in a low voice, "one who made me, and all things, and who _must_ be good." "there are people in my land who deny that there is one, because they never saw, or felt, or heard him--so they say they cannot know," said rooney. angut looked surprised. "they must be fools," he said. "i see a sledge, and i know that some man made it--for who ever heard of a sledge making itself? i see a world, and i know that the great spirit made it, because a world cannot make itself. the greatest spirit must be one, because two greatests are impossible, and he is good--because good is better than evil, and the greatest includes the best." the seaman stared, as well he might, while the eskimo spoke these words, gazing dreamily at the lamp-flame, as if he were communing with his own spirit rather than with his companion. evidently okiok had a glimmering of what he meant, for he looked pleased as well as solemn. it might be tedious to continue the conversation. leaving them therefore to their profound discussions, we will turn to another and very different social group. chapter seven. treats of cross-purposes and difficulties. partially concealed in a cavern at the base of a stupendous, almost perpendicular, cliff, stood the wizard ujarak and his pupil ippegoo. the former silently watched the latter as he fitted a slender spear, or rather giant arrow, to a short handle, and prepared to discharge it at a flock of sea-birds which were flying about in front of them within what we would call easy gunshot. the handle referred to acted as a short lever, by means of which the spear could be launched not only with more precision but with much greater force than if thrown simply by hand like a javelin. "there, dart it now!" cried ujarak, as a bird swept close to the cave's mouth. "boh! you are too slow. here is another; quick! dart!" ippegoo let fly hastily, and missed. "poo! you are of no more use than the rotten ice of spring. there; try again," said ujarak, pointing to a flock of birds which came sweeping towards them. the crestfallen youth fitted another spear to the handle--for he carried several--and launched it in desperation into the middle of the flock. it ruffled the wings of one bird, and sent it screaming up the cliffs, but brought down none. "boo!" exclaimed the wizard, varying the expression of his contempt. "it is well that your mother has only a small family." ippegoo was accustomed to severe backhanders from his patron; he was not offended, but smiled in a pathetic manner as he went out in silence to pick up his weapons. just as he was returning, arbalik, nephew to the jovial simek, appeared upon the scene, and joined them. the wizard appeared to be slightly annoyed, but had completely dissembled his feelings when the young man walked up. "have the hunters found no seals?" asked ujarak. "yes, plenty," answered arbalik cheerily, for he had a good deal of his old uncle's spirit in him, "but you know variety is agreeable. birds are good at a feast. they enable you to go on eating when you can hold no more seal or walrus blubber." "that is true," returned the wizard, with a grave nod of appreciation. "show ippegoo how to dart the spear. he is yet a baby!" arbalik laughed lightly as he let fly a spear with a jaunty, almost careless, air, and transfixed a bird on the wing. "well done!" cried the wizard, with a burst of genuine admiration; "your wife will never know hunger." "not after i get her," returned the youth, with a laugh, as he flung another spear, and transfixed a second bird. ippegoo looked on with slightly envious but not malevolent feelings, for he was a harmless lad. "try again," cried arbalik, turning to him with a broad grin, as he offered him one of his own spears. ippegoo took the weapon, launched it, and, to his own great surprise and delight, sent it straight through the heart of a bird, which fell like a stone. a shout of pleasure burst from arbalik, who was far too good a shot to entertain mean feelings of jealousy at the success of others. "it is the luck of the spear," said ujarak, "not the skill of the hunter." this would have been an unkind cut to ordinary mortals, but it fell as harmless on ippegoo as water on the back of the eider-duck. a snub from the wizard he took almost as a compliment, and the mere success of his shot afforded him unbounded pleasure. the good-natured arbalik offered him another spear, but ujarak interposed. "no; ippegoo must come with me," he said. "i have work for him to do. one who would be an angekok must leave bird-spearing to boys." then turning to arbalik--"did you not say that the hunters have found plenty of game?" "yes, plenty." "i told you so," said the wizard, using a phrase not unfamiliar to civilised ears. "remain here, and spear plenty of birds; or go where you will." having thus graciously given the youth free permission to do as he pleased--which arbalik received with inward scorn, though outward respect--he left the cave, followed meekly by his satellite. after walking in silence till well out of earshot of the expert young hunter, the wizard said in solemn tones-- "ippegoo, i have work of more importance for you to do than spearing birds--work that requires the wisdom of a young angekok." all ujarak's backhanders vanished before this confidential remark, and the poor tool began to feel as if he were growing taller and broader even as he walked. "you know the hut of okiok?" continued the wizard. "yes; under the ice-topped cliff." "well, angut is there. i hate angut!" "so do i," said ippegoo, with emphasis quite equal to that of his master. "and nunaga is there," continued ujarak. "i--i love nunaga!" "so do i," exclaimed ippegoo fervently, but seeing by the wizard's majestic frown that he had been precipitate, he took refuge in the hasty explanation--"of course i mean that--that--i love her because _you_ love her. i do not love her for herself. if _you_ did not love her, i would hate her. to me she is not of so much value as the snout of a seal." the wizard seemed pacified, for his frown relaxed, and after a few moments' thought he went on savagely-- "angut also loves nunaga." "the madman! the insolent! the fool!" exclaimed ippegoo; "what can he expect but death?" "nothing else, and nothing less," growled the wizard, clenching his teeth--"_if_ he gets her! but he shall never get her! i will stop that; and that is why i ask you to listen--for you must be ready to act, and in haste." as ippegoo began to entertain uncomfortable suspicions that the wizard was about to use him as an instrument of vengeance, he made no response whatever to the last remark. "now," continued his master, "you will go to the hut of okiok. enter it hurriedly, and say to nunaga that her father's grandmother, kannoa, is ill--ill in her mind--and will not rest till she comes to see her. take a small sledge that will only hold her and yourself; and if okiok or angut offer to go with you, say that old kannoa wants to see the girl alone, that there is a spell upon her, that she is bewitched, and will see no one else. they will trust you, for they know that your mind is weak and your heart good." "if my mind is weak," said ippegoo somewhat sadly, "how can i ever become an angekok?" with much affectation of confidence, the wizard replied that there were two kinds of men who were fit to be angekoks--men with weak minds and warm hearts, or men with strong minds and cold hearts. "and have you the strong mind?" asked ippegoo. "yes, of course, very strong--and also the cold heart," replied ujarak. "but how can that be," returned the pupil, with a puzzled look, "when your heart is warmed by nunaga?" "because--because," rejoined the wizard slowly, with some hesitation and a look of profound wisdom, "because men of strong mind do not love as other men. they are quite different--so different that you cannot understand them." ippegoo felt the reproof, and was silent. "so, when you have got nunaga on the sledge," resumed ujarak, "you will drive her towards the village; but you will turn off at the cliff of seals, and drive at full speed to the spot where i speared the white bear last moon. you know it?" "yes; near walrus bay?" "just so. there you will find me with two sledges. on one i will drive nunaga away to the far-south, where the innuit who have much iron dwell. on the other you will follow. we will live there for ever. they will be glad to receive us." "but--but--" said ippegoo hesitatingly, and with some anxiety, for he did not like to differ on any point from his master--"i cannot leave my--my mother!" "why not?" "i suppose it is because i love her. you know you told me that the weak minds have warm hearts--and my mind must be very, very weak indeed, for my heart is _very_ warm--quite hot--for my mother." the wizard perceived that incipient rebellion was in the air, so, like a wise man, a true angekok, he trimmed his sails accordingly. "bring your mother with you," he said abruptly. "but she won't come." "command her to come." "command my _mother_!" exclaimed ippegoo, in amazement. again the wizard was obliged to have recourse to his wisdom in order to subdue this weak mind. "yes, of course," he replied; "tell your mother that your torngak--no, you haven't got one yet--that ujarak's torngak--told him in a vision that a visit to the lands of the far-south would do her good, would remove the pains that sometimes stiffen her joints, and the cough that has troubled her so much. so you will incline her to obey. go, tell her to prepare for a journey; but say nothing more, except that i will call for her soon, and take her on my sledge. away!" the peremptory tone of the last word decided the poor youth's wavering mind. without a word more he ran to the place where his dogs were fastened, harnessed them to his sledge, and was soon driving furiously back to the eskimo village over the frozen sea, while the wizard returned to the place where the hunters of his tribe were still busy hauling in the carcases of seals and other game, which they had succeeded in killing in considerable numbers. approaching one of the band of hunters, which was headed by the jovial simek, and had halted for the purpose of refreshment, ujarak accosted them with-- "have the young men become impatient women, that they cannot wait to have their food cooked?" "ha! _ha_!" laughed simek, holding up a strip of raw and bloody seal's flesh, with which he had already besmeared the region of his mouth and nose; "yes, we have become like women; we know what is good for us, and take it when we need it, not caring much about the cooking. my young men are hungry. must they wait till the lamps are lighted before they eat? come, ujarak, join us. even an angekok may find a bit of good fat seal worth swallowing. did you not set them free? you deserve a bit!" there was a spice of chaff as well as jollity in the big eskimo's tone and manner; but he was such a gushing fellow, and withal so powerful, that the wizard deemed it wise not to take offence. "it is not long since i fed," he replied, with a grim smile; "i have other work on hand just now." "i also have work--plenty of it; and i work best when stuffed full." so saying, simek put a full stop, as it were, to the sentence with a mass of blubber, while the wizard went off, as he said, to consult his torngak as to state affairs of importance. meanwhile ippegoo went careering over the ice, plying his long-lashed whip with the energy of a man who had pressing business on hand. arrived at the village, he sought his mother's hut. kunelik, as his mother was named, was seated therein, not exactly darning his socks, but engaged in the eskimo equivalent--mending his waterproof boots. these were made of undressed sealskin, with soles of walrus hide; and the pleasant-faced little woman was stitching together the sides of a rent in the upper leather, using a fine sharp fish-bone as a needle and a delicate shred of sinew as a thread, when her son entered. "mother," he said in a somewhat excited tone, as he sat down beside his maternal parent, "i go to the hut of okiok." kunelik bestowed an inquiring glance upon her boy. "ippe," she said, (for eskimos sometimes use endearing abbreviations), "has nunaga turned you upside down?" the lad protested fervently that his head was yet in its proper position. "but," he added, "the mother of oki--no, the grandmother of okiok--is sick--very sick--and i am to go and fetch the mother of--no, i mean the daughter of--of okiok, to see her, because--because--" "take time, ippe," interrupted kunelik; "i see that your head is down, and your boots are in the air." again ippegoo protested earnestly that he was in the reverse position, and that nunaga was no more to him than the snout of a seal; but he protested in vain, for his pleasant little mother believed that she understood the language of symptoms, and nodded her disbelief smilingly. "but why do you say that kannoa is very ill, ippe?" she asked; "i have just come from her hut where she was seemingly quite well. moreover, she has agreed to sup this very night with the mother of arbalik, and she could not do that if she was ill, for that means much stuffing, because the mother of arbalik has plenty of food and cooks it very fast." "oh, but it is not kannoa's body that is ill," said ippegoo quickly; "it is her mind that is ill--very ill; and nothing will make it better but a sight of nunaga. it was ujarak that told me so; and you know, mother, that whatever he says _must_ be true somehow, whether it be true or not." "ujarak is a fool," said kunelik quietly; "and you are another, my son." we must again remind the reader here that the eskimos are a simple as well as straightforward folk. they say what they mean and mean what they say, without the smallest intention of hurting each other's feelings. "and, mother," continued the son, scarce noticing her remark, "i want you to prepare for a journey." kunelik looked surprised. "where to, my son?" "it matters not just now. you shall know in time. will you get ready?" "no, my son, i won't." "but ujarak says you are to get ready." "still, my son, i won't." "mother!" exclaimed ippegoo, with that look and tone which usually follows the saying of something very wicked; but the pleasant little woman went on with her work with an air of such calm good-natured resolution that her son felt helpless. "then, mother, i know not what to do." "what did he tell you to do?" asked kunelik abruptly. the youth gave as much of his conversation with the wizard as sufficed to utterly perplex his mother's mind without enlightening it much. when he had finished, or rather had come to an abrupt stop, she looked at him calmly, and said-- "my son, whatever he told you to do, go and do it. leave the rest to me." from infancy ippegoo had rejoiced in his wise little mother's decisions. to be saved the trouble of thinking; to have a straight and simple course clearly pointed out to him, so that he should have nothing to do but shut his eyes and walk therein--or, if need be, run--was the height of ippegoo's ambition--next to solid feeding. but be not hard on him, good reader. remember that he was an ignorant savage, and that you could not expect him to be as absolutely and entirely free from this low type of spirit as civilised people are! without another word, therefore, the youth leaped on to his sledge, cracked his whip, and set off on his delicate mission. poor lad! disappointment was in store for him. but compensation was in store also. while he was galloping along under the ice-cliffs on the east side of a great berg, not far from the end of his journey, okiok, with his wife and daughter on a sledge, chanced to be galloping with equal speed in the opposite direction on the west side of the same berg. it was a mighty berg--an ice-mountain of nearly half a mile in length--so that no sound of cracking lash or yelping dogs passed from the one party to the other. thus when ippegoo arrived at his destination he found his fair bird flown. but he found a much more interesting personage in the kablunet, who had been left under the care of angut and ermigit. this great sight effectually banished disappointment and every other feeling from his breast. he first caught a glimpse of the wonderful man when half-way through the tunnel-lobby, and the sight rooted him to the spot, for red rooney had just finished making a full-dress suit of clothes for little tumbler, and was in the act of fitting them on when the young eskimo arrived. that day ermigit had managed to spear a huge raven. rooney, being something of a naturalist, had skinned it, and it was while little tumbler was gazing at him in open-eyed admiration that the thought struck him--tumbler being very small and the raven very large. "come," said he, seizing the child--with whom he was by that time on the most intimate terms of affection--"come, i'll dress you up." tumbler was naked at the moment, and willingly consented. a few stitches with needle and thread, which the sailor always carried in his pocket, soon converted the wings of the bird into sleeves, a button at the chest formed the skin into a rude cut-away coat, the head, with the beak in front, formed a convenient cap, and the tail hung most naturally down behind. a better full-dress coat was never more quickly manufactured. ermigit went into convulsions of laughter over it, and the sailor, charmed with his work, kept up a running commentary in mingled english and eskimo. "splendid!" he cried; "the best slop-shop in portsmouth couldn't match it! cap and coat all in one! the fit perfect--and what a magnificent tail!" at this point ermigit caught sight of the gaping and glaring ippegoo in the passage. with a bound he fell upon him, caught him by the hair, and dragged him in. of course there followed a deal of questioning, which the hapless youth tried to answer; but the fascination of the kablunet was too much for him. he could do nothing but give random replies and stare; seeing which, rooney suggested that the best way to revive him would be to give him something to eat. chapter eight. mrs. okiok's little evening party. in eskimo land, as in england, power and industry result in the elevation and enrichment of individuals, though they have not yet resulted there, as here, in vast accumulations of wealth, or in class distinctions. the elevating tendency of superior power and practice is seen in the fact that while some hunters are nearly always pretty well off--"well-to-do," as we would express it--others are often in a state of poverty and semi-starvation. a few of them possess two establishments, and some even go the length of possessing two wives. it is but just to add, however, that these last are rare. most eskimo men deem one wife quite as much as they can manage to feed. our friend okiok was what we may style one of the aristocracy of the land. he did not, indeed, derive his position from inheritance, but from the circumstance of his being a successful hunter, a splendid canoe-man, and a tremendous fighter. when it is added that his fights were often single-handed against the polar bear, it may be understood that both his activity and courage were great. he was not an angekok, for, like his friend angut, he did not believe in wizards; nevertheless he was very truly an angekok, in the sense of being an uncommonly wise man, and his countrymen, recognising the fact, paid him suitable respect. okiok possessed a town and a country mansion. that is to say, besides the solitary residence already mentioned, close to the great glacier, he owned the largest hut in the eskimo village. it was indeed quite a palatial residence, capable of holding several families, and having several holes in it--or windows--which were glazed, if we may say so, with the scraped intestines of animals. it was to this residence that okiok drove on the afternoon of the day that he missed ippegoo's visit. on finding that most of the men had gone southward to hunt, he resolved to follow them, for his purpose was to consult about the kablunet, who had so recently fallen like a meteor from the sky into their midst. "but you will stop here, nuna, with nunaga, and tell the women all about the kablunet, while i go south alone. make a feast; you have plenty to give them. here, help me to carry the things inside." okiok had brought quite a sledge-load of provisions with him, for it had been his intention to give a feast to as many of the community as could be got inside his hut. the carrying in of the supplies, therefore, involving as it did creeping on hands and knees through a low tunnel with each article, was not a trifling duty. "now," said he, when at last ready to start, "be sure that you ask the liars and the stupid ones to the feast, as well as the wise; and make them sit near you, for if these don't hear all about it from your own mouth they will be sure to carry away nonsense, and spread it. don't give them the chance to invent." while her husband was rattling away south over the hummocky sea in his empty sledge, nuna lighted her lamps, opened her stores, and began to cook. "go now, nunaga," she said, "and tell the women who are to feed with us to-night." "who shall i invite, mother?" asked pretty little nunaga, preparing to set forth on her mission. "invite old kannoa, of course. she is good." "yes, mother, and she is also griggy." we may remark in passing that it is impossible to convey the exact meaning of the eskimo word which we have rendered "griggy." enough to say, once for all, that in difficult words and phrases we give as nearly as possible our english equivalents. "and kunelik," said nuna, continuing to enumerate her guests; "i like the mother of ippegoo. she is a pleasant little woman." "but father said we were to ask liars," remarked nunaga, with a sweet look. "i'm coming to them, child," said mrs okiok, with a touch of petulance--the result of a gulp of lamp-smoke; "yes, you may ask pussimek also. the wife of simek is always full of wise talk, and her baby does not squall, which is lucky, for she cannot be forced to leave pussi behind." "but name the liars and stupid ones, mother," urged nunaga, who, being a dutiful child, and anxious to carry out her father's wishes to the letter, stuck to her point. "tell issek, then, the mother of arbalik, to come," returned nuna, making a wry face. "if she is not stupid, she is wicked enough, and dreadful at lies. and the sisters kabelaw and sigokow; they are the worst liars in all the village, besides being stupider than puffins. there, that will be enough for our first feed. when these have stuffed, we can have more. too many at once makes much cooking and little talk. go, my child." an hour later, and the gossips of the eskimo village were assembled round mrs okiok's hospitable lamp--she had no "board,"--the raised floor at the further end of the hut serving both for seat and table in the daytime and for bed at night. of course they were all bursting with curiosity, and eager to talk. but food at first claimed too much attention to permit of free conversation. yet it must not be supposed that the company was gluttonous or greedy. whatever eskimos may feel at a feast, it is a point of etiquette that guests should not appear anxious about what is set before them. indeed, they require a little pressing on the part of the host at first, but they always contrive to make amends for such self-restraint before the feast is over. and it was by no means a simple feast to which that party sat down. there were dried herrings and dried seal's flesh, and the same boiled; also boiled auks, dried salmon, dried reindeer venison, and a much-esteemed dish consisting of half raw and slightly putrid seal's flesh, called _mikiak_--something similar in these respects to our own game. but the principal dish was part of a whale's tail in a high or gamey condition. besides these delicacies, there was a pudding, or dessert, of preserved crowberries, mixed with "chyle" from the maw of the reindeer, with train oil for sauce. [see note.] gradually, as appetite was satisfied, tongues were loosened, and information about the wonderful foreigner, which had been fragmentary at first, flowed in a copious stream. then commentary and question began in right earnest. "have some more mikiak?" said mrs okiok to pussimek. "no," replied mrs p, with a sigh. these northern eskimos did not, at least at the time of which we write, say "thank you"--not that there was any want of good feeling or civility among them, but simply because it was not customary to do so. mrs okiok then offered some more of the delicacy mentioned to the mother of ippegoo. "no," said kunelik, leaning back with a contented air against the wall; "i am pleasantly stuffed already." "but tell me," cried issek, the stern mother of arbalik, "what does the kablunet say the people eat in his own land?" "they eat no whales," said nuna; "they _have_ no whales." "no whales!" exclaimed pussimek, with a `huk' of surprise! "no; no whales," said nuna--"and no bears," she added impressively. "ridroonee, (that's his name), says they eat a thing called bread, which grows out of the ground like grass." "eat grass!" exclaimed the mother of arbalik. "so he says, and also beasts that have horns--" "reindeer?" suggested kunelik. "no; the horns are short, with only one point to each; and the beasts are much heavier than reindeer. they have also great beasts, with no name in our language--hurses or hosses he calls them,--but they don't eat these; they make them haul sledges on little round things called weels--" "_i_ know," cried sigokow; "they must be big dogs!" "huk!" exclaimed old kannoa, who confined her observations chiefly to that monosyllable and a quiet chuckle. "no," returned nuna, becoming a little impatient under these frequent interruptions; "they are not dogs at all, but hurses--hosses--with hard feet like stones, and iron boots on them." a general exclamation of incredulous surprise broke forth at this point, and the mother of arbalik silently came to the conclusion that nuna had at last joined the liars of the community, and was making the most of her opportunities, and coming out strong. "let there be no talk, and i will speak," said nuna somewhat indignantly; "if you interrupt me again, i will send you all away to your huts!" this threat produced silence, and a sniff from arbalik's mother. mrs okiok went on:-- "the land, ridroonee says, is very rich. they have all that they wish-- and _more_!" ("huk!" from the company)--"except a great many people, called poo-oor, who have not all that they wish--and who sometimes want a little more." (a groan of remonstrative pity from the audience.) "but they have not many seals, and they _never_ eat them." "poo! i would not care to live there," said pussimek. "and no walruses at all," added mrs okiok. "boo! a miserable country!" exclaimed ippegoo's mother. "then they have villages--so big!--oh!" nuna paused from incapacity to describe, for eskimos, being unable to comprehend large numbers, are often obliged to have recourse to illustration. "listen," continued nuna, holding up a finger; "if all the whales we catch in a year were to be cooked, they would not feed the people of their largest village for _one_ day!" the mother of arbalik now felt that she had sufficient ground for the belief that mrs okiok was utterly demoralised and lost, in the matter of veracity. mrs okiok, looking at her, perceived this in her countenance, and dropped that subject with a soft smile of conscious innocence. thereupon curiosity broke forth again with redoubled violence. "but what is the kablunet like?" cried kabelaw, as eagerly as if it were the first time of asking. "i have told you six times," replied nuna. "tell her again," cried the mother of arbalik, with a sniff; "she's so used to lies that she finds it hard to take in _the truth_." there was a sort of double hit intended here, which immensely tickled the eskimos, who laughed heartily, for they are fond of a touch of sarcastic humour. "yes, tell her again," they cried unanimously--"for," added pussimek, "we're not tired of it yet. are we, pussi?" the query was addressed to her stark naked baby, which broke from a tremendous stare into a benignant laugh, that had the effect of shutting up its eyes at the same time that it opened its little mouth. it must be remarked here that although we have called pussi a baby, she was not exactly an infant. she could walk, and understand, and even talk. she did not, however, (desirable child!) use her tongue freely. in fact, eskimo children seldom do so in the company of their elders. they are prone to listen, and gaze, and swallow, (mentally), and to reply only when questioned. but they seem to consider themselves free to laugh at will--hence pussi's explosion. "well, then," continued mrs okiok good-naturedly, "i will tell you again. the kablunet is a fine man. he must be very much finer when he is fat, for he is broad and tall, and looks strong; but he is thin just now--oh, so thin!--as thin almost as ippegoo!" ippegoo's mother took this in good part, as, indeed, it was intended. "but that will soon mend with stuffing," continued nuna. "and his hair is brown--not black--and is in little rings; and there is nearly as much below his nose as above it, so that his mouth can only be seen when open. he carries needles and soft sinews, too, in his bag; but his needles are not fish-bones--they are iron; and the sinews are not like our sinews. they are--i know not what! he has a round thing also, made of white iron, in his pocket, and it is alive. he says, `no, it is a dead thing,' but he lies, for one day when he was out i heard it speaking to itself in a low soft little voice, but i was afraid to touch it for fear it should bite." ("lies again!" muttered issek, the mother of arbalik, to herself.) "he says that it tells him about time," continued nuna; "but how can it tell him about anything if it is dead? alive and dead at the same time!" "impossible!" cried pussimek. "ridiculous!" cried every one else. "huk!" ejaculated old kannoa, wrinkling up her mild face and exposing her toothless gums in a stupendous chuckle. "yes, impossible! but i think he does not tell many lies," said nuna apologetically. "i think he only does it a little. then he goes on his knees every night before lying down, and every morning when he rises, and speaks to himself." "why?" cried every one in blazing astonishment. "i know not," replied nuna, "and he does not tell." "he must be a fool," suggested kunelik. "i suppose so," returned nuna, "yet he does not look like a fool." at this point the description of rooney's person and characteristics was interrupted by a tremendous splash. it was poor pussi, who, having grown wearied of the conversation, had slipped from her mother's side, and while wandering in the background had tumbled into the oil-tub, from which she quickly emerged gasping, gazing, and glittering. a mild remonstrance, with a good wipe down, soon put her to rights, and nuna was about to resume her discourse, when the sound of rushing footsteps outside arrested her. next moment a wild scrambling was heard in the tunnel--as of a giant rat in a hurry--and ippegoo tumbled into the hut in a state of wild excitement, which irresistibly affected the women. "what has happened?" demanded nuna. "mother," gasped the youth, turning to the natural repository of all his cares and troubles, "he is coming!" "who is coming, my son?" asked kunelik, in a quiet, soothing tone, for the pleasant little woman, unlike most of the others, was not easily thrown into a state of agitation. "the kablunet," cried ippegoo. "where, when, who, how, which, what?" burst simultaneously from the gaping crowd. but for some minutes the evidently exhausted youth could not answer. he could only glare and pant. by degrees, however, and with much patience, his mother extracted his news from him, piecemeal, to the following effect. after having sat and gazed in mute surprise at the kablunet for a considerable time, as already mentioned, and having devoured a good meal at the same time, ippegoo had been closely questioned by angut as to the reason of his unexpected visit. he had done his best to conceal matters, with which angut, he said, had nothing to do; but somehow that wonderfully wise man had seen, as it were, into his brain, and at once became suspicious. then he looked so fierce, and demanded the truth so sternly, that he, (ippegoo), had fled in terror from the hut of okiok, and did not stop till he had reached the top of a hummock, where he paused to recover breath. looking back, he saw that angut had already harnessed the dogs to his sledge, and was packing the kablunet upon it--"all lies," interrupted arbalik's mother, issek, at this point. "if this is true, how comes it that ippegoo is here first? no doubt the legs of the simple one are the best part of him, but every one knows that they could not beat the dogs of angut." "issek is wise," said kunelik pleasantly, "almost _too_ wise!--but no doubt the simple one can explain." "speak, my son." "yes, mother, i can explain. you must know that angut was in such a fierce hurry that he made his whip crack like the splitting of an iceberg, and the dogs gave such a yell and bound that they dashed the sledge against a hummock, and broke some part of it. what part of it i did not stop to see. only i saw that they had to unload, and the kablunet helped to mend it. then i turned and ran. so i am here first." there was a huk of approval at this explanation, which was given in a slightly exulting tone, and with a glance of mild defiance at arbalik's mother. but issek was not a woman to be put down easily by a simpleton. she at once returned to the charge. "no doubt ippegoo is right," she said, with forced calmness, "but he has talked of a message to okiok. i dare say the wife of okiok would like to hear what that message is." "huk! that is true," said nuna quickly. "and," continued issek, "ippegoo speaks of the suspicions of angut. what does he suspect? we would all like to know that." "huk! huk! that is also true," exclaimed every one. "my son," whispered kunelik, "silence is the only hope of a fool. speak not at all." ippegoo was so accustomed to render blind and willing obedience to his mother that he instantly brought his teeth together with a snap, and thereafter not one word, good, bad, or indifferent, was to be extracted from the simple one. from what he had revealed, however, it was evident that a speedy visit from the wonderful foreigner was to be looked for. the little party therefore broke up in much excitement, each member of it going off in bursting importance to spread the news in her particular circle, with exaggerations suitable to her special nature and disposition. while they are thus engaged, we will return to the object of all their interest. when ippegoo fled from angut, as already told, the latter worthy turned quickly to rooney, and said-- "there is danger somewhere--i know not where or what; but i must leave you. ermigit will take good care of ridroonee till i come again." "nay, if there is danger anywhere i will share it," returned rooney, rising and stretching himself; "i am already twice the man i was with all this resting and feeding." the eskimo looked at the sailor doubtfully for a moment; but when action was necessary, he was a man of few words. merely uttering the word "come," he went out and harnessed his dog-team in a few minutes. then, after wrapping the kablunet carefully up in furs, he leaped on the fore-part of the sledge, cracked his whip, and went off at full speed. "what is the danger that threatens, think you?" asked rooney; "you must have some notion about it." "i know not, but i guess," answered angut, with a sternness that surprised his companion. "ippegoo is a poor tool in the hands of a bad man. he comes from ujarak, and he asks too earnestly for nunaga. ujarak is fond of nunaga." rooney looked pointedly and gravely at angut. that eskimo returned the look even more pointedly and with deeper gravity. then what we may term a grave smile flitted across the features of the eskimo. a similar smile enlivened the features of the seaman. he spoke no word, but from that moment rooney knew that angut was also fond of nunaga; and he made up his mind to aid him to the utmost of his capacity both in love and war--for sympathy is not confined to races, creeds, or classes, but gloriously permeates the whole human family. it was at this point that the crash described by ippegoo occurred. fortunately no damage was done to the occupants of the sledge, though the vehicle itself had suffered fractures which it took them several hours to repair. having finished the repairs, they set off again at greater speed than ever in the direction of the eskimo village, accompanied by ermigit and tumbler, who, not caring to be left behind, had followed on a smaller sledge, and overtaken them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note: for further light on this interesting subject see _history of greenland and the moravian brethren_, volume one, page . longman, . chapter nine. shows that the wise are a match for the wicked, and exhibits tumbler and pussi in danger. when red rooney and his friend reached the village, and found that most of the men had gone south to hunt, and that nunaga was living in peace with her mother in her father's town mansion, their fears were greatly relieved, although angut was still rendered somewhat anxious by the suspicion that mischief of some sort was brewing. being resolved if possible to discover and counteract it, he told rooney that he meant to continue his journey southward, and join the hunters. "good. i will rest here till you return," said the seaman, "for i feel that i'm not strong enough yet for much exertion." "but ridroonee promised to dwell with _me_," returned angut, somewhat anxiously. "so i did, and so i will, friend, when you come back. at present you tell me your hut is closed because you have no wife--no kinswoman." "that is true," returned the eskimo; "my mother is dead; my father was killed; i have no brothers, no sisters. but when i am at home old kannoa cooks for me. she is a good woman, and can make us comfortable." "just so, angut. i'll be content to have the old woman for a nurse as long as i need one. good luck to you; and, i say, keep a sharp look-out on ujarak. he's not to be trusted, if i am any judge of men's faces." angut said no word in reply, but he smiled a grim smile as he turned and went his way. being much fatigued with his recent exertions, red rooney turned into okiok's hut, to the great sorrow of the women and children, who had gathered from all parts of the village to gaze at and admire him. "he is real--and alive!" remarked kunelik in a low voice. "and nuna is _not_ a liar," said the mother of arbalik. "yes; he is tall," said one. "and broad," observed another. "but _very_ thin," said pussimek. "no matter; he can stuff," said kabelaw, with a nod to her sister sigokow, who was remarkably stout, and doubtless understood the virtue of the process. while this commentary was going on, the object of it was making himself comfortable on a couch of skins which nuna had spread for him on the raised floor at the upper end of her hut. in a few minutes the wearied man was sound asleep, as was indicated by his nose. no sooner did mrs okiok note the peculiar sound than she went out and said to her assembled friends--"_now_ you may come in; but--forget not-- no word is to be spoken. use your eyes and bite your tongues. the one who speaks shall be put out." under these conditions the multitude filed into the mansion, where they sat down in rows to gaze their fill in profound silence; and there they sat for more than an hour, rapt in contemplation of the wonderful sight. "he snorts," was on the lips of pussimek, but a warning glance from nuna checked the sentence in the bud. "he dreams!" had almost slipped from the lips of kunelik, but she caught it in time. certainly these primitive people availed themselves of the permission to use their eyes; nay, more, they also used their eyebrows--and indeed their entire faces, for, the lips being sealed, they not only drank in rooney, so to speak, with their eyes, but tried to comment upon him with the same organs. finding them very imperfect in this respect, they ventured to use their lips without sound--to speak, as it were, in dumb show--and the contortions of visage thus produced were indescribable. this state of things was at its height when rooney chanced to awake. as he lay with his face to the foe, the _tableau vivant_ met his gaze the instant he opened his eyes. rooney was quick-witted, and had great power of self-command. he reclosed the eyes at once, and then, through the merest chink between the lids, continued to watch the scene. but the wink had been observed. it caused an abrupt stoppage of the pantomime, and an intense glare of expectancy. this was too much for rooney. he threw up his arms, and gave way to a violent explosion of loud and hearty laughter. if a bomb-shell had burst among the spectators, it could scarcely have caused greater consternation. a panic ensued. incontinently the mother of ippegoo plunged head first into the tunnel. the mother of arbalik followed, overtook her friend, tried to pass, and stuck fast. the others, dashing in, sought to force them through, but only rammed them tighter. seeing that egress was impossible, those in rear crouched against the furthest wall and turned looks of horror on the kablunet, who they thought had suddenly gone mad. but observing that nuna and her daughter did not share their alarm, they soon recovered, and when rooney at last sat up and began to look grave, they evidently felt somewhat ashamed of themselves. pussimek at last seized the mother of ippegoo by the legs, and with a strong pull extracted her from the tunnel. issek, being thus set free, quickly made her exit. the rest followed by degrees, until rooney was left with nuna and her daughter. "your friends have had a fright," remarked the sailor. "they are easily frightened. are you hungry?" "yes; i feel as if i could eat a white bear raw." "so i expected," returned the little woman, with a laugh, as she placed a platter of broiled meat before her guest, who at once set to work. let us now return to ippegoo. having borrowed a sledge, he had driven off to the appointed place of rendezvous, before the arrival of rooney and angut, as fast as the team could take him. arrived there, he found ujarak awaiting him. "you have failed," said the wizard gravely. "yes, because nunaga had left with her father and mother, and is now in the village. so is the kablunet." whatever ujarak might have felt, he took good care that his countenance should not betray him. indeed this capacity to conceal his feelings under a calm exterior constituted a large element of the power which he had obtained over his fellows. without deigning a reply of any kind to his humble and humbled follower, he stepped quietly into the sledge, and drove away to the southward, intending to rejoin the hunters. arrived at the ground, he set off on foot over the ice until he found a seal's breathing-hole. here he arranged his spears, erected a screen of snow-blocks, and sat down to watch. "ippegoo," he said, at last breaking silence, "we must not be beaten." "no, that must _not_ be," replied his pupil firmly. "this time we have failed," continued the wizard, "because i did not think that okiok would leave his guest." "i thought," said ippegoo, somewhat timidly, "that your torngak told you everything." "you are a fool, ippegoo." "i know it, master; but can you not make me more wise by teaching me?" "some people are hard to teach," said ujarak. "that is also true," returned the youth mournfully. "i know that you can never make me an angekok. perhaps it would be better not to try." "no. you are mistaken," said the wizard in a more cheerful tone, for he felt that he had gone too far. "you will make a good enough angekok in time, if you will only attend to what i say, and be obedient. come, i will explain to you. torngaks, you must understand, do not always tell all that they know. sometimes they leave the angekok dark, for a purpose that is best known to themselves. but they always tell enough for the guidance of a wise man--" "but--but--i am not a wise man, you know," ippegoo ventured to remark. "true; but when i have made you an angekok then you will become a wise man--don't you see?" as the word angekok signifies "wise man," ippegoo would have been a fool indeed had he failed to see the truism. the sight raised his spirits, and made him look hopeful. "well, then, stupid one, speak not, but listen. as i have before told you, i love nunaga and nunaga loves me--" "i--i thought she loved angut," said ippegoo. "o idiot," exclaimed the wizard; "did i not tell you that you cannot understand? the loves of angekoks are not as the loves of ordinary men. sometimes one's torngak makes the girl seem uncertain which man she likes best--" "ye-yes; but in this case there _seems_ no uncertainty, for she and angut--" "silence! you worse than baby walrus!" ippegoo shut his mouth, and humbly drooped his eyelids. after a few minutes, ujarak, having swallowed his wrath, continued in a calm tone-- "this time we have failed. next time we will be sure to succeed, and--" "i suppose your torngak told--" "silence! weak-minded puffin!" thundered the wizard, to the great astonishment of a seal which came up at that moment to breathe, and prudently retired in time to save its life. once again the angekok with a mighty effort restrained his wrath, and after a time resumed-- "now, ippegoo, we dare not venture again to try till after the feast, for the suspicion which you have roused in angut by the foolish wagging of your tongue must be allowed to die out. but in the meantime--though you cannot, _must_ not, speak--you can listen, and you can get your mother to listen, and, when you hear anything that you think i ought to know, you will tell me." "but if," said the pupil timidly, "i should only find out things that your torngak has already told you, what--" he stopped short, for ujarak, springing up, walked smartly away, leaving his follower behind to finish the question, and gather up the spears. "yes; he is right. i _am_ a fool," murmured ippegoo. "yet his conduct does seem strange. but he is an angekok. that must be the reason." consoling himself with this reflection, the puzzled youth, putting the spears and hunting tackle on his shoulders, followed after his irate master towards the bay where the other hunters were encamped. we turn now to two other actors in our tale, who, although not very important characters, deserve passing notice. when nuna's youngest son, little tumbler, was brought to the eskimo village, he made his appearance in the new black dress suit with which rooney had clothed him--much to the surprise and delight of the whole community. not long after arriving, he waddled away through the village in search of some piece of amusing mischief to do. on his ramble he fell in with a companion of about his own size, whose costume was that of a woman in miniature--namely, a short coat with a fully developed tail, which trailed on the ground with the approved fashionable swing. this was none other than pussi, the little daughter of simek, the great hunter. now it chanced that there was a mutual liking--a strong bond of sympathy--between tumbler and pussi, which induced them always to play together when possible. no sooner, therefore, did tumbler catch sight of his friend than he ran after her, grasped her greasy little hand, and waddled away to do, in company with her, what mischief might chance to be possible at the time. immediately behind the village there stood a small iceberg, which had grounded there some years before, and was so little reduced in size or shape by the action of each brief summer's sun that it had become to the people almost as familiar a landmark as the solid rocks. in this berg there was a beautiful sea-green cavern whose depths had never yet been fathomed. it was supposed to be haunted, and was therefore visited only by the more daring and courageous among the children of the tribe. tumbler and pussi were unquestionably the most daring among these-- partly owing to native bravery in both, and partly to profound ignorance and inexperience of danger. "let's go to ze g'een cave," suggested tumbler. pussi returned that most familiar of replies--a nod. we cannot, of course, convey the slightest idea of the infantine eskimo lisp. as before said, we must be content with the nearest english equivalent. the green cave was not more than half a mile distant from the village. to reach it the children had to get upon the sea-ice, and this involved crossing what has been termed the ice-foot--namely, that belt of broken up and shattered ice caused by the daily tides--at the point where the grounded ice meets that which is afloat. it is a chaotic belt, varying in character and width according to position and depth of water, and always more or less dangerous to the tender limbs of childhood. encountering thus an opportunity for mischievous daring at the very beginning of their ramble, our jovial hero and heroine proceeded to cross, with all the breathless, silent, and awesome delight that surrounds half-suspected wickedness--for they were quite old enough to know that they were on forbidden ground. "come, you's not frighted?" said tumbler, holding out his hand, as he stood on the top of a block, encouraging his companion to advance. "no--not fri--frighted--but--" she caught the extended hand, slipped her little foot, and slid violently downward, dragging the boy along with her. scrambling to their feet, pussi looked inclined to whimper, but as tumbler laughed heartily, she thought better of it, and joined him. few of the riven masses by which they were surrounded were much above five or six feet thick; but as the children were short of stature, the place seemed to the poor creatures an illimitable world of icy confusion, and many were the slips, glissades, and semi-falls which they experienced before reaching the other side. reach it they did, however, in a very panting and dishevelled condition, and it said much for red rooney's tailoring capacity that the black dress coat was not riven to pieces in the process. "look; help me. shove me here," said tumbler, as he laid hold of a block which formed the last difficulty. pussi helped and shoved to the best of her small ability, so that tumbler soon found himself on a ledge which communicated with the sea-ice. seizing pussi by her top-knot of hair, he hauled while she scrambled, until he caught a hand, then an arm, then her tail, finally one of her legs, and at last deposited her, flushed and panting, at his side. after a few minutes' rest they began to run--perhaps it were more correct to say waddle--in the direction of "ze g'een cave." now it chanced that the said cave was haunted at that time, not by torngaks or other ghosts, but by two men, one of whom at least was filled with an evil spirit. ujarak, having ascertained that okiok had joined the hunting party, and that the kablunet had reached the village, resolved to make a daring attempt to carry off the fair nunaga from the very midst of her female friends, and for this purpose sought and found his dupe ippegoo, whom he sent off to the green cave to await his arrival. "we must not go together," he said, "for we might be suspected; but you will go off to hunt seals to the south, and i will go out on the floes to consult my torngak." "but, master, if i go to the south after seals, how can we ever meet at the green cave?" "o stupid one! do you not understand that you are only to pretend to go south? when you are well out of sight, then turn north, and make for the berg. you will find me there." without further remark the stupid one went off, and in process of time the master and pupil met at the appointed rendezvous. the entrance to the cavern was light, owing to the transparency of the ice, and farther in it assumed that lovely bluish-green colour from which it derived its name; but the profound depths, which had never yet been fathomed, were as black as ebony--forming a splendid background, against which the icicles and crystal edges of the entrance were beautifully and sharply defined. retiring sufficiently far within this natural grotto to be safe from observation in the event of any one chancing to pass by, the wizard looked earnestly into the anxious countenance of the young man. "ippegoo," he said, with an air of unwonted solemnity, for, having made up his mind to a desperate venture, the wizard wished to subdue his tool entirely as well as promptly to his will; "ippegoo, my torngak says the thing must be done to-night, if it is to be done at all. putting off, he says, will perhaps produce failure." "`perhaps'!" echoed the youth, with that perplexed look which so frequently crossed his features when the wizard's words puzzled him. "i thought that torngaks knew everything, and never needed to say `perhaps.'" "you think too much," said ujarak testily. "was it not yesterday," returned the pupil humbly, "that you told me to think well before speaking?" "true, o simple one! but there are times to think and times not to think. your misfortune is that you always do both at the wrong time, and never do either at the right time." "i wish," returned ippegoo, with a sigh, "that it were always the time not to think. how much pleasanter it would be!" "well, it is time to listen just now," said the wizard, "so give me your attention. i shall this night harness my dogs, and carry off nunaga by force. and you must harness your dogs in another sledge, and follow me." "but--but--my mother!" murmured the youth. "must be left behind," said the wizard, with tremendous decision and a dark frown; but he had under-estimated his tool, who replied with decision quite equal to his own-- "that _must_ not be." although taken much by surprise, ujarak managed to dissemble. "well, then," he said, "you must carry her away by force." "that is impossible," returned ippegoo, with a faint smile and shake of the head. for the first time in his life the wizard lost all patience with his poor worshipper, and was on the point of giving way to wrath, when the sound of approaching footsteps outside the cave arrested him. not caring to be interrupted at that moment, and without waiting to see who approached, ujarak suddenly gave vent to a fearful intermittent yell, which was well understood by all eskimos to be the laughter of a torngak or fiend, and, therefore, calculated to scare away any one who approached. in the present instance it did so most effectually, for poor little pussi and tumbler were already rather awed by the grandeur and mysterious appearance of the sea-green cave. turning instantly, they fled--or toddled--on the wings of terror, and with so little regard to personal safety, that pussi found herself suddenly on the edge of an ice-cliff, without the power to stop. tumbler, however, had himself more under command. he pulled up in time, and caught hold of his companion by the tail, but she, being already on a steep gradient, dragged her champion on, and it is certain that both would have gone over the ice precipice and been killed, if tumbler had not got both heels against an opportune lump of ice. holding on to the tail with heroic resolution, while pussi was already swinging in mid-air, the poor boy opened wide his eyes and mouth, and gave vent to a series of yells so tremendous that the hearts of ujarak and ippegoo leaped into their throats, as they rushed out of the cavern and hastened to the rescue. but another ear had been assailed by those cries. just as ippegoo--who was fleeter than his master--caught tumbler with one hand, and pussi's tail with the other, and lifted both children out of danger, reginald rooney, who chanced to be wandering in the vicinity, appeared, in a state of great anxiety, on the scene. "glad am i you were in time, ippegoo," said the seaman, shouldering the little girl, while the young eskimo put the boy on his back, "but i thought that you and ujarak were away south with the hunters. what has brought you back so soon? nothing wrong, i trust?" "no; all goes well," returned ippegoo, as they went towards the village. "we have only come back to--to--" "to make preparation for the feast when they return," said the wizard, coming quickly to the rescue of his unready follower. "then they will be back immediately, i suppose?" said rooney, looking pointedly at the wizard. "yes, immediately," answered ujarak, without appearing to observe the pointed look, "unless something happens to detain them." suspecting that there was something behind this reply, the sailor said no more. ujarak, feeling that he was suspected, and that his plan, therefore, must be given up for the time being, determined to set himself to work to allay suspicion by making himself generally useful, and giving himself up entirely to the festivities that were about to take place on the return of the men from their successful hunt. chapter ten. red rooney becomes a spectacle and then a president. late on the evening of the following day the fur-clad hunters arrived at their village with shouts of rejoicing--hairy and happy--for they brought with them many a carcass of walrus and seal wherewith to replenish their wardrobes and larders, and banish hunger and care from their dwellings for a considerable time to come. be not too ready, most refined reader, to condemn those people for their somewhat gross and low ideas of enjoyment. remember that they were "to the manner born." consider, also, that "things are not what they seem," and that the difference between you and savages is, in some very important respects at least, not so great as would at first sight appear. you rejoice in literature, music, fine art, etcetera; but how about one or two o'clock? would these afford you much satisfaction at such a time? "bah!" you exclaim, "what a question! the animal wants must of course be supplied." true, most refined one, but a hunk of bread and a plate of soup would fully suffice for animal needs. would your refined pleasures have as keen a relish for you if you had only to look forward to bread and water between six and nine? answer, ye sportsmen, how would you get through your day's work if there were not a glorious dinner at the end of it? speak, ye ballroom frequenters, how would you skip, even with the light of brilliant eyes to encourage you, if there were not what you call a jolly good supper somewhere in the background? be honest, all of you, and confess--what you tacitly and obviously admit by your actions every day--that our mere animal wants are of vast importance, and that in our ministering to these the only difference between ourselves and the eskimos is, a somewhat greater variety of viands, a little less of toil in obtaining them, a little more of refinement and cleanliness in the consumption of them, and, perchance, a little less of appetite. we feel impelled thus to claim for our northern brothers some forbearance and a little genuine sympathy, because we have to record that their first act on arriving was to fly to the cooking-lamps, and commence a feast which extended far into the night, and finally terminated in lethargic repose. but this was not the feast to which we have more than once referred. it was merely a mild preliminary whet. the hunters were hungry and tired after their recent exertions, as might have been expected, and went in for refreshment with a will. they did not, however, forget the kablunet. eager expectation was on tip-toe, and even hunger was forgotten for a short time in the desire to see the foreigner; but okiok had made up his mind to give them only one glimpse--a sort of moral appetiser--and reserve the full display of his lion until the following day. just before arriving at the village, therefore, he called a halt, and explained to the hunters that the kablunet had been very much wearied by his recent journey, that he would not permit him to be disturbed that night; but as he was to dwell with angut, and was at that time in his, (okiok's), hut, they would have an opportunity of seeing him during his brief passage from the one hut to the other. they were, however, to be very careful not to crowd upon him or question him, and not to speak at all--in short, only to look! this having been settled and agreed to, okiok pushed on alone in advance, to prevent rooney from showing himself too soon. arriving at his town residence, the eskimo found his guest asleep, as usual, for the poor seaman found that alternate food and repose were the best means for the recovery of lost vigour. nuna was quietly cooking the seaman's next meal, and nunaga was mending one of his garments, when okiok entered. both held up a warning finger when he appeared. "where is tumbler?" he asked softly, looking round. "gone to the hut of pussimek to play with pussi," replied the wife; "we could not keep him quiet, so we--" she stopped and looked solemn, for rooney moved. the talking had roused him. sitting up, he looked gravely first at nunaga, then at her mother, then at her father, after which he smiled mildly and yawned. "so you've got back, okiok?" "yes, ridroonee. and all the hunters are coming, with plenty to eat-- great plenty!" the women's eyes seemed to sparkle at these words, but they said nothing. "that's a good job, old boy," said the seaman, rising. "i think i'll go out and meet them. it will be dark in a short time." here okiok interposed with an earnest petition that he would not go out to the people that night, explaining that if he were to sit with them during supper none except the gluttons would be able to eat. the rest would only wonder and stare. of course our seaman was amenable to reason. "but," he said, with a humorous glance, "would it not be good for them-- especially for the gluttons--to be prevented from eating too much?" it was evident from the blank look of his visage that okiok did not understand his guest. the idea of an eskimo eating too much had never before entered his imagination. "how can a man eat too much?" he asked. "until a man is quite full he is not satisfied. when he is quite full, he wants no more; he can _hold_ no more!" "that says a good deal for eskimo digestion," thought our hero, but as he knew no native word for digestion, he only laughed and expressed his readiness to act as his host wished. just then the noise of cracking whips and yelping dogs was heard outside. "remain here," said okiok; "i will come again." not long after the hospitable man's exit all the noise ceased, but the seaman could hear murmuring voices and stealthy footsteps gathering round the hut. in a few minutes okiok returned. "angut is now ready," he said, "to receive you. the people will look at you as you pass, but they will not disturb you." "i'm ready to go--though sorry to leave nuna and nunaga," said the gallant rooney, rising. the sounds outside and okiok's words had prepared him for some display of curiosity, but he was quite taken aback by the sight that met his eyes on emerging from the tunnel, for there, in absolute silence, with wide expectant eyes and mouths a-gape, stood every man, woman, and child capable of motion in the eskimo village! they did not stand in a confused group, but in two long lines, with a space of four or five feet between, thus forming a living lane, extending from the door of okiok's hut to that of angut, which stood not far distant. at first our seaman felt an almost irresistible inclination to burst into a hearty fit of laughter, there seemed something so absurdly solemn in this cumulative stare, but good feeling fortunately checked him; yet he walked with his host along the lane with such a genuine expression of glee and good-will on his manly face that a softly uttered but universal and emphatic "huk!" assured him he had made a good first impression. when he had entered the abode of angut a deep sigh of relief escaped from the multitude, and they made up for their enforced silence by breaking into a gush of noisy conversation. in his new abode red rooney found angut and old kannoa, with a blazing lamp and steaming stove-kettle, ready to receive him. few were the words of welcome uttered by angut, for eskimos are not addicted to ceremonial; nevertheless, with the promptitude of one ever ready to learn, he seized his visitor's hand, and shook it heartily in the manner which rooney had taught him--with the slight mistake that he shook it from side to side instead of up and down. at the same time he pointed to a deerskin seat on the raised floor of the hut, where kannoa had already placed a stone dish of smoking viands. the smile which had overspread rooney's face at the handshaking faded away as he laid his hand on the old woman's shoulder, and, stooping down, gazed at her with an expression of great tenderness. ah! rooney, what is there in that old wrinkled visage, so scarred by the rude assaults of time, yet with such a strong touch of pathos in the expression, that causes thy broad bosom to swell and thine eagle eyes to moisten? does it remind thee of something very different, yet wonderfully like, in the old country? rooney never distinctly told what it was, but as he had left a much-- loved grandmother at home, we may be permitted to guess. from that hour he took a tender interest in that little old woman, and somehow--from the expression of his eye, perhaps, or the touch of his strong hand--the old creature seemed to know it, and chuckled, in her own peculiar style, immensely. for old kannoa had not been overburdened with demonstrative affection by the members of her tribe, some of whom had even called her an old witch--a name which had sent a thrill of great terror through her trembling old heart, for the doom of witches in eskimo land in those days was very terrible. next day, being that of the great feast, the entire village bestirred itself with the first light of morning. men and women put on their best garments, the lamps were kindled, the cooking-kettles put on, and preparations generally commenced on a grand scale. awaking and stretching himself, with his arms above his head and his mouth open, young ermigit yawned vociferously. "hah! how strong i feel," he said, "a white bear would be but a baby in my hands!" going through a similar stretch-yawny process, his brother norrak said that he felt as if he had strength to turn a walrus inside out. "come, boys, turn yourselves out o' the house, and help to cut up the meat. it is not wise to boast in the morning," said okiok. "true, father," returned norrak quietly, "but if we don't boast in the morning, the men do it so much all the rest of the day that we'll have no chance." "these two will be a match for you in talk before long," remarked nuna, after her sons had left. "ay, and also in body," returned the father, who was rather proud of his well-grown boys. "huk! what is tumbler putting on?" he asked in astonishment. "the dress that the kablunet made for him," said nunaga, with a merry laugh. "doesn't it fit well? my only fear is that if arbalik sees him, he will pierce him with a dart before discovering his mistake." "what are you going to begin the day with?" asked nuna, as she stirred her kettle. "with a feed," replied okiok, glancing slyly at his better half. "as if i didn't know that!" returned the wife. "when did okiok ever do anything before having his morning feed?" "when he was starving," retorted the husband promptly. this pleasantry was received with a giggle by the women. "well, father, and what comes after the morning feed?" asked nunaga. "kick-ball," answered okiok. "that is a hard game," said the wife; "it makes even the young men blow like walruses." "ay, and eat like whales," added the husband. "and sleep like seals," remarked nunaga. "and snore like--like okioks," said nuna. this was a hard hit, being founded on some degree of truth, and set okiok off in a roar of laughter. becoming suddenly serious, he asked if anything had been seen the day before of ujarak the angekok. "yes, he was in the village in the evening," replied nuna as she arranged the food on platters. "he and ippegoo were found in the green cave yesterday by the kablunet. he was out about the ice-heaps, and came on them just as tumbler saved pussi, and ippegoo saved them both." "tumbler saved pussi!" exclaimed the eskimo, looking first at his daughter and then at his wife. "yes; pussi was tumbling over an ice-cliff," said nunaga, "and tumbler held on to her." "by the tail," said nuna. "so ippegoo rushed out of the cave, and saved them both. ujarak would have been too late. it seems strange to me that his torngak did not warn him in time." "torngaks must be very hard-hearted," said okiok, with a look and tone of contempt that he did not care to conceal. "but what were they doing in the cave?" "who knows?" replied nuna. "these two are always plotting. ridroonee says they looked as if worried at having been discovered. come, fall-to. you must be strong to-day if you would play kick-ball well." okiok glanced with a look of care upon his brow at nunaga, shook his head gravely once or twice in silence, and began breakfast. after the meal was over he sallied forth to join in the sports, which were soon to begin. going first to the hut of angut, he found the most of his countrymen and women surrounding red rooney, who, having finished breakfast, was seated on a sledge conversing with angut and simek, and others of the chief men of the tribe. all the rest were gazing and listening with greedy eyes and ears. "hi! okiok," exclaimed the sailor heartily, as he rose and held out his hand, which his former host shook heartily, to the great surprise and delight of the crowd; "have you joined the gluttons, that you take so long to your morning feed? or have you slept longer than usual, to make you a better match for the young men?" "no; i was in dreamland," answered the eskimo, with profound gravity, which his countrymen knew quite well was pretended; "and i met a torngak there, who told me that the kablunet needed much sleep as well as food, and must not be roused by me, although other fools might disturb him." "how kind of the torngak!" returned rooney. "but he was not polite, for if he spoke to you of `other' fools, he must have thought of you as _one_ fool. was he your own torngak?" "no; i have no torngak. he was my grandmother's. and he told me that the kablunet was a great angekok, and would have a torngak of his own soon. moreover, he said the games must begin at once--so come along, ippegoo." as he spoke, okiok caught the slender youth in his powerful arms, laid him gently on his back, flung some snow in his face, and then ran away. ippegoo, entering at once into the spirit of the fun, arose and gave chase. excelling in speed as much as his opponent did in strength, the youth soon overtook him, managed to trip him up, and fell on the top of him. he was wildly cheered by the delighted crowd, and tried to punish okiok; but his efforts were not very successful, for that worthy put both his mittened hands over his head, and, curling himself up like a hedgehog, lay invulnerable on the ice. poor ippegoo had not strength either to uncoil, or lift, or even move his foe, and failed to find a crevice in his hairy dress into which he might stuff snow. after a few minutes okiok straightened himself out, jumped up, and scurried off again over the ice, in the direction of the berg of the green cave, followed by the entire village. it was on a level field of ice close to the berg referred to that the game of kick-ball was to be played. as rooney was not yet strong enough to engage in rough play, a pile of deerskins was placed on a point of the berg, slightly higher than the heads of the people, and he was requested to mount thereon. there, as on a throne, he presided over the games, and became the gazing-stock of the tribe during the intervals of play. but these intervals were not numerous or prolonged, for most of the players were powerful men and boys, so thoroughly inured, by the nature of their lives, to hardship and vigorous action in every possible position of body that their muscles were always in the condition of those of a well-trained athlete. even ippegoo, with all his natural defects of mind and body, was by no means contemptible as a player, in those games, especially, which required agility and powers of endurance. first they had a game of hand-ball. it was very simple. the players, who were not selected, but entered the lists at their own pleasure, divided themselves into two parties, which stood a little apart from each other. then an ordinary hand-ball was tossed into the air by okiok, who led one of the parties. simek, the mighty hunter, led the other. these men, although approaching middle age, were still at the height of their strength and activity, and therefore fitting leaders of the younger men in this as well as the more serious affairs of life. it seemed to rooney at first as if okiok and his band were bent on having all the fun to themselves, for they began to toss the ball to each other, without any regard to their opponents. but suddenly simek and some of his best men made a rush into the midst of the other party with shouts and amazing bounds. their object was to catch or wrest the ball from okiok's party, and throw it into the midst of their own friends, who would then begin to amuse themselves with it until their opponents succeeded in wresting it from them. of course this led to scenes of violent action and wild but good-humoured excitement. wrestling and grasping each other were forbidden in this game, but hustling, tripping up, pushing, and charging were allowed, so that the victory did not always incline either to the strong or the agile. and the difficulty of taking the ball from either party was much greater than one might suppose. for full half an hour they played with the utmost energy, insomuch that they had to pause for a few seconds to recover breath. then, with one accord, eyes were turned to the president, to see how he took it. delight filled every bosom, for they saw that he was powerfully sympathetic. indeed rooney had become so excited as well as interested in the game, that it was all he could do to restrain himself from leaping into the midst of the struggling mass and taking a part. he greeted the pause and the inquiring gaze with a true british cheer, which additionally charmed as well as surprised the natives. but their period of rest was brief. simek had the ball at the time. he suddenly sent it with a wild "huk! hoo-o-o!" whirling into the air. the kablunet was instantly forgotten. the ball came straight down towards a clumsy young man, who extended his hands, claw-like, to receive it. at that moment lppegoo launched himself like a thunderbolt into the small of the clumsy youth's back, and sent him sprawling on the snow amid shouts of laughter, while norrak leaped neatly in, and, catching the ball as it rebounded, sent it up again on the same side. as it went up straight and came down perpendicularly, there was a concentric rush from all sides. ujarak chanced to be the buffer who received the shock, and his big body was well able to sustain it. at the same moment he deftly caught the ball. "ho! his torngak helps him!" shouted okiok ironically. "so he does," cried the wizard, with a scoffing laugh, as he hurled the ball aloft; "why does not your torngak help _you_?" there was a loud titter at this, but the laugh was turned in favour of the other side when ermigit caught the ball, and sent it over to the okiok band, while their leader echoed the words, "so he does," and spun the ball from him with such force that it flew over all heads, and chanced to alight in the lap of red rooney. it could not have landed better, for that worthy returned it as a point-blank shot which took full effect on the unexpectant nose of ermigit. the spirited lad was equal to the occasion. although water rose unbidden to his eyes, he caught the ball, and with a shout of laughter flung it into the midst of his own side. thus the play went on fast and furious, until both sides were gasping. then with one consent they stopped for a more prolonged rest--for there was no winning or losing at this game. their only aim was to see which side could get hold of the ball oftenest and keep it longest until all were exhausted. but the fun did not cease although the game did, for another and quieter game of strength was instituted. the whole party drew closer round their president, and many of them mounted to points of vantage on the berg, on the sides of which groups of the women and children had already taken up positions. it may be remarked here that the snow-covered ice on which the game of ball had been played was like a sheet of white marble, but not so hard, for a heavy stamp with a heel could produce an indentation, though no mark was left by the ordinary pressure of a foot. the competitors in the game of strength, or rather, of endurance, were only two in number. one was okiok's eldest son, norrak, the other the clumsy young man to whom reference has been already made. the former, although the smaller and much the younger of the two, was remarkably strong for his age. these two engaged in a singular style of boxing, in which, strange to say, the combatants did not face each other, nor did they guard or jump about. stripped to the waist, like real heroes of the ring, they walked up to each other, and the clumsy youth turned his naked back to norrak, who doubled his fist, and gave him a sounding thump thereon. then norrak wheeled about and submitted to a blow, which was delivered with such good-will that he almost tumbled forward. again he turned about, and the clumsy one presented his back a second time; and thus they continued to pommel each other's backs until they began to pant vehemently. at last norrak hit his adversary such a whack on the right shoulder that he absolutely spun him round, and caused him to roll over on his back, amid the plaudits of the assembly. the clumsy one rose with a somewhat confused look, but was not allowed to continue the battle. there was no such thing as fighting it out "to the bitter end" among these hilarious eskimos. in fact, they were playing, not fighting. at this point simek approached rooney with a smiling countenance, and said-- "there is another game of strength which we sometimes play, and it is the custom to appoint a man to choose the players. will the kablunet act this part to-day?" of course our seaman was quite ready to comply. after a few moments' consideration, he looked round, with a spice of mischief in his heart, but a smile on his countenance, and said-- "what could be more agreeable than to see the striving of two such good friends as angut my host and ujarak the angekok?" there was a sudden silence and opening of eyes at this, for every one was well aware that a latent feeling of enmity existed between these two, and their personal strength and courage being equally well-known, no one up to that time had ventured to pit these two against each other. there was no help for it now, however. they were bound in honour, as well as by the laws of the community, to enter into conflict. indeed they showed no inclination to avoid the trial, for angut at once stepped quietly into the space in front of the president, and began to strip off his upper garments, while ujarak leaped forward with something of a bounce, and did the same. they were splendid specimens of physical manhood, both of them, for their well-trained muscles lay bulging on their limbs in a way that would have gladdened the sculptors of hercules to behold. but there was a vast difference in the aspect of the two men. both were about equal in height and breadth of shoulder, but angut was much the slimmer and more elegant about the waist, as well as considerably lighter than his adversary. it was in the bearing of angut, however, that the chief difference lay. there was a refinement of physiognomy and a grace of motion about him of which the other was utterly destitute; and it was plain that while the wizard was burning to come off victorious, the other was only willing, in a good-humoured way, to comply with the demands of custom. there was neither daring, defiance, contempt, nor fear in his countenance, which wore its wonted aspect of thoughtful serenity. after this description of the champions, we feel almost unwilling to disappoint the reader by saying that the game or trial was the reverse of martial or noble. sitting down on the hard snow, they linked their legs and arms together in a most indescribable manner, and strove to out-pull each other. there was, indeed, much more of the comic than the grand in this display, yet, as the struggle went on, a feeling of breathless interest arose, for it was not often that two such stalwart frames were seen in what appeared to be a mortal effort. the great muscles seemed to leap up from arm and thigh, as each made sudden and desperate efforts--right and left--sometimes pulling and sometimes pushing back, in order to throw each other off guard, while perspiration burst forth and stood in beads upon their foreheads. at last ujarak thrust his opponent back to the utmost extent of his long arms, and, with a sudden pull, raised him almost to his feet. there was a gasp of excitement, almost of regret, among the onlookers, for angut was a decided favourite. but the pull was not quite powerful enough. angut began to sink back to his old position. he seemed to feel that now or never was his chance. taking advantage of his descending weight, he added to it a wrench which seemed to sink his ten fingers into the flesh of ujarak's shoulders; a momentary check threw the latter off his guard, and next instant angut not only pulled him over, but hurled him over his own head, and rolled him like a porpoise on the snow! a mighty shout hailed the victory as the wizard arose and retired crestfallen from the scene, while the victor gravely resumed his coat and mingled with the crowd. ujarak chanced, in retiring, to pass close to okiok. although naturally amiable, that worthy, feeling certain that the wizard was playing a double part, and was actuated by sinister motives in some of his recent proceedings, could not resist the temptation to whisper-- "was your torngak asleep, that he failed to help you just now?" the whisper was overheard by some of the women near, who could not suppress a subdued laugh. the wizard, who was not at that moment in a condition to take a jest with equanimity, turned a fierce look upon okiok. "i challenge you," he said, "to a singing combat." "with all my heart," replied okiok; "when shall it be?" "to-morrow," said the wizard sternly. "to-morrow let it be," returned okiok, with the cool indifference of an arctic hunter, to the immense delight of the women and others who heard the challenge, and anticipated rare sport from the impending duel. chapter eleven. the hairy ones feast and are happy. lest the reader should anticipate, from the conclusion of the last chapter, that we are about to describe a scene of bloodshed and savagery, we may as well explain in passing that the custom of duelling, as practised among some tribes of the eskimos, is entirely intellectual, and well worthy of recommendation to those civilised nations which still cling fondly and foolishly to the rapier and pistol. if an eskimo of the region about which we write thinks himself aggrieved by another, he challenges him to a singing and dancing combat. the idea of taking their revenge, or "satisfying their honour," by risking their lives and proving their courage in mortal combat, does not seem to have occurred to them--probably because the act would be without significance among men whose whole existence is passed in the daily risk of life and limb and proof of courage. certainly the singing combat has this advantage, that intellect triumphs over mere brute force, and the physically weak may prove to be more than a match for the strong. but as this duel was postponed to the following day, for the very good reason that a hearty supper and night of social enjoyment had first to be disposed of, we will turn again to the players on the ice-floe. "come, angut," said rooney, descending from his throne or presidential chair, and taking the arm of his host; "i'm getting cold sitting up there. let us have a walk together, and explain to me the meaning of this challenge." they went off in the direction of the sea-green cave, while simek organised a game of kick-ball. "okiok tells me," continued rooney, "that there is to be no fighting or bloodshed in the matter. how is that?" angut expounded, as we have already explained, and then asked-- "have they no singing combats in your land?" "well, not exactly; at least not for the purpose of settling quarrels." "how, then, are quarrels settled?" "by law, sometimes, and often by sword--you would call it spear--and pistol. a pistol is a thing that spouts fire and kills. nations occasionally settle their quarrels in the same way, and call it war." angut looked puzzled--as well he might! "when two men quarrel, can killing do any good?" he asked. "i fear not," answered the seaman, "for the mere gratification of revenge is not good. but they do not always kill. they sometimes only wound slightly, and then they say that honour is satisfied, and they become friends." "but--but," said the still puzzled eskimo, "a wound cannot prove which quarreller is right. is it the one who wounds that is thought right?" "no." "is it then the wounded one?" "o no. it is neither. the fact is, the proving of who is right and who is wrong has nothing to do with the matter. all they want is to prove that they are both very brave. often, when one is slightly wounded--no matter which--they say they are satisfied." "with what are they satisfied?" "that's more than i can tell, angut. but it is only a class of men called _gentlemen_ who settle their quarrels thus. common fellows like me are supposed to have no honour worth fighting about!" the eskimo looked at his companion, supposing that he might be jesting, but seeing that he was quite grave and earnest, he rejoined in an undertone-- "then my thoughts have been wrong." "in what respect, angut?" "it has often come into my mind that the greatest fools in the world were to be found among the innuit; but there must be greater fools in the lands you tell of." as he spoke the sound of child-voices arrested them, and one was heard to utter the name of nunaga. the two men paused to listen. they were close to the entrance to the ice-cave, which was on the side of the berg opposite to the spot where the games were being held, and the voices were recognised as those of pussi and tumbler. with the indomitable perseverance that was natural to him, the latter had made a second attempt to lead pussi to the cave, and had been successful. "what is he goin' to do?" asked pussi, in a voice of alarm. "goin' to run away vid sister nunaga," replied tumbler. "i heard ippegoo say dat to his mudder. ujarak is goin' to take her away, an' nebber, nebber come back no more." there was silence after this, silence so dead and prolonged that the listeners began to wonder. it was suddenly broken. evidently the horrified pussi had been gathering up her utmost energies, for there burst from the sea-green depths of the cave a roar of dismay so stupendous that angut and our seaman ran hastily forward, under the impression that some accident had occurred; but the children were sitting there all safe--tumbler gazing in surprise at his companion, whose eyes were tight shut and her mouth wide-open. the truth is that pussi loved and was beloved by nunaga, and the boy's information had told upon her much more powerfully than he had expected. of course tumbler was closely questioned by angut, but beyond the scrap of information he had already given nothing more was to be gathered from him. the two friends were therefore obliged to rest content with the little they had learned, which was enough to put them on their guard. ere long the sinking of the sun put an end to the games, but not before the whole community had kick-balled themselves into a state of utter incapacity for anything but feeding. to this process they now devoted themselves heart and soul, by the light of the cooking-lamps, within the shelter of their huts. the feast was indeed a grand one. not only had they superabundance of the dishes which we have described in a previous chapter, but several others of a nature so savoury as to be almost overpowering to the poor man who was the honoured guest of the evening. but red rooney laid strong constraint on himself, and stood it bravely. there was something grandly picturesque and rembrandtish in the whole scene, for the smoke of the lamps, combined with the deep shadows of the rotund and hairy figures, formed a background out of which the animated oily faces shone with ruddy and glittering effect. at first, of course, little sound was heard save the working of their jaws; but as nature began to feel more than adequately supplied, soft sighs began to be interpolated and murmuring conversation intervened. then some of the more moderate began to dally with tit-bits, and the buzz of conversation swelled. at this point rooney took tumbler on his knee, and began to tempt him with savoury morsels. it is only just to the child, (who still wore his raven coat), to say that he yielded readily to persuasion. rooney also amused and somewhat scandalised his friends by insisting on old kannoa sitting beside him. "ho! ujarak," at last shouted the jovial simek, who was one of those genial, uproarious, loud-laughing spirits, that can keep the fun of a social assembly going by the mere force and enthusiasm of his animal spirits; "come, tell us about that wonderful bear you had such a fight with last moon, you remember?" "remember!" exclaimed the wizard, with a pleased look, for there was nothing he liked better than to be called on to relate his adventures-- and it must be added that there was nothing he found easier, for, when his genuine adventures were not sufficiently telling, he could without difficulty expand, exaggerate, modify, or even invent, so as to fit them for the ears of a fastidious company. "remember!" he repeated in a loud voice, which attracted all eyes, and produced a sudden silence; "of course i remember. the difficulty with me is to forget--and i would that i could forget--for the adventure was ho-r-r-r-ible!" a low murmur of curiosity, hope, and joyful expectation, amounting to what we might style applause, broke from the company as the wizard dwelt on the last word. you see, eskimos love excitement fully as much as other people, and as they have no spirituous drinks wherewith to render their festivities unnaturally hilarious, they are obliged to have recourse to exciting tales, comic songs, games, and other reasonable modes of creating that rapid flow of blood, which is sometimes styled the "feast of reason and the flow of soul." simek's soul flowed chiefly from his eyes and from his smiling lips in the form of hearty laughter and encouragement to others--for in truth he was an unselfish man, preferring rather to draw out his friends than to be drawn out by them. "tell us all about it, then, ujarak," he cried. "come, we are ready. our ears are open--yes; they are very _wide_ open!" there was a slight titter at this sly reference to the magnitude of the lies that would have to be taken in, but ujarak's vanity rendered him invulnerable to such light shafts. after glaring round with impressive solemnity, so as to deepen the silence and intensify the expectation, he began:-- "it was about the time when the ravens lay their eggs and the small birds appear. my torngak had told me to go out on the ice, far over the sea in a certain direction where i should find a great berg with many white peaks mounting up to the very sky. there, he said, i should find what i was to do. it was blowing hard at the time; also snowing and freezing. i did not wish to go, but an angekok _must_ go forward and fear nothing when his torngak points the way. therefore i went." "took no food? no sleigh? no dogs?" asked okiok in surprise. "no. when it is a man's duty to obey, he must not think of small things. it is the business of a wise man to do or to die." there was such an air of stern grandeur about ujarak as he gave utterance to this high-flown sentiment, that a murmur of approval burst from his believers, who formed decidedly the greater part of the revellers, and okiok hid his diminished head in the breast of his coat to conceal his laughter. "i had no food with me--only my walrus spear and line," continued the wizard. "many times i was swept off my feet by the violence of the gale, and once i was carried with such force towards a mass of upheaved ice that i expected to be dashed against it and killed, but just as this was about to happen the--" "torngak helped--eh?" interrupted okiok, with a simple look. "no; torngaks never help while we are above ground. they only advise, and leave it to the angekok's wisdom and courage to do the rest," retorted the wizard, who, although roused to wrath by these interruptions of okiok, felt that his character would be damaged if he allowed the slightest appearance of it to escape him. "when, as i said, i was about to be hurled against the berg of ice, the wind seemed to bear me up. no doubt it was a long hollow at the foot of the ice that sent the wind upwards, but my mind was quick. instead of resisting the impulse, i made a bound, and went up into the air and over the berg. it was a very low one," added the wizard, as a reply to some exclamations of extreme surprise--not unmingled with doubt--from some of his audience. "after that," continued ujarak, "the air cleared a little, and i could see a short way around me, as i scudded on. small bergs were on every side of me. there were many white foxes crouching in the lee of these for shelter. among them i noticed some white bears. becoming tired of thus scudding before the wind, i made a dash to one side, to get under the shelter of a small berg and take rest. through the driving snow i could see the figure of a man crouching there before me. i ran to him, and grasped his coat to check my speed. he stood up--oh, _so_ high! it was not a man," (the wizard deepened his voice, and slowed here)--"it-- was--a--white--bear!" huks and groans burst at this point from the audience, who were covered with the perspiration of anxiety, which would have been cold if the place had not been so warm. "i turned and ran," continued the angekok; "the bear followed. we came to a small hummock of ice. i doubled round it. the bear went past-- like one of arbalik's arrows--sitting on its haunches, and trying to stop itself in vain, for the wind carried it on like an oomiak with the sail spread. when the bear stopped, it turned back, and soon came up with me, for i had doubled, and was by that time running nearly against the wind. then my courage rose! i resolved to face the monster with my walrus spear. it was a desperate venture, but it was my duty. just then the snow partly ceased, and i could see a berg with sloping sides. `perhaps i may find a point of vantage there that i have not on the flat ice,' i thought, and away i ran for the sloping berg. it was rugged and broken. among its masses i managed to dodge the bear till i got to the top. here i resolved to stand and meet my foe, but as i stood i saw that the other side of the berg had been partly melted by the sun. it was a clear steep slope from the top to the bottom. the bear was scrambling up, foaming in its fury, with its eyes glaring like living lamps, and its red mouth a-gape. another thought came to me--i have been quick of thought from my birth! just as the bear was rising to the attack, i sat down on the slope, and flew rather than slid to the bottom. it was an awful plunge! i almost shut my eyes in horror--but-- but--kept them open. at the bottom there was a curve like a frozen wave. i left the top of this curve and finished the descent in the air. the crash at the end was awful, but i survived it. there was no time for thought. i looked back. the bear, as i expected, had watched me in amazement, and was preparing to follow--for bears, you know, fear nothing. it sat down at the top of the slope, and stuck its claws well into the ice in front of it. i ran back to the foot of the slope to meet it. its claws lost hold, and it came down thundering, like a huge round stone from a mountain side. i stood, and, measuring exactly its line of descent, stuck the butt of my spear into the ice with the point sloping upwards. then i retired to see the end, for i did not dare to stand near to it. it happened as i had wished: the bear came straight on my spear. the point went in at the breast-bone, and came out at the small of the back; but the bear was not checked. it went on, taking the spear along with it, and sending out streams of blood like the spouts of a dying whale. when at last it ceased to roll, it lay stretched out upon the ice--dead!" the wizard paused, and looked round. there was a deep-drawn sigh, as if the audience had been relieved from a severe strain of attention. and so they had; and the wizard accepted that involuntary sigh as an evidence of the success of his effort to amuse. "how big was that bear?" asked ippegoo, gazing on his master with a look of envious admiration. "how big?" repeated ujarak; "oh, as big--far bigger than--than--the-- biggest bear i have ever seen." "oh, then it was an _invisible_ bear, was it?" asked okiok in surprise. "how? what do you mean?" demanded the wizard, with an air of what was meant for grave contempt. "if it was bigger than the _biggest_ bear you have ever seen," replied okiok, with a stupid look; "then you could not have seen _it_, because, you know, it could not well be bigger than itself." "huk! that's true," exclaimed one, while others laughed heartily, for eskimos dearly love a little banter. "boh! ba! boo!" exclaimed simek, after a sudden guffaw; "that's not equal to what _i_ did to the walrus. did i ever tell it you, friends?-- but never mind whether i did or not. i'll tell it to our guest the kablunet now." the jovial hunter was moved to this voluntary and abrupt offer of a story by his desire to prevent anything like angry feeling arising between okiok and the wizard. of course the company, as well as rooney, greeted the proposal with pleasure, for although simek did not often tell of his own exploits, and made no pretension to be a graphic story-teller, they all knew that whatever he undertook he did passably well, while his irrepressible good-humour and hilarity threw a sort of halo round all that he said. "well, my friends, it was a terrible business!" simek paused, and looked round on the company with a solemn stare, which produced a smothered laugh--in some cases a little shriek of delight-- for every one, except the wizard himself, recognised in the look and manner an imitation of ujarak. "a dreadful business," continued simek; "but i got over it, as you shall hear. i too have a torngak. you need not laugh, my friends. it is true. he is only a little one, however--about so high, (holding up his thumb), and he never visits me except at night. one night he came to me, as i was lying on my back, gazing through a hole in the roof at our departed friends dancing in the sky. [see note.] he sat down on the bridge of my nose, and looked at me. i looked at _him_. then he changed his position, sat down on my chin, and looked at me over my nose. then he spoke. "`do you know white-bear bay?' he asked. "`know it?' said i--`do i know my own mother?' "`what answer is that?' he said in surprise. "then i remembered that torngaks--especially little ones--don't understand jokes, nothing but simple speech; so i laughed. "`don't laugh,' he said, `your breath is strong.' and that was true; besides, i had a bad cold at the time, so i advised him to get off my chin, for if i happened to cough he might fall in and be swallowed before i could prevent it. "`tell me,' said he, with a frown, `do you know white-bear bay?' "`yes!' said i, in a shout that made him stagger. "`go there,' said he, `and you shall see a great walrus, as big as one of the boats of the women. kill it.' "the cold getting bad at that moment, i gave a tremendous sneeze, which blew my torngak away--" a shriek of delight, especially from the children, interrupted simek at this point. little tumbler, who still sat on rooney's knee, was the last to recover gravity, and little pussi, who still nestled beside nunaga, nearly rolled on the floor from sympathy. before the story could be resumed, one of the women announced that a favourite dish which had been for some time preparing was ready. the desire for that dish proving stronger than the desire for the story, the company, including simek, set to work on it with as much gusto as if they had eaten nothing for hours past! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note. such is the eskimo notion of the aurora borealis. chapter twelve. combines story-telling (in both senses) with fasting, fun, and more serious matters. the favourite dish having been disposed of, simek continued his story. "well," said he, "after my little torngak had been blown away, i waited a short time, hoping that he would come back, but he did not; so i got up, took a spear in my hand, and went off to white-bear bay, determined to see if the little spirit had spoken the truth. sure enough, when i got to the bay, there was the walrus sitting beside its hole, and looking about in all directions as if it were expecting me. it was a giant walrus," said simek, lowering his remarkably deep voice to a sort of thunderous grumble that filled the hearts of his auditors with awe in spite of themselves, "a--most--awful walrus! it was bigger,"--here he looked pointedly at okiok--"than--than the very _biggest_ walrus i have ever seen! i have not much courage, friends, but i went forward, and threw my spear at it." (the listeners gasped.) "it missed!" (they groaned.) "then i turned, and, being filled with fear, i ran. did you ever see me run?" "yes, yes," from the eager company. "no, my friends, you never saw me run! anything you ever saw me do was mere walking--creeping--standing still, compared with what i did then on that occasion. you know i run fast?" ("yes, yes.") "but that big walrus ran faster. it overtook me; it overturned me; it _swallowed_ me!" here simek paused, as if to observe how many of them swallowed that. and, after all, the appeal to their credulity was not as much overstrained as the civilised reader may fancy, for in their superstitious beliefs eskimos held that there was one point in the training of a superior class of angekoks which necessitated the swallowing of the neophyte by a bear and his returning to his friends alive and well after the operation! besides, simek had such an honest, truthful expression of countenance and tone of voice, that he could almost make people believe anything he chose to assert. some there were among his hearers who understood the man well, and guessed what was coming; others there were who, having begun by thinking him in jest, now grew serious, under the impression that he was in earnest; but by far the greater number believed every word he said. all, however, remained in expectant silence while he gravely went on:-- "my friends, you will not doubt me when i say that it was very hot inside of that walrus. i stripped myself, but was still too hot. then i sat down on one of his ribs to think. suddenly it occurred to me to draw my knife and cut myself out. to my dismay, i found that my knife had been lost in the struggle when i was swallowed. i was in despair, for you all know, my friends, how impossible it is to cut up a walrus, either from out or inside, without a knife. in my agony i seized the monster's heart, and tried to tear it; but it was too hard-hearted for that. the effort only made the creature tremble and jump, which i found inconvenient. i also knew from the curious muffled sound outside that it was roaring. i sat down again on a rib to consider. if i had been a real angekok, my torngak no doubt would have helped me at that time--but he did not." "how could you have a torngak at all if you are not a _real_ angekok?" demanded the wizard, in a tone that savoured of contempt. "you shall hear. patience!" returned simek quietly, and then went on:-- "i had not sat long when i knew by the motions of the beast that he was travelling over the ice--no doubt making for his water-hole. `if he gets into the sea,' i thought, `it will be the end of me.' i knew, of course, that he could not breathe under water, and that he could hold his breath so long that before he came up again for fresh air i should be suffocated. my feelings became dreadful. i hope, my friends, that you will never be in a situation like it. in my despair i rushed about from the head to the tail. i must have hurt him dreadfully in doing so--at least i thought so, from the way he jumped about. once or twice i was tossed from side to side as if he was rolling over. you know i am a man of tender heart. my wife says that, so it must be true; but my heart was hardened by that time; i cared not. i cared for nothing! "suddenly i saw a small sinew, in the form of a loop, close to the creature's tail. as a last hope, without knowing why, i seized it and tugged. the tail, to my surprise, came slightly inwards. i tugged again. it came further in. a new thought came to me suddenly. this was curious, for, you know, that never since i was a little child have my thoughts been quick, and very seldom new. but somehow the thought came--without the aid of my torngak too! i tugged away at that tail with all my might. it came further and further in each tug. at last i got it in as far as the stomach. i was perspiring all over. suddenly i felt a terrific heave. i guessed what that was. the walrus was sick, and was trying to vomit his own tail! it was awful! each heave brought me nearer to the mouth. but now the difficulty of moving the mass that i had managed to get inside had become so great that i felt the thing to be quite beyond my power, and that i must leave the rest to nature. still, however, i continued the tugging, in order to keep up the sickness--also to keep me employed, for whenever i paused to recover breath i was forced to resume work to prevent my fainting away altogether, being so terrified at the mere thought of my situation. to be inside a walrus is bad enough, but to be inside of a sick walrus!--my friends, i cannot describe it. "suddenly there was a heave that almost rent the ribs of the creature apart. like an arrow from a bow, i was shot out upon the ice, and with a clap like thunder that walrus turned inside out! and then," said simek, with glaring solemnity, "i awoke--for it was all a dream!" there was a gasp and cheer of delight at this, mingled with prolonged laughter, for now the most obtuse even among the children understood that simek had been indulging in a tale of the imagination, while those whose wits were sharper saw and enjoyed the sly hits which had been launched at ujarak throughout. indeed the wizard himself condescended to smile at the conclusion, for the tale being a dream, removed from it the only objectionable part in his estimation, namely, that any torngak, great or small, would condescend to have intercourse with one who was not an angekok. "now," cried okiok, starting up, "bring more meat; we are hungry again." "huk! huk!" exclaimed the assenting company. "and when we are stuffed," continued okiok, "we will be glad to hear what the kablunet has to tell about his own land." the approval of this suggestion was so decided and hearty, that red rooney felt it to be his duty to gratify his hospitable friends to the utmost of his power. accordingly he prepared himself while they were engaged with the second edition of supper. the task, however, proved to be surrounded with difficulties much greater than he had expected. deeming it not only wise, but polite, to begin with something complimentary, he said:-- "my friends, the innuits are a great people. they work hard; they are strong and brave, and have powerful wills." as these were facts which every one admitted, and rooney uttered them with considerable emphasis and animation; the statement of them was received with nods, and huks, and other marks of approval. "the innuits are also hospitable," he continued. "a kablunet came to them starving, dying. the great spirit who made us all, and without whose permission nothing at all can happen, sent okiok to help him. okiok is kind; so is his wife; also his daughter. they took the poor kablunet to their house. they fed--they stuffed--him. now he is getting strong, and will soon be able to join in kick-ball, and pull-over, and he may perhaps, before long, teach your great angekok ujarak some things that he does not yet know!" as this was said with a motion in one eye which strongly resembled a wink, the audience burst into mingled applause and laughter. to some, the idea of their wise man being taught anything by a poor benighted kablunet was ridiculous. to others, the hope of seeing the wizard's pride humbled was what is slangily termed "nuts." ujarak himself took the remark in good part, in consequence of the word "great" having been prefixed to his title. "but," continued the seaman, with much earnestness, "having said that i am grateful, i will not say more about the innuit just now. i will only tell you, in few words, some things about my own country which will interest you. i have been asked if we have big villages. yes, my friends, we have very big villages--so big that i fear you will find it difficult to understand what i say." "the innuit have big understandings," said simek, with a bland smile, describing a great circle with his outspread arms; "do not fear to try them." "well, one village we have," resumed rooney, "is as broad as from here to the house of okiok under the great cliff, and it is equally long." the "huks" and "hois!" with which this was received proved that, big as their understandings were, the eskimos were not prepared to take in so vast an idea. "moreover," said the seaman, "because there is not enough of space, the houses are built on the top of each other--one--two--three--four--even five and six--one standing on the other." as each number was named, the eyes of the assembly opened wider with surprise, until they could open no further. "men, women, and children live in these houses; and if you were to spread them all over the ice here, away as far as you can see in every direction, you would not be able to see the ice at all for the houses." "_what_ a liar!" murmured the mother of arbalik to the mother of ippegoo. "dreadful!" responded the latter. "moreover," continued rooney, "these people can put their words and thoughts down on a substance called paper and send them to each other, so that men and women who may be hundreds of miles away can talk with each other and understand what they say and think, though they cannot hear or see each other, and though their words and thoughts take days and moons to travel." the breathless eskimos glanced at each other, and tried to open their eyes wider, but, having already reached the utmost limit, they failed. unfortunately at that moment our hero was so tickled by the appearance of the faces around him, that he smiled. in a moment the eyes collapsed and the mouths opened. "ha! ha-a-a!" roared simek, rubbing his hands; "the kablunet is trying to beat my walrus." "and he has succeeded," cried angut, who felt it his duty to stand up for the credit of his guest, though he greatly wished that he had on this occasion confined himself to sober truth. a beaming expression forthwith took the place of surprise on every face, as it suddenly dawned upon the company that ridroonee was to be classed with the funny dogs whose chief delight it is to recount fairy tales and other exaggerated stories, with a view to make the men shout, the women laugh, and the children squeak with amusement. "go on," they cried; "tell us more." rooney at once perceived his mistake, and the misfortune that had befallen him. his character for veracity was shaken. he felt that it would be better to say no more, to leave what he had said to be regarded as a fairy tale, and to confine himself entirely to simple matters, such as an eskimo might credit. he looked at his friend angut. angut returned the look with profound gravity, almost sorrow. evidently his faith in the kablunet was severely shaken. "i'll try them once more," thought rooney. "it won't do to have a vast range of subjects tabooed just because they won't believe. come, i'll try again." putting on a look of intense earnestness, which was meant to carry irresistible conviction, he continued-- "we have kayaks--oomiaks--in my country, which are big enough to carry three or four times as many people as you have in this village." another roar of laughter greeted this statement. "isn't he a good liar?" whispered arbalik's mother. "and so grave about it too," replied kunelik. red rooney stopped. the mother of ippegoo, fearing he had divined her thoughts, was overwhelmed, and tried to hide her blushing face behind issek. "they don't believe me," said the seaman in a low voice to okiok. "of course they don't. you might as well tell us that the world is round, when we _see_ that it is flat!" rooney sighed. he felt depressed. the impossibility of his ever getting these people to understand or believe many things was forced upon him. the undisguised assurance that they looked upon him as the best liar they had ever met with was unsatisfactory. "besides all this, my friends," he cried, with a feeling and air of reckless gaiety, "we have grand feasts, just as you have, and games too, and dances, and songs--" "songs!" shouted simek, with an excited look; "have you songs? can you sing?" "well, after a fashion i can," returned rooney, with a modest look, "though i don't pretend to be much of a dab at it. are you fond o' singin'?" "fond!" echoed simek, with a gaze of enthusiasm, "i love it! i love it _nearly_ as much as i love pussimek; better, far, than i love blubber! ho! sing to us, ridroonee." "with all my heart," said rooney, starting off with all his lung-power, which was by no means slight. "rule britannia," rendered in good time, with tremendous energy, and all the additional flourishes possible, nearly drove the audience wild with delight. they had never heard anything like it before. "that beats _you_, okiok," said simek. "that is true," replied okiok humbly. "what! does _he_ sing?" asked rooney. "yes; he is our maker of songs, and sings a little." "then he must sing to me," cried the sailor. "in my land the man who sings last has the right to say who shall sing next. i demand a song from okiok." as the company approved highly of the demand, and okiok was quite willing, there was neither difficulty nor delay. the good-natured man began at once, with an air of humorous modesty, if we may say so. eskimos, as a rule, are not highly poetical in their sentiments, and their versification has not usually the grace of rhyme to render it agreeable, but okiok was an exception to the rule, in that he could compose verses in rhyme, and was much esteemed because of this power. in a tuneful and moderate voice he sang. of course, being rendered into english, his song necessarily loses much of its humour, but that, as every linguist knows, is unavoidable. it was red rooney who translated it, which will account for the slightly hibernian tone throughout. i fear also that rooney must have translated rather freely, but of course at this late period of the world's history it is impossible to ascertain anything certain on the point. we therefore give the song for what it is worth. okiok's song. i. a seal once rowled upon the sea beneath the shining sun, said i, "my friend, this very day your rowlin' days are done." "no, no," said he, "that must not be," (and splashed the snowy foam), "beneath the wave there wait for me a wife and six at home." ii. "a lie!" said i, "so you shall die!" i launched my whistling spear; right up his nose the weapon goes, and out behind his ear. he looked reproachful; then he sank; my heart was very sore, for down, and down, and down he went. i never saw him more. iii. then straight from out the sea arose a female seal and six; "o kill us now, and let our blood with that of father's mix. we cannot hunt; we dare not beg; to steal we will not try; there's nothing now that we can do but blubber, burst, and die." iv. they seized my kayak by the point, they pulled me o'er the sea, they led me to an island lone, and thus they spoke to me: "bad man, are there not bachelors both old and young to spare, whom you might kill, and eat your fill, for all the world would care?" v. "why stain your weapon with the blood of one whose very life was spent in trying to provide for little ones and wife?" they paused and wept, and raised a howl. (the youngest only squealed). it stirred the marrow in my bones, my very conscience reeled. vi. i fell at once upon my knees, i begged them to forgive; i said i'd stay and fish for them as long as i should live. "and marry me," the widow cried; "i'd rather not," said i "but that's a point we'd better leave to talk of by and by." vii. i dwelt upon that island lone for many a wretched year, serving that mother seal and six with kayak, line, and spear. and strange to say, the little ones no bigger ever grew; but, strangest sight of all, they changed from grey to brilliant blue. vii. "o set me free! o set me free!" i cried in my despair, for by enchantments unexplained they held and kept me there. "i will. but promise first," she said, "you'll never more transfix the father of a family, with little children six." ix. "i promise!" scarce the words had fled, when, far upon the sea, careering gaily homeward went my good kayak and me. a mist rolled off my wond'ring eyes, i heard my nuna scream-- like simek with his walrus big, i'd only had a dream! the reception that this peculiar song met with was compound, though enthusiastic. as we have said, okiok was an original genius among his people, who had never before heard the jingle of rhymes until he invented and introduced them. besides being struck by the novelty of his verses, which greatly charmed them, they seemed to be much impressed with the wickedness of killing the father of a family; and some of the eskimo widows then present experienced, probably for the first time in their lives, a touch of sympathy with widowed seals who happened to have large families to provide for. but there was one member of the company whose thoughts and feelings were very differently affected by the song of this national poet--this eskimo burns or byron--namely the wizard ujarak. in a moment of reckless anger he had challenged okiok to combat, and, knowing that they would be called on to enter the arena and measure, not swords, but intellects, on the morrow, he felt ill at ease, for he could not hope to come off victorious. if it had been the ordinary battle of wits in blank verse, he might have had some chance he thought, but with this new and telling jingle at the end of alternate lines, he knew that he must of a surety fail. this was extremely galling, because, by the union of smartness, shrewd common sense, and at times judicious silence, he had managed up to that time to maintain his supremacy among his fellows. but on this unlucky day he had been physically overcome by his rival angut, and now there was the prospect of being intellectually beaten by okiok. "strange!" thought the wizard; "i wonder if it was my intention to run away with nunaga that brought this disgrace upon me." "it was," said a voice very close to him. the wizard looked round quickly, but no one seemed to be thinking of him. it was the voice of conscience. ujarak felt uneasy, and stifled it at once. everybody can do that without much difficulty, as the reader knows, though nobody has ever yet succeeded in killing conscience outright. he then set himself to devise some plan for escaping from this duel. his imagination was fertile. while the revellers continued to amuse themselves with food, and song, and story, the wizard took to thinking. no one thought his conduct strange, or sought to disturb him, for angekoks belong to a privileged class. but think as hard and as profoundly as he could, no way of escape presented itself until the evening was far advanced, and then, without an appreciable effort of thought, a door seemed to fly open, and that door was--ippegoo. "yes," thought the wizard; "that will do. nothing could be better. i'll make him an angekok." it may be needful to explain here that the creation of an angekok is a serious matter. it involves much ceremonial action on the part of him who operates, and preparation on the part of him who is operated on. moreover, it is an important matter. when once it has been decided on, nothing can be allowed to interfere with it. all other things--save the unavoidable and urgent--must give way before it. he would announce it that very night. he would boldly omit some of the preliminary ceremonial. the morrow would be a day of preparation. next day would be the day of the ceremony of induction. after that it would be necessary for him to accompany the new-made wizard on his first journey to the realm of spirits. thus the singing duel would have to be delayed. ultimately he would manage to carry off nunaga to the land of the southern eskimo; thus he would be able to escape the ordeal altogether, and to laugh at okiok and his jingling rhymes. when he stood up and made the announcement, declaring that his torngak had told him that another angekok must be created, though who that other one was had not yet been revealed to him, there was a slight feeling of disappointment, for eskimos dearly love a musical combat; but when he pointed out that after the ceremonies were over, the singing duel might then come off, the people became reconciled to the delay. being by that time exhausted in body and mind, they soon after retired to rest. ere long oblivion brooded over the late hilarious crew, who lay down like bundles of hair in their festal garments, and the northern lights threw a flickering radiance over a scene of profound quietude and peace. chapter thirteen. mischief hatching. at early dawn next morning ippegoo was awakened from a most refreshing slumber by a gentle shake of the shoulder. "oh! not yet, mother," groaned the youth in the drowsiest of accents; "i've only just begun to sleep." he turned slowly on the other side, and tried to continue his repose, but another shake disturbed him, and a deep voice said, "awake; arise, sleepy one." "mother," he murmured, still half asleep, "you have got the throat s-sickness v-v-very bad," (referring to what we would style a cold). a grim smile played for a moment on the visage of the wizard, as he gave the youth a most unmotherly shake, and said, "yes, my son, i am very sick, and want you to cure me." ippegoo was wide awake in a moment. rising with a somewhat abashed look, he followed his evil genius out of the hut, where, in another compartment, his mother lay, open-mouthed, singing a song of welcome to the dawning day through her nose. ujarak led the youth to the berg with the sea-green cave. stopping at the entrance, he turned a stern look on his pupil, and pointing to the cavern, uttered the single word--"follow." as ippegoo gazed into the sea-green depths of the place--which darkened into absolute blackness, with ghostly projections from the sides, and dim icicles pendent from the invisible roof, he felt a suspicion that the cave might be the vestibule to that dread world of the departed which he had often heard his master describe. "you're not going far, i hope," he said anxiously; "remember i am not yet an angekok." "true; but you are yet a fool," returned the wizard contemptuously. "do you suppose i would lead you to certain death for no good end? no; but i will make you an angekok to-night, and after that we may explore the wonders of the spirit-world together. i have brought you here to speak about that, for the ears of some people are very quick. we shall be safe here. you have been long enough a fool. the time has arrived when you must join the ranks of the wise men. come." again he pointed to the cave, and led the way into its dim sea-green interior. some men seek eagerly after honours which they cannot win; others have honours which they do not desire thrust upon them. ippegoo was of the latter class. he followed humbly, and rather closely, for the bare idea of being alone in such a place terrified him. although pronounced a fool, the poor fellow was wise enough to perceive that he was utterly unfitted, physically as well as mentally, for the high honour to which ujarak destined him; but he was so thoroughly under the power of his influence that he felt resistance or refusal to be impossible. he advanced, therefore, with a heavy heart. everything around was fitted to chill his ambition, even if he had possessed any, and to arouse the terrors of his weak and superstitious mind. when they had walked over the icy floor of the cave until the entrance behind them seemed no larger than a bright star, the wizard stopped abruptly. ippegoo stumbled up against him with a gasp of alarm. the light was so feeble that surrounding objects were barely visible. great blocks and spires and angular fragments of ice projected into observation out of profound obscurity. overhead mighty and grotesque forms, attached to the invisible roof, seemed like creatures floating in the air, to which an imagination much less active than that of ippegoo might easily have given grinning mouths and glaring eyes; and the atmosphere of the place was so intensely cold that even eskimo garments could not prevent a shudder. the wizard turned on his victim a solemn gaze. as he stood facing the entrance of the cavern, there was just light enough to render his teeth and the whites of his eyes visible, though the rest of his features were shadowy. "ippegoo," he said in a low voice, "the time has come--" at that moment a tremendous crash drowned his voice, and seemed to rend the cavern in twain. the reverberating echoes had not ceased when a clap as of the loudest thunder seemed to burst their ears. it was followed for a few seconds by a pattering shower, as of giant hail, and ippegoo's very marrow quailed. it was only a crack in the berg, followed by the dislodgement of a great mass, which fell from the roof to the floor below--fortunately at some distance from the spot on which the eskimos stood. "bergs sometimes rend and fall asunder," gasped the trembling youth. ujarak's voice was unwontedly solemn as he replied-- "not in the spring-time, foolish one. fear not, but listen. to-night you must be prepared to go through the customs that will admit you to the ranks of the wise men." "don't you think," interposed the youth, with a shiver, "that it would be better to try it on some one else--on angut, or okiok, or even norrak? norrak is a fine boy, well-grown and strong, as well as clever, and i am such a fool, you know." "you have said truth, ippegoo. but all that will be changed to-morrow. once an angekok, your foolishness will depart, and wisdom will come." the poor youth was much cheered by this, because, although he felt utterly unfit for the grave and responsible character, he had enough of faith in his teacher to believe that the needed change would take place,--and change, he was well aware, could achieve wonders. did he not see it when the change from summer to winter drove nearly all the birds away, converted the liquid sea into a solid plain, and turned the bright day into dismal night? and did he not feel it when the returning summer changed all that again, sent the sparkling waves for his light kayak to dance upon, and the glorious sunshine to call back the feathered tribes, to open the lovely flowers, to melt the hard ice, and gladden all the land? yes, he knew well what "change" meant, though it never occurred to him to connect all this with a creator who changes not. in this respect he resembled his master. "besides," continued the wizard in a more confidential tone, which invariably had the effect of drawing the poor youth's heart towards him, "i cannot make whom i will an angekok. it is my torngak who settles that; i have only to obey. now, what i want you to do is to become very solemn in your manner and speech from this moment till the deed is finished. will you remember?" ippegoo hesitated a moment. he felt just then so unusually solemn that he had difficulty in conceiving it possible to become more so, but remembering the change that was about to take place, he said brightly, "yes, i'll remember." "you see," continued his instructor, "we must get people to suppose that you are troubled by a spirit of some sort--" "oh! only to suppose it," cried ippegoo hopefully. "then i'm not _really_ to be troubled with a spirit?" "of course you are, foolish man. but don't you understand people must see that you are, else how are they to know it?" ippegoo thought that if he was really to be troubled in that way, the only difficulty would be to prevent people from knowing it, but observing that his master was getting angry, he wisely held his tongue, and listened with earnest attention while ujarak related the details of the ordeal through which he was about to pass. at the time this conversation was being held in the sea-green cave, okiok, rising from his lair with a prodigious yawn, said to his wife-- "nuna, i go to see kunelik." "and what may ye-a-o-u---my husband want with the mother of ippegoo?" asked nuna sleepily, but without moving. "i want to ye-a-o-u---ask about her son." "ye-a-a-o-o-u!" exclaimed nuna, turning on her other side; "go, then," and she collapsed. seeing that his wife was unfit just then to enter into conversation, okiok got up, accomplished what little toilet he deemed necessary in half a minute, and took his way to the hut of ippegoo's mother. it is not usual in eskimo land to indulge in ceremonious salutation. okiok was naturally a straightforward and brusque man. it will not therefore surprise any one to be told that he began his interview with-- "kunelik, your son ippegoo is a lanky fool!" "he is," assented kunelik, with quiet good-humour. "he has given himself," continued okiok, "spirit and body, to that villain ujarak." "he has," assented kunelik again. "where is he now?" "i do not know." "but me knows," said a small sweet little child-voice from the midst of a bundle of furs. it was the voice of pussi. that eskimo atom had been so overcome with sleep at the breaking up of the festivities of the previous night that she was unable to distinguish between those whom she loved and those for whom she cared not. in these circumstances, she had seized the first motherly tail that came within her reach, and followed it home. it chanced to belong to kunelik, so she dropped down and slept beside her. "_you_ know, my dear little seal?" said okiok in surprise. "yes, me knows. when i was 'sleep, a big man comes an' stump on my toes--not much, only a leetle. dat wokes me, an' i see ujiyak. he shooks ip'goo an' bose hoed out degidder." okiok looked at kunelik, kunelik looked at okiok, and both gravely shook their heads. before they could resume the conversation, ippegoo's voice was heard outside asking if his mother was in. "go," said kunelik; "though he is a fool, he is wise enough to hold his tongue when any one but me is near." okiok took the hint, rose at once, and went out, passing the youth as he entered, and being much struck with the lugubrious solemnity of his visage. "mother," said ippegoo, sitting down on a skin beside the pleasant little woman, "it comes." "what comes, my son?" "i know not." "if you know not, how do you know that it comes?" asked kunelik, who was slightly alarmed by the wild manner and unusual, almost dreadful, gravity of her boy. "it is useless to ask me, mother. i do not understand. my mind cannot take it in, but--but--it comes." "yes; when is it coming?" asked kunelik, who knew well how to humour him. "how can i tell? i--i think it has come _now_," said the youth, growing paler, or rather greener; "i think i feel it in my breast. ujarak said the torngak would come to-day, and to-night i am to _be--changed_!" "oho!" exclaimed kunelik, with a slight touch of asperity, "it's a torngak that is to come, is it? and ujarak says so? don't you know, ippe, that ujarak is an idiot!" "mother!" exclaimed the youth remonstratively, "ujarak an idiot? impossible! he is to make me an angekok to-night." "you, ippe! you are not more fit for an angekok than i am for a seal-hunter." "yes, true; but i am to _be--changed_!" returned the youth, with a bright look; then remembering that his _role_ was solemnity, he dropped the corners of his mouth, elongated his visage, turned up his eyes, and groaned. "have you the stomach twist, my boy?" asked his mother tenderly. "no; but i suppose i--i--am changing." "no, you are not, ippe. i have seen many angekoks made. there will be no change till you have gone through the customs, so make your mind easy, and have something to eat." the youth, having had no breakfast, was ravenously hungry, and as the process of feeding would not necessarily interfere with solemnity, he agreed to the proposal with his accustomed look of satisfaction--which, however, he suddenly nipped in the bud. then, setting-to with an expression that might have indicated the woes of a lifetime, he made a hearty breakfast. thereafter he kept moving about the village all day in absolute silence, and with a profound gloom on his face, by which the risibility of some was tickled, while not a few were more or less awe-stricken. it soon began to be rumoured that ippegoo was the angekok-elect. in the afternoon ujarak returned from a visit, as he said, to the nether world, and with his brother wizards--for there were several in the tribe-- confirmed the rumour. as evening approached, rooney entered okiok's hut. no one was at home except nuna and tumbler. the latter was playing, as usual, with his little friend pussi. the goodwife was busy over the cooking-lamp. "where is your husband, nuna?" asked the sailor, sitting down on a walrus skull. "out after seals." "and nunaga?" "visiting the mother of arbalik." the seaman looked thoughtfully at the lamp-smoke for a few moments. "she is a hard woman, that mother of arbalik," he said. "issek is not so hard as she looks," returned mrs okiok; "her voice is rough, but her heart is soft." "i'm glad to hear you speak well of her," said rooney, "for i don't like to think ill of any one if i can help it; but sometimes i can't help it. now, there's your angekok ujarak: i cannot think well of him. have you a good word to say in his favour?" "no, not one. he is bad through and through--from the skin to the bone. i know him well," said nuna, with a flourish of her cooking-stick that almost overturned the lamp. "but you may be mistaken," remarked rooney, smiling. "you are mistaken even in the matter of his body, to say nothing of his spirit." "how so?" asked nuna quickly. "you said he is bad through and through. from skin to bone is not through and through. to be quite correct, you must go from skin to marrow." nuna acknowledged this by violently plunging her cooking-stick into the pot. "well now, nuna," continued rooney, in a confidential tone, "tell me--" at that moment he was interrupted by the entrance of the master of the mansion, who quietly sat down on another skull close to his friend. "i was just going to ask your wife, okiok, what she and you think of this business of making an angekok of poor ippegoo," said rooney. "we think it is like a seal with its tail where its head should be, its skin in its stomach, and all its bones outside; all nonsense-- foolishness," answered okiok, with more of indignation in his look and tone than he was wont to display. "then you don't believe in angekoks?" asked rooney. "no," replied the eskimo earnestly; "i don't. i think they are clever scoundrels--clever fools. and more, i don't believe in torngaks or any other spirits." "in that you are wrong," said rooney. "there is one great and good spirit, who made and rules the universe." "i'm not sure of that," returned the eskimo, with a somewhat dogged and perplexed look, that showed the subject was not quite new to him. "i never saw, or heard, or tasted, or smelt, or felt a spirit. how can i know anything about it?" "do you believe in your own spirit, okiok?" "yes, i must. i cannot help it. i am like other men. when a man dies there is something gone out of him. it must be his spirit." "then you believe in other men's spirits as well as your own spirit," said rooney, "though you have never seen, heard, tasted, smelt, or felt them?" for a moment the eskimo was puzzled. then suddenly his countenance brightened. "but i _have_ felt my own," he cried. "i have felt it moving within me, so that it made me _act_. my legs and arms and brain would not go into action if they were dead, if the spirit had gone out of them." "in the very same way," replied the seaman, "you may _feel_ the great spirit, for your own spirit could not go into action so as to cause your body to act unless a greater spirit had given it life. so also we may feel or understand the great spirit when we look at the growing flowers, and hear the moving winds, and behold the shining stars, and feel the beating of our own hearts. i'm not much of a wise man, an angekok-- which they would call _scholar_ in my country--but i know enough to believe that it is only `the fool who has said in his heart, there is no great spirit.'" "there is something in what you say," returned the eskimo, as the lines of unusually intense thought wrinkled his brow; "but for all that you say, i think there are no torngaks, and that ujarak is a liar as well as a fool." "i agree with you, okiok, because i think you have good reason for your disbelief. in the first place, it is well-known that ujarak is a liar, but that is not enough, for liar though he be, he _sometimes_ tells the truth. then, in the second place, he is an ass--hum! i forgot--you don't know what an ass is; well, it don't matter, for, in the third place, he never gave any proof to anybody of what he and his torngak are said to have seen and done, and, strongest reason of all, this familiar spirit of his acts unwisely--for what could be more foolish than to choose out of all the tribe a poor half-witted creature like ippegoo for the next angekok?" a gleaming glance of intelligent humour lighted up okiok's face as he said-- "ujarak is wiser than his torngak in that. he wants to make use of the poor lad for his own wicked ends. i know not what these are--but i have my suspicions." "so have i," broke in nuna at this point, giving her pot a rap with the cooking-stick by way of emphasis. rooney laughed. "you think he must be watched, and his mischief prevented?" he said. "that's what i think," said okiok firmly. "tell me, what are the ceremonies to be gone through by that poor unwilling ippegoo, before he can be changed into a wise man?" "oh, he has much to do," returned okiok, with his eyes on the lamp-flame and his head a little on one side, as if he were thinking. "but i am puzzled. ujarak is cunning, though he is not wise; and i am quite sure he has some secret reason for hurrying on this business. he is changing the customs, and that is never done for nothing." "what customs has he changed?" asked rooney. "the customs for the young angekok before he gets a torngak," replied the eskimo. okiok's further elucidation of this point was so complex that we prefer to give the reader our own explanation. before assuming the office of an angekok or diviner, an eskimo must procure one of the spirits of the elements for his own particular familiar spirit or torngak. these spirits would appear to be somewhat coquettish and difficult to win, and marvellous tales are related of the manner in which they are wooed. the aspirant must retire for a time to a desert place, where, entirely cut off from the society of his fellows, he may give himself up to fasting and profound meditation. he also prays to torngarsuk to give him a torngak. this torngarsuk is the chief of the good spirits, and dwells in a pleasant abode under the earth or sea. he is not, however, supposed to be god, who is named pirksoma, i.e. "he that is above," and about whom most eskimos profess to know nothing. as might be expected, the weakness of body and agitation of mind resulting from such exercises carried on in solitude throw into disorder the imaginative faculty of the would-be diviner, so that wonderful figures of men and monsters swim before his mental vision, which tend to throw his body into convulsions--all the more that he labours to cherish and increase such symptoms. how far the aspirants themselves believe in these delusions it is impossible to tell; but the fact that, after their utmost efforts, some of them fail to achieve the coveted office, leads one to think that some of them are too honest, or too strong-minded, to be led by them. others, however, being either weak or double-minded, are successful. they assert that, on torngarsuk appearing in answer to their earnest petition, they shriek aloud, and die from fear. at the end of three days they come to life again, and receive a torngak, who takes them forthwith on a journey to heaven and hell, after which they return home full-fledged angekoks, prepared to bless their fellows, and guide them with their counsels. "now, you must know," said okiok, after explaining all this, "what puzzles me is, that ujarak intends to alter the customs at the beginning of the affair. ippegoo is to be made an angekok to-night, and to be let off all the fasting and hard thinking and fits. if i believed in these things at all, i should think him only a half-made angekok. as it is, i don't care a puff of wind what they make of poor ippegoo--so long as they don't kill him; but i'm uneasy because i'm afraid the rascal ujarak has some bad end in view in all this." "i'm _quite_ sure of it," muttered nuna, making a stab with her stick at the contents of her pot, as if ujarak's heart were inside. at that moment nunaga entered, looking radiant, in all the glory of a new under-garment of eider-duck pelts and a new sealskin upper coat with an extra long tail. "have you seen angut lately?" asked rooney of the young girl. "yes," she replied, with a modest smile that displayed her brilliant teeth; "he is in his own hut." "i will go and talk with him on this matter, okiok," said the seaman. "meanwhile, do you say nothing about it to any one." chapter fourteen. solemn and mysterious doings are brought to a violent close. angut was seated at the further end of his abode when his friend entered, apparently absorbed in contemplation of that remarkable specimen of eskimo longevity, the grandmother of okiok. "i have often wondered," said angut, as the seaman sat down beside him, "at the contentment and good-humour and cheerfulness, sometimes running into fun, of that poor old woman kannoa." "speak lower," said rooney in a soft voice; "she will hear you." "if she does, she will hear no evil. but she is nearly deaf, and takes no notice." "it may be so; poor thing!" returned the sailor in a tender tone, as he looked at the shrivelled-up old creature, who was moving actively round the never-idle lamp, and bending with inquiring interest over the earthen pot, which seemed to engross her entire being. "but why do you wonder?" "i wonder because she has so little to make her contented, and so much to ruin her good-humour and cheerfulness, and to stop her fun. her life is a hard one. she has few relations to care for her. she is very old, and must soon grow feeble, and then--" "and then?" said rooney, as the other paused. "then she knows not what follows death--who does know?--and she does not believe in the nonsense that our people invent. it is a great mystery." the eskimo said the last words in a low voice and with a wistful gaze, as if he were rather communing with himself than conversing with his friend. rooney felt perplexed. the thoughts of angut were often too profound for him. not knowing what to say, he changed the subject by mentioning the object of his visit. at once angut turned, and gave undivided attention to the subject, while the seaman described his recent conversation with okiok. as he concluded, a peculiar look flitted across angut's countenance. "i guess his reason," he said. "yes; what may it be, think you?" "he fears to meet okiok in a singing duel." rooney laughed. "well, you know best," he said; "i daresay you are right. okiok is a sharp fellow, and ujarak is but a blundering booby after--" a low chuckle in the region of the lamp attracted their attention at this point. they looked quickly at kannoa, but that ancient's face was absolutely owlish in its gravity, and her little black eyes peered into her pot with a look of intense inquiry that was almost philosophic. resuming their belief that she was as deaf as a post, or an iceberg, rooney and angut proceeded to discuss ujarak and his probable plans without any regard to her. after having talked the matter over for some time, angut shook his head, and said that ujarak must be closely watched. "more than that," said rooney, with decision; "he must be stultified." the seaman's rendering of the word "stultified" into eskimo was curious, and cannot easily be explained, but it was well understood by angut, and apparently by kannoa, for another chuckle came just then from the culinary department. again the two men glanced at the old woman inquiringly, and again were they baffled by that look of owlish intensity at the stewing meat. "she hears," whispered rooney. "impossible," replied angut; "a dead seal is not much deafer." continuing the conversation, the seaman explained how he thought it possible to stultify the wizard, by discrediting him in the eyes of his own people--by foiling him with his own weapons,--and himself undertook to accomplish the task of stultification. he was in the act of concluding his explanation when another chuckle burst upon them from the region of the lamp. this time there was no attempt at concealment, for there stood old kannoa, partly enveloped in savoury steam, her head thrown back, and her mouth wide-open. with a laugh rooney leaped up, and caught her by the arm. "you've heard what i've been saying, mother?" "ye-yes. i've heard," she replied, trying to smother the laughter. "now, look here. you must promise me not to tell _anybody_," said the seaman earnestly, almost sternly. "oh, i not tell," returned the old woman; "i love not ujarak." "ah! just so; then you're pretty safe not to tell," said rooney. "no fear of kannoa," remarked angut, with a pleasant nod; "she never tells anything to anybody." satisfied, apparently, with this assurance, the seaman took the old woman into his counsels, congratulating himself not a little on having found an ally in the very hut in which it had been arranged that the mysterious performance was to take place. shortly after that angut left. "now, kannoa," said rooney, after some preliminary talk, "you remember the big white bear that angut killed two moons ago?" "remember it? ay," said kannoa, licking her lips; "it was the fattest and best bear i ever chewed. huk! it _was_ good!" "well, where is that bear's skin?" the old dame pointed to a corner of the hut where the skin lay. rooney went and picked it up, and laid it at the upper end of the hut farthest from the door. "now, mother," said he; "you'll not touch that skin. let it lie there, and let no one touch it till i come again. you understand?" "yes," answered kannoa, with a look so intensely knowing that it made the seaman laugh. "but tell me," said the old woman, becoming suddenly grave, and laying her thin scraggy hand on the man's arm; "why do you call me mother?" "oh, it's just a way we have in my country when--when we feel kindly to an old woman. and i do feel kindly to you, kannoa," he added, with sudden warmth and energy of look and tone, "because you are so like my own grandmother--only she was younger than you, and much better-looking." rooney meant no rudeness by the last remark, but, having observed the straightforward simplicity of his new friends in saying exactly what they meant, he willingly adopted their style. kannoa seemed much pleased with the explanation. "it is strange," she said pathetically, "that i should find you so very like my husband." "indeed!" returned the seaman, who did not feel flattered by the compliment; "is it long since he died?" "o yes; long, long--very long," she answered, with a sigh. "moons, moons, moons without number have passed since that day. he was as young as you when he was killed, but a far finer man. his face did not look dirty like yours--all over with hair. it was smooth and fat, and round and oily. his cheeks were plump, and they would shine when the sun was up. he was also bigger than you--higher and wider. huk! he was grand!" although rooney felt inclined to laugh as he listened to this description, he restrained himself when he observed the tears gathering in the old eyes. observing and appreciating the look of sympathy, she tightened her clutch on the seaman's arm and said, looking wistfully up in his face-- "has ridroonee ever felt something in here,"--she laid a hand on her withered bosom--"as if it broke in two, and then went dead for evermore? that is what i felt the day they brought my man home; he was so kind. like my son okiok, and angut." as the seaman looked down at the pitiful old soul that had thus broken the floodgates of a long silence, and was pouring out her confidences to him, he felt an unusual lump in his throat. under a sudden impulse, he stooped and kissed the wrinkled brow, and then, turning abruptly, left the hut. it was well he did so, for by that time it was nearly dark, and kannoa had yet to arrange the place for the expected meeting. as the time drew near, the night seemed to sympathise with the occasion, for the sky became overcast with clouds, which obliterated the stars, and rendered it intensely dark. the chief performer in the approaching ceremony was in a fearful state of mind. he would have done or given anything to escape being made a wise man. but ujarak was inexorable. poor ippegoo sought comfort from his mother, and, to say truth, kunelik did her best for him, but she could not resist the decrees of fate--i.e. of the wizard. "be a man, my son, and all will go well," she said, as he sat beside her in her hut, with his chin on his breast and his thin hands clasped. "o mother, i _am_ such a fool! he might let me off. i'll be disgraced forever." "not you, ippe; you're not half such a fool as he is. just go boldly, and do your best. look as fierce and wild as you can, and make awful faces. there's nothing like frightening people! howl as much as possible, and gasp sometimes. i have seen a good deal done in that way. i only wish they would try to make an angekok of _me_. i would astonish them." the plucky little woman had to stop here for a moment to chuckle at her own conceit, but her poor son did not respond. he had got far beyond the point where a perception of the ludicrous is possible. "but it is time to go now, my son. don't forget your drum and the face-making. you know what you've got to do?" "yes, yes, i know," said ippegoo, looking anxiously over his shoulder, as if he half expected to see a torngak already approaching him; "i know only too well what i've got to do. ujarak has been stuffing it into me the whole day till my brain feels ready to burst." the bitter tone in which the poor youth pronounced his master's name suggested to his mother that it would not require much more to make the worm turn upon its tormentor. but the time had arrived to send him off, so she was obliged to bring her questions and advices to an abrupt close. as ippegoo walked towards the dreaded hut, he was conscious of many glaring eyes and whispered words around him. this happily had the effect of stirring up his pride, and made him resolve to strive to do his part creditably. at the door of the hut two dark figures glided swiftly in before him. one he could perceive was angut; the other he thought looked very like the kablunet "ridroonee." the thought gave him some comfort--not much, indeed, but anything that distracted his mind for an instant from the business in hand afforded him comfort. he now braced himself desperately to the work. seizing the drum which he had been told not to forget, he struck it several times, and began to twist his body about violently. there was just light enough to show to onlookers that the poor youth was whirling himself round in contortions of the most surprising kind. this he did for the purpose of working himself up to the proper pitch of enthusiasm. there seems little doubt that the mere exertion of great muscular effort, coupled with a resolute wish and intention to succeed in some object, has a powerful tendency to brace the energies of the human mind. ippegoo had not contorted himself and beaten his drum for many minutes when his feeling of warmth and physical power began to increase. the feeling seemed to break on his mind as a revelation. "ho!" he thought, "here it comes; it comes at last! ujarak told the truth--i am becoming one of the wise men." so delighted was the poor fellow with the idea, and with the strong hope created thereby, that his blood began to course more rapidly and his heart to beat high. under the impulse, he gave vent to a yell that drew a nod of gratified approval from his mother, and quite astonished those who knew him best. redoubling his twistings and drummings, he soon wore himself out, and ere long fell down in a state of temporary exhaustion. having thus, according to instruction, worked himself up to the proper pitch of enthusiasm, ippegoo lay still and panted. ujarak then, coming forward, led him into angut's hut, which was lighted as usual with several cooking-lamps. the people flocked in after them till it was nearly full; but spaces in the centre and upper end were kept comparatively free. near the lamp the kablunet was seen seated, observing the proceedings with much gravity; okiok sat near him. when all were seated, the wizard led his pupil into the centre space, and, making him sit down, bent him forward until his head was between his legs. he fastened it in that position, and then tied his hands behind his back. all the lights were now extinguished, for no one is allowed to witness the interview of the unfinished angekok with the torngak, nor to move a finger for fear of disturbing him. the room being now in the state which is described as darkness just visible, ippegoo began to sing a song, in which all joined. presently he took to groaning by way of variety; then he puffed and gasped, and in a quavering voice entreated his torngak to come. spirits, however, like human creatures, are not always open to entreaty. at all events, ippegoo's torngak refused to appear. in such circumstances it is usual for an aspirant to writhe about until he brings on a sort of _fit_, during the continuance of which his soul goes off to fetch the obstinate torngak. after a short time he returns with him, laughing loudly for joy, while a rustling noise, resembling the wings of birds as they swoop about the roof, is heard. but ippegoo was not a sufficiently wise man to get through this part of the programme. true, he wrought himself into a wonderful state of excitement, and then humbly lay down on his side to have a fit. but the fit would not come. he tried his best to have it. he wished with all his heart for it, but all his efforts were vain. "o why won't you come to me, torngak?" demanded the poor youth, with a pitiful whine. "because you are wise enough already," said a low voice, which startled the audience very much, and sent a thrill of alarm, not unmingled with surprise, to the hearts of ippegoo and his master. the voice seemed to come from the outside of the hut. "ask him to come inside and speak to us," whispered ujarak, who was a good deal more surprised even than his pupil at this unexpected turn of affairs. "won't you come in, torngak?" said ippegoo timidly. "it is very cold outside. you will be more comfortable inside, and we shall hear you better. i suppose you can come as easily through the wall as by--" "stop your stupid tongue!" growled ujarak. at that moment a deep unearthly voice was heard inside the hut. every one trembled, and there ensued a silence so oppressive as to suggest the idea that all present were holding their breath, and afraid to move even by a hair's-breadth. suddenly there was a faint murmur, for at the upper end of the hut a dark form was seen slowly to arise. it must be remembered that there was barely light enough to render darkness visible. no features could be distinguished on this apparition, but it gradually assumed the form of a gigantic bear, rising nearly to the roof, and with its great forelegs extended, as if it were brooding over the assembly. every one remained perfectly still, as if spell-bound. only one of the audience was sceptical. being himself a master of deception, ujarak suspected some trick, and slowly approached the giant bear with the intention of testing its reality--in some trepidation, however, for he was naturally superstitious. when he had drawn near enough to touch it, he received a tremendous blow on the forehead, which laid him flat on his back in a partially stunned condition, with his head in pussimek's lap. that amiable woman considerately allowed it to remain there, and as the wizard felt mentally confused he did not care to change his position. presently a low musical voice broke upon the assembly. we need scarcely say that it was that of our hero, red rooney, but so changed in character and tone as to be quite unrecognisable by the company, most of whom, indeed, were not yet very familiar with it. even his more intimate friends, angut and the okiok family, were startled by it. in fact, the seaman, besides being something of a mimic, possessed a metallic bass voice of profound depth, which, like most bass voices, was capable of mounting into the higher latitudes of tone by means of a falsetto. he utilised his gifts on the present occasion. "ippegoo," he said solemnly and very slowly, "i am not your torngak. i am an angekok, and as i chanced to be passing by your hut in my wanderings, i stopped to hear. i have heard enough to be able to tell you that you shall never be an angekok. nor shall you ever have a torngak. you do not need one. you are wise enough already, much wiser than your master, who is no better than a miserable puffin. is it not the duty of one who would be an angekok to go away and live alone for many days fasting, and praying, and meditating? has not ujarak advised you to change the ancient customs? pooh! he is a fool. you cannot succeed now. all the spirits of water, earth, and air have been insulted. this assembly must break up. you must leave off trying. you may all be thankful that the ice does not burst up and crush you; that the sky does not fall upon you; that the great sea does not roll its maddest waves over you. up, all of you--begone!" rooney finished off with a roar so deep and fearsome that the very rafters trembled. a pile of wood, stones, and earthenware, previously prepared for the purpose, was tipped over, and fell with a most awful crash. at the same moment the seaman culminated in a falsetto shriek that might have shamed a steam whistle. it was enough. had the tunnel entrance of the hut been long and strong, suffocation to many must have been the result, for they went into it pell-mell, rolling rather than running. fortunately, it was short and weak. ujarak and simek, sticking in it, burst it up, and swept it away, thus clearing the passage for the rest. the last to disappear was kunelik, whose tail flapped on the door-post like a small pistol-shot as she doubled round it and scrambled out, leaving rooney, angut, kannoa, and ippegoo to enjoy the situation. chapter fifteen. a great singing duel interrupted by a catastrophe. when the lamps were rekindled by kannoa, it was discovered that the old lady's nostrils were twitching and her throat contracting in a remarkable manner, with smothered laughter. very different was the condition of ippegoo, who still lay bound in the middle of the room. fear and surprise in equal proportions seemed to have taken possession of him. rooney, having dropped the bear-skin, approached him, while angut stood beside the lamp looking on with a sort of serious smile. "now, ippegoo," said the sailor, stooping and cutting his bonds, "i set you free. it is to be hoped also that i have freed you from superstition." "but where is the bear-angekok?" asked the bewildered youth. "i am the bear-angekok." "impossible!" cried ippegoo. to this rooney replied by going back to his bear-skin, spreading it over himself, getting on a stool so as to tower upwards, spreading out his long arms, and saying in his deepest bass tones-- "now, ippegoo, do you believe me?" a gleam of intelligence flashed on the youth's countenance, and at that moment he became more of a wise man than he had ever before been in his life, for he not only had his eyes opened as to the ease with which some people can be deceived, but had his confidence in the infallibility of his old tyrant completely shaken. he reasoned somewhat thus-- "if ujarak's torngak was good and true, it would have told him of the deceit about to be practised on him, and would not have allowed him to submit to disgrace. if it did not care, it was a bad spirit. if it did not know, it was no better than a man, and not worth having--so i don't want to have one, and am very glad i have escaped so well." the poor fellow shrank from adding, "ujarak must be a deceiver;" but he began to think that red rooney might not have been far wrong after all when he called him a fool. ippegoo was now warned that he must keep carefully out of the wizard's way, and tell no one of the deceit that had been practised. he promised most faithfully to tell no one, and then went straight home and told his mother all about it--for it never for a moment occurred to the poor fellow to imagine that he was meant to conceal it from his mother! fortunately kunelik was a wise little woman. she knew how to keep her own counsel, and did not even by nod or look insinuate to any one that she was in possession of a secret. "now, then, angut, what is the next thing to be done?" asked rooney, after ippegoo had left. "make ujarak fight his duel," said angut. "what! the singing duel with okiok?" "yes. the people have set their hearts on the thing, and ujarak will try to escape. he will perhaps say that his torngak has told him to go hunting to-morrow. but our customs require him to keep his word. my fear is that he will sneak off in the night. he is a sly fox." "i will stop that," said rooney. "how?" "you shall see. come with me to the hut of ujarak." on reaching the hut, they found its owner, as had been expected, sharpening his spears, and making other arrangements for a hunting expedition. "when do you start?" asked rooney. "immediately," replied the wizard. "of course _after_ the duel," remarked angut quietly. the wizard seemed annoyed. "it is unfortunate," he said, with a vexed look. "my torngak has told me of a place where a great number of seals have come. they may leave soon, and it would be such a pity to lose them." "that is true," said angut; "but of course you cannot break our customs. it would ruin your character." "of course, of course i will not break the custom," returned ujarak quickly; "unless, indeed, my torngak _orders_ me to go. but that is not likely." "i want to ask you," said rooney, sitting down, "about that trip you had last year to the land of the departed. they tell me you had a hard time of it, ujarak, and barely escaped with your life." the sly seaman had spread a net with which the wizard could at all times be easily caught. he had turned him on to a tune at which he was always willing to work with the persistency of an organ-grinder. the wizard went on hour after hour with unwearied zeal in his narrations, being incited thereto by a judicious question now and then from the seaman, when he betrayed any symptom of flagging. at last angut, who had often heard it before, could stand it no longer, and rose to depart. having already picked up the kablunet's mode of salutation, he held out his hand, and said "goo'-nite." "good-night, friend," returned rooney, grasping the proffered hand. "i can't leave till i've heard the end of this most interesting story, so i'll just sleep in ujarak's hut, if he will allow me, and thus avoid disturbing you by coming in late. good-night." "goo'-nite," responded angut, and vanished from the scene. the wizard heaved a sigh. he perceived that his little plan of gliding away in the hours of darkness was knocked on the head, so, like a true philosopher, he resigned himself to the inevitable, and consoled himself by plunging into intricacies of fabulous adventure with a fertility of imagination which surprised even himself--so powerful is the influence of a sympathetic listener. when ujarak at last discovered that his guest had fallen into a profound slumber, he brought his amazing narrative to an abrupt close, and, wrapping himself in a reindeer-skin, resigned himself to that repose which was so much needed to fit him for the combat of the approaching day. it was a brilliant sunny morning when red rooney awoke from a startling dream, in which he had been wrestling with monstrous creatures in the depths of ocean as well as in the bowels of the earth. the wizard was still locked in apparently dreamless slumber. unwilling to disturb him, the seaman glided quietly out, and clambered to the top of a cliff, whence a magnificent sea-view was revealed to his wondering gaze. there are times when the atmosphere of this earth seems to be rarefied and freshened with celestial zephyrs, which not only half intoxicate the spirit, but intensify the powers of hearing and vision, so that gentle sounds which are very far off come floating to us, and mingle softly with those that are near at hand, while objects are seen at such immense distances that one feels as if the world itself had suddenly grown larger. to these influences were added on this occasion a sea which absolutely glittered with the icy gems that decked her calm and waveless bosom. it was not only that millions of white and glittering peaks, with facets and edges gleaming like diamonds, rose into the blue sky, but here and there open lanes of water, and elsewhere lakes and little ponds upon the melting ice caught the full orb of the rising sun, and sent its reflection into the man's eyes with dazzling refulgence, while the ripple or rush of ice-born water-falls and the plaintive cries of wild-fowl gave variety and animation to the scene. in a mind less religiously disposed than that of our seaman, the sights and sounds would have irresistibly aroused grateful thoughts to our creator. on rooney the effect was almost overpowering, yet, strange to say, it drew no word of thanksgiving from his lips. clasping his hands and shutting his eyes, he muttered with bowed head the words, "god, be merciful to me a sinner!" perhaps the recognition of the father's great goodness and condescension, coupled with his own absolute unworthiness, and the impulse which called those words forth, was nearly the highest act of worship which the sailor could have offered. far below, under the sheltering cliff, the huts of the eskimo village could be seen like little black specks dotting the still snow-covered land; and the voices of children could be heard in faint but merry shouts and peals of laughter, as their owners, like still smaller specks, romped about. one of those specks rooney recognised, from its intense blackness, to be his friend tumbler, and a smaller and lighter speck he guessed to be pussi, from the circumstance of its persistently following and keeping close to the raven-clad hero. the pleased look with which rooney at first regarded the children slowly passed away, and was replaced by one of profound sadness; for how could he escape dejection when he thought of a sweet irish wife and little ones, with a dear old grandmother, whom he had left in the old country, and who must long before that time have given him up as dead? his melancholy thoughts were dissipated by a sudden increase in the shouting of the little ones. on regarding them attentively, he observed that they scattered themselves in the direction of the several huts, and disappeared therein. well did rooney know that the movement meant breakfast, and having a personal interest in that game, he left his perch and the glorious view, and hastened down. after breakfast the entire community went with one consent to witness the singing combat. it was to take place on the ice near the scene of the recent kick-ball game, close to the berg of the sea-green cave. the people were much elated, for these savages were probably as much influenced by brilliant spring weather as civilised folk are, though not given to descant so much on their feelings. they were also in that cheerful frame of mind which results from what they correctly referred to as being stuffed; besides, much fun was expected from the contest. lest our readers should anticipate similar delight, we must repeat that eskimos are a simple folk, and easily pleased. "won't it be a tussle?" remarked issek, who marched in the centre of a group of women. "it will, for ujarak is tough. he is like a walrus," responded an admirer of the wizard. "poo!" exclaimed the mother of ippegoo contemptuously; "he can indeed roar like the walrus, but he can do nothing else." "yes; and his strength goes for nothing," cried a sympathiser, "for it is his brain, not his body, that has got to work." "we shall see," said kabelaw, whose sister remarked--"if we are not blind." this mild observation was meant for a touch of pleasantry. little touches of pleasantry often passed between these "lying sisters," as they were called, and they not infrequently culminated in touches of temper, which must have been the reverse of pleasant to either. arrived at the arena, a ring was formed, and the wisdom as well as amiability of these poor people was shown by their putting the children in front, the little women in the second row, the tall women in the third, and the men behind. in a few minutes ujarak bounded into the centre of the circle, with a small drum or tambourine in one hand, which he beat vigorously with the other. okiok followed more sedately, armed with a similar musical instrument, and retired to one side of the arena, for the wizard, perhaps because he was the challenger, had the right to begin. a good authority on the eskimo tongue says: "the language is not easily translatable, the brevity and force of a single sentence requiring to be rendered in many words of another tongue." the same authority also informs us that angekoks "speak in a metaphorical style sometimes, in order to exhibit their assumed superiority in learning and penetration." it will not be expected, therefore, that our translation should convey more than a general idea of the combat. ujarak's first act, after bounding into the ring and drumming, was to glare at his adversary. okiok returned the glare with interest, and, being liberal, threw a sneer of contempt into the bargain. ujarak then glared round at the audience, and began his song, which consisted merely of short periods, without rhyme or measure, but with a sort of rhythmic musical cadence. he commenced with the chorus--"amna ajah ajah hey!" which was vociferously repeated by his supporters among the audience. what these words, mean--whether they represent our "fal lal la" or "runity iddity"--we have not been able to ascertain, but they came in at irregular intervals, greatly to the satisfaction of the audience, thus:-- "amna ajah ajah hey! there was once a man--a man (so it is said, but we are not sure), a puffin perhaps he was--or a stupid spirit made in the likeness of a man; amna ajah ajah hey!" here the wizard not only accompanied the chorus with the drum, but with a species of dance, which, being a clumsy man, he performed in an extremely elephantine manner. after a few moments he went on:-- "this man--this puffin--was a liar: a liar, because he was a teller of lies. did he not one time say that seals had come, and that birds were in the air? and when we went to look, no seals or birds were there. amna ajah ajah hey!" the extreme vigour with which the last word was uttered resulted from the wizard having tripped in his dance, and come down heavily on the ice, to the immense delight of his opponents and the children. but ujarak rose, and quelling the laugh with a look of dignity, continued:-- "worse than a liar was this foolish puffin. he hunted badly. when he flung the spear the seals would laugh before they went away. sometimes he missed, sometimes he tipped the nose, sometimes hit the wrong animal, and sometimes touched the tail. amna ajah ajah hey!" this verse was a hit, for okiok was known to be but an indifferent marksman with the throwing-spear; yet such was his industry and his ability to approach very near to his prey, that he was the reverse of a bad hunter. but men in all lands are prone to shut their eyes to the good, and to open them very wide to the evil, that may be said of an adversary. consequently at this point the chorus was given with great vigour by the wizard faction, and the wizard himself, having worked himself into a breathless condition by the mental effort and the furious dance, deemed it a fitting occasion to take his first rest. the custom in those duels is for each combatant to devote a quarter of an hour or so to the attack, and then make way for his opponent, who at once steps forward and begins his counter-attack. after a short time he in like manner gives way, and his foe returns. thus they proceed until one is exhausted or overwhelmed; and he who has the last word gains the victory, after which the dispute is held as settled, and they frequently become better friends than before. there was something in the expression of okiok as he stepped sedately into the ring which gladdened his friends and distressed his opponents. unlike the wizard, he was well formed, and all his movements were comparatively elegant, so that in his case the conventional bit of dance at the end of periods was pleasant to the eye, while his peculiar advantage of rhyming power rendered his performance grateful to the ear. after a little drumming he began:-- "why must i step within this ring, to jump and dance, and drum and sing? you all know well that okiok was never made an angekok. amna ajah ajah hey!" "amna ajah ajah hey!" yelled the hunter's admirers, with enthusiasm. "but ujarak's the man of skill, to kick or wrestle, sing or kill; he bids me meet him here to-day. poor okiok! he must obey. my torngak, come here, i say! thus loud i cried the other day-- `you always come to ujarak; thou come to me, my torngak!' but he was deaf, and would not hear, although i roared it in his ear. at last he said, `no, okiok, for you are not an angekok!' amna ajah ajah hey!" here the hunter, after a neat pirouette and tickling of the drum, changed his tone to a soft insinuating whine: "'tis true i'm not an angekok; i'm only hunter okiok. but torngak, dear torngak, don't go away. o do come back! if you'll be mine, and stick to me for evermore, i'll stick to thee. and every single thing i do i'll come and ask advice from you; consult you morning, noon, and night; consult you when i hunt or fight; consult you when i sing and roar; consult you when i sleep and snore; consult you more than ujarak-- my tor--tor--tor--tor--torngak!" a roar of laughter and a stupendous "amna ajah ajah hey!" greeted this flight, while okiok gravely touched his drum, and performed a few more of his graceful evolutions. "`no, no,' he said; `i'll never make so gross and stupid a mistake. one man there is who tried to do it-- he thinks the spirits never knew it-- he tried to make an angekok-stew out of a lad named ippegoo!'" here another yell of delight was followed by the chorus, and okiok was about to resume, when a terrific rending sound seemed to paralyse every one. well did they know that sound. it was the rending of the solid ice on which they stood. the advancing spring had so far weakened it that a huge cake had broken off from the land-ice, and was now detached. a shriek from some of the women drew attention to the fact that the disruption of the mass had so disturbed the equilibrium of the neighbouring berg that it was slowly toppling to its fall. a universal stampede instantly took place, for the danger of being crushed by its falling cliffs and pinnacles was very great. everything but personal safety was forgotten in the panic that ensued. red rooney was almost swept off his legs in the rush. women and children were overturned, but fortunately not hurt. a very few minutes sufficed to take them all clear of danger; but the succeeding crashes produced such an inconceivable roar that the terrified villagers ran on until close to the place where the ice had cracked off, and where a lane of water about three feet wide presented itself. over this went men, women, and children at a flying leap--all except poor little pussi. that fat little thing would have been left behind had not the mere force of the rush carried her on in a half running, half rolling way. being unable to manage the jump, she went in with a plunge, and disappeared. a wild scream from the nearest female caused every one to stop and run back. "pussi!" exclaimed nunaga, pointing wildly to the water. "where--where did she go in?" cried rooney. "she must have gone under the ice!" gasped the poor girl. as she spoke a bubble of air rose to the surface. next moment the seaman cleft the cold black water and disappeared. then with a thrill of alarm the eskimos observed that the great ice-cake which had broken off was being driven shoreward by the rising tide, and that the lane of water was rapidly closing. but they were not kept long in suspense. another moment, and rooney appeared with little pussi in his arms. they were instantly seized by okiok and angut, and dragged violently out--not much too soon, for only a few seconds after they were rescued the ice closed with a grinding crash, that served to increase the fervency of the "thank god!" with which the seaman hailed their deliverance. the child was not quite insensible, though nearly so. rooney seized her in his arms, and ran as fast as he could towards the village, whither the fleet-footed ippegoo had already been sent to prepare skins and warm food for the reception of rescued and rescuer. chapter sixteen. the rebellion of the worm and the fall of the wizard. the event which had so suddenly interrupted the singing duel was a matter of secret satisfaction to ujarak, for he felt that he was no match for okiok, and although he had intended to fight the battle out to the best of his ability, he knew that his ultimate defeat was so probable that its abrupt termination before that event was a piece of great good-fortune. still, his position was unsatisfactory, for, in addition to the fact that his credit as a genuine angekok had been sadly shaken because of ippegoo's failure, he was well aware that the combat which had been interrupted was only postponed. what was to be done in the circumstances became, therefore, the urgent question of the hour. in great perplexity he sought out his poor victim ippegoo--with something of the feeling, no doubt, that induces a drowning man to clutch at a straw--and silently walked with him to a secluded spot near the neighbouring cliffs. "ippegoo," he said, turning round abruptly; "it is certain that you will never be an angekok." "i don't want to be one," returned the simpleton quietly. the wizard looked at him in surprise. "what do you mean?" he asked sharply. "i mean that if the torngak you were going to get for me is no better than your own, he is a fool, and i would rather not have him." this unexpected rebellion of the worm which he had so often twisted round his finger was too much for ujarak in his then irascible condition. he flew into a violent rage, grasped the handle of his knife, and glared fiercely at his pupil. ippegoo returned the look with a quiet smile. this was perplexing. there are few things more trying to passionate men than uncertainty as to how their bursts of anger will be received. as a rule such men are merely actors. no doubt their rage may be genuine, but the manner in which they will display their anger depends very much on who are their witnesses, and what their opponents. rage which fumes at some trifling insult, and tears off the coat, resolved on fighting, when a timid wife seeks to soothe, is likely to assume a very different appearance and follow some other course of action when a prize-fighter pulls the nose, and invites it to "do its worst." if ippegoo had winced, or stood on the defensive, or stepped back, or shown the slightest sign of fear, it is probable that the strong and lawless man would have stabbed him to the heart in the first impulse of his anger, for the poor youth was well acquainted with all his secrets and most of his bad intentions. but the motionless figure and the smiling face not only surprised--it alarmed--ujarak. it seemed so unnatural. what powers of sudden onslaught might not lie hidden within that calm exterior? what dynamitic capacities of swift explosion might not underlie that fearless expression? "ippegoo," he said, stifling his anger with a painful effort, "are you going to turn against your best friend?" "my mother is my best friend," answered the youth stoutly. "you are right; i made a mistake." "why does your torngak let you make so many mistakes?" again a rush of anger prompted the wizard to sacrifice his quondam pupil, and once more the youth's imperturbable coolness overawed him. bad as he was, ujarak could not kill a smiling victim. "ippegoo," said the wizard, suddenly changing his tone, and becoming intensely earnest, "i see what is the matter. angut and the kablunet have bewitched you. but now, i tell my torngak to enter into your heart, and unbewitch you. now, do you not feel that he has done it?" the youth, still smiling, shook his head. "i knew it," continued the wizard, purposely misunderstanding the sign. "you are all right again. once more i lay my commands on you. listen. i want you to go at once and tell nunaga that _angut_ wants to see her alone." "who?" asked ippegoo in surprise. "angut." "what! your rival?" "yes; my rival. my torngak tells me that angut wants to meet her-- alone, mind--out on the floes at puffin island this afternoon." "are--are you sure your torngak has made no mistake?" asked the youth, with something of his old hesitancy. "quite sure," replied ujarak sternly. "now, will you give her my message?" "angut's message, you mean." "yes, yes; i mean angut's message," said the wizard impatiently. "you'll be _sure_ to do what i tell you, won't you?" "quite sure," replied ippegoo, the smile again overspreading his visage as he turned and quitted the spot. half an hour later he entered okiok's hut in quest of nunaga, but only her mother was there. she told him that the girl had gone off with a sledge along the coast to moss bay to fetch a load of moss to stuff between the logs of the hut where they required repairing, and that she had taken kabelaw as well as tumbler and pussi with her. "that's good," said ippegoo, "then she can't and won't go to puffin island. i said i would tell her that angut wants to meet her there alone." "who told you to tell her that?" asked nuna. "a fool," answered ippegoo, promptly. "he must indeed have been a fool," returned nuna, "for angut has just been helping nunaga to harness the dogs, and he is now with my husband in his own hut." this information caused the messenger to shut his eyes, open his mouth, and laugh silently, with evident enjoyment. "i intended to deliver my message," he said, on recovering composure, "for i promised to do so; and i also meant to tell nunaga that the message was a _big lie_." at this amazing depth of slyness on his part, ippegoo fell into another hearty though inaudible laugh, after which he went off to communicate his news to okiok and angut, but these worthies having gone out to visit some snares and traps, no one knew whither, he was obliged to seek counsel of simek. on hearing of the plot that seemed to be hatching, that jovial hunter at once ordered his sledge to be got ready, and started off, with two stalwart sons and his nephew arbalik, for moss bay, to warn nunaga of her enemy's intentions, and to fetch her home. but alas! for even the best laid of human plans. it so happened that one of the eskimo youths, who was rather inclined to tease nunaga, had set a snow-trap for arctic foxes about two miles from the village. as the spot was not much out of the way, the girl resolved to turn aside and visit the trap, take out the fox, if one chanced to be caught, and in any case set the trap off, or put a bit of stick into it by way of fun. the spot chanced to be only a short distance beyond the place where the wizard had met ippegoo, but the sea-shore there was so covered with hummocks of ice that nunaga had approached without being observed by either the wizard or the pupil. it was not more than a few minutes after ippegoo had left on his errand to herself that she came suddenly in sight of ujarak. he was seated, as if in contemplation, on a rock at the base of the cliff. suspecting no evil, nunaga stopped her team of dogs. it was her father's best team, consisting of the swiftest and most enduring animals in the village. the wizard observed this as he rose up and approached, rejoicing to think that fortune had favoured him. and truly fortune--or rather, god--was indeed favouring the wicked man at that time, though not in the way that he imagined. in a few moments ujarak's plans were laid. the opportunity was too good to be lost. "where goes nunaga to-day?" he asked quietly, on reaching the sledge. "to moss bay," answered nunaga. "has nunaga forgotten the road?" asked ujarak, with a slight look of surprise. "this is not the way to moss bay." "it is not far out of the way," said kabelaw, who was the more self-assertive of the two lying sisters; "we go to visit a trap, and have no time to waste with _you_." as she spoke she seized the heavy eskimo whip out of nunaga's hand, and brought it smartly down on the backs of the whole team, which started off with a yelp, and also with a bound that well-nigh left tumbler and pussi behind. but she was not quick enough for ujarak, who exclaimed with a laugh, as he leaped on to the sledge and assumed the place of driver-- "i too am fond of trapping, and will go with you." he took the whip from kabelaw, and guided the team. a few minutes, at the speed they were going, brought them close to a point or cape which, in the form of a frowning cliff two or three hundred feet high, jutted out into the sea. to round this, and place the great cape between them and the village, was ujarak's aim. the ice was comparatively smooth and unbroken close to the land. "see!" exclaimed nunaga, pointing towards the bushes on shore; "the trap is there. that is the place." ujarak paid no heed to her. the die was cast. he had taken the first step, and must now go through with it at all hazards. plying the cruel whip, so as to make the dogs run at their utmost speed, he drove on until the other side of the cape was gained. then he relaxed the speed a little, for he knew that no shriek, however loud, could penetrate the cliffs that lay between him and the eskimo village. taking up a walrus-line with a running noose on it that lay on the sledge beside him, the wizard turned, dropped the noose suddenly over kabelaw, and drew it tight, so as to pin her arms to her sides. almost before she could realise what had occurred, he took a quick turn of the same line round nunaga, drew the girls together, and fastened them to the sledge. they knew now full well, but too late, that ujarak meant mischief. screaming at the utmost pitch of their voices, they struggled to free themselves, but were too well secured for that. the wizard now glanced at the children. for a few moments he was perplexed. they could be of no use on a long journey, and might be troublesome--besides, they would have to be fed. there was one sure and easy method of getting rid of them. he grasped his knife-handle. the women observed the movement, and became instantly silent with horror. but the bold free air of tumbler and the soft innocent look of pussi were too much for the wizard. he abandoned the half-formed thought, and, turning to the women, said in a low, stern voice-- "if you cry or struggle again, these shall die." this was enough. the poor creatures remained perfectly silent and still after that, while the wizard guided the dogs out upon the floes on a totally different route from that which led to moss bay. coming to a place where the ice had been cut up into many tracks by the eskimos' sledges during the winter work of traffic to and from the hunting-grounds, ujarak availed himself of the opportunity to lose, as it were, his own track among the others, so that, in the sure event of pursuit, the pursuers might be effectually baffled. the only point he had to consider after that was the necessity of diverging from the track with such care that the point of divergence should be impossible to find. in this he was again favoured by circumstances. having driven at full speed straight out from the land in a westerly direction, he came to a place where the ice had been considerably broken up, so that the old tracks ended abruptly in many places where lanes of water had opened up. a sharp frost had set these lanes and open spaces fast again, and the new ice was just strong enough to bear a sledge. there was some risk in venturing on it, but what of that? nothing bold can be successfully carried out in this world without more or less of risk! at a spot where the confusion of tracks was very great, he turned at a sharp angle, got upon a sheet of new ice, and went off at greater speed than ever towards the far-south. his aim was to travel some hundreds of miles, till he reached the kablunet settlements on the south-western shores of greenland, in regard to which, various and strange reports had reached the northern eskimos from time to time. he said nothing, however, to his captives, but after driving some twenty miles or so--which he did in a couple of hours--he cast off their bonds, and bade them make themselves comfortable. the poor creatures were only too glad to avail themselves of the permission, for, although spring had set in, and the cold was not very severe, their constrained position had benumbed their limbs. tumbler and pussi, after gazing for a considerable time at each other in a state of blank amazement at the whole proceedings, had finally dropped off to sleep on a pile of deerskins. nunaga and kabelaw, wrapping themselves in two of these, leaned against each other and conversed in low whispers. and now the wizard began in good earnest a journey, which was destined to lead him, in more ways than one, far beyond the point at which he originally aimed. he plied the whip with vigour, for well did he know that it was a race for life. if any of the men of his tribe should overtake him, he felt assured that death would be his portion. the dogs, as we have said, were splendid animals. there were ten of them, resembling wolves both in size and appearance, each being fastened to the sledge by a single independent line. the vehicle itself was okiok's hunting-sledge, having spears, bow and arrows, lines, bladders, etcetera, attached to it, so that, although there were no provisions on it except one small seal, which its owner had probably thought was not worth removing, the wizard knew that he possessed all the requisites for procuring a supply. the women, being also well aware of this, were filled with anxiety, for their one hope of rescue lay in their friends discovering their flight and engaging in instant and hot pursuit. never since the commencement of his career had ujarak displayed such anxiety to increase the distance between himself and his tribe. never since that long-lashed, short-handled, heavy whip was made, had it given forth such a rapid series of pistol-like reports, and never since they were pups had those ten lanky wolfish dogs stretched out their long legs and scampered over the arctic sea as they did on that occasion. the old ice was still sufficiently firm and smooth to afford a good road, and the new ice was fortunately strong enough to bear, for the pace was tremendous. with "the world before him where to choose," and death, as he imagined, on the track behind, the wizard's spirit had risen to the point of "neck or nothing." mile after mile was passed at highest speed and in perfect silence, except when broken by the crack of whip and yelp of dogs. occasional roughnesses in the way were crashed over. small obstructions were taken in flying leaps, which rendered it necessary for the poor women to cling to each other, to the sledge, and to the children, to prevent their being hurled off. once or twice a hummock which it seemed possible to leap turned out to be too high, and obliged the driver to turn aside with such violence that the sledge went for a few seconds on one runner, and all but turned over. this at last induced some degree of caution, for to break the vehicle at the beginning of the journey would have been almost certainly fatal to the enterprise. and oh! how earnestly nunaga longed for a spill! in her despair, poor thing, it did not occur to her that at such a pace an upset might break the necks of the whole party. towards sunset they rounded a high cape, beyond which was a deep and wide bay. on this the sun shone apparently on what appeared to be open water. for one moment a look of alarm flitted over the wizard's face, as he glanced quickly shoreward to see whether the ground-ice was passable; but it was only for a moment, for immediately he perceived that the light had dazzled and deceived him. it was not water, but new ice--smooth and refulgent as a mirror. the fringe of old ice on shore was disrupted and impassable. there was therefore only one course open to him. knitting his brows and clenching his teeth, ujarak resolved to take it at all hazards. bringing the cruel lash to bear with extreme violence, he sent the dogs howling out upon the glassy surface. at first they slipped and sprawled a good deal, but soon gathered themselves well together. they were accustomed to such work, and the friction of the sledge being reduced, they skimmed along with ease. although strong enough to bear, the ice undulated terribly as they swept over it, and sent forth rending sounds, which cannot be conceived by those whose experience of young ice has been derived chiefly from lakelets and ponds. dogs in such circumstances are apt to become terrified and to stop, in which case immersion is almost certain. but ujarak gave his team no time to think. with lash and voice he urged them on until they were nearly frantic. the undulations became greater as they advanced, and the rending sounds continuous. still the wizard plied his whip and shouted. indeed it was his only chance. at the other side of the bay the old ice still adhered to the shore. if that could be reached, they would be safe. eagerly the women strained their eyes, and even stretched out their hands as if to grasp the shore, for the fear of instant death had banished all other thoughts. a few minutes more, and ujarak, standing up in his eagerness, flourishing the great whip, and shouting at the pitch of his voice, drove the yelling dogs off the crackling sheet of ice to a place of safety on the solid floe. it did not require the wizard's altered tone to inform the sagacious animals that the danger was past. down they flopped at once to rest, panting vehemently, and with tongues out; but they were not permitted to rest long, ujarak's fear of pursuit was so great. even while securing on the sledge the articles that had been disarranged, he could not help casting frequent suspicious glances in the direction from which they had come, for guilt is ever ready to anticipate retribution even when it is far distant. as soon as the fastenings were arranged he prepared to continue the flight. "where do you take us to?" asked kabelaw, in a tone of humility which was very foreign to her nature. "you shall know that in time," was the stern reply. nunaga was too much frightened to speak, but little tumbler was not. "bad--bad man!" he exclaimed, with a fierce look that caused the wizard for a moment to smile grimly. little pussi was so horrified at the reckless presumption of the remark, that she hid her face in nunaga's lap and did not venture to look up for some time. getting on the sledge without another word, the wizard gave a hint to the dogs which was so unmistakable that they sprang up and resumed their journey at full gallop. slowly the sun went down, and sea and berg and snow-clad cliff grew grey in the light of departing day. still the panting team sped on over the frozen sea. soon it became too dark to travel with safety. the pace was slackened. the run became a canter, then a trot, and then a walk. at last the driver stopped, jumped off the sledge, and ordered the women to get out the seal and feed the dogs. he also gave them permission to help themselves, but as there was no lamp or fire, it was evident that he meant them to eat their supper raw. leaving them while thus engaged, he walked away out of sight. "i won't have raw seal," said tumbler, in that tone of petulant resolve which tells of spoilt-childism. "an' me won't too," said pussi, profiting by example. "but there's nothing else," said nunaga, gently. "yes, there is. i have got some cold seal in my boots--from this morning's breakfast," said kabelaw, extracting a goodly-sized morsel; "i never go on a journey, however short, without a bit of cooked meat." lest the reader should be perplexed here, we may explain that some eskimo ladies often make the wide tops of their long sealskin boots do duty for pockets. the party was still engaged in discussing the delicacy referred to, and commenting in pitiable tones on their situation, when ujarak returned, bade them resume their places, jumped on the sledge, and continued to advance. in half an hour the moon rose in a clear sky. the stars shone brightly, and to add to the beauty of the scene, the aurora borealis played and shot about vividly overhead, enabling them to resume a rapid gallop. it was not till the night was far advanced, and his dogs were nearly worn-out, and full sixty miles lay between him and his native village, that ujarak felt himself to be comparatively safe, and halted for a prolonged rest. without a word, he made for himself a shelter with a bear-skin under a low bush, devoured a lump of raw seal's flesh, and then went to sleep, leaving the women to look after themselves, the dogs, and the children, as best they might. fortunately, they were well able to do so, and, being very weary, were not long in doing it. while they went about the work, however, they could not help remarking the unusually morose and surly manner of their master, and expressed the opinion that he was already troubled with that mental complaint to which we give the name of remorse. and they were right. bad as the wizard was, he had hitherto kept within the bounds of eskimo propriety; but now at last he had overstepped those bounds and become a criminal--an outlaw. by one hasty act he had cut, for ever, the cords which had united him to his kindred. chapter seventeen. tells of despair and a wild pursuit. on discovering that nunaga and the children were not at moss bay, and that there were no fresh sledge tracks in that region to tell of their whereabouts, simek drove back to the village at a wild scamper, in a state of mind very much the reverse of jovial. his hope was that the girl might have been to some other locality, and had perhaps returned during his absence; but the first glance at nuna put that hope to flight, for the poor woman was in a state of terrible anxiety. cheery little kunelik and her mild son did their best to comfort her, but without success, for she knew well the determined character of the man who had probably carried off her children. "has she not come back?" demanded simek, appearing, like an infuriated polar bear, at the inside opening of the passage to okiok's mansion. "no," gasped nuna. simek said no more, but backed out faster than he had come in. ippegoo followed him. "run, ippe; tell all the men to get all their sledges and dogs ready, and come here to me." ippegoo ran off at once, while the energetic hunter rearranged the fastenings of his own sledge and team as if for a long journey. he was thus engaged when okiok and angut were seen approaching the village at an easy trot. evidently they knew nothing of what had occurred. simek ran out to meet them. a few words sufficed to explain. the news seemed to stun both men at first, but the after-effect on each was wonderfully different. the blood rushed to okiok's face like a torrent. he clenched his hands and teeth, glared and stamped, and went on like one deranged--as indeed for the moment he was. angut, on the other hand, was perfectly self-possessed and subdued, but his heaving chest, quivering nostrils, compressed lips, and frowning brows told that a volcano of emotion raged within. turning suddenly to okiok, he seized him by both arms as if his hands were vices. "listen," he said, with a sort of subdued intensity, that had the effect of quieting his friend; "get out your sledge and dogs." "all are ready," interposed simek, eagerly. angut waited for no more, but, leaving his friends, ran off at full speed towards the village. okiok and simek leaped on their respective sledges and followed. on arriving, it was found that most of the active men of the tribe were already assembled, with dogs harnessed, provisions and hunting-gear strapped down, and all ready for a journey of any length. to these angut gave directions in a tone and manner that deeply impressed his friends. not that he was loud or eager or violent; on the contrary, he was unusually calm, but deadly pale, and with an air of tremendous resolution about him that made the men listen intently and obey with promptitude. in a very few minutes he had sent off one and another in almost every direction, with instructions where to go, what to do, and how and when to return, in the event of failure. then he leaped on his own sledge, and turned to red rooney, who was standing by. "ridroonee," he said, in a somewhat sad tone, "i go to find nunaga. if i succeed not, you will see me no more." he held out his hand to take farewell in the kablunet's fashion. "what say you?" exclaimed rooney, taken by surprise, "nonsense! see you no--pooh!--hold on a bit." he ran into his friend's hut, and quickly returned with his bear-skin sleeping-bag and a small wallet which contained his little all. "now then," he cried, jumping on the sledge, "away you go as soon as you like. i'm with 'ee, lad." angut shook his head. "but the kablunet is not yet strong enough to travel," said the eskimo, doubtfully. "the kablunet is strong enough to pitch you over his head; and he'll do it too, if you don't drive on." with another doubtful look and shake of the head, angut seized his whip. the dogs, knowing the signal well, sprang up. at that moment angut observed the little eyes of kannoa peering at him wistfully. "come," he said, holding out a hand. the old woman's visage beamed with joy, as she seized the hand, and scrambled on the sledge. then the lash came round with the wonted crack. the dogs winced, but did not suffer, for angut was merciful to his beasts, and away they went at full speed--okiok having dashed off in similar fashion with his two sons and simek in another direction a few minutes before them. north, south, east, and west, on land and sea, did those eskimos search for tracks of the fugitives; but the whole immediate neighbourhood was so cut up in all directions by the daily out-going and in-coming of their own hunters, that the discovering of a special track was not easy--indeed, almost impossible. all day they sped over the ice and snow in widening circles. when night came, they waited till the moon arose, and then continued the search. it was not till the forenoon of the following day that the unsuccessful searchers began to drop in one by one, worn-out and disheartened. nuna and the other women had breakfast ready for them. little was said, for the women were depressed, and the men, after eating, immediately sought much-needed repose. it was nearly evening before okiok and his sons returned. "no sign anywhere," he said in reply to his poor wife's mute inquiry. "ippegoo," he added, turning to the youth, whose woe-begone expression at another time would have been ludicrous, "i will sleep for some time. let the dogs be well fed all round, and be ready to start with me when the moon rises." without another word, he stretched himself on the floor, pillowed his head on a deerskin, and went to sleep almost on the instant. meanwhile angut had driven straight to moss bay. his search was not one of a wild haphazard nature. despite the agitation of his breast, his mind was clear and his head cool. judging that nunaga must at least have started for her intended destination, whatever might afterwards have induced her to change her mind, he drove slowly along, observing with a lynx eye everything that looked in the slightest degree like a divergence from the route. the consequence was, that on reaching the place where the divergence had actually taken place, he pulled up, and got off the sledge to examine. "you're right," remarked rooney, who accompanied his friend, while old kannoa remained with the dogs. "it's easy to see that a sledge has turned off here." "quite easy," responded the eskimo, with suppressed eagerness; "we will follow." running back, they turned the dogs into the fresh track, and soon came to the place where ujarak had joined the women. angut pointed to the footprints with a gleam of unusual ferocity in his eyes. for some time they could easily follow the track, and went along at a rapid pace; but when it led them to the point where it joined other tracks, the difficulty of following became great. of course angut at once understood the object of this ruse, and became more attentive to every mark that seemed in the remotest degree to indicate another divergence, but failed to hit upon the spot, and finally came to a halt when far out on the floes where drift had obliterated the old sledge-marks, and a recent track could not have escaped notice. then he made a wide circular sweep, which was meant to cut across all the tracks that radiated from the village. in this manoeuvre he was more successful. towards evening he came upon a recent track which led straight to the southward. "got him at last!" exclaimed rooney, with a shout of excitement and satisfaction. "i think so," said angut, as he went down on his knees and carefully examined the marks on the floe. his opinion was clearly shown by his starting up suddenly, jumping on the sledge again, flourishing his whip savagely, and setting off at a pace that obliged rooney to seize the lashings with both hands and hold on tight. old kannoa did the same, and stuck to the sledge like a limpet, with her chin resting on her knees and her sharp little eyes gazing anxiously ahead. soon they came to the rough ground that had tried the quality of the wizard's sledge, and the vehicle bumped over the ice at such a rate that the poor old woman was almost pitched out. "hallo! hold on!" cried rooney, as they went over a hummock with a crash that made kannoa gasp, "you'll kill the poor thing if you--" he stopped short, for another crash almost tumbled himself over the stern of the vehicle. angut was roused to desperation. he scarcely knew what he was doing, as he lashed the yelping team furiously, hoping that when he should pass the cape ahead of him he would come in sight of the fugitives. "here, catch hold of me, old woman," cried rooney, putting an arm round the poor creature's waist; "sit on my legs. they'll act something like a buffer to your old bones." kannoa gave a sort of lively chuckle at the novelty of the situation, let go her hold of the sledge, and made a sudden plunge at rooney, grasping him tight round the neck with both arms. she was little more than a baby in the seaman's huge grasp, nevertheless, having only one arm to spare, and with a sledge that not only bumped, but swung about like a wild thing, he found her quite as much as he could manage. the night had fairly set in when the cape was rounded, so that nothing could be distinguished, not even the track they had been following--and travelling became dangerous. "no use to push on, angut," remarked rooney, as his friend pulled up; "we must have patience." "yes; the moon will be up soon," returned his friend; "we will now rest and feed." the resting meant sitting there in the dark on the side of the sleigh, and the feeding consisted in devouring a lump of seal's flesh raw. although not very palatable, this was eminently profitable food, as angut well knew. as for rooney, he had learned by that time to eat whatever came in his way with thankfulness--when hungry, and not to eat at all when otherwise. the moon rose at last, and revealed the sheet of glassy ice which had previously disconcerted ujarak. angut also beheld it with much concern, and went on foot to examine it. he returned with an anxious look. "they have crossed," he said moodily, "but the ice has cracked much, and my sledge is, i fear, heavier than theirs." "we can walk, you know, and so lighten it," said rooney. "no; it is only by a dash at full speed that we can do it. will my friend run the risk?" "he would not be your friend if he were not willing," returned the seaman gravely; "but what about kannoa? it's not fair to risk her life." "we cannot leave her behind," said angut, with a perplexed glance at the cowering figure on the sledge. "she could not return to the village on foot. that would be greater risk to her than going on with us." at this point the old woman looked up with a sort of pleasant grin, and croaked-- "kannoa is not heavy. take her with you. she is quite willing to live or die with angut and ridroonee." with a slight smile the eskimo resumed his place and whip. rooney patted kannoa on the head as he sat down beside her, and called her a "brave old girl." another moment, and the dogs were out on the glassy plain, galloping as well as they could, and yelping as much from fear of the rending and bending ice as the cracking whip. they had not advanced twenty yards when one of the sledge-runners broke through. this brought them to a sudden halt. next moment the sledge went down, and angut found himself struggling with the dogs in the sea. fortunately rooney, being near the back part of the sledge, was able to roll off in a sort of back-somersault before the vehicle was quite submerged. even in the act he did not forget kannoa. he made a blind grasp at her in passing, but found her not, for that remarkable woman, at the first alarm, and being well aware of what was coming, had sprawled off at the rear, and was already on the ice in safety. the two now set to work to rescue angut and the dogs. the former had cut the latter free from the sledge, so that it was not difficult to haul them out along with their master. for it must be remembered that, although the thin ice had failed to bear the sledge, it was sufficiently strong to support the individuals singly. to get the sledge out of the water was, however, a matter of much greater difficulty, but they accomplished it in the course of an hour or so. the process of doing this helped to dry angut's garments, which was fortunate. it was also fortunate that the sharp spring frost, which had set fast the space of open water, had by that time given way, so that there was no fear of evil consequences from the ducking either to dogs or man. but now came the serious question, what was to be done? "it is of no use trying it again," said angut, in a frame of mind amounting almost to despair. "could we not send kannoa back with the sledge, and you and i make sail after them on foot?" asked rooney. angut shook his head despondingly. "of no use," he said; "they have the best dogs in our village. as well might a rabbit pursue a deer. no; there is but one course. the land-ice is impassable, but the floes out on the sea seem still to be fast. if they break up while we are on them we shall be lost. will ridroonee agree to take old kannoa back to her friends, and i will go forward with the sledge alone?" "what say you, kannoa?" asked rooney, turning to the old woman with a half-humorous look. "kannoa says she will live or die with angut and ridroonee," she replied firmly. "you're a trump!" exclaimed the seaman in english. then, turning to the eskimo-- "you see, angut, it's impossible to get rid of us, so up anchor, my boy, and off we go seaward. the truth is, i ought to feel more in my element when we get out to sea." seeing that they were resolved, angut made no further objection, but, directing the dogs' heads away from the land, flourished his long whip over them, and set off at as break-neck a pace as before over the seaward ice-floes. chapter eighteen. a terrible encounter, disastrous results, and singular termination. let us return now to the wizard and his captives. after travelling for several days at the utmost possible speed, the guilty man began to feel at ease as regarded pursuit, and commenced to advance at a more reasonable rate, giving the poor dogs time for sufficient rest, and going out once or twice on the floes to procure fresh supplies of seal-flesh for himself and his party. the thaw which had by that time set steadily in had not broken up the old ice to the southward, so that no more thin ice or open water was met with. but although he had thus begun to take things more easily, ujarak did not by any means waste time. the wretched man was very morose, even savage, insomuch that he would scarcely reply to the questions which were timidly put to him at times by the women. it was evident that he repented of his hasty flight, and no doubt was rendered desperate by the reflection that the matter was by that time past remedy. one morning, on rounding one of those bluff precipitous capes which jut out from the western coast of greenland into baffin's bay, they came unexpectedly in sight of a band of eskimos who were travelling northwards. ujarak pulled up at once, and for some moments seemed uncertain what to do. he had not yet been observed, so that there was a possibility of turning aside, if he were so disposed, and hiding among the rugged masses of ice which lined the bottom of the cliffs. before he could make up his mind, however, on the subject, a loud shout from the eskimos showed that he had been observed. turning sharply, and with a savage scowl, to the women, he said in a low voice-- "if you say that i have run away with you, i will kill you and the children." a smile of contempt flickered on the face of kabelaw at the moment. observing it, the wizard added-- "there will be no escape for _you_. your death will be certain, for even if these people were to kill me, and carry you back to the village, my torngak would follow you and kill you." he said no more, for he knew well that he had said enough. at first sight of the eskimo band, kabelaw's heart had leaped for joy, because she at once made up her mind to explain how matters stood, and claim protection, which she had no doubt they would grant. but some eskimos, not less than many civilised people, are deeply imbued with superstition, and the bare idea of an invisible torngak pursuing her to the death--in the possibility of which she and nunaga more or less believed--was too much for her. in fear and trembling she made up her mind to be silent, and submit to her fate. it need scarcely be added, so did her more timid companion. "where do you come from?" asked the leader of the party when they met. "from the far-away _there_," replied the wily wizard, pointing northward. "i do not ask where _you_ come from." "why not?" demanded the leader, in some surprise. "because i know already," answered ujarak, "that you come from the far-away _there_," pointing southward; "and i know that, because i am an angekok. you have come from a spot near to the land where the kablunets have settled, and you are bringing iron and other things to exchange with my kinsmen for horns of the narwhal and tusks of the walrus." knowing as he did from rumour that eskimos from the moravian settlements were in the habit of travelling northward for the purposes of barter, (though they had not up to that time travelled so far north as his own tribe), and observing bundles of hoop-iron on the sledges, it did not require much penetration on the part of a quick mind like that of ujarak to guess whence the strangers had come, and what their object was. nevertheless, the leader and most of the party who had circled round the wizard and his sledge, opened their eyes in amazement at this smart statement of their affairs. "my brother must indeed be a great angekok, for he seems to know all things. but we did not come from _near_ the land where the kablunets have built their huts. we have come _from_ it," said the matter-of-fact leader. "did i not say that?" returned ujarak promptly. "no; you said near it--whereas we came from it, from inside of itself." "inside of itself must be very near it, surely!" retorted the wizard, with a grave look of appeal to those around him. a laugh and nod of approval was the reply, for eskimos appreciate even the small end of a joke, however poor, and often allow it to sway their judgment more powerfully than the best of reasoning--in which characteristic do they not strongly resemble some people who ought to know better? the matter-of-fact leader smiled grimly, and made no further objection to the wizard's claim to correct intelligence. "now," continued ujarak, for he felt the importance of at once taking and keeping the upper hand, "my tribe is not far from here; but they are going away on a hunting expedition, so you must lose no time, else they will be gone before you arrive. they want iron very much. they have horns and tusks in plenty. they will be glad to see you. my torngak told me you were coming, so i came out a long way to meet you. i brought my wives and children with me, because i want to visit the kablunets, and inquire about their new religion." he paused for a moment or two, to let his tissue of lies have full effect, but the very matter-of-fact leader took advantage of the pause to ask how it was that if he, ujarak, had been told by his torngak of the coming of the trading party, he had failed to tell his tribe _not_ to go on a hunting expedition, but to await their arrival. "ha! ho!" exclaimed several of the eskimos, turning a sharp gaze upon the wizard, as much as to say, "there's a puzzler for you, angekok!" but ujarak, although pulled up for a moment, was not to be overturned easily. "torngaks," he said, "do not always reveal all they know at once. if they did, angekoks would only have to listen to all they had to tell on every subject, and there would be an end of it; they would have no occasion to use their judgments at all. no; the torngaks tell what they choose by degrees. mine told me to leave my tribe, and visit the kablunets. on the way he told me more, but not _all_." this explanation seemed quite satisfactory to some, but not to all of them. seeing this, the wizard hastened to turn their minds from the subject by asking how far it was to the land of the kablunets. "four suns' journey," replied the leader. "it is the same to the village of my kindred," exclaimed ujarak, getting quickly on his sledge. "i must hasten on, and so must you. time must not be wasted." with a flourish of his whip, he started his team at full speed, scattering the eskimos right and left, and scouring over the ice like the wind. for a moment or two the leader of the band thought of pursuit, but seeing at a glance that none of his teams were equal to that of ujarak, and feeling, perhaps, that it might be dangerous to pursue an angekok, he gave up the idea, and resumed his northward route. for two days more the wizard continued his journey, encamping each night at sunset, eating his supper apart, making his bed of bearskins in the lee of a shrub or under the shelter of an overhanging cliff, and leaving his captives to make themselves comfortable as best they could on the sledge. this they did without difficulty, all of them being well accustomed to rough it, and having plenty of bear and deerskins to keep them warm. the dogs also contributed to this end by crowding round the party, with deep humility of expression, as close as they were allowed to come. at the end of these two days an incident occurred which totally changed the aspect of affairs. on the morning of the third day they started with the dawn, and drove steadily southward for a couple of hours. they had just traversed a small bay, and were close to the high cape which formed its southern extremity, when one of the bars of the sledge broke, rendering a halt necessary. breaking the gloomy silence which he had so long maintained, the wizard spoke: "go," he said, "cook some food under the cliffs there. i will mend the sledge." the women replied, not by words, but by the more emphatic method of at once obeying the order. kabelaw seized and shouldered a large piece of raw seal's flesh. nunaga took up little pussi with one hand, and the materials for producing fire with the other, and followed her companion. tumbler brought up the rear, staggering under the weight of the cooking-lamp. they had only a couple of hundred yards to go. in a few minutes kabelaw was busy under the cliffs producing fire, in the usual eskimo fashion with two pieces of dry wood, while her friend set up the lamp and sliced the meat. the children, inheriting as they did the sterling helpful propensities of their parents, went actively about, interfering with everything, in their earnest endeavours to assist. "isn't he strange?" remarked kabelaw, glancing in the direction of ujarak, as she diligently twirled the fire-stick between her palms; "so different from what he was." "i think," said nunaga, pouring oil into the lamp, "that he is sorry for what he has done." "no; him not sorry," said tumbler, as he assisted pussi to rise, for she had tripped and fallen; "him not sorry--him sulky." kabelaw took no notice of this juvenile observation, but, blowing the spark which she had at last evoked into a flame, expressed some doubt as to ujarak's repentance, and said she had never seen him in a state of sorry-tude before. whereupon tumbler pertly rejoined that _he_ had often seen him in a state of sulky-tude! the damage to the sledge was slight. it was soon repaired, and the wizard brought it round with him to the spot where breakfast was being got ready. this was the first time he had eaten with them since the flight began. his manner, however, was not much changed. he was still silent and gloomy, though once or twice he condescended to make a remark or two about the weather. when a man talks upon the weather, the ice is fairly broken--even in arctic regions--and from that well-nigh universal starting-point ujarak went on to make a few more remarks. he did so very sternly, however, as though to protest against the idea that he was softening to the smallest extent. "nunaga," he said, holding up a finger, "in two suns, or less, we shall arrive at the land where the kablunets have built houses and settled down." we may explain that the wizard here referred to the moravians, who had about that time sent out their first mission to greenland. of course he knew nothing of the object those self-sacrificing men had in view in thus establishing themselves in greenland, only vague rumours having at that time reached his distant tribe. all he knew was that they were kablunets, or foreigners, and that they had something mysterious to tell about the god of the kablunets. nunaga received ujarak's information in silence, and waited for more. "and now," he continued, "i want you to say when you arrive there that you are my wife." "but i am _not_ your wife," returned nunaga gently, yet firmly. the wizard frowned, then he glared fiercely, then he looked sad, then there settled on his visage a sulky look which gradually faded away, leaving nothing but a simple blank behind. after that he opened his lips, and was about to speak, when nunaga opened her pretty eyes to their widest, also her pretty mouth, and gave vent to a tremendous shriek, which, reverberating among the cliffs, caused all the creatures around her, canine and human, to leap electrically to their feet. to account for this we must take the reader round to the other side of the cliff, at the foot of which the party sat enjoying their breakfast. there, all ignorant of the human beings so near at hand, sauntered an enormous polar bear. it seated itself presently on its haunches, and swayed itself gently to and fro, with its head on one side, as if admiring the arctic scenery. there was not much more than a space of five hundred yards between the parties, but owing to the great promontory which formed an effectual screen between them, and the fact that the light air blew from the land to the sea, neither bear nor dogs had scented each other. it seemed as if bruin had only just got out of bed, for his little eyes blinked sleepily, his motions were exceedingly slow, and his yawns were frequent as well as remonstrative in tone. doubtless bears, like men, dislike early rising! having gazed at the scenery long enough, and shaken off its lethargy to some extent, the bear began probably to think of food. then it arose, sauntered round the promontory, and presented itself to the more than astonished gaze of nunaga, who was the only one that chanced to sit facing in its direction. the resulting shriek and its consequences seemed to have a petrifying effect on the animal, for it stood stock still for some moments, and simply gazed. this condition of things was instantly changed by three of the dogs breaking their traces, and rushing wildly at the animal. with two nimble pats of its great paws it sent two of the dogs into the air, almost killing them, while the third it dismissed, yelling hideously, with a bad tear in its flank. quick as thought, ujarak set the other dogs free, and the whole pack ran open-mouthed at their natural foe, but another dog being promptly sent away howling, the rest were cowed, and confined themselves to barking furiously round their powerful foe. apparently this was an old bear, confident perhaps in its strength, and used, it might be, to dog-assaults, for it paid no further attention to its canine opponents, but advanced with a very threatening aspect towards the sledge. it is pretty well-known that two eskimo men of average strength and courage are more than a snatch for the polar bear, if armed with spears. the mode of attack is simple. the two men separate. the one who arranges to be the slayer of the animal advances on its left side; the other on its right. thus the victim's attention is distracted; it becomes undecided which foe to attack first. the hunter on the right settles the question by running in, and giving him a prick with the spear. turning in fury on this man, the bear exposes its left side to the full force of a deadly thrust of the spear, which usually reaches the heart, and finishes it. the chances, however, are very much in favour of the bear when the man is alone. hence, single hunters are not fond of attacking a polar bear, except when unusually strong and courageous, as well as confident of their dexterity. now it happened that ujarak, although strong and courageous enough, was not over-confident of his dexterity. with a tried comrade, he would readily have faced any bear in the arctic regions, but on this occasion he felt he had to depend entirely on himself. seizing a spear quickly, he looked at the approaching animal, and glanced uneasily at nunaga. "if i am killed," he said, "you will have to defend the children." there was a tone of pathos in the voice, which showed that no touch of selfish fear influenced the man. hitherto the women and children had stood absolutely horror-struck and helpless, but the vigorous nature of kabelaw came to her aid. "we will help you," she suddenly cried, catching up two spears, and thrusting one into the hands of nunaga; "two women may perhaps be equal to one man." the wizard smiled grimly in spite of circumstances at this heroic action, but there was no time for reply, as the bear was already close to them. poor, timid nunaga, trembling from skin to marrow, had just courage enough to grasp her spear and follow kabelaw. the latter understood well how to act. she had often seen her own kinsmen do the work that was required of her. as for the two little ones, they continued throughout to stand limp and motionless, with eyes and mouths wide-open. of course kabelaw ran to the right, and ujarak to the left of the foe. advancing, as in duty bound, a step or two ahead of her male friend, the former proceeded to prick the bear; but when the monster rose on his hind legs, and towered to a height of eight feet, if not more, her heart failed her. nevertheless, she made a gallant thrust, which might have at least incommoded the animal had not the spear received a blow which not only sent it spinning out of the woman's hand, but hurled poor kabelaw herself on the ice, a small lump of which cut open her temple, and rendered her for the moment insensible. at the same instant the wizard took prompt advantage of his opportunity, and delivered what should have been the death-wound. but the very energy of the man foiled him, for the spear entered too near the shoulder, and stuck upon the bone. the fall of kabelaw had the peculiar effect of producing a gush of desperation in the tender heart of nunaga, which amounted, almost, to courage. with a lively shriek she shut her eyes, rushed in on the bear, and gave it a dab in the side, which actually sent her weapon into the flesh about an inch deep, and there it stuck fast. feeling this new sting, the bear turned on her with a gasp of rage. she looked up. the great paws were extended over her head. the dreadful jaws were open. letting go her weapon, nunaga cast up her arms, shut her eyes again, and sank shuddering on the ice. down came the bear, but at that critical moment an irresistible force effected what the united party had failed to accomplish. the butt of nunaga's spear chanced to enter a crack in the ice, where it stuck fast, and the weight of the descending animal sent the point through flesh, ribs, and heart, and out at his backbone. the spear broke of course, but in breaking it turned the monster on one side, and saved the poor girl from being smothered. at the same moment ujarak had made another desperate thrust, which, unlike the former, entered deep, but being misdirected, did not touch a vital part. in the violence of his effort the man fell, and the dying bear rolled upon him, rendering him also insensible. when poor little nunaga, recovering from her state of semi-consciousness, opened her eyes, and sat up, her first impression was that the bear, the wizard, and kabelaw lay around her dead. bad as the state of matters was, however, it was not quite so bad as that. the poor girl's first act was to burst into a hysterical fit of laughter--so wonderfully constituted are some female minds--and she followed that up with an equally hysterical fit of weeping. but to do her justice, the fits did not last above half a minute. then she suddenly stopped, dried her eyes, jumped up, and, pursing her lips and knitting her brows, ran to her friend, whom she found just returning to a state of consciousness. "what has happened?" asked kabelaw, in a dazed manner, as she looked at the blood which flowed from her wound. nunaga did not answer, but ran to the bear, which was quite dead, and began to drag it off ujarak. with great difficulty, and by first hauling at its neck and then at its tail, she managed to move it just enough to set the man's head and chest free. the wizard, thus partially relieved, soon began to show signs of returning life. in a few minutes he was able to sit up and drag his right leg from under the bear, but he was much exhausted, and only got it free after great exertion. "are you hurt?" asked nunaga, in a tone of commiseration. "not much, i think. i--i am not sure. i feel as if i had been much shaken, and my leg is painful. i hope," he added, feeling the limb with both hands, "that it is not--" he finished the sentence with a deep groan. but it was not a groan of pain so much as of despair, for his leg, he found, was broken just above the ankle. it may perhaps require a little thought on the part of those who dwell in civilised lands to understand fully all that this implied to the eskimo. if it did not absolutely mean death by exposure and starvation, it at all events meant life under extremely uncomfortable conditions of helplessness and pain; it meant being completely at the mercy of two women whom he had grievously wronged; and it meant that, at the best, he could not avoid ultimately falling into the hands of his angry and outraged kinsmen. all this the wizard perceived at a glance--hence his groan. now it may not be out of place to remark here that the qualities of mercy, pity, forgiveness, etcetera, are not by any means confined to the people of christian lands. we believe that, as our saviour "died for the sins of the whole world," so the spirit of jesus is to be found working righteousness among individuals of even the worst and most savage nations of the earth. the extreme helplessness and pain to which her enemy was reduced, instead of gratifying revenge in nunaga, aroused in her gentle breast feelings of the tenderest pity; and she not only showed her sympathy in her looks and tones, but by her actions, for she at once set to work to bind up the broken limb to the best of her ability. in this operation she was gleefully assisted by little tumbler and pussi, who, having recovered from their horror when the bear fell dead, seemed to think that all succeeding acts were part of a play got up for their special amusement. when the surgical work was done, nunaga again turned her attention to kabelaw. she had indeed felt a little surprised that her friend seemed to take no interest in the work in which she was engaged, and was still more surprised when, on going up to her, she found her sitting in the same position in which she had left her, and wearing the same stupid half-stunned look on her face. a few words sufficed to reveal the truth, and, to nunaga's consternation, she found that her friend was suffering from what is known among the civilised as concussion of the brain. when the full significance of her condition at last forced itself upon the poor girl, when she came to see clearly that she was, as it were, cast away in the arctic wilderness, with the whole care of a helpless man and woman and two equally helpless children, besides a sledge and team of dogs, devolving on her she proved herself to be a true heroine by rising nobly to the occasion. her first act was to return, with characteristic humility, and ask ujarak what she must do. "you must take the dogs and sledge and the children," he answered in a low voice, "and save yourselves." "what! and leave you here?" "yes; i am bad. it is well that i should die." "but kabelaw?" said the girl, with a glance at her friend. "she has got the head-sickness and cannot help herself." "leave her to die also," said the wizard carelessly; "she is not worth much." "never!" cried nunaga, with emphasis. "i will save her, i will save you all. did you not tell me that the village of the kablunets is only two suns from here?" "that is so, nunaga." "can you creep to the sledge?" asked the girl quickly. "i think i can." "try, then." the wizard tried, and found that he could creep on his hands and one knee, dragging the wounded limb on the ice. it gave him excruciating pain, but he was too much of a man to mind that. in a few minutes he was lying at full length on the sledge. "now, tumbler and pussi," said nunaga, "cover him well up with skins, while i go and fetch kabelaw, but _don't touch his leg_." she found that kabelaw could walk slowly, with support, and after much exertion succeeded in getting her also laid out upon the sledge alongside of the wizard. then nunaga tied them both firmly down with long walrus-lines. she also attached the children to the sledge with lines round their waists, to prevent their being jolted off. having thus made things secure, and having cut off some choice portions of the bear for food, she harnessed the dogs, grasped the whip, mounted to the driver's place, brought the heavy lash down with wonderful effect on the backs of the whole team, and set off at full gallop towards the land where kablunets were said to dwell. fortunately, the ice was smooth most of the way, for jolting was not only injurious to poor kabelaw, but gave the wizard great additional pain. it also had the effect of bumping tumbler and pussi against each other, and sometimes strained their lashings almost to the breaking point. at night nunaga selected as comfortable a spot as she could find under the shelter of the greenland cliffs, and there--after detaching the children, re-dressing ujarak's leg, arranging the couch of the semi-conscious kabelaw, and feeding the hungry dogs--she set up her lamp, and cooked savoury seal and bear cutlets for the whole party. and, not withstanding the prejudices with which fastidious people may receive the information, it is an unquestionable fact that the frying of seal and bear cutlets sends a most delicious influence up the nose, though perhaps it may require intense hunger and an eskimo's digestion to enable one to appreciate to the full the value of such food. these labours ended, nunaga put the little ones to bed, made the wizard and kabelaw as comfortable as possible for the night, fastened up the dogs, and, spreading her own couch in the most convenient spot beside them, commenced her well-earned night's repose. the first night her bed was a flat rock; the second, a patch of sand; but on both occasions the cheery little woman softened the place with a thick bear-skin, and, curling up, covered herself with the soft skin of a reindeer. and what were the thoughts of the wicked ujarak as he lay there, helpless and suffering, silently watching nunaga? we can tell, for he afterwards made a partial confession of them. "she is very pretty," he thought, "and very kind. i always knew that, but now i see that she is much more. she is forgiving. i took her from her home by force, and would have made her my wife against her will--yet she is good to me. i have been harsh, unkind, cruel, sulky to her ever since we left home--yet she is good to me. i have torn her from all those whom she loves, with the intention that she should never see them again--yet she is good to me. she might have left me to die, and might easily have gone home by herself, and it would have served me right, but--but she is good to me. i am not a man. i am a beast--a bear--a fox--a walrus--" as the wizard thought thus, a couple of tears overflowed their boundaries, and rolled down the hitherto untried channel of his cheeks. do you think, reader, that this line of thought and emotion, even in a savage, was unnatural? is not the same principle set forth in scripture in reference to far higher things? need we remind you that it is "the _goodness_ of god which leadeth thee, (or any one else), to repentance?" as it is in the spiritual world, so is it in the natural. at the time of which we write the same grand principle was powerfully at work in nature. "thick-ribbed ice," which the united forces of humanity could not have disrupted, was being silently yet rapidly dissolved by the genial influence of the sun, insomuch that on the evening of the day after nunaga had been compelled by circumstances to assume command of the expedition, several sheets of open water appeared where ice had been expected, and the anxious charioteer was more than once obliged to risk the lives of the whole party by driving out to sea on the floes--that being better than the alternative of remaining where they were, to die of starvation. but by that time they were not far distant from the kablunet settlements. chapter nineteen. spring returns--kayak evolutions--angut is puzzled. why some people should wink and blink as well as smirk when they are comfortable is a question which might possibly be answered by cats if they could speak, but which we do not profess to understand. nevertheless we are bound to record the fact that on the very day when nunaga and her invalids drew near to the first moravian settlements in greenland, ippegoo slowly mounted a hillside which overlooked the icy sea, flung himself down on a moss-clad bank, and began to wink and blink and smirk in a way that surpassed the most comfortable cat that ever revelled on rug or slumbered in sunshine. ippegoo was supremely happy, and his felicity, like that of most simple folk, reposed on a simple basis. it was merely this--that spring had returned to the arctic regions. spring! ha! who among the dwellers in our favoured land has the faintest idea of--of--pooh!--words are wanting. the british poets, alive and dead, have sung of spring, and doubtless have fancied that they understood it. they had no more idea of what they were singing about than--than the man in the moon, if we may venture to use a rather hackneyed comparison. listen, reader, humbly, as becometh the ignorant. imagine yourself an eskimo. don't overdo it. you need not in imagination adopt the hairy garments, or smear yourself with oil, or eat raw blubber. for our purpose it will suffice to transport yourself into the arctic regions, and invest yourself with the average intelligence of an ordinary human being who has not been debased by the artificial evils that surround modern civilisation, or demoralised by strong drink. in this condition of happy simplicity you draw near to the end of an arctic winter. during eight months or so you have been more or less shrivelled-up, petrified, mummified, by frost of the most intense and well-nigh intolerable description. your whole body has frequently been pierced by winds, the constituents of which seemed to be needles and fire. shelter has been one of your chief subjects of meditation every day--ofttimes all day; unwillingness to quit that shelter and eagerness to return to it being your dominant characteristic. darkness palpable has been around you for many weeks, followed by a twilight of gloom so prolonged that you _feel_ as if light were a long-past memory. your eyes have become so accustomed to ice and snow that white, or rather whitey-grey, has long since usurped and exclusively held the place of colour in your imagination, so that even black--a black cliff or a black rock cropping up out of the snow--becomes a mitigated joy. your ears have been so attuned to the howling blast with interludes of dead calm and variations of rending icebergs and bellowing walrus accompaniments, that melodious harmonies have fled affrighted from your brain. as for your nose--_esprit de marrow fat_, extract of singed hide, essence of lamp-smoke, _eau de cuisine_, and de-oxygenised atmosphere of snow-hut, have often inclined you to dash into the open air, regardless of frost and snow, for purposes of revivification. imagine all these things intensified to the uttermost, and prolonged to nigh the limits of endurance, so that genial ideas and softening influences seem to have become things of the long-forgotten past, and _then_ try to imagine a change, compared to which all the transformation scenes of all the pantomimes that ever blazed are as a tomtit's chirp to a lion's roar, or a--a--words fail again! no matter. but don't give in yet. try, now, to imagine this sudden transformation wrought, perhaps, in a few days to the slow music of southern zephyrs, bearing on their wings light, and heat, and sunshine. your ear is surprised--absolutely startled--by the sound of trickling water. old memories that you thought were dead come back in the trumpet of the wild-goose, the whistling wing of the duck, the plaintive cry of the plover. your nose--ah! your nose cocks up and snuffs a smell--pardon!-- a scent. it is the scent of the great orb on which you stand, saturated _at last_ with life-giving water, and beginning to vivify all the green things that have so long been hidden in her capacious bosom. but it is to your eye, perhaps, that the strongest appeal is made, for while you throw off one by one the garments which have protected you for so many months, and open up body and soul to the loved, long-absent, influences of warmth, and sound, and odour, your eye drinks up the mighty draughts of light--light not only blazing in the blue above, but reflected from the blue below--for the solid ice-fields are now split into fragments; the swell of old ocean sends a musical ripple to the shore; great icebergs are being shed from their parent glaciers, and are seen floating away in solemn procession to the south, lifting their pinnacles towards their grandparent clouds, until finally reduced to the melting mood, and merged in their great-grandparent the sea. imagine such visions and sensations coming suddenly, almost as a surprise, at the end of the stern arctic winter, and then, perchance, you will have some idea of the bounding joy that fills the soul on the advent of spring, inducing it to feel, if not to say, "let every thing that hath breath praise the lord." _this_ is spring! the eskimos understand it, and so do the dwellers in rupert's land; perchance, also, the poor exiles of siberia--but the poets--pooh! far down below the perch occupied by ippegoo lay a little sandy bay, around which were scattered a number of eskimo huts--rude and temporary buildings, meant to afford shelter for a time and then be forsaken. this was the bay which angut, okiok, simek, red rooney, and the others had reached in their pursuit of the wizard when the ice broke up and effectually stopped them. as it was utterly impossible to advance farther with dog and sledge, they were compelled to restrain their impatience as best they could, and await open water, when they might resume their journey in kayaks. meanwhile, as there was a lead of open water to the northward as far as they could see, the youth arbalik had been despatched with a small sledge and four of the strongest dogs along the strip of land-ice, or "ice-foot," which clung to the shore. his mission was to reach the village, and fetch nuna, pussimek, kunelik, sigokow, and his own mother, in one of the oomiaks or women's boats when open water should permit. it was while our eskimos were thus idly waiting for their wives, that the before-mentioned southern eskimos arrived, and met them with every demonstration of friendliness and good-will. these men, who had been forced to make a long, difficult detour inland after the ice gave way, were not a little pleased to find that the ice-foot to the northward was still practicable, and that the eskimo village was so near. of course they told of their meeting with ujarak's sledge, which rendered inaction on the part of the pursuers still more unbearable. but they were all men who could accept the inevitable with a good grace, and as they knew it was impossible to advance without kayaks and oomiaks, they awaited the return of arbalik as patiently as possible. meanwhile they made themselves agreeable to the new arrivals, whose hearts they gladdened by telling them that their friends in the north had plenty of narwhal horns and bones and walrus tusks and sinews to exchange for their wood and iron. but to return to ippegoo on his distant and elevated outlook. while he gazed at the busy groups below, our weak-minded youth observed two of the party step into kayaks which lay on the beach, push off into the bay, and commence what may be styled "kayak exercise." as ippegoo greatly enjoyed witnessing such exercises, he threw off his lethargy, and, leaping up, quickly descended to the shore. the kayaks were old ones which had been found by the party on arriving at the deserted village. they had probably been left as useless by previous visitors, but okiok's boys, norrak and ermigit, being energetic and ingenious fellows, had set to work with fish-bone-needles and sinew-threads, and repaired them with sealskin patches. they were now about to test their workmanship and practise their drill. "do they leak?" shouted okiok, as the lads pushed off. "not more than i can soak up," replied norrak, looking back with a laugh. "only a little," cried ermigit, "and hoh! the water is still very cold." "paddle hard, and you'll soon warm it," cried rooney. when they had got fairly off, a spirit of emulation seized the brothers, and, without a direct challenge, they paddled side by side, gradually increasing their efforts, until they were putting forth their utmost exertions, and going through the water at racing speed. "well done, norrak!" shouted the father, in rising excitement. "not so fast, ermigit; not so fast," roared simek. heedless of the advice, the brothers pushed on until they were brought up by the pack-ice at the mouth of the bay. here they turned as quickly as possible, and raced back with such equal speed that they came in close together--so close that it was impossible for those on shore to judge which was winning as they approached. as in all similar cases--whether on the thames or on the greenland seas--excitement became intense as the competitors neared the goal. they were still a hundred yards or so from land, when ermigit missed a stroke of his paddle. the consequence was that the kayak overturned, and ermigit disappeared. a kayak, as is generally known, is a very long and narrow canoe, made of a light wooden frame, and covered all over with sealskin with the exception of a single hole, in what may be called the deck, which is just big enough to admit one man. this hole is surrounded by a strip of wood, which prevents water washing into the canoe, and serves as a ledge over which the eskimo fastens his sealskin coat. as canoe and coat are waterproof, the paddler is kept dry, even in rough weather, and these cockle-shell craft will ride on a sea that would swamp an open boat. but the kayak is easily overturned, and if the paddler is not expert in the use of his paddle, he runs a chance of being drowned, for it is not easy to disengage himself from his craft. constant practice, however, makes most natives as expert and fearless as tight-rope dancers, and quite as safe. no sooner, therefore, did ermigit find himself in the water, head downwards, than, with a rapid and peculiar action of the paddle, he sent himself quite round and up on the other side into the right position-- dripping, however, like a seal emerging from the sea. he lost the race, as a matter of course. norrak, after touching the beach, returned to ermigit, laughing at his mishap. "you laugh," said his brother somewhat sharply, "but you cannot do that as quickly as i did it." without a word of reply, norrak threw himself on one side, vanished in the water, and came up on the other side in a decidedly shorter time. "well done!" cried ermigit, who was, in truth, a good-natured fellow; "come, let us practise." "agreed," responded norrak; and both brothers pushed a little nearer to land, so that their father and the others might observe and criticise their evolutions. as the exercises which they went through are practised by eskimos in order to fit them to cope with the accidents and emergencies of actual life, we will briefly describe them. first norrak leaned over on one side, of course carrying the kayak with him, until his body lay on the water, in which position he maintained himself and prevented a total overset by manipulating his paddle, and then, with a downward dash of the blade and a vigorous jerk of his body, he regained his position, amid expressions of approval from the shore. having performed the same feat on the other side, he nodded to ermigit, and said-- "now you go to work." ermigit went to work so well, that even a critical judge could not have pronounced him better or worse than his brother. after that they both repeated the complete overturn and recovery already described. in this effort, however, the lads had the free use of their paddles; but as in actual service the paddle may easily get entangled with straps and fishing cordage, a special exercise is arranged to prepare the hunter against such misfortunes. accordingly norrak pushed one blade of his paddle among the straps and cordage, overset the kayak, and worked himself up again with a quick motion of the other blade. of course this was not done either easily or quickly. nevertheless, it was accomplished by both lads to the entire satisfaction of their critics. next, they performed the same feat of upsetting and recovering position with the paddle held fast behind their backs, and then with it held across the nape of the neck--and in several other positions, all of which represented cases of possible entanglement. sometimes, however, the paddle may be lost in an upset. this is the most serious misfortune that can befall a hunter. to prepare for it, therefore, the eskimo boys and youths have a special drill, which norrak now proceeded to go through. overturning his kayak as before, he purposely let go the oar in the act, so that it floated on the water, and then, while thus inverted, he made an upward grasp, caught the paddle, pulled it down, and with it recovered his position. there would have been great danger in this if he had been alone, for in the event of his failing to catch the paddle he would probably have been drowned, but with ermigit at hand to help, there was no danger. other exercises there are which the sons of okiok were not able to practise at that time because of the weather being unsuitable. one of these consists in threading their way among sunken rocks and dashing surges; another, in breasting the billows of a tempest. it must not be supposed that all eskimos become efficient in rough work of this kind. many do become exceedingly expert, others moderately so; but some there are who, although very fair seal-hunters, never become experts in the management of the kayak, and who, in cases of great difficulty, are apt to be lost during the seasons of seal-fishing. now, it chanced while the youths were thus training themselves for future work, that a solitary seal put up its head, as if to have a look at the state of things in general above water. it also chanced that the eskimos were to leeward of him, and a blaze of sunshine was at their backs, so that the seal when looking towards its human foes had its eyes dazzled. ermigit had no weapons at the time, but by good-fortune a harpoon, line, and bladder were attached to norrak's vessel. as the cat pounces on the unwary mouse, so norrak, crouching low, dipped his paddle twice with noiseless vigour, and shot his craft like an arrow towards the seal. it happened to be a stupid attarsoak, and it raised its bullet head with a look that said plainly, "what, in all the ocean, is that queer thing in the sunshine?" half a minute brought that queer thing in the sunshine within ten yards of him. norrak grasped the light harpoon, and sent it whistling to its mark. truer than the needle to the pole the weapon went, carrying its line with it, and sank deep into the shoulder of the seal. ermigit, meanwhile, had made for the shore, got a lance thrown to him by the excited okiok, received an encouraging nod from rooney with an english recommendation to "go it," and was off again to render aid. and not a moment too soon did that aid come, for, contrary to usual experience, that seal--instead of diving, and giving them an hour's hot pursuit--made a furious assault on norrak. probably the spear had touched it in a tender spot. at all events the creature's ire was roused to such an extent that when it reached him it seized the kayak and tore a large hole in it. down went the bow, as a matter of course, and up went the stern. norrak hastily disengaged himself, so as to be ready to spring clear of the sinking wreck, and was on the point of jumping out when his brother's kayak shot past him, and ermigit sent a spear deep into the vitals of the seal--so deep, indeed, that it turned over and died without a groan. by that time norrak was in the water, but he made a vigorous grasp at his brother's kayak with one hand, while with the other he clutched the line of the harpoon--for well did he know that dead seals sink, and that if it went down it would perhaps carry the bladder along with it, and so be lost. "give me the line, brother," said ermigit, extending a hand. "no. i can hold it. you make for shore--quick." ermigit plied his paddle with a will, and in a few minutes reached the shore with norrak, bladder, line, and seal like a huge tail behind him. need we say that they were received by their friends, as well as by the strange eskimos, with enthusiasm? we think not. neither is it necessary to comment on the enjoyment they found that night in a supper of fresh meat, and in fighting the battle, as well as a good many other battles, over again. but in the midst of it all there was a cloud on the brows of angut, simek, and okiok, for their anxiety about the fate of nunaga, pussi, and tumbler was intense. angut was particularly restless during the night, and got up several times to take a look at the weather, as rooney expressed it. on one of these occasions he found the kablunet standing by the shore of the calm sea. "i don't like the look o' things," said rooney, giving a sailor-like glance at the horizon and the sky. "it seems to me as if we were goin' to have dirty weather." instead of replying to this remark, the eskimo looked earnestly at his friend, and asked-- "can ridroonee tell me why the great spirit allows men to do evil?" "no, angut, no. that is beyond my knowledge. indeed i remember puttin' the same question, or somethin' like it, to a learned man in my country, and he said it is beyond the knowledge of the wisest men that have ever lived--so it's no wonder that it's beyond you and me." "but the great spirit is good," said angut, rather as if he were soliloquising than addressing his friend. "yes; he is good--_must_ be good," returned the sailor; "it cannot be otherwise." "then why does evil exist?" asked angut quickly. "why did he make evil? you have told me he made everything." "so he did, but evil is not a _thing_. it is a state of being, so to speak." "it is a great mystery," said angut. "it would be a greater mystery," returned the seaman, "if the great spirit was _not_ mysterious." "he has allowed ujarak to carry off nunaga, though she loves not ujarak, and ujarak does not love her, else he could not have treated her so badly. why did the great spirit allow that?" demanded the eskimo, with some bitterness of tone. "i know not, angut, yet i know it is for good, because the great spirit is our great father, and if human fathers know how to treat their children well, does the great father of all not know?" the eskimo gravely bowed his head in assent to this proposition, and the seaman continued-- "i have spoken to you more than once, angut, about the men in our land called surgeons--that you call knife-men,--how they will cut and carve your body, and tie you down sometimes, and give you terrible and prolonged suffering for the purpose of curing you and relieving your pain." "true," replied angut, who at once saw the drift of his friend's remark; "but then you _know_ that the knife-man's object is good. it is to cure, to relieve." "but suppose," argued rooney, "that you did _not_ know that his object was good--that you looked on him as a cruel, bloody, heartless monster, who cared not for your cries of pain--would your ignorance change his character?" "no, no; he would remain good, whatever you might think," said angut quickly; "i see. i see. i will try to think as you think--the great father is good, _must_ be good. and he will prove it some day. don't you think so, ridroonee?" "ay, truly, i think so; i am sure of it. but listen! do you not hear sounds?" they both listened intently, and gazed towards the northern headland of the bay, which at the time was bathed in brilliant moonlight. presently two black specks, one larger than the other, were seen to round the point, and the chattering of women's voices was heard. it was arbalik in a kayak, preceding an oomiak propelled by several women. in her impatience to join her lord, madame okiok had insisted on a forced march. a few minutes more, and the women landed amid noisy demonstrations of satisfaction. ere long the united party were busy round the unfailing lamps, enjoying social intercourse over an intermediate meal which, as it came between supper and breakfast, has not yet obtained a name. chapter twenty. the chase continued and disastrously interrupted. the day following that on which the wives of simek and okiok, and the mothers of arbalik and ippegoo with the spinster sigokow arrived, the southern eskimos resumed their route northward, and the pursuers continued their journey to the south--the former in their sledges over the still unmelted ice-foot along the shore; the latter, in kayaks, by a lead of open water, which extended as far as the eye could reach. angut, okiok, and simek led the way in kayaks, the kayak damaged by the seal having been repaired. the other men were forced to embark in the women's boat. eskimo men deem this an undignified position, and will not usually condescend to work in oomiaks, which are invariably paddled by the women, but rooney, being influenced by no such feelings, quietly took the steering paddle, and ultimately shamed arbalik and ippegoo as well as the sons of okiok into lending a hand. during the first part of the voyage all went well, but next day the lead of open water was found to trend off the land, and run out into the pack, where numerous great glaciers were seen--some aground, others surging slowly southward with the polar current. "i don't like the look of it," remarked angut, when the other leaders of the party ranged alongside of him for a brief consultation. "neither do i," said simek. "the season is far advanced, and if there should be a general break-up of the ice while we are out among the floes, we should be lost." "but it is impossible for us to travel by land," said okiok. "no man knows the land here. the sea runs so far in that we might spend many moons in going round the bays without advancing far on our journey." "so there is nothing left for us but to go on by water," said angut, with decision. "nunaga must be rescued." "and so must tumbler," said okiok. "and so must pussi," said simek. "what are you fellows consulting about?" shouted red rooney, coming up at that moment with the others in the oomiak. "we are talking of the danger of the ice breaking up," answered angut. "but there is no other way to travel than by the open lead, so we have decided to go on." "of course you have," returned rooney; "what else can we do? we _must_ risk something to save nunaga, pussi, and tumbler, to say nothing of kabelaw. get along, my hearties!" how rooney translated the last phrase into eskimo is a point on which we can throw no light,--but no matter. in a short time the party reached the neighbourhood of one of the largest bergs, one of those gigantic masses of ice which resemble moderately-sized mountains, the peaks of which rose several hundred feet above the sea-level, while its base was more than a mile in diameter. there were little valleys extending into its interior, through which flowed rivulets, whose winding courses were broken here and there by cascades. in short, the berg resembled a veritable island made of white sugar, the glittering sun-lit slopes of which contrasted finely with its green-grey shadows and the dark-blue depths of its wide rifts and profound caverns. the lead or lane of water ran to within fifty yards of this ice-island, so that rooney had a splendid view of it, and, being of a romantic turn of mind, amused himself as the oomiak glided past by peopling the white cliffs and valleys with snow-white inhabitants. while he was thus employed, there occurred a sudden crashing and rending in the surrounding pack which filled him with consternation. it produced indeed the same effect on the eskimos, as well it might, for the very catastrophe which they all dreaded was now taking place. a slight swell on the sea appeared to be the originating cause, but, whatever it was, the whole surface was soon broken up, and the disintegrated masses began to grind against each other in confusion. at the same time the lead which the voyagers had been following grew narrower, and that so rapidly, that they had barely time to jump upon a mass of ice when the opening closed and crushed the oomiak and okiok's kayak to pieces. angut and simek had time to lift their kayaks on to the ice, but that, as it turned out, was of no advantage. "make for the berg," shouted angut to the women, at the same time seizing the hand of kunelik, who chanced to be nearest to him, and assisting her to leap from one heaving mass to another. rooney performed the same act of gallantry for old kannoa, who, to his surprise, went over the ice like an antique squirrel. okiok took his own wife in hand. as for pussimek, she did not wait for assistance, but being of a lively and active, as well as a stout and cheery disposition, she set off at a pace which caused her tail to fly straight out behind her, and made it difficult for simek to keep up with her. ippegoo and arbalik, with the sons of okiok, tried their best to save the two kayaks, for well they knew the danger of being left on the ice without the means of escaping; but the suddenness of the disruption, the width of the various channels they had to leap, and the instability of the masses, compelled them, after much delay, to drop their burdens and save themselves. they only managed to reach the berg with extreme difficulty. "thank god, all safe!--but we have had a close shave," exclaimed rooney, as he held out his hand to assist ippegoo, who was the last of the party to clamber up the rugged side of the berg from the broken floe-pieces which were grinding against it. "i wish we could say with truth `all safe,'" was okiok's gloomy response, as he surveyed the ice-laden sea; "we have escaped being crushed or drowned, but only to be starved to death." "a living man may hope," returned angut gravely. "ay, and where there is life," added rooney, "there ought to be thankfulness." "i would be more thankful," said ippegoo, with a woe-begone expression, "if we had saved even a spear; but what can we do without food or weapons?" "do? my son," said kunelik; "can we not at least keep up heart? who ever heard of any good coming of groaning and looking miserable?" "right you are, old girl," cried rooney, giving the mother of ippegoo a hearty pat on the shoulder. "there is no use in despairing at the very beginning of our troubles; besides, is there not the great spirit who takes care of us, although we cannot see or hear him? i believe in god, my friends, and i'll ask him to help us now." so saying, to the surprise of the eskimos, the seaman uncovered his head, and looking upwards, uttered a few words of earnest prayer in the name of jesus. at first the unsophisticated natives looked about as if they expected some visible and immediate answer to the petition, but rooney explained that the great spirit did not always answer at once or in the way that man might expect. "god works by means of us and through us," he said. "we have committed the care of ourselves to him. what we have now to do is to go to work, and do the best we can, and see what things he will throw in our way, or enable us to do, in answer to our prayer. now, the first thing that occurs to me is to get away from where we stand, because that overhanging cliff beside us may fall at any moment and crush us. next, we should go and search out some safe cavern in which we may spend the night, for we sha'n't be able to find such a place easily in the dark, and though it will be but a cold shelter, still, cold shelter is better than none--so come along." these remarks of the sailor, though so familiar--perhaps commonplace--to us, seemed so just and full of wisdom to the unsophisticated natives, and were uttered in such an off-hand cheery tone, that a powerful effect was created, and the whole party at once followed the seaman, who, by this display of coolness, firmness, and trustfulness in a higher power, established a complete ascendancy over his friends. from that time they regarded him as their leader, even although in regard to the details of eskimo life he was of course immeasurably their inferior. they soon found a small cave, not far from the spot where they had landed--if we may use that expression--and there made preparation to spend the night, which by that time was drawing on. although their craft had been thus suddenly destroyed and lost, they were not left absolutely destitute, for each one, with that prompt mental activity which is usually found in people whose lives are passed in the midst of danger, had seized the bear-skin, deerskin, or fur bag on which he or she happened to be sitting, and had flung it on to the floes before leaping thereon; and ippegoo, with that regard for internal sustenance which was one of his chief characteristics, had grasped a huge lump of seal's flesh, and carried it along with him. thus the whole party possessed bedding, and food for at least one meal. of course the meal was eaten not only cold but raw. in the circumstances, however, they were only too thankful, to care much about the style of it. before it was finished daylight fled, the stars came out, and the aurora borealis was shooting brilliantly athwart the sky. gradually the various members of the party spread their skins on the most level spot discoverable, and, with lumps of ice covered with bits of hide for pillows, went to sleep with what resembled free-and-easy indifference. two of the party, however, could not thus easily drop into happy oblivion. red rooney felt ill at ease. his knowledge of those arctic seas had taught him that their position was most critical, and that escape would be almost miraculous, for they were eight or ten miles at least off the land, on a perishable iceberg, with an ice-encumbered sea around, and no means of going afloat, even if the water had been free. a feeling of gloom which he had not felt before, and which he could not banish, rendered sleep impossible; he therefore rose, and sauntered out of the cave. outside he found angut, standing motionless near the edge of an ice-cliff, gazing up into the glorious constellations overhead. "i can't sleep, angut," said the seaman; "i suppose you are much in the same way?" "i do not know. i did not try," returned the eskimo in a low voice; "i wish to think, not to sleep. why cannot the kablunet sleep?" "well, it's hard to tell. i suppose thinking too much has something to do with it. the fact is, angut, that we've got into what i call a fix, and i can't for the life of me see how we are to get out of it. indeed i greatly fear that we shall never get out of it." "if the great spirit wills that our end should be _now_," said angut, "is the kablunet afraid to die?" the question puzzled rooney not a little. "well," he replied, "i can't say that i'm afraid, but--but--i don't exactly _want_ to die just yet, you see. the fact is, my friend, that i've got a wife and children and a dear old grandmother at home, and i don't quite relish the idea of never seein' them again." "have you not told me," said angut, with a look of solemn surprise, "that all who love the great spirit shall meet again up there?" he pointed to the sky as he spoke. "ay, truly, i said that, and i believe that. but a man sometimes wants to see his wife and children again in _this_ life--and, to my thinkin', that's not likely with me, as things go at present. have _you_ much hope that we shall escape?" "yes, i have hope," answered the eskimo, with a touch of enthusiasm in his tone. "i know not why. i know not how. perhaps the great spirit who made me put it into me. i cannot tell. all around and within me is beyond my understanding--but--the great spirit is all-wise, all-powerful, and--good. did you not say so?" "yes, i said so; and that's a trustworthy foundation, anyhow," returned the sailor meditatively; "wise, powerful, and good--a safe anchorage. but now, tell me, what chances, think you, have we of deliverance?" "i can think of only one," said angut. "if the pack sets fast again, we may walk over it to the land. once there, we could manage to live-- though not to continue our pursuit of ujarak. _that_ is at an end." in spite of himself, the poor fellow said the last words in a tone which showed how deeply he was affected by the destruction of his hope to rescue nunaga. "now my friend seems to me inconsistent," said rooney. "he trusts the great spirit for deliverance from danger. is, then, the rescue of nunaga too hard for him?" "i know not," returned angut, who was, how ever, cheered a little by his friend's tone and manner. "everything is mystery. i look up, i look around, i look within; all is dark, mysterious. only on this is my mind clear--the great spirit is good. he cannot be otherwise. i will trust him. one day, perhaps, he will explain all. what i understood not as a little boy, i understand now as a man. why should there not be more light when i am an older man? if things go on in the mind as they have been going ever since i can remember, perfect light may perhaps come at last." "you don't think like most of your countrymen," said rooney, regarding the grave earnest face of his friend with increased interest. there was a touch of sadness in the tone of the eskimo as he replied-- "no; i sometimes wonder--for their minds seem to remain in the childish condition; though okiok and simek do seem at times as if they were struggling into more light. i often wonder that they think so little, and think so foolishly; but i do not speak much about it; it only makes them fear that i am growing mad." "i have never asked you, angut--do your tribes in the north here hold the same wild notions about the earth and heavens as the southern eskimos do?" "i believe they do," replied angut; "but i know not all they think in the south. in this land they think,"--here a smile of good-natured pity flickered for a moment on the man's face--"that the earth rests on pillars, which are now mouldering away by age, so that they frequently crack. these pillars would have fallen long ago if they had not been kept in repair by the angekoks, who try to prove the truth of what they say by bringing home bits of them--rotten pieces of wood. and the strange thing is, that the people believe them!" "why don't you believe them, angut?" "i know not why." "and what do your kinsmen think about heaven?" asked rooney. "they think it is supported on the peak of a lofty mountain in the north, on which it revolves. the stars are supposed to be ancient greenlanders, or animals which have managed in some mysterious way to mount up there, and who shine with varied brightness, according to the nature of their food. the streaming lights of winter are the souls of the dead dancing and playing ball in the sky." "these are strange ideas," observed rooney; "what have you to say about them?" "i think they are childish thoughts," replied the eskimo. "what, then, are your thoughts about these stars and streaming lights?" persisted the seaman, who was anxious to understand more of the mind of his philosophical companion. "i know not what i think. when i try to think on these things my mind gets confused. only this am i sure of--that they are, they must be, the wonderful works of the good spirit." "but how do you know that?" asked rooney. angut looked at his questioner very earnestly for a few moments. "how does ridroonee know that he is alive?" he asked abruptly. "oh, as to that, you know, everything tells me that i am alive. i look around, and i see. i listen, and i hear. i think, and i understand-- leastwise to some extent,--and i _feel_ in mind and heart." "now will i answer," said angut. "everything tells me that the great spirit is good, and the maker of all things. i look, and i see him in the things that exist. i listen, and i hear him in the whispering wind, in the running water, in the voice of man and beast. i think, and i understand him to some extent, and i _feel_ him both in mind and heart." "i believe you are right, angut, and your words bring strongly to my remembrance many of the words of the great spirit that my mother used to teach me when i was a little boy." from this point in the conversation angut became the questioner, being anxious to know all that the kablunet had to tell about the mysterious book, of which he had spoken to him more than once, and the teachings of his mother. it was long past midnight when the descending moon warned them to turn their steps towards the ice-cave where they had left their slumbering companions. "the frost is sharp to-night," remarked rooney as they were about to enter. angut turned round, and cast a parting glance on sea and sky. "if it holds on like this," continued the sailor, "the ice will be firm enough to carry us to land in the morning." "it will not hold on like this," said angut. "the innuit are very ignorant, but they know many things about the weather, for they are always watching it. to-morrow will be warm. we cannot escape. it will be safest and wisest to remain where we are." "remaining means starving," said the sailor in a desponding tone. "it may be so; we cannot tell," returned the eskimo. with these uncomfortable reflections, the two men entered the cavern quietly, so as not to disturb their comrades. spreading their bearskins on the ice-floor, they laid heads on ice-pillows, and soon fell into that dreamless, restful slumber which is the usual accompaniment of youth, health, and vigour. chapter twenty one. shows a gloomy prospect--starvation threatened, and wonderfully averted. angut was a true prophet. when rooney awoke next morning, his ears told him that the rushing of ice-cold rivulets through ice-valleys, and the roar of ice-born cataracts had increased considerably during the hours of darkness. the warmth which caused this did not, indeed, at first strike him, for the air of the cavern and the character of his bed had chilled him so much that he was shivering with cold. on glancing at his still sleeping comrades in misfortune, he observed that these tough creatures slept with the peaceful aspect of infants, whom, being both fat and rotund, they resembled in nearly everything except size. rising and going quietly out, he beat his arms vigorously across his chest until circulation was fully restored. then he mounted a neighbouring ice-ledge, and saw at a glance that their case had become desperate. "angut was right," he murmured bitterly, and then stood for a long time contemplating the scene in silence. considered apart from their circumstances, the scene was indeed glorious. not only had the warmth of the air begun to swell the rivulets which leaped and brawled down the pale-green slopes around him, but the pack had opened out, so as to completely change the aspect of the sea. instead of being clothed with ice, showing only a lane of water here and there, it was now an open sea crowded with innumerable ice-islets of every fantastic shape and size. it added something to the bitterness of the poor man's feelings that this state of things would, he knew, have been the very best for their escape in kayaks and oomiaks, for a profound calm prevailed, and the sea, where clear of ice, glittered in the rising sun like a shield of polished gold. he was roused from his meditations by the sound of footsteps behind him. turning quickly, he beheld ippegoo holding his jaws with both hands and with an expression of unutterable woe on his face. "halo, ippe, what's wrong with you?" a groan was the reply, and rooney, although somewhat anxious, found it difficult to restrain a laugh. "i've got--oh! oh! oh! oh!--a mad tooth," gasped the poor youth. "a mad tooth! poor fellow!--we call that _toothache_ where i come from." "what care i whether you call it mad tooth or _tootik_?" cried ippegoo petulantly. "it is horrible! dreadful! awful!--like fire and fury in the heart." the sufferer used one or two more eskimo expressions, suggestive of excruciating agony, which are not translatable into english. "if i only had a pair of pincers, but--look, ippe, look," said rooney, pointing to the sea, in the hope of distracting his mind from present pain by referring to threatening danger; "look--our kayaks being lost, we have no hope of escaping, so we must starve." his little device, well-meant though it was, failed. a groan and glance of indifference was the eskimo's reply, for starvation and danger were familiar and prospective evils, whereas toothache was a present horror. we fear it must be told of ippegoo that he was not celebrated for endurance of pain, and that, being fond of sympathy, he was apt to give full vent to his feelings--the result, perhaps, of having an over-indulgent mother. toothache--one of the diseases to which greenlanders are peculiarly liable--invariably drew forth ippegoo's tenderest feelings for himself, accompanied by touching lamentations. "come, ippe, be more of a man. even your mother would scold you for groaning like that." "but it is so shriekingly bad!" returned the afflicted youth, with increasing petulance. "of course it is. i know that; poor fellow! but come, i will try to cure you," said rooney, who, under the impression that violent physical exertion coupled with distraction of mind would produce good effect, had suddenly conceived a simple ruse. "do you see yon jutting ice-cliff that runs down to a point near the edge of the berg?" "yes, i see," whimpered ippegoo. "well, it will require you to run at your top speed to get there while you count fifteen twenties. now, if you run there within that time--at your very top speed, mind--" rooney paused, and looked serious. "yes; well?" said ippegoo, whose curiosity had already begun to check the groans. "if you run there," continued the seaman, with a look and tone of deep solemnity, "at the very toppest speed that you can do, and look round that ice-point, you will see--" "what?" gasped ippegoo excitedly--for he was easily excited. "_something_," returned rooney mysteriously. "i cannot tell exactly what you will see, because i am not an angekok, and have no torngak to tell me; but i am quite sure that you will see _something_! only, the benefit of seeing it will depend on your running as fast as you can. now, are you ready?" "yes, quite ready," exclaimed the youth, tightening his girdle of sealskin eagerly. "well then--_away_!" shouted rooney. off went ippegoo at a pace which was obviously the best that he was capable of putting forth. rooney counted as he ran, and in a much shorter time than had been specified he reached the point, for the level track, or what we may style sea-shore, of the berg was not a bad race-course. suddenly, however, he came to an abrupt halt, and threw up his arms as if in amazement. then he turned round and ran back at a pace that was even greater than he had achieved on the outward run. rooney was himself greatly surprised at this, for, as the youth drew nearer, the expression of his face showed that he had indeed seen "something" which had not been in the seaman's calculations. he spluttered and gasped as he came near, in his effort to speak. "what is it?--take time, lad," said rooney quietly. "a b-bear! a bear!" cried ippegoo. "what! did it run at you?" asked rooney, becoming slightly excited in his turn, and keeping his eye on the ice-point. "n-no; no. it was sitting on--on its tail--l-looking at the--the s-sea." "and we've no weapon bigger than an eskimo knife," exclaimed the sailor, with a frown of discontent--"not even a bit of stick to tie the knife to. what a chance lost! he would have kept us in food for some weeks. well, well, this _is_ bad luck. come, ippe, we'll go back to the cave, and consult about this." on returning to the cheerless retreat, they found the rest of the party just awakening. the men were yawning and rubbing their eyes, while the women, with characteristic activity and self-denial, were gathering together the few scraps of food that remained from the previous night's supper. "there is a bear just round the point--so ippe says--what's to be done?" asked rooney on entering. up jumped the four men and two boys as if they had been made of indiarubber. "attack it," cried arbalik. "kill it," exclaimed norrak. "and eat it," said ermigit. "what will you attack it with?" asked simek in a slightly contemptuous tone--"with your fingernails? if so, you had better send sigokow to do battle, for she could beat the three of you." the youths stood abashed. "we have no spears," said simek, "and knives are useless. bad luck follows us." "it is my opinion," said okiok, "that whatever we do, or try to do, we had better eat something before doing it. bring the victuals, nuna." "okiok is right," said angut; "and arbalik had better go out and watch while we consult, so as to give us timely warning if the bear comes this way." without a word, arbalik caught up a piece of blubber, and went out of the cave to enjoy his frugal breakfast while acting sentinel. the others, sitting down on their respective bearskins, ate and consulted hastily. the consultation was of little use, for they were utterly helpless, and the breakfast was not much more profitable, for there was far too little of it. still, as rooney truly remarked when the last morsel was consumed, it was better than nothing. "well now, my friends," said angut at last, "since our food is done, and all our talk has come to nothing, i propose that we go out in a body to see this bear. as we cannot kill him, we must get rid of him by driving him away, for if we let him remain on the berg, he will come upon us when we are asleep, perhaps, and kill us." "yes, that is best," said okiok. "if we separate, so as to distract him, and then make a united rush from all points, shrieking, that will drive him into the sea." "let us put ippe in front," suggested simek, with a twinkling eye; "he yells better than any of us." "'specially when he's got the toothache," added rooney. the object of this touch of pleasantry smiled in a good-humouredly imbecile manner. it was clear that his malady had been cured, at least for the time. "but we must be very cautious," remarked rooney, becoming serious, as they rose to proceed on their adventure. "it would not do to let any of our party get hurt. to my thinking, the women should take to the ice-cliffs before we begin, and get upon pinnacles, up which the bear could not climb." while he was speaking, arbalik came running in with the information that the bear was approaching. "has it seen you?" asked angut, as they all ran out. "i think not. from the way it walks, i think it has no suspicion of any one being on the berg." in a few seconds they reached the point of the promontory or cliff in which their cave lay, and each member of the party peeped round with excessive caution, and there, sure enough, they beheld a white polar bear of truly formidable size. but it had changed its course after arbalik saw it, for by that time it had turned up one of the ice-valleys before-mentioned and begun to ascend into the interior of the berg. the slow, heavy gait of the unwieldy animal suggested to rooney the idea that an active man could easily get out of its way, but the cat-like activity with which it bounded over one or two rivulets that came in its way quickly dissipated that idea. "the farther he goes up that valley," whispered simek, "the more trouble we shall have in driving him into the sea." "he does not seem to know his own mind," remarked okiok, as the bear again changed his course, and entered one of the small gorges that opened into the larger valley. "he knows it well enough," said ermigit. "don't you see he is making for the ice-top, where these gulls are sitting? the fool expects to catch them asleep." ermigit seemed to have guessed rightly, for after clambering up the ice-gorge referred to until he gained a high ledge or plateau, he began regularly to stalk the birds with the sly patience of a cat. there was much in the bear's favour, for the recent fall of a pinnacle had covered the ledge with shattered blocks of all shapes and sizes, in the shelter of which it could creep towards its prey. our eskimos watched the proceeding open-mouthed, with profound interest. to within twenty yards or so of its game did that white-robed arctic hunter approach. then it crouched for a rush at the unconscious birds, for no other lump of ice lay between them and their foe. the charge was vigorously made, almost too vigorously, for when the birds flew lightly off the ledge, and descended to a narrower one a little farther down, it was all the bear could do to check itself on the very edge of the precipice. if it had gone over, the consequences would have been dire, for the precipice was, not sheer, but still a very steep slope of ice, several hundred feet deep, which terminated in those rugged masses on the berg-shore that had fallen from the cliffs above. there was only one break in the vast slope, namely, the narrow ledge half-way down on which the birds had taken refuge. going to the extreme edge of the precipice, the bear sat down on his haunches, and hungrily contemplated the birds, which were now beyond his reach, twittering noisily as if to tantalise him. "i would that i had a spear," growled okiok. "i would venture at him even with a big stick," said simek. "my friends," said rooney, with sudden animation, "listen to me. if you will promise me to keep very quiet, and not to follow me whatever may happen, i will show you how kablunets overcome difficulties." of course the eskimos were ready to make any promises that might be required of them, and looked at their friend with surprise as he threw off his sealskin coat and tightened the belt round his waist. but they were still more surprised, when, without another word, he set off, in only shirt and trousers, to climb the valley of ice, and make for the spot where the bear sat in melancholy meditation. while ascending, rooney took care to avail himself of the rugged nature of the ice, so as to conceal himself entirely from the bear--though this was scarcely needful, for the animal's back was turned towards the kablunet, and his whole attention was concentrated on the gulls. as rooney wore eskimo boots--the soles of which are soft,--he made little or no noise in walking, and thus managed to gain the platform unperceived by the bear, though visible all the time to the eskimos, to whom he looked little bigger than a crow on the height. their delight, however, began to be tempered with anxiety when they saw the reckless man creep to within twenty yards of the monster, making use of the ice-blocks as it had done before him. the intentions of the kablunet were incomprehensible to his friends. could it be that, ignorant of the strength of the beast and its tenacity of life, the foolish man hoped to stab it to death with a small knife? impossible! and yet he was evidently preparing for action of some sort. but red rooney was not quite so foolish as they supposed him to be. having gained the nearest possible point to his victim, he made a sudden and tremendous rush at it. he knew that life and death were in the balance at any rate; but he also knew that to remain inactive on that iceberg would remove life out of the balance altogether. he therefore threw all his energy of soul and body into that rush, and launched himself against the broad back of the bear. it was an awful shock. rooney was swift as well as heavy, so that his weight, multiplied into his velocity, sufficed to dislodge the wonder-stricken animal. one wild spasmodic effort it made to recover itself, and in doing so gave rooney what may be called a backhander on the head, that sent him reeling on the ice. curiously enough, it was this that saved the daring man, for if he had not received that blow, the impetus of his attack would have certainly sent himself as well as the bear over the cliff. as it was, the monster went over headlong, with a sort of compound shriek and howl that made the very ice-cliffs ring. then, down he went--not head or feet first, or sideways, or any way, but every way by turns, and no way long. indeed, he spun and, as it were, spurted down that mighty face of ice. each instant intensified the velocity; each whirl increased the complex nature of the force. the ledge half-way down, from which the affrighted gulls fled shrieking, did not even check the descent, but with bursting violence shunted the victim out into space, through which he hurled till re-met by the terrific slope farther down, which let him glissade like a shooting star into indescribable ruin! enough of that bear was left, however, to render it worth while picking up the fragments. shouting with laughter and yelling with glee, the eskimos made for the spot where the mangled carcass lay. soon after they were joined by the hero of the day. "food enough now for a moon, or more," said rooney, as he came up. "yes; and no need to beat the meat to make it tender," responded okiok, lifting and letting fall one of the limp legs of the creature, whose every bone seemed to have been smashed to pieces in the tremendous descent. it was no doubt a considerable reduction of their satisfaction at supper that evening that they had to eat their bear-chops raw, not having the means of making fire; but they were not disposed to find fault with their good-fortune on that account. if they had only possessed two small pieces of wood with which to create the necessary friction, they could easily have made a lamp out of one of the bear's shoulder-blades, and found oil enough in his own fat, while a tag of sealskin, or some other portion of clothing might have supplied a wick; but not a scrap of wood was to be obtained on that verdureless island. okiok did indeed suggest that norrak and ippegoo, being both possessed of hard and prominent noses, might rub these organs together till they caught fire; but norrak turned up his nose at the suggestion, and ippegoo shook his head doubtfully. in the circumstances, therefore, they obtained light at least for the purposes of vision by commencing supper long before sunset, and most of them continued it long after dark. thus the second night was passed on the berg. on the third day, the weather being still warm and calm, angut, simek, okiok, and rooney ascended, after their bear-breakfast, to the break-neck height from which that breakfast had been precipitated, for the purpose of taking a meteorological observation. "it is quite plain to me," said rooney--who, being in some sort at sea, was, as it were, more at home than his companions--"it is quite plain to me that we have got fairly into the great polar current, and are travelling in a sou'-sou'-west direction down davis straits." no doubt rooney gave "sou'-sou'-west" in some sort of eskimo jargon with which we are not acquainted. his lingual powers were indeed marvellous, and when simple words failed him he took refuge in compound phraseology. "but," asked okiok, "how can you tell that we are going south? the mist is thick; we cannot see land." "do you not see the small pieces of ice?" replied rooney, pointing to the sea. "yes," said the eskimo; "they are going north faster than we are; that is all." "why do they go north faster than we do?" asked rooney. "that i know not." "i will tell you, okiok. it is because there is a surface current here flowing northward, and the small pieces of ice go with it because they are not deep. but this berg is very deep. there is far more of it below water than what we see above. its bottom goes deep down into the under-current which flows south, and so it is being carried south--not north at all,--_against_ the variable surface-currents, and it would go even against the wind if there was any. do you understand?" "huk!" exclaimed the eskimo, though he still looked perplexed. "i have seen these bergs breaking from the great land-ice since i was a little boy," said angut, with earnest gravity, "and i have seen them float away and away till they vanished in the far-off. can ridroonee tell where they go to?" "truly i can. they are carried by currents out into the great sea--we call it the atlantic,--and there they melt and disappear." "then shall we disappear with this berg, if we don't escape from it?" said okiok, with a look so serious that it was almost humorous. "that is the pleasant prospect in store for us, as you say," returned rooney; "but cheer up, lad. we intend to escape from it; so don't let your heart sink, else your body won't be able to swim." on the strength of this consolatory remark, the four men returned to the cave to recruit their energies and hopes on a fresh supply of the raw bear. chapter twenty two. a brief but singular voyage winds up with a great surprise. the calm which had fortunately prevailed since angut and his friends found refuge on the iceberg was not destined to continue. a smart breeze at last sprang up from the northward, which soon freshened into a gale, accompanied with heavy showers of snow, driving the party into the cave, where the cold was so severe that they were forced to take refuge in its deepest recesses, and to sit wrapped in their bearskins, and huddled together for warmth, as monkeys are sometimes seen on a cold day in a menagerie. being from the north, the wind not only intensified the cold, and brought back for a time all the worst conditions of winter, but assisted the great ocean current to carry the berg southward at a high rate of speed. their progress, however, was not very apparent to the eyes of our voyagers, because all the surrounding bergs travelled in the same direction and at nearly the same speed. the blinding snow effectually hid the land from their view, and the only point of which they were quite sure was that their berg must be the nearest to the greenland coast because all the others lay on their right hand. towards noon of the following day it was observed that the pack-ice thickened around them, and was seen in large fields here and there, through some of which the great berg ploughed its way with resistless momentum. before the afternoon the pack had closed entirely around them, as if it had been one mass of solid, rugged ice--not a drop of water being visible. even through this mass the berg ploughed its way slowly, but with great noise. "there is something very awful to me in the sight of such tremendous force," said red rooney to angut, as they stood contemplating the havoc their strange ship was making. "does it not make you think," returned the eskimo, "how powerful must be the great spirit who made all things, when a little part of his work is so tremendous?" rooney did not reply, for at that moment the berg grounded, with a shock that sent all its spires and pinnacles tumbling. fortunately, the eskimos were near their cavern, into which they rushed, and escaped the terrible shower. but the cave could no longer be regarded as a place of safety. it did indeed shelter them from the immediate shower of masses, even the smaller of which were heavy enough to have killed a walrus; but at that advanced period of spring the bergs were becoming, so to speak, rotten, and liable at any moment to fall to pieces and float away in the form of pack-ice. if such an event had occurred when our eskimos were in the cave, the destruction of all would of course have been inevitable. "we dare not remain here," said angut, when the icy shower had ceased. "no; we must take to the floes," said simek. "another shake like that," remarked okiok, "might bring the whole berg down on our heads." "let us go, then, at once," said rooney; "the sky clears a little, so we'll know how to steer." no one replied, for all were already engaged with the utmost activity making bundles of their bear-skins and as much of the bear-meat as the men could carry--each of the women taking a smaller piece, according to her strength or her prudence. the sailor followed their example in silence, and in a very few minutes they issued from the cavern, and made for the shore of the berg. some difficulty was experienced in scrambling over the chaotic masses which had been thrown up in front of them by the ploughing process before referred to. when they stood fairly on the floes, however, they found that, although very rough, these were sufficiently level to admit of slow travelling. they were in the act of arranging the order of march, when the berg slid off into deep water, and, wheeling round as if annoyed at the slight detention, rejoined its stately comrades in their solemn procession to their doom in more southerly seas. "just in time," said rooney, as they watched the berg floating slowly away, nodding its shattered head as if bidding them farewell. "now then, ho! for the greenland shore! come, old kannoa, i'll take you under my special care." he took the old woman's bundle from her as he spoke, and, putting his left hand under her right arm, began to help her over the frozen sea. but poor old thing though she certainly was, that antiquated creature became a griggy old thing immediately, and was so tickled with the idea of the stoutest and handsomest man of the party devoting himself entirely to her, when all the younger women were allowed to look after themselves, that she could scarcely walk during the first few minutes for laughing. but it must be said in justification of the eskimo men, that their young women were quite capable of looking after themselves, and would, indeed, have been incommoded as well as surprised by offers of assistance. rooney had spoken cheerily, though his feelings were anything but cheerful, for he knew well the extreme danger of their position, but he felt it a duty to do his best to encourage his friends. the eskimos were equally well, if not better, aware of their danger, and took to the floes with resolute purpose and in profound silence--for true men in such circumstances are not garrulous. a gleam of sunshine from a rift in the dark clouds seemed sent as a heavenly messenger to guide them. by it the eskimos as well as the sailor were enabled to judge of the position of land, and to steer, accordingly, in what western hunters would call "a bee-line." the great danger, of course, lay in the risk of the pack breaking up before they could reach the shore. there was also the possibility of the pack being a limited strip of floe-ice unconnected with the shore, which, if it had been so, would have decided their fate. in these circumstances they all pushed on at their best speed. at first the women seemed to get along as well as the men, but after a while the former showed evident symptoms of exhaustion, and towards dusk old kannoa, despite rooney's powerful aid, fairly broke down and refused to walk another step. the seaman overcame the difficulty by raising her in his arms and carrying her. as he had not at that time quite recovered his full strength, and was himself pretty well fatigued, he was constrained to think pretty steadily of the old woman's resemblance to his grandmother to enable him to hold out! after another mile or so the mother of arbalik succumbed, whereupon her son put his arm round her waist and helped her on. then the pleasant little mother of ippegoo broke down with a pitiful wail; but her son was unable to help her, for he was already undulating about like a piece of tape, as if he had no backbone to speak of. okiok therefore came to her aid. as for the hardy spinster sikogow, she seemed inexhaustible, and scorned assistance. nuna was also vigorous, but her sons norrak and ermigit, being amiable, came on each side of her, and took her in tow before the breaking-down point was reached. thus they continued to advance until the darkness became so profound as to render further travelling impossible. the danger of delay they knew was extreme, but men must perforce bow to the inevitable. to advance without light over rugged ice, in which were cracks and fissures and hummocks innumerable, being out of the question, rooney called a halt. "rest and food, friends," he said, "are essential to life." "huk!" was the brief reply. without wasting breath on another word, they untied their bundles, spread their bearskins in the lee of a hummock, fed hastily but heartily, rolled themselves in their simple bedding, and went to sleep. during the night there occurred one of those sudden changes which are common in arctic lands at that season of the year. snow ceased to fall, the sky cleared, and the temperature rose until the air became quite balmy. the ice of the floes eased off, narrow openings grew into lanes and leads and wide pools, until water predominated, and the ice finally resolved itself into innumerable islets. when rooney was at last awakened by a blaze of sunshine in his face, he found that the party occupied a small cake of ice in the midst of a grand crystal archipelago. not a zephyr ruffled the sea, and the hills of greenland were visible, not more than six or eight miles distant, on their left hand. what particular part of greenland it was, of course they had no means of knowing. the sight was indeed such as might have filled human hearts with admiration and joy, but neither joy nor admiration touched the hearts of red rooney and his companions. so far from land, on a bit of ice scarce large enough to sustain them, and melting rapidly away, exposed to the vicissitudes of a changeful and stormy climate, without the means of escape--the case seemed very desperate. "the great spirit has forsaken us," said angut gloomily, as he surveyed the scene. "that he has _not_," returned the sailor, "whatever may befall." an exclamation from arbalik drew attention to a particular part of the horizon. "a flat island," said okiok, after a long earnest gaze; "but we cannot reach it," he added in a low voice. "you know not," said angut. "the current sets that way, i think." "a few minutes will show," said rooney. with almost trembling eagerness they watched the islet, and, as rooney had said, it soon became evident that the current was indeed carrying their ice-raft slowly towards the spot. "we can scarcely expect to drift right on to it," said rooney, "and it is apparently our last chance, so we shall have to take to the water when near it. can we all swim--eh?" to this question some answered yes and some no, while others shook their heads as if uncertain on the point. but the seaman was wrong. straight as an arrow to a bull's eye the raft went at that islet and struck on its upper end with such force as to send a tongue of ice high on the shore, so that the whole party actually landed dryshod. even old kannoa got on shore without assistance. the joy of the party at this piece of unlooked-for good-fortune was unbounded, although, after all, the improvement in their circumstances did not seem to be great, for the islet was not more than a hundred yards in diameter, and appeared to be quite barren, with only a clump of willows in its centre. still, their recent danger had been so imminent that the spot seemed quite a secure refuge by contrast. the men of the party, after landing, were only just beginning to comment on their prospects, when they saw the willows in the centre of the islet part asunder, and a man of strange aspect and costume stood before them. the stranger who had burst thus unexpectedly upon them like a visitant from another world, bereaving them for a few minutes of speech and motion, was evidently not a native of the land. his pale and somewhat melancholy face, as well as parts of his costume, betokened him one who had come from civilised lands; and rooney's first thought was that he must be a shipwrecked sailor like himself; but a second glance caused him to reject the idea. the calm dignity of his carriage, the intellectuality of his expression, and, withal, the look of gentle humility in his manner, were not the usual characteristics of seamen in those days. he also looked very haggard and worn, as if from severe fatigue or illness. a slight smile played for a moment on his lips as he observed the blank amazement which his appearance had produced. hastening forward he held out his hand to rooney whom he at once recognised as a man of civilised lands. "let me congratulate you, friends, on your escape, for i can see that you must have been in great jeopardy from which the lord has delivered you." the stranger spoke in the danish language, which was of course utterly incomprehensible to the natives. not so, however, to red rooney, who in his seafaring life had frequently visited copenhagen, bergen, and christiania, and other scandinavian ports, and had learned to speak danish at least fluently, if not very correctly. he at once replied, at the same time returning the warm grasp of the stranger's hand-- "we have indeed just escaped from great danger, through the mercy of god. but who are _you_, and how come you to be in such a lonely place, and, if i do not greatly mistake, in a starving condition?" "i am a missionary to the eskimos," replied the stranger, "and have been forced to take refuge here by stress of weather. but i am not absolutely alone, as you seem to think. there are five natives with me, and we have an oomiak up there in the bushes. they are now asleep under it. for five days we have been detained here almost without food, by the recent storm and the pack-ice. now, thanks to my father in heaven, we shall be able to launch our little boat, and get away. in fact, being the first of my party to awake this morning, i rose very quietly so as not to disturb the poor people, who stand much in need of rest, and i had come to look at the state of the ice when i unexpectedly discovered you on the shore." "stay now, sir; not another word till you have broken your fast," said rooney, with kindly violence, as he hastily cut a large slice from his piece of bear's meat. "sit down on that stone, and eat it at once. a fasting man should not talk." "but my companions need food to the full as much as i do," objected the missionary. "do as i bid ye, sir," returned rooney, with decision. "you say they are asleep. well, sleep is as needful as food and sleeping men cannot eat. when you have eaten we will go up and awake and feed them." thus urged, the poor man began to eat the raw meat with as much relish as if it had been the finest venison cooked to a turn. before commencing, however, he clasped his hands, closed his eyes, and audibly thanked god for the supply. while he was thus engaged red rooney did not speak, but sat looking at his new friend with profound interest. perchance his interest would have deepened had he known that the man was none other than the famous norwegian clergyman hans egede, the originator of the danish mission to greenland, who founded the colony of godhaab in the year , about twelve years before the commencement of the missions of the moravian brethren to that land. the surprise which our voyagers had received by the unexpected appearance of the missionary was, however, as nothing, compared with the surprise that was yet in store for them on that eventful day. chapter twenty three. describes a most amazing surprise, and treats of hans egede. when the starving missionary had taken the edge off his appetite, he closed the clasp-knife with which he had been eating. "now, my friend," he said, looking at rooney, "i have eaten quite enough to do me good in my present condition,--perhaps more than enough. you know it is not safe for starving men to eat heartily. besides, i am anxious to give some food to the poor fellows who are with me. one of them has met with a severe accident and is dying i fear. he does not belong to my party, i found him on the mainland and brought him here just before the storm burst on us, intending to take him on to godhaab. he stands more in need of food than sleep, i think." "come, then, we will go to him at once," said rooney, tying up the remains of egede's breakfast. "how did he come by his accident?" continued the sailor, as the party walked up towards the bushes. "the girl who takes care of him--his daughter, i think--says he was injured by a bear." "if it is a case of broken bones, perhaps i may be of use to him," said rooney, "for i've had some experience in that way." egede shook his head, "i fear it is too late," he replied. "besides, his mind seems to give him more trouble even than his wasted frame. he has come, he says, from the far north, and would certainly have perished after his accident if it had not been for the care and kindness of the women who are with him--especially the younger woman. see, there she comes. her father must have awakened, for she rests near him at night and never leaves him in the morning till he wakes up." the missionary was startled at that moment by a loud shout from his companion. next instant angut rushed past him, and, catching the girl in his arms, gave her a most fervent and lover-like embrace, to which she seemed in no ways averse. it soon became obvious to the missionary that a most unexpected and pleasant meeting of friends was taking place; but the surprise expressed on his grave visage had barely given place to a benignant smile of sympathy, when a female shriek was heard, and sigokow was seen running towards her sister kabelaw. these two did not leap into each other's arms. the feelings of eskimo females do not usually find vent in that way; but they waltzed round each other, and grinned, and smoothed each other's hair, and when kabelaw observed that her sister had a huge black eye and a yet unhealed cut across the bridge of her rather flat nose, she clapped her hands, and went into fits of laughter, which helped her somewhat to relieve her feelings. the surprise and pleasure of this meeting was still at its height when two shrill cries were heard. these were instantly followed by the bursting of pussi and tumbler on the scene, the former of whom rushed into the ready arms of pussimek, while the latter plunged into the bosom of nuna. ippegoo, unable to contain himself for joy, began an impromptu and original waltz round his own mother. of course it was some time before the party calmed down sufficiently to give or receive explanations. when this state, however, was arrived at, a feeling of sadness was cast over, them all by the re-announcement of the fact that ujarak was certainly dying. he had been carried out of the hole in the snow in which egede and his party had taken refuge from the storm, and laid on a dry spot among the bushes where he could enjoy the sunshine, so that he became visible to his former friends the instant they entered the cleared space where he lay. any feelings of revenge that may have lingered in the breast of angut were dissipated like a summer cloud when he saw the thin worn frame, and the pale haggard countenance, of the poor wizard. he went forward at once, and, kneeling beside him, took hold of one of his hands. "you--you--forgive me, i _see_?" said ujarak, anxiously. "yes, i forgive you," replied angut, with fervour, for his heart was touched at the sight of the once strong and self-reliant man, who in so short a time had been reduced to such utter helplessness. "i am glad--glad," continued ujarak, "that you have come before i die. i thank god for sending you. i have prayed for this." "you thank god! you have prayed!" exclaimed angut in surprise. "is it the kablunets' god you thank and pray to?" "yes; jesus--not only the kablunets' god, but the god and saviour of the innuit also--the saviour of the whole world. i have found him--or rather, he has found _me_, the wicked angekok, since i came here." the dying man turned a grateful look on egede as he spoke. "it is true," said the missionary, coming forward. "i believe that god, who brings about all good things, sent me here, and sent this man here, so that we should meet for the purpose of bringing about his salvation. the almighty is confined to no such plans, yet it pleases him to work by means, and often with poor tools." egede spoke now in the language of the eskimos, having long before that time learned to speak it sufficiently well to be understood. "angut," said ujarak, after a few moments, "listen to me. i cannot live long. before i go, let me tell you that nunaga is good--good--good! she is true to you, and she has been very, very good to _me_. she forgives me, though i meant to take her from you and from her home for ever. but for her, i should have been left to die on the ice. she must have had the spirit of jesus in her before she heard his name. take care of her, angut. she will serve you well. listen to her, and she will teach you to be wise--" he ceased abruptly. the energy with which he spoke proved to be the last flare of the mysterious lamp of life. next moment only the worn-out tenement of the angekok lay before his people, for his spirit had "returned to god who gave it." the joy which had been so suddenly created by this unexpected union of friends and kindred was damped, not only by the sad though happy death of the wizard, but by the recurrence of the storm which had already proved almost fatal to them all. the recent clearing up of the weather was only a lull in the gale. soon the sky overclouded again, snow began to fall so thickly that they could not see more than a few yards in any direction, and the wind drove them back into the hole or cave in the snow out of which the short-lived sunshine had drawn them. the body of ujarak was buried under a heap of stones, for they had no implements with which to dig a grave. then okiok and his party hastily constructed a rude snow-hut to protect them from the storm. here for two more days and nights they were imprisoned, and much of that time they passed in listening to the pleasant discourse of hans egede, as he told the northern natives the wonderful story of redemption through jesus christ, or recounted some of his own difficulties in getting out to greenland. few missionaries, we should imagine, have experienced or overcome greater difficulties in getting to their field of labour than this same earnest norwegian, hans egede, though doubtless many may have equalled him in their experience of dangers and difficulties after the fight began. even after having made up his mind to go to greenland out of pure desire for the salvation of souls--for his knowledge of that inhospitable land precluded the possibility of his having been _tempted_ to go to it from any other motive--he had to spend over ten years of his life in overcoming objections and obstructions to his starting. at first his friends gave him credit for being mad, for people are somewhat slow to believe in disinterested self-sacrifice; and the idea of a clergyman with a comfortable living in norway, who had, besides, a wife and four small children, voluntarily resolving to go to a region in which men could be barely said to live, merely for the purpose of preaching christ to uncivilised savages, seemed to them absurd. they little knew the power of the missionary spirit, or rather, the power of the holy spirit, by which some great men are actuated! but, after all, if in the world's experience many men are found ready to take their lives in their hands, and cheerfully go to the coldest, hottest, and wildest regions of earth at the call of duty, or "glory," or gold, is it strange that some men should be found willing to do the same thing for the love of god and the souls of men? be this as it may, it is certain that the soul of good hans egede became inflamed with a burning desire to go as a missionary to greenland, and from the time that the desire arose, he never ceased to pray and strive towards the accomplishment of his purpose. his thoughts were first turned in that direction by reading of christian men from his own country, who, centuries before, had gone to greenland, established colonies, been decimated by sickness, and then almost exterminated by the natives--at least so it was thought, but all knowledge of them had long been lost. a friend in bergen who had made several voyages to greenland aroused egede's pity for his lost countrymen, some of whom, it was supposed, had sunk back into paganism for want of teachers. his thoughts and his desires grew, and the first difficulty presented itself in the form of a doubt as to whether it was allowable to forsake his congregation. besides, several near relations as well as wife and children were dependent on him for sustenance, which increased the initial difficulty. but "where there's a will there's a way" is a proverb, the truth of which hans egede very soon began to exemplify. not least among this good man's difficulties seemed to be his modesty, for he was troubled with "extreme diffidence and the fear of being charged with presumption." at last, in the year , he determined to make a humble proposal to bishop randulph of bergen, and to bishop krog of drontheim, entreating them to support at court his plans for the conversion of the greenlanders. both bishops replied favourably; but when his friends saw that he was in earnest, they set up vehement opposition to what they styled his preposterous enterprise. even his wife and family were at first among his foes, so that the poor man was greatly perplexed, and well-nigh gave up in despair. happily, his wife at the time became involved in a series of troubles and persecutions, which so affected her that she left the enemy, and ever afterwards supported her husband loyally, heart and soul. that egede regarded his wife's opposition as more formidable than that of all the rest of his kith and kin put together, may be gathered from the fact that he says, on her coming over, that his "joy was complete," and that he "believed every obstacle to have been vanquished." in the strength of these feelings he immediately drew up a memorial to the worthy college of missions, and again entreated the help of the bishops of bergen and drontheim. but bishops then, as now, were not to be unduly hurried. they recommended patience till more favourable and peaceful times! thus egede's plans were postponed from year to year, for peaceful times seemed very far off. moreover, he was assailed with all kinds of reproaches and misunderstandings as to motives, so that in the year he thought it necessary to draw up a vindication of his conduct entitled, "a scriptural and rational solution and explanation of the difficulties and objections raised against the design of converting the heathen greenlanders." then people tried to divert egede from his purpose by picturing to him the dangers of his enterprise; the miseries he must endure; the cruelty of endangering the lives of his wife and children; and lastly, by pointing out the madness of relinquishing a certain for an uncertain livelihood. they even went so far as to insinuate that, under a cloak of religious motive, he wished to "aggrandise his reputation;" but egede was heroically firm--some folk would say obstinate. wearied with delays, and having reason to believe that his memorial was not properly supported, he resolved at last to go himself to the fountain-head. resigning his office in , he went to bergen, from which port there had been in time past considerable trade with greenland. here he received little or no encouragement, but the sudden death at this time of king charles the twelfth, giving hopes of the speedy restoration of peace, egede thought it advisable to go to copenhagen and personally present his memorial to the college of missions. he did so, and received the encouraging answer that the king would "consider his matter." kings have a wonderful capacity for taking time to "consider matters"-- sometimes to the extent of passing out of time altogether, and leaving the consideration to successors. but the king on this occasion was true to his word. he gave egede a private audience, and in sent orders to the magistrates of bergen to collect all the opinions and information that could be gathered in regard to the trade with greenland and the propriety of establishing a colony there, with a statement of the privileges that might be desired by adventurers wishing to settle in the new land. but, alas! no adventurers wished to settle there; the royal efforts failed, and poor egede was left to fall back on his own exertions and private enterprise. for another year this indefatigable man vainly importuned the king and the college of missions. at last he prevailed on a number of sympathisers to hold a conference. these, under his persuasive powers, subscribed forty pounds a-piece towards a mission fund. egede set a good example by giving sixty pounds. then, by begging from the bishop and people of bergen, he raised the fund to about two thousand pounds. with this sum he bought a ship, and called it the _hope_. two other vessels were chartered and freighted--one for the whale fishery, the other to take home news of the colony. the king, although unable to start the enterprise, appointed egede missionary to the colony with a salary of sixty pounds a year, besides a present of a hundred pounds for immediate expenses, and finally, on the th may , the indomitable hans, with his heroic wife and four children, set sail for "greenland's icy mountains," after an unprecedented ten years' conflict. dangers and partial disasters greeted them on their arrival, in july, at baal's river, latitude degrees, where they established the colony of godhaab. it would require a volume to tell of hans egede's difficulties, doings, and sufferings in the new land. suffice it to say that they were _tremendous_, and that he acted as the pioneer to the interesting missions of the moravian brethren to the same neighbourhood. hans egede had been several years at his post when the meeting already described took place between him and the northern eskimos. chapter twenty four. escape from present danger, and a curious instance of the effects of gin. although nunaga, kabelaw, and the children were now happily re-united to friends and kindred, their dangers were by no means over, for a wide space of ice-blocked sea separated the small island from the shores of greenland, and their supply of meat was not sufficient, even with economy, to maintain the whole party for more than a couple of days. in these circumstances they were much comforted, after the storm had blown itself out, to find that the pack had been considerably loosened, and that several lanes of open water extended through it in the direction of the shore. "there is a temporary settlement of natives not far from here, on the mainland," said egede, when he and some of the men were assembled on the beach discussing their plans. "although not very friendly, they would nevertheless help us, i think, in this hour of need. they have been demoralised by traders, and drawn away from the mission at godhaab. but how we are to get to the mainland it is difficult to see, unless god mercifully clears away the ice." "why don't you ask your god to clear it away?" demanded simek. "have you not told us that he answers prayer offered in the name of jesus?" egede looked at his questioner in some surprise, mingled with pleasure, for his experience had taught him that too many of the natives either assented without thought to whatever he said, or listened with absolute indifference, if not aversion--especially when he attempted to bring truth home, or apply it personally. "i am glad you ask the question, simek," he replied, "because it gives me the opportunity of telling you that i _have_ asked god, in the name of jesus, to bring us out of our present trouble, and also of explaining that i never pray without adding the words `if it be thy will'--for god does not always answer prayer exactly in accordance with our request, but according to his own wisdom; so that, if he were hereafter to say, `now, is not that better than you asked?' we would be obliged to reply, `yes, lord, it is better.'" as the expression on simek's face showed that he was not quite convinced, egede added-- "listen, simek. i and my people were starving here. i prayed to god, in jesus' name, to send us deliverance. did he not answer my prayer by sending you and your party with food!" "true," assented simek. "listen again, simek. were you not in great danger when your oomiak and kayaks were crushed in the ice?" "yes." "were you not in very great danger when you were imprisoned on the iceberg--in danger of starvation, in danger of being crushed by its disruption?" "yes." "well, now, if you had believed in the great and good spirit at that time, what would you have asked him to do for you?" "i would have asked him to clear the sea of ice," replied the eskimo promptly, "and send us kayaks and oomiaks to take us on shore." "and if he had answered you according to your prayer, you would have said, no doubt, `that is well.'" "yes," answered simek emphatically, and with a smile. "but suppose," continued egede, "that god had answered you by delivering you in _another_ way--by keeping you on the berg; by making that berg, as it were, into a great oomiak, and causing it to voyage as no oomiak ever voyaged--causing it to plough through pack-ice as no ship made by man ever ploughed; to go straight to an island to which no human power could have brought you; and to have done it all in time to save your own dear pussi and all the rest of us from starvation--would you not have said that god had answered your prayer in a way that was far better?" while the missionary was speaking, profound gravity took the place of the puzzled expression on the countenance of simek and of the others who were listening, for their intelligence was quite quick enough to perceive the drift of his argument before it was finished. "but," said simek earnestly, "i did _not_ pray for this, yet i got it." "true, the good spirit guided you, even though you did not pray," returned egede. "is not this a proof of his love? if he is so good to thankless and careless children, what sure ground have we for trusting that he will be good to those who love him! what our great father wants is that we should love and trust him." there was one man of the group whose lips were parted, and whose eyes seemed to glitter as he listened. this was angut. much and deeply had that intelligent eskimo thought about the great spirit and the mysteries around and within himself, but never till that moment did the curtain seem to rise so decidedly from before his spiritual vision. egede observed the keen gaze, though he judged it wise to take no notice of it at the time, but he did not fail to pray mentally that the good seed might take root. the attention of the party was called off the subject of discourse just then by a further movement of the pack-ice. "see, the lanes of open water widen," exclaimed okiok eagerly, pointing seaward. "perhaps," said egede, "god intends to deliver us." "have you prayed to be delivered?" asked angut quickly. "yes, i have." "suppose," continued the inquisitive eskimo, "that god does _not_ deliver you, but leaves you here to die. would _that_ be answering your prayer?" "yes; for instead of granting my request in the way i wished, namely, that i might be permitted to live and preach about the great spirit to your countrymen for many years, he would have answered my prayer for deliverance by taking me away from _all_ evil, to be with jesus, _which is far better_." to the surprise of the missionary, a look of disappointment settled on the face of angut. "what ails you?" he asked. "from what you say," returned the eskimo, somewhat coldly, "i see that, with you, _whatever_ happens is best; _nothing_ can be wrong. there is something which tells me here,"--he placed his hand on his breast--"that that is not true." "you misunderstand me, friend," said egede; "i did not say that nothing can be wrong. what i do say is that whatever god does is and must be right. but god has given to man a free will, and with his free will _man_ does wrong. it is just to save man from this wrong-doing that jesus came to earth." "free will?" murmured the eskimo, with a recurrence of the perplexed look. and well might that look recur, for his untrained yet philosophical mind had been brought for the first time face to face with the great insoluble problem of the ages. "yes," said egede, "you have got hold of a thought which no man has ever yet been able to fathom. free will is a great mystery, nevertheless every child knows that it is a great _fact_." from this point angut seemed to commune only with his own spirit, for he put no more questions. at the same time the opening up of the pack rendered the less philosophical among the eskimos anxious to make some practical efforts for their deliverance. at rooney's suggestion it was arranged that the boldest of the men should take the missionary's boat--a very small one that could not carry above a third of the party,--and examine the leads of open water, until they should ascertain whether they seemed safe or practicable; then return at once, and, if the report should be favourable, begin by taking off the women and children. this plan was carried out. a favourable report was brought back, the women were immediately embarked, and before evening closed the whole party was landed on the mainland in safety. being too late to proceed further that day, the eskimos ran up a rude shelter of stones, moss, and sticks, the women being accommodated under the upturned boat. next day they found that the pack had continued to ease off during the night, so that there was a lead of open water between it and the shore. "you have been praying during the night," said okiok to egede in an abrupt manner, almost as if he were accusing him of taking an unfair advantage of circumstances. "truly i have," answered the missionary, with an amused look, "but i did not presume to ask the great spirit to help us in this particular way. i left that to his wisdom and love. i have been taught to trust him." "and if you had not got an answer at all," returned okiok, wrinkling his brows in perplexity, "you would still have said that all was right?" "just so. if i get an answer it is well. if i get no answer it is still well, for then i know that he sees delay to be best for me and i feel sure that the answer will come at last, in the right way, and in good time, for in the book of the great spirit i am told that `all things work together for good to them that love god.'" "what!" exclaimed angut, who had listened to the conversation with intense interest; "would it be good for you if i killed you?" "of course it would, if god allowed it. thousands of men and women in time past have chosen to be killed rather than offend god by sinning." "this is very strange teaching," said angut, glancing at his friend okiok. "it is the teaching of jesus, the son of god. i am only his servant," said the missionary, "and i hope to tell you much more that will seem very strange before long; but at present we must arrange what is now to be done, for it is the duty of all men to take advantage of opportunities as they are presented to them." the truth of this was so obvious that the eskimos at once dropped into the region of the practical by advising that the women should all get into the boat and advance by water, while the men should walk by the shore. this being agreed to, the boat was launched. although not an eskimo oomiak, the little craft, which was made of wood, and resembled a punt, was propelled by oomiak paddles, so that madame okiok, who was appointed steerswoman, felt herself quite at home when seated in her place. sigokow, being a powerful creature, physically as well as mentally, was put in charge of the bow-paddle. the other women were ranged along the sides, each with a paddle except old kannoa who was allowed to sit in the bottom of the craft as a passenger, and guardian of pussi and tumbler. as these last were prone to jump about under violent impulses of joyous hilarity, and had an irresistible desire to lean over the sides for the purpose of dipping their hands in the sea, the duty of the old woman, although connected with children's play, was by no mean's child's play. three miles an hour being the average speed at which the boat went, the walkers easily kept up with it. only once did a difficulty occur when they came to a narrow bay which, although not more than a mile or so across from point to point, ran so far inland that the walkers could not have gone round it without great loss of time. "we must be ferried across here," said egede; "but as it is past noon, i think we had better call a halt, and dine before making the traverse." "that is my opinion, too, sir," said rooney, throwing down the bundle he had been carrying. as the invitation to feed seldom comes amiss to a healthy eskimo, egede's proposal was at once agreed to, and in a few minutes they were all busily engaged. it was a pretty spot, that on which they dined. bushes just beginning to bud surrounded them; brilliant sunshine drew forth delicious scents from the long, long frozen earth and the reviving herbage on which they sat. it also drew forth gushing rivulets from the patches of snow and heavy drifts, which here and there by their depth and solidity seemed to bid defiance to the sweet influences of spring. the ice-laden sea sent gentle wavelets to the pebbly shore. a group of large willows formed a background to their lordly hall, and behind them, in receding and grand perspective, uprose the great shoulders of greenland's mountains. on all those natural objects of interest and beauty, however, the travellers did not at first bestow more than a passing glance. they were too much engrossed with "metal more attractive," in the shape of bear blubber; but when appetite began to fail conversation began to flow. at that point it occurred to pussi and tumbler that they would go and have some fun. child-nature is much the same all the world over and curiously enough, it bears strong resemblance to adult nature. having fed to satiety, these chips of simek and okiok lifted up their eyes, and beheld the surrounding shrubs. at once the idea arose--"let us explore." the very same impulse that sent mungo park and livingstone to africa; ross, parry, franklin, kane, and all the rest of them toward the pole, led our little hero and heroine into that thicket, and curiosity urged them to explore as far as possible. they did so, and, as a natural consequence, lost themselves. but what cared they for that? with youth, and health, and strength, they were as easy in their minds as lieutenant greely was with sextant, chart, and compass. as to food, were they not already victualled for, not a three years', but a three hours', expedition? and their parents were not disturbed on their account. eskimo fathers and mothers are not, as a rule, nervous or anxious about their offspring. in a remarkably short space of time pussi and tumbler, walking hand in hand, put more than a mile of "bush" between them and their feeding-place. "oh! wha's dat?" exclaimed pussi, stopping short, and gazing into the thicket in front of her. we pause to remind the reader that our little ones lisped in eskimo, and that, in order to delineate faithfully, our only resource is to translate into lisping english. "it's a man," exclaimed tumbler. "i tink him's a funny man," murmured the little girl, as the man approached. pussi was right. but it was not his dress, so much as his gait and expression, that were funny. for the stranger was obviously an eskimo, being flat and fat-visaged, black-and-straight haired, and seal-skinnily clad. the singular point about him was his walk. to all appearance it was a recently acquired power, for the man frowned almost fiercely at the ground as he advanced, and took each step with an amount of forethought and deliberation which to the children seemed quite unaccountable. nay, after having taken a step, he would seem suddenly to repent, and draw back, putting a foot behind him again, or even to one side or the other--anywhere, in short, rather than in front. coming up to the children at last by this painful process, he became suddenly aware of their presence, and opened his eyes to an extent that could only be accounted for on the wild supposition that he had never seen a child in all his life before. having stared for a minute or so with all the intensity of the most solemn surprise, he blinked like a sleepy owl, his mouth expanded, and his whole countenance beamed with good-will; but suddenly he changed back, as if by magic, to the solemn-surprise condition. this was too much for the children, who simultaneously burst into a hilarious fit of laughter. the fit seemed catching, for the man joined them with a loud roar of delight, swaying to and fro with closed eyes as he did so. the roar brought up red rooney, who had followed the children's steps and happened to be close to them at the time of the explosion. he looked at the man for a moment, and then his muttered remark, "drunk as a fiddler!" cleared up the mystery. when the man opened his eyes, having finished his laugh, and beheld a tall kablunet gazing sternly at him, all the fire of his ancestors blazed up in his breast, and came out at his eyes. drawing his knife, he sprang at our seaman with the murderous weapon uplifted. rooney caught his wrist, put a foot behind his leg, gave him a sort of twirl, and laid him flat on his back. the fall caused the knife to spin into the air, and the poor eskimo found himself at the mercy of the kablunet. instead of taking the man's life, rooney bade him sit up. the man did so with a solemn look, not unmixed with perplexity. there is a phase of that terrible vice drunkenness which is comic, and it is not of the slightest use to ignore that fact. there were probably few men who detested strong drink and grieved over its dire effects more than red rooney. he had been led, at a time when total abstinence was almost unknown, to hate the very name of drink and to become a total abstainer. yet he could not for the life of him resist a hearty laugh when the befuddled eskimo blinked up in his face with an imbecile smile, and said--"wh-whash 'e matter, y-you st-stupid ole' k-k-kablunet?" the difficulty and faulty nature of his pronunciation was such that slipshod english serves admirably to indicate his state of mind, although neither english nor eskimo, arabic nor hebrew, will suffice to describe in adequate terms the tremendous solemnity of his gaze after the imbecile smile had passed away. "you disreputable old seal," said rooney, "where did you get the drink?" words are wanting to express the dignified look of injured innocence with which the man replied--"i--i've had _no_ d-drink. nosh a d-drop!" "yes, truly you _are_ a man and a brother," muttered rooney, as he noted this "touch of nature," and felt that he was in the company of "kin." "what's your name, you walrus?" "k-kazho," answered the man indignantly. "what!" "k-ka-zho," he repeated, with emphasis. "i suppose you mean kajo, you unnatural jellyfish." kajo did not condescend to say what he meant, but continued to eye the kablunet with lofty disdain, though the effect of his expression was marred by his attention being distracted by pussi and tumbler, whose faces were fiery red, owing to fits of suppressed laughter. "get up now, you old rascal," said rooney. "come along with me, and i'll show you to my friends." at first the eskimo showed a disposition to resist, but when the powerful seaman lifted him up by the neck of his coat, as if he had been a little dog, and set him on his legs, he thought better of it, smiled benignly, and moved on. hans egede at once recognised this fellow as one of the most troublesome of his flock. "i have done my best to keep strong drink from that man," he explained to rooney, "but, as you must be aware from your long residence among them, the traders _will_ supply the poor creatures with rum, and kajo's naturally sanguine temperament is unable to withstand its influence. over and over again he has promised me--with tears of, i believe, true repentance in his eyes--to give it up; but as surely as the traders offer it to him, and prevail on him to take one drop, so surely does he give way to a regular debauch." while he spoke to rooney in the danish tongue, the subject of conversation stood with bowed head, conscience-smitten, before him, for, although he did not understand the language, he guessed correctly that the talk was about his own misdeeds. "come with me," said the missionary, taking the poor man by the arm, leading him aside to some distance, and evidently entering into serious remonstrance--while kajo, as evidently, commenced energetic protestations. on returning, egede said that the eskimo told him his tribe had moved along the coast to a better hunting-ground, and were at that moment located in an old deserted village, just beyond the point for which they were making, on the other side of the bay. he therefore advised that they should start off at once, so as to reach the camp early in the evening. "kajo tells me," added egede, "that his kayak lies hid in the bushes at no great distance; so he can go with us. he is not too drunk, i think, to manage his light craft." but egede was wrong, for even while he was speaking kajo had slipped quietly behind a bush. there, after a cautious look round to see that no one observed him, he drew a curious little flat earthenware bottle from some place of concealment about his dress, applied it to his lips, and took what rooney would have styled "a long, hearty pull." that draught was the turning-point. the comic and humorous were put to flight, and nothing but fierce, furious savagery remained behind. many men in their cups become lachrymose, others silly, and some combative. the fiery liquor had the latter effect on kajo. issuing from his place of retirement with a fiendish yell and glaring eyes, he made an insane attack on angut. that eskimo, having no desire to hurt the man, merely stepped lightly out of his way and let him pass. fortunately his knife had been left on the ground where rooney first met him, for he stumbled and fell upon kabelaw, into whom he would certainly have plunged the weapon had it still been in his hand. jumping up, he looked round with the glaring eyes of a tiger, while his fingers clutched nervously at the place where he was wont to carry the lost knife. seeing his condition, arbalik sprang towards him, but, stooping quickly, kajo darted out of his way. at the same moment he snatched up a knife that had been left lying on the ground. the first effect of the last draught seemed for the time to have increased the man's powers of action, for, rushing round the circle, he came suddenly upon poor old kannoa, who chanced to be seated a little apart from the others. seizing her thin hair, kajo brandished the knife in front of her throat, and, glaring at the men, gave vent to a wild laugh of triumph. it was evident that he was for the time quite mad and unaccountable for his actions--though by no means unaccountable for taking the accursed drink that reduced him to that state of temporary insanity. red rooney, aghast with horror at the impending fate of the dear old remembrancer of his grandmother, sprang forward with the agility of a wild cat, but his energy, intensified though it was by rage, could not have prevented the catastrophe if ippegoo had not come to the rescue. yes, that mild youth was the instrument chosen to avert the blow. he chanced to be standing beside a mass of turf which okiok had cut from the ground for the purpose of making a dry seat for nuna. seizing this, ippegoo hurled it at the head of the drunken eskimo. never before did the feeble youth make such a good shot. full on the flat face of the drunkard it went, like the wad of a siege-gun, scattering earth and _debris_ all round--and down went the eskimo. unable to check himself, down also went rooney on the top of him. next moment the luckless kajo was secured with a piece of walrus-line, and flung on one side, while the indignant party held a noisy consultation as to what was to be done with him. chapter twenty five. the eskimo encampment--a murder and its consequences. with hans egede, red rooney, and angut as chief councillors, it may be easily understood that the punishment awarded to kajo was not severe. he was merely condemned, in the meantime, to be taken to his own people as a prisoner, and then let go free with a rebuke. "but how are we to carry him there?" asked egede. "he cannot walk, and we must not delay." "that's true," said rooney; "and it will never do to burden the women's boat with him. it is too full already." "did he not say that he had his kayak with him?" asked angut. "he did," cried okiok, with the sudden animation of one who has conceived an idea. "run, arbalik, ippegoo, ermigit, norrak, and seek for the kayak." the youths named ran off to obey, with the alacrity of well-trained children, and in half an hour returned in triumph with the kayak on their shoulders. meanwhile kajo had recovered slightly, and was allowed to sit up, though his hands were still bound. "now we'll try him. launch the boat, boys," said okiok, "and be ready to paddle." the young men did as they were bid, and okiok, unloosening kajo's bonds, asked him if he could manage his kayak. "o-of--c-course i can," replied the man, somewhat indignantly. "come, then, embark an' do it," returned okiok, seizing his arm, and giving it a squeeze to convince him that he was in the hands of a strong man. kajo staggered towards his little vessel, and, lifting it with difficulty, went down to the beach. he would certainly have fallen and damaged it if okiok had not stood on one side and angut on the other to prevent a fall. when the kayak was launched, he attempted to step into the little oval opening in it, but with so little success that okiok, losing patience, lifted, him in, and crammed him down. then he sent him afloat with a vigorous push. feeling all right, with the familiar paddle in his hands, kajo tried to rouse himself, bethought him of flight, gave a hiccoughing cheer, and went skimming away like a sword-fish. "after him now, boys, and keep alongside," cried okiok. responsive to the order, the boat shot after the kayak, but they had barely got under weigh when kajo made a false stroke with the paddle, lost his balance, and disappeared. "i expected that," remarked okiok, with a laugh. "but the poor man will drown," said egede anxiously; "he is too drunk to recover himself." this was obvious, for the overturned craft seemed to quiver like a dying whale, while its owner made wild but fruitless efforts to recover his proper position; and it is certain that the poor man would then and there have paid the penalty of his intemperance with his life, if the boat had not ranged alongside, and rescued him. "so then," said angut to egede, as they were bringing kajo ashore, "this is the effect of the mad waters that i have often heard of, but never seen till now." "yes, angut, you see the effect of them--at least on one man; but their effects vary according to the nature of those who drink. some men they make violent, like kajo; others become silly; while not a few become heavy, stupid, and brutal. in my country most if not all of the murders that take place are committed under the influence of strong drink. the red indians, who dwell far to the south-west of your lands, call strong drink `fire-water.' your own name `mad waters' is better, i think." kajo was led forward at this moment, looking very much dejected, and greatly sobered. he made no further attempt to resist, but, as a precaution, his hands were again tied, and then he was left to dry in the sun, and to his meditations, while the party made the traverse of the bay. this was accomplished in three trips. as the last party was about to start, okiok and kajo alone remained on the shore. "you had better think twice," said rooney, as he was about to push off the boat. "he may give you some trouble." "fear not," returned okiok, with a grin, in which there were mingled fun and contempt. "i have thought twice--three--four--ten times," and he extended the fingers of both hands. "very good; we'll keep an eye on you," said rooney, with a laugh. "he runs no risk," remarked egede, taking up one of the paddles to share in the work. "his plan is one which eskimos frequently adopt when one of their kayaks has been destroyed by rocks or walruses." the plan referred to consisted in making the man whose kayak has been lost lie out on what may be called the deck of a friend's kayak. the well-known little craft named the "rob roy canoe" bears much resemblance to the eskimo kayak--the chief difference being that the former is made of thin, light wood, the latter of a light framework covered with sealskin. both are long and narrow; decked entirely over, with the exception of a hole in the centre; can hold only one person, and are propelled with one double paddle having a blade at each end. the only way, therefore, of helping a friend in distress with such craft is to lay him out flat at full length on the deck, and require him to keep perfectly still while you paddle to a place of safety. okiok intended to take the helpless drunkard across the bay in this fashion, but for the sake of safety, resolved to do it in an unfriendly manner. when the boat had shot away, he pushed the kayak into the water until it was afloat in the fore-part, arranged the spears which formed its armament, made fast the various lines, and laid the paddle across the opening. then he went up to kajo, who had been watching his movements with much curiosity, not quite unmingled with discomfort. "go," he said, pointing to the kayak, "and lay yourself out in front, on your face." kajo looked earnestly at the speaker. there was much less of the heroic in his gaze by that time, and therefore more of manly determination; but okiok said "go" again. and kajo went. when he was laid flat on his face in front of the opening, with his feet on either side, and his head towards the bow, okiok proceeded to tie him down there. "you need not fear," he said; "i will not move." okiok did not cease his work, but he said-- "i will make sure that you do not move. any man with the sense of a puffin might be trusted to lie still for his own sake, but i have learned this day that a man full of mad water is a fool--not to be trusted at all." having expressed himself thus, and finished the lashing, he got softly into his place, pushed off, and paddled gently over the sea. he had not advanced far when kajo, feeling uncomfortable, tried slightly to alter his position, whereupon okiok took up a spear that lay handy, and gave him a slight prick by way of reminding him of his duty. the rest of the voyage was accomplished in peace and safety. in the evening the party arrived at the temporary abode of the tribe to which kajo belonged. by that time the eskimo was thoroughly sober, but the same could not be said of all his people--of whom there were upwards of a hundred men, besides women and children. it was found that a chance trader to godhaab had brought a considerable quantity of rum, and the families of which we now speak had secured several kegs. all of these eskimos were well acquainted with egede, and a few of them were friendly towards him; but many were the reverse. there was great excitement among them at the time the party arrived--excitement that could scarcely be accounted for either by the rum or by the unexpected arrival. egede soon found out what it was. a terrible murder had been committed the night before by one of the eskimos, who was considered not only the best hunter of the band to which he belonged, but one of the best husbands and fathers. his name was mangek. he was one of those who had been well disposed towards the missionary, and in regard to whom much hope had been entertained. but he had been treated to rum by the traders, and having conceived an ardent desire for more, had managed to obtain a keg of the mad water. although kind and amiable by nature, his temperament was sanguine and his nerves sensitively strung. a very little of the rum excited him to extravagant exuberance of spirit, and a large dose made him temporarily insane. it was during one of these fits of insanity that mangek had on the previous night struck his wife, when she was trying to soothe him. the blow would not in itself have killed her, but as she fell her head struck on a stone, her skull was fractured, and she died in a few minutes. indifferent to--indeed, ignorant of--what he had done, the eskimo sat beside the corpse all that night drinking. no one dared to go near him, until he fell back helplessly drunk. then they removed the body of his wife. it was bad enough to see this hitherto respected man mad with drink, but it was ten times worse to see him next day mad with horror at what he had done. for it was not merely that his wife was dead, but that, although he had loved that wife with all his heart and soul, he had killed her with his own hand. the wretched man had rushed about the place shrieking all the morning, sometimes with horror and sometimes with fury, until he was physically exhausted. every one had kept carefully out of his way. when our travellers arrived he was lying in his hut groaning heavily; but no one knew what state he was in, for they still feared to disturb him. no such fear affected hans egede. knowing that he could point to the only remedy for sin and broken hearts, he went straight into the poor man's hut. shortly afterwards the groaning ceased, and the natives listened with awe to what they knew was the voice of prayer. as they could not, however, distinguish the words, they gradually drew off, and circled round the strangers who had so unexpectedly arrived. great was their surprise when they found that their comrade kajo had been brought home as a prisoner; and still greater was their surprise when they found that a bottle of rum which had been stolen from one of their hunters, and carried off the day before, was found on the person of kajo--for kajo had been, like mangek, a respectable man up to that date, and no one believed it possible that he would condescend to steal. one of those who was himself under the influence of rum at the time looked sternly at kajo, and began to abuse him as a hypocrite and deceiver. "now, look here," cried red rooney, stepping forward; "listen to me." having regard to his commanding look and tone, the natives considered him the leader of the party, and listened with respect. "what right have _you_," he continued, turning sharply on the last speaker, "to look with contempt on kajo? you have been drinking mad water yourself. i smell it in your breath. if you were to take a little more, you would be quite ready to commit murder." "no, i would not," replied the eskimo stoutly. "yes, you would," said the sailor, still more stoutly. "even my good-natured friend okiok here would be ready to murder his wife nuna if he was full of mad water." this unexpected statement took our kindly eskimo so much by surprise that for a moment or two he could not speak. then he thundered forth-- "never! what! kill nuna? if i was stuffed with mad water from the toes to the eyelids, i _could_ not kill nuna." at that moment an aged eskimo pressed to the front. tears were on his wrinkled cheeks, as he said, in a quavering voice-- "yes, you _could_, my son. the wife of mangek was my dear child. no man ever loved his wife better than mangek loved my child. he would have killed himself sooner than he would have killed her. but mangek did not kill her. it was the mad water that killed her. he did not know what the mad water would do when he drank it. how could he? it is the first time he has drunk it; he will _never_ drink it again. but that will not bring back my child." the old man tried to say more, but his lip trembled and his voice failed. his head drooped, and, turning abruptly round, he mingled with the crowd. it was evident that the people were deeply moved by this speech. probably they had never before given the mad water much of their thoughts, but now, after what had been said, and especially after the awful event of the previous night, opinion on the subject was beginning to form. red rooney noted the fact, and was quick to take advantage of the opportunity. "my friends," he said, and the natives listened all the more eagerly that he spoke their language so well, "when a cruel enemy comes to your shore, and begins to kill, how do you act?" "we drive him into the sea; kill--destroy him," shouted the men promptly. "is not mad water a cruel enemy? has he not already begun his deadly work? has he not killed one of your best women, and broken the heart of one of your best men?" "huk! huk! yes, that is true." "then who will fight him?" shouted rooney. there was a chorus of "i wills," and many of the men, running up to their huts, returned, some with bottles, and some with kegs. foremost among them was the old father of the murdered woman. he stumbled, fell, and his keg rolled to rooney's feet. catching it up, the sailor raised it high above his head and dashed it to splinters on the stones. with a shout of enthusiasm the eskimos followed his example with bottle and keg, and in another moment quite a cataract of the vile spirit was flowing into the sea. "that is well done," said hans egede, coming up at the moment. "you know how to take the tide at the flood, rooney." "nay, sir," returned the sailor; "god brought about all the circumstances that raised the tide, and gave me power to see and act when the tide was up. i claim to be naught but an instrument." "i will not quarrel with you on that point," rejoined egede; "nevertheless, as an instrument, you did it well, and for that i thank god who has granted to you what i have prayed and toiled for, without success, for many a day. it is another illustration of prayer being answered in a different and better way from what i had asked or expected." in this strange manner was originated, on the spur of the moment, an effectual and comprehensive total abstinence movement. we are bound of course to recognise the fact that it began in impulse, and was continued from necessity--no more drink being obtainable there at that time. still, egede and rooney, as well as the better-disposed among the eskimos, rejoiced in the event, for it was an unquestionable blessing so far as it went. as the eskimos had settled down on that spot for some weeks for the purpose of hunting--which was their only method of procuring the necessaries of life,--and as there was no pressing necessity for the missionary or his friends proceeding just then to godhaab, it was resolved that they should all make a short stay at the place, to assist the eskimos in their work, as well as to recruit the health and strength of those who had been enfeebled by recent hardship and starvation. chapter twenty six. tells of men whose actions end in smoke, and of others whose plots end in deeds of darkness. this is a world of surprises. however long we may live, and however much we may learn, the possibility of being surprised remains with us, and our capacity for blazing astonishment is as great as when first, with staggering gait, we escaped from the nursery into space and stood irresolute, with the world before us where to choose. these thoughts arise from the remembrance of okiok as he stood one morning open-mouthed, open-eyed, open-souled, and, figuratively, petrified, gazing at something over a ledge of rock. what that something was we must learn from okiok himself, after he had cautiously retired from the scene, and run breathlessly back towards the eskimo village, where the first man he met was red rooney. "i--i've seen it," gasped the eskimo, gripping the seaman's arm convulsively. "seen what?" "seen a man--on fire; and he seems not to mind it!" "on fire! a man! surely not. you must be mistaken." "no, i am quite sure," returned okiok, with intense earnestness. "i saw him with my two eyes, and smoke was coming out of him." rooney half-suspected what the eskimo had seen, but there was just enough of uncertainty to induce him to say, "come, take me to him." "is the man alone?" he asked, as they hurried along. "no; ippegoo is with him, staring at him." they soon reached the ledge of rock where okiok had seen the "something," and, looking cautiously over it, rooney beheld his friend kajo smoking a long clay pipe such as dutchmen are supposed to love. ippegoo was watching him in a state of ecstatic absorption. rooney drew back and indulged in a fit of stifled laughter for a minute, but his companion was too much surprised even to smile. "is he doing that curious thing," asked okiok in a low voice, "which you once told me about--smookin' tibooko?" "yes; that's it," replied rooney with a broad grin, "only you had better say `smokin' tobacco' next time." "`smokkin' tibucco,'" repeated the eskimo; "well, that _is_ funny. but why does he spit it out? does he not like it?" "of course he likes it. at least i suppose he does, by the expression of his face." there could be little doubt that rooney was right. kajo had evidently got over the preliminary stages of incapacity and repugnance long ago, and had acquired the power of enjoying that mild and partial stupefaction--sometimes called "soothing influence"--which tobacco smoke affords. his eyes blinked happily, like those of a cat in the sunshine; his thickish lips protruded poutingly as they gripped the stem; and the smoke was expelled slowly at each puff, as if he grudged losing a single whiff of the full flavour. scarcely less interesting was the entranced gaze of ippegoo. self-oblivion had been effectively achieved in that youth. a compound of feelings--interest, surprise, philosophical inquiry, eager expectancy, and mild alarm--played hide-and-seek with each other in his bosom, and kept him observant and still. "why," asked okiok, after gazing in silent admiration for a few minutes over the ledge, "why does he not swallow it, if he likes it, and keep it down?" "it's hard to say," answered rooney. "perhaps he'd blow up or catch fire if he were to try. it might be dangerous!" "see," exclaimed okiok, in an eager whisper; "he is going to let ippegoo taste it." rooney looked on with increased interest, for at that moment kajo, having had enough, offered the pipe to his friend, who accepted it with the air of a man who half expected it to bite and put the end in his mouth with diffidence. he was not successful with the first draw, for instead of taking the smoke merely into his mouth he drew it straight down his throat, and spent nearly five minutes thereafter in violent coughing with tears running down his cheeks. kajo spent the same period in laughing, and then gravely and carefully explained how the thing should be done. ippegoo was an apt scholar. almost immediately he learned to puff, and in a very short time was rolling thick white clouds from him like a turret-gun in action. evidently he was proud of his rapid attainments. "humph! that won't last long," murmured rooney to his companion. "isn't it good?" said kajo to ippegoo. "ye-es. o yes. it's good; a-at least, i suppose it is," replied the youth, with modesty. a peculiar tinge of pallor overspread his face at that moment. "what's wrong, ippegoo?" "i--i--feel f-funny." "never mind that," said kajo. "it's always the way at first. when i first tried it i--" he was cut short by ippegoo suddenly rising, dropping the pipe, clapping one hand on his breast, the other on his mouth, and rushing into the bushes where he disappeared like one of his own puffs of smoke. at the same moment rooney and okiok appeared on the scene, laughing heartily. "you rascal!" said rooney to kajo, on recovering his gravity; "you have learned to drink, and you have learned to smoke, and, not satisfied with that extent of depravity, you try to teach ippegoo. you pitiful creature! are you not ashamed of yourself?" kajo looked sheepish, and admitted that he had some sensations of that sort, but wasn't sure. "tell me," continued the seaman sternly, "before you tasted strong drink or tobacco, did you want them?" "no," replied kajo. "are you in better health now that you've got them?" "i--i _feel_ the better for them," replied kajo. "i did not ask what you _feel_," returned rooney. "_are_ you better now than you were before? that's the question." but rooney never got a satisfactory answer to that question, and kajo continued to drink and smoke until, happily for himself, he had to quit the settlements and proceed to the lands of thick-ribbed ice, where nothing stronger than train oil and lamp-smoke were procurable. as for poor ippegoo, he did not show himself to his friends during the remainder of that day. being half an idiot, no one could prevail on him thereafter to touch another pipe. now, while the eskimos and our friends were engaged in hunting, and holding an unwonted amount both of religious and philosophical intercourse, a band of desperadoes was descending the valleys of the interior of greenland, with a view to plunder the eskimos of the coast. hitherto we have written about comparatively well-behaved and genial natives, but it must not be supposed that there were no villains of an out-and-out character among those denizens of the north. it is true there were not many--for the sparseness of the population, the superabundance of game on land and sea, as well as the wealth of unoccupied hunting-grounds, and the rigour of the climate, rendered robbery and war quite unnecessary, as well as disagreeable. still, there were a few spirits of evil even there, to whom a quiet life seemed an abomination, and for whom the violent acquisition of other men's goods possessed a charm far transcending the practice of the peaceful industries of life. the band referred to was not remarkably strong in numbers--about thirty or so; but these were sturdy and daring villains, led by a chief who must have had some of the old norse blood in his veins, he was so tall, fair of complexion, and strong. descending first on the little settlement of godhaab at night, this robber band found that a dutch trading-vessel had just arrived, the crew of which, added to the settlers attracted from their hunting-grounds to the village, formed a force which they dared not venture to attack openly. grimlek, the robber chief, therefore resolved to wait for a better opportunity. meanwhile, passing himself and band off as hunters, he purchased a few things from the traders and then proceeded along the coast, intending to hunt, as well as to wait till the vessel should depart. while the robbers were thus engaged, they came unexpectedly on another trading-ship--a dutchman--part of the crew of which had landed for some purpose or other in their boat. on seeing the eskimos, the dutchmen got quickly into their boat, and pushed off; but the robbers made signs of peace to them, and, carrying their bows, arrows, and spears up to the woods, left them there, returning to the shore as if unarmed, though in reality they had retained their knives. again they made signs, as if they wished to trade with the dutchmen. deceived by appearances, the sailors once more drew in to the shore. while they were approaching, grimlek called his men round him and gave a few hasty directions. when the sailors had landed, the eskimos mingled with them, and began to offer sealskins for trade--each selecting a particular man with whom to transact business. at a given signal they drew their knives from under their coats, and each robber stabbed his man to the heart. the men left in the ship, seeing what had occurred, and that it was too late to attempt rescue, instantly filled her sails, and went off to sea. the villains having thus easily slain their victims, carried off the booty found in the boat, and hid it in the bushes, to be taken away at a convenient opportunity. but this deed of darkness was not done unwitnessed. early in the morning of that day, various hunting parties had dispersed in different directions--some to the hills, others to the sea. among the latter was an oomiak full of women who went along-shore to fish, and with whom were old kannoa, nunaga, and others. they went in a northerly direction. rooney, angut, and okiok proceeded along the coast to the southward. the direction taken by these last brought them near to the spot where the dutch sailors had landed, at the critical moment when the robbers were mingling with their unsuspecting victims. although only three to thirty, it is certain that our heroes would have sprung to the aid of the sailors if they had suspected what was about to happen, but the deed was done so promptly that there was no time for action. fortunately rooney and his companions had not shown themselves. they were therefore able to draw back into the shelter of the bushes, where they held a hasty council of war. "we must run back to camp," said rooney, "tell what we have seen, and return with a band of men to punish the murderers." "agreed," said okiok; "but how are we to do it? the shore is open. we cannot take a step that way without being seen, and chased. we might outrun them, though i don't feel quite as supple as i used to; but we should barely arrive before them in time to warn the camp, and should then be almost unfit to fight." to this angut replied that they could go inland over the hills, and so come down on the camp in rear. it might not, he thought, add much to the distance. this plan was quickly adopted and put in practice. but there are few things more deceptive than formation and distance in mountain lands. what seemed to the trio easy, proved to be tremendously difficult; and the distance they had to travel in order to avoid precipices and surmount ridges, gradually increased to many miles, so that it was late, and twilight was deepening into night, before they reached the camp. meanwhile the robbers were not idle. although ignorant of the fact that their bloody work had been observed, they were not long ignorant of the near neighbourhood of the eskimo camp. early in the morning they had sent two of their swiftest young men to spy out the land ahead. these had discovered the camp, entered it, professing to be wandering hunters, and had then returned to their friends with the news that many of the men had gone away hunting, and would probably remain out all night; also that an oomiak full of women had gone off to the southward to fish. the runners, happening to descend to the coast on the opposite side of a ridge from rooney and his companions, just missed meeting them, and returned to their comrades shortly after the massacre. grimlek knew that whatever course he should pursue must be prompt and decisive. he at once divided his men into two bands, one of which he sent to pursue and capture the women who had gone to fish; with the other, which he led in person, he resolved either to storm the camp or take it by surprise, as circumstances might point out. by the straight way of the shore the distance was not great. in fact, the camp might have been seen from the spot where the massacre had been perpetrated, but for a high promontory which concealed it. on rounding this promontory, the party detailed to pursue the women glided into the bushes and disappeared. grimlek, with the remaining men, advanced straight and openly towards the camp. he saw, however, on drawing near, that the number of men in it were more than a match for his small party, and therefore approached with friendly demonstrations. they were hospitably received by hans egede. "my friends," he said, "you have arrived just as we are assembling to talk about the things that concern our souls, the future life, and the good spirit. will you and your men sit down and listen?" for a few moments grimlek did not reply. then he said, "you are not an eskimo?" "no, i am a kablunet," replied egede; "i have been sent to tell the eskimos about the true god." again the robber chief was silent. then he said that he would consult with his men, and retired with them a short distance to do so. "nothing better could have happened," he said in a low tone. "the kablunet is going to talk to them about his god. all we have to do is to mingle with them. let each of you choose his man and sit down beside him. when i give the signal, strike at once, and let no second blow be needed." a murmur of assent was all that the band returned to this speech, and grimlek, returning to the missionary, said that he and his men were ready to hear. in a few minutes each of the assassins was seated on the ground beside his chosen victim. chapter twenty seven. a strange meeting strangely interrupted. the meeting which had been thus strangely invaded was no ordinary prayer or missionary meeting. it had been assembled by egede for the express purpose of affording some unbelievers among the eskimos an opportunity of stating their difficulties and objections in regard to the new religion. interesting though its proceedings were, as showing the similarity of the workings of the civilised and savage minds, we cannot afford space to enter much into detail, yet some account of the matter seems necessary in order to show what it was that induced the robber chief to delay, though not to alter, his fell purpose. after prayer offered by the missionary, that the holy spirit might descend on and bless the discussion, a hymn was sung. it had been translated into eskimo, and taught to his converts by egede. then the missionary made a brief but complete statement of the leading facts of the good news of salvation to sinful man in jesus christ,--this, not only to clear the way for what was to come, but for the purpose of teaching the newcomers, so as to render them somewhat intelligent listeners. then an old grey-haired man arose. "i do not object to the new religion," he said, "but i am puzzled. you tell me that god is everywhere and knows everything; why, then, did he not go to our first mother, eve, and warn her of her danger when the evil one tempted her in the form of a serpent?" "my friend, the question you ask cannot be fully answered," said egede. "i can explain, however, that our first parents were put into the world to be tried or tested in that way. to have warned eve would have rendered the test useless. enough for us to know that she was told what to do. her duty was to obey. but let me ask _you_ a question: is not sin--is not murder--hateful?" grimlek imagined that egede looked him straight in the face as he asked the question, and felt uneasy, but was by no means softened. "yes," answered the old man; "murder--sin--is hateful." "yet it certainly exists," continued egede; "you cannot help believing that?" "yes, i must admit that." "then why did god permit sin?" of course the old man could not reply, and the missionary pointed out that some things were incomprehensible, and that that was one of them. "but," he continued, "that is no reason why we should not talk of things that _are_ comprehensible. let us turn to these." at this point a middle-aged man with a burly frame and resolute expression started up, and said in an excited yet somewhat reckless manner-- "i don't believe a word that you say. everything exists as it was from the beginning until now, and will continue the same to the end." "who told you that?" asked egede, in a prompt yet quiet manner. the man was silenced. he resumed his seat without answering. "you have talked of the `end,' my friend," continued the missionary, in the same quiet tone. "when is the end? and what will come after it? i wait for enlightenment." still the man remained dumb. he had evidently exhausted himself in one grand explosion, and was unable for more. there was a disposition to quiet laughter on the part of the audience, but the missionary checked this by pointing to another man in the crowd and remarking-- "i think, friend, that you have something to say." thus invited, the man spoke at once, and with unexpected vigour. he was a stupid-looking, heavy-faced man, but when roused, as he then was, his face lighted up amazingly. "we do not understand you," he said sternly. "show us the god you describe; then we will believe in him and obey him. you make him too high and incomprehensible. how can we know him? will he trouble himself about the like of us? some of us have prayed to him when we were faint and hungry, but we got no answer. what you say of him cannot be true, or, if you know him better than we do, why don't you pray for us and procure for us plenty of food, good health, and a dry house? that is all we want. as for our souls, they are healthy enough already. you are of a different race from us. people in your country may have diseased souls. very likely they have. from the specimens we have seen of them we are quite ready to believe that. for them a doctor of souls may be necessary. your heaven and your spiritual joys may be good enough for you, but they would be very dull for us. we must have seals, and fishes, and birds. our souls can no more live without these than our bodies. you say we shall not find any of these in your heaven; well then, we do not want to go there; we will leave it to you and to the worthless part of our own countrymen, but as for us, we prefer to go to torngarsuk, where we shall find more than we require of all things, and enjoy them without trouble." [see note.] with an energetic "humph!" or some such exclamation, this self-satisfied philosopher sat down, and many of his countrymen expressed their sympathy with his views by a decided "huk!" but others remained silent and puzzled. and well they might, for in these few sentences the eskimo had opened up a number of the problems on which man, both civilised and savage, has been exercising his brain unsuccessfully from the days of adam and eve until now. no wonder that poor hans egede paused thoughtfully--and no doubt prayerfully--for a few minutes ere he ventured a reply. he was about to open his lips, when, to his astonishment, a tall strong man who had been sitting near the outside circle of the audience close to the robber chief grimlek started to his feet, and, in a tone that had in it more of a demand than a request, asked permission to speak. it was our friend angut. before listening to his remarks, however, it behoves us to account for his sudden appearance. having been led, as we have said, far out of their way by the detour they were compelled to take, red rooney and his friends did not reach the camp till some time after the meeting above described had begun. as it was growing dusk at the time, they easily approached without being observed--all the more that during the whole time of the meeting men and women kept coming and going, according as they felt more or less interested in the proceedings. great was the surprise of the three friends on arriving to find the band of robbers sitting peacefully among the audience; but still greater would have been their surprise had they known the murderous purpose these had in view. rooney, however, having had knowledge of men in many savage lands, half guessed the true state of matters, and, touching his two friends on the shoulders, beckoned to them to withdraw. "things look peaceful," he whispered when beyond the circle, "but there is no peace in the hearts of cold-blooded murderers. what they have done they will do again. `quick' is the word. let us gather a dozen strong young men." they had no difficulty in doing this. from among the youths who were indifferent to the proceedings at the meeting they soon gathered twelve of the strongest. "now, lads," said rooney, after having briefly told them of the recent massacre, "fifteen of these murderers are seated in that meeting. you cannot fail to know them from our own people, for they are all strangers. let each one here creep into the meeting with a short spear, choose his man, sit down beside him, and be ready when the signal is given by angut or me. but do not kill. you are young and strong. throw each man on his back, but do not kill unless he seems likely to get the better of you. hold them down, and wait for orders." no more was said. rooney felt that delay might be fatal. with the promptitude of men accustomed to be led, the youths crept into the circle of listeners, and seated themselves as desired. rooney and okiok selected their men, like the rest. angut chanced to place himself beside grimlek. the chief cast a quick, suspicious glance on him as he sat down, but as angut immediately became intent on the discussion that was going on, and as the robber himself had become interested in spite of himself, the suspicion was allayed as quickly as roused. these quiet proceedings took place just before the heavy-faced eskimo began the speech which we have detailed. notwithstanding the serious-- it might be bloody--work which was presently to engage all his physical energies, the spirit of angut was deeply stirred by the string of objections which the man had flung out so easily. most of the points touched on had often engaged his thoughtful mind, and he felt--as many reasoning men have felt before and since--how easy it is for a fool to state a string of objections in a few minutes, which it might take a learned man several hours fully to answer and refute. oppressed, and, as it were, boiling over, with this feeling, angut, as we have said, started to his feet, to the no small alarm of the guilty man at his side. but the chief's fears were dissipated when angut spoke. "foolish fellow!" he said, turning with a blazing gaze to the heavy-faced man. "you talk like a child of what you do not understand. you ask to see god, else you won't believe. you believe in your life, don't you? yet you have never seen it. you stab a bear, and let its life out. you know when the life is there. you have let it out. you know when it is gone. but you have not _seen_ it. then why do you believe in it? you do not see a sound, yet you believe in it. do not lift your stupid face; i know what you would say: you _hear_ the sound, therefore it exists. a deaf man does not hear the sound. does it therefore not exist? that which produces the sound is there, though the deaf man neither sees nor hears, nor feels nor tastes, nor smells it. my friend, the man of god, says he thinks the cause of sound is motion in the air passing from particle to particle, till the last particle next my ear is moved, and then--i hear. is there, then, no motion in the air to cause sound because the deaf man does not hear? "o stupid-face! you say that god does not answer prayer, because you have asked and have not received. what would you think of your little boy if he should say, `i asked a dead poisonous fish from my father the other day, and he did not give it to me; therefore my father _never_ gives me what i want.' would that be true? every morning you awake hungry, and you _wish_ for food; then you get up, and you find it. is not your wish a silent prayer? and is it not answered every day? who sends the seals, and fishes, and birds, even when we do _not_ ask with our lips? did these animals make themselves? stupid-face! you say your soul is healthy. sometimes you are angry, sometimes discontented, sometimes jealous, sometimes greedy. is an angry, discontented, jealous, greedy soul healthy? you know it is not. it is diseased, and the disease of the soul is _sin_. this disease takes the bad forms i have mentioned, and many other bad forms--one of which is _murder_." angut emphasised the last word and paused, but did not look at the robber beside him, for he knew that the arrow would reach its mark. then he resumed-- "the kablunet has brought to us the better knowledge of god. he tells us that god's great purpose from the beginning of time has been to cure our soul-disease. we deserve punishment for our sins: god sent his son and equal, jesus christ, to bear our sins. we need deliverance from the power of sin: god sent his equal--the spirit of jesus--to cure us. i believe it. i have felt that great spirit in my breast long before i saw the kablunets, and have asked the great spirit to send more light. he has answered my prayer. i _have_ more light, and am satisfied." again angut paused, while the eskimos gazed at him in breathless interest, and a strange thrill--almost of expectation--passed through the assembly, while he continued in a low and solemn tone-- "jesus," he said, "saves _from_ all sin. but,"--he turned his eyes here full on grimlek--"he does not save _in_ sin. murder--foul and wicked murder--has been done!" grimlek grew pale, but did not otherwise betray himself. reference to murder was no uncommon thing among his countrymen. he did not yet feel sure that angut referred to the deed which he had so recently perpetrated. "this day," continued angut, "i saw a band of kablunet sailors--" he got no further than that, for grimlek attempted to spring up. the heavy hand of angut, however, crushed him back instantly, and a spear-point touched his throat. "down with the villains!" shouted rooney, laying the grasp of a vice on the neck of the man next to him, and hurling him to the ground. in the twinkling of an eye the fifteen robbers were lying flat on their backs, with fingers grasping their throats, knees compressing their stomachs, and spear-points at their hearts; but no blood was shed. one or two of the fiercest, indeed, struggled at first, but without avail-- for the intended victim of each robber was handy and ready to lend assistance at the capture, as if in righteous retribution. it was of course a startling incident to those who were not in the secret. every man sprang up and drew his knife, not knowing where a foe might appear, but rooney's strong voice quieted them. "we're all safe enough, mr egede," he cried, as he bound grimlek's hands behind him with a cord. the eskimos quickly performed the same office for their respective prisoners, and then, setting them up in a row, proceeded to talk over the massacre, and to discuss in their presence the best method of getting rid of the murderers. "i propose," said okiok, whose naturally kind heart had been deeply stirred by the cowardly massacre which he had witnessed, "i propose that we should drown them." "no; drowning is far too good. let us spear them," said kajo, who had become sober by that time. "that would not hurt them," cried a fierce eskimo, smiting his knee with his clenched fist. "we must cut off their ears and noses, poke out their eyes, and then roast them alive--" "hush! hush!" cried egede, stepping forward; "we must do nothing of the kind. we must not act like devils. have we not been talking of the mercy of the great spirit? let us be just, but let us temper justice with mercy. angut has not yet spoken; let us hear what he will propose." considering the energy with which he had denounced the murders, and the vigour with which he had captured grimlek, angut's proposal was somewhat surprising. "kablunet," he said, turning to the missionary, "have you not told me that in your book of god it is written that men should do to other men what they wish other men to do to them?" "truly, that is so," answered egede. "if i were very wicked," continued angut, "and had done many evil deeds, i should like to be forgiven and set free; therefore, let us forgive these men, and set them free." we know not with what feelings the robbers listened to the inhuman proposals that were at first made as to their fate, but certain it is that after angut had spoken there was a visible improvement in the expression of their faces. considerable astonishment and dissatisfaction were expressed by the majority of the eskimos. even egede, much though he delighted in the spirit which dictated it, could not quite see his way to so simple and direct an application of the golden rule in the case of men who had so recently been caught red-handed in a cold-blooded murder. while he was still hesitating as to his reply to this humane proposal, an event occurred which rendered all their discussion unnecessary. we have said that fifteen robbers had been captured; but there were sixteen who had entered the camp and joined the meeting. one of these had, without particular motive, seated himself on the outskirt of the circle under the shadow of a bush, which shadow had grown darker as the twilight deepened. thus it came to pass that he had been overlooked, and, when the melee took place, he quietly retreated into the brush-wood. he was a brave man, however, although a robber, and scorned to forsake his comrades in their distress. while the discussion above described was going on, he crept stealthily towards the place where the captives had been ranged. this he did the more easily that they sat on the summit of a bank or mound which sloped behind them into the bushes. thus he was able to pass in a serpentine fashion behind them all without being seen, and, as he did so, to cut the bonds of each. their knives had been removed, else, being desperate villains, they might now have attacked their captors. as it was, when the cords of all had been cut, they rose up with a mingled yell of laughter and triumph and dashed into the bushes. the hunters were not slow to follow, with brandished knives and spears, but their chief called them back with a stentorian roar, for well he knew that his men might as well try to follow up a troop of squirrels as pursue a band of reckless men in the rapidly increasing darkness, and that there was nearly as much likelihood of their stabbing each other by mistake in the dark, as of killing or catching their foes. when the hunters had again re-assembled in front of their chief man's house, they found new cause of anxiety which effectually put to flight their annoyance at having been outwitted by the robbers. this was the fact that, although night was coming on, the oomiak with the women had not returned. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note. this is no fanciful speech. it is the substance of an actual speech made by a greenlander to the moravian brethren in . chapter twenty eight. a capture, flight, surprise, and rescue. if true love is, according to the proverb, more distinctly proved to be true by the extreme roughness of its course, then must the truth of the love of angut and nunaga be held as proved beyond all question, for its course was a very cataract from beginning to end. poor nunaga, in the trusting simplicity of her nature, was strong in the belief that, having been found and saved by angut, there was no further cause for anxiety. with an easy mind, therefore, she set herself to the present duty of spearing cat fish with a prong. it was fine healthy work, giving strength to the muscles, grace and activity to the frame, at the same time that it stimulated the appetite which the catfish were soon to appease. "it grows late," said pussimek, "and will be dark before we get back to camp." "never mind; who cares?" said the independent sigokow, who was fond of "sport." "but the men will be angry," suggested the mother of ippegoo. "let them be angry--bo-o-o!" returned the reckless kabelaw. "nunaga," said nuna, looking eagerly over the side, "there goes another--a big one; poke it." nunaga poked it, but missed, and only brought up a small flat-fish, speared by accident. old kannoa, who also gazed into the clear depths, was here observed to smile benignantly, and wave one of her skinny arms, while with the other she pointed downwards. the sisters kabelaw and sigokow, each wielding a pronged stick, responded to the signal, and were gazing down into the sea with uplifted weapons when pussimek uttered an exclamation of surprise and pointed to the shore, where, on a bush, a small piece of what resembled scarlet ribbon or a strip of cloth was seen waving in the wind. "a beast!" exclaimed pussimek, who had never before seen or heard of scarlet ribbon. "saw you ever a beast so _very_ red?" said the wife of okiok doubtfully. "it is no beast," remarked the mother of ippegoo; "it is only a bit of sealskin dyed red." "no sealskin ever fluttered like that," said the mother of arbalik sternly. "it is something new and beautiful that some one has lost. we are lucky. let us go and take it." no one objecting to this, the oomiak was paddled towards the land. nunaga observed that the sisters kabelaw and sigokow were each eager to spring ashore before the other and snatch the prize. having a spice of mischievous fun in her she resolved to be beforehand, and, being active as a kitten, while the sisters were only what we may style lumberingly vigorous, she succeeded. before the boat quite touched the gravel, she had sprung on shore, and flew towards the coveted streamer. the sisters did not attempt to follow. knowing that it would be useless, they sat still and the other women laughed. at the success of his little device the robber-lieutenant of grimlek chuckled quietly, as he crouched behind that bush. when nunaga laid her hand on the gaudy bait he sprang up, grasped her round the waist, and bore her off into the bushes. at the same moment the rest of the band made a rush at the oomiak. with a yell in unison, the women shoved off--only just in time, for the leading robber dashed into the sea nearly up to the neck, and his outstretched hand was within a foot of the gunwale when he received a smart rap over the knuckles from sigokow. another moment, and the oomiak was beyond his reach. alas for old kannoa! she had been seated on the gunwale of the craft, and the vigorous push that set the others free had toppled her over backwards into the sea. as this happened in shallow water, the poor old creature had no difficulty in creeping on to the beach. the incident would have tried the nerves of most old ladies, but kannoa had no nerves; and in regard to being wet--well, she was naturally tough and accustomed to rough it. the disappointed robber observed her, of course, on wading back to land, but passed her with contemptuous indifference, as if she had been merely an over-grown crab or lobster. but kannoa determined not to be left to die on the shore. she rose, squeezed the water out of her garments and followed the robber, whom she soon found in the bushes with his companions eagerly discussing their future plans. nunaga was seated on the ground with her face bowed on her knees. kannoa went and sat down beside her, patted her on the shoulder and began to comfort her. "we must not stay here," said the leader of the band, merely casting a look of indifference at the old creature. "the women who have escaped will tell the men, and in a very short time we shall have them howling on our track." "let us wait and fight them," said one of the men, fiercely. "it would be great glory for a small band to fight a big one, no doubt," returned the leader in a sarcastic tone; "but it would be greater glory for one man to do that alone--so you had better stay here and fight them yourself." a short laugh greeted this remark. "it will be very dark to-night," said another man. "yes; too dark for our foes to follow us, but not too dark for us to advance steadily, though slowly, into the mountains," returned the leader. "when there, we shall be safe. come, we will start at once." "but what are we to do with the old woman?" asked one. "she cannot walk." "leave her," said another. "no; she will bring evil on us if we leave her," cried the fierce man. "i am sure she is a witch. we must carry her with us, and when we come to a convenient cliff, toss her into the sea." in pursuance of this plan, the fierce robber tied the old woman up in a bear-skin--made a bundle of her, in fact--and swung her on his back. fortunately, being rather deaf, kannoa had not heard what was in store for her; and as the position she occupied on the fierce man's broad back was not uncomfortable, all things considered, she submitted with characteristic patience. poor, horrified nunaga thought it best to let her companion remain in ignorance of what was proposed, and cast about in her mind the possibility of making her escape, and carrying the news of her danger to the camp. if she could only get there and see angut, she was sure that all would go well, for angut, she felt, could put everything right--somehow. in a short time the robbers were far away from the scene of their consultation; and the darkness of the night, as predicted, became so intense that it was quite impossible to advance further over the rough ground without the risk of broken limbs, if not worse. a halt was therefore called for rest, food, and consultation. the spot on which they stood was the top of a little mound, with thick shrubs on the land side, which clothed a steep, almost precipitous descent. just within these shrubs, as it were under the brow of the hill, nunaga observed a small natural rut or hollow. the other, or sea, side of the mound, was quite free from underwood, and also very steep. on the top there was a low ledge of rock, on which the fierce robber laid his bundle down, while the others stood round and began to discuss their circumstances. the leader, who had taken charge of nunaga, and held one of her hands during the journey, set the girl close in front of him, to prevent the possibility of her attempting to escape, for he had noted her activity and strength, and knew how easily she might elude him if once free in the dark woods. although these woods were as black as erebus, there was light enough to enable them to distinguish the glimmer of the sea not far off, and a tremendous cliff rising in solemn grandeur above it. "yonder is a good place to throw your witch over," remarked the leader carelessly. the fierce robber looked at the place. "yes," he said, "that might do; and the way to it is open enough to be crossed, even at night, without much trouble." at that moment a bright idea suddenly struck nunaga. have you ever noticed, reader, how invariably "bright ideas" deal sudden blows? this one struck nunaga, as the saying goes, "all of a heap." she happened to observe that the leader of the band was standing with his heels close against the ledge of rock already mentioned. in an instant she plunged at the robber's chest like a female thunderbolt. having no room to stagger back, of course the man was tripped up by the ledge, and, tumbling headlong over it, went down the steep slope on the other side with an indignant roar. the rest of the robbers were taken by surprise, and so immensely tickled with the humour of the thing that they burst into hearty laughter as they watched the frantic efforts of their chief to arrest his career. all at the same instant, however, seemed to recover their presence of mind, for they looked round simultaneously with sudden gravity--and found that nunaga was gone! with a wild shout, they sprang after her--down the slope, crashing through the underwood, scattering right and left, and, in more than one instance, tumbling head over heels. they were quickly joined by their now furious leader; but they crashed, and tumbled, and searched in vain. nunaga had vanished as completely and almost as mysteriously as if she had been a spirit. the explanation is simple. she had merely dropped into the rut or hollow under the brow of the hill; and there she lay, covered with grasses and branches, listening to the growlings of indignation and astonishment expressed by the men when they re-assembled on the top of the mound to bewail their bad fortune. "we've got the old witch, anyhow," growled the fierce robber, with a scowl at the bundle which was lying perfectly still. "away, men," cried their leader, "and search the other side of the mound. the young witch may have doubled on us like a rabbit, while we were seeking towards the hills." obedient to the command, they all dispersed again--this time towards the sea. what nunaga's thought was at the time we cannot tell, but there is reason to believe it must have been equivalent to "now or never," for she leaped out of her place of concealment and made for the hills at the top of her speed. truth requires us to add that she was not much better on her legs than were the men, for darkness, haste, and rugged ground are a trying combination. but there is this to be said for the girl: being small, she fell lightly; being rotund, she fell softly; being india-rubbery, she rebounded; and, being young, she took it easily. in a very short time she felt quite safe from pursuit. then she addressed herself diligently to find out the direction of the eskimo camp, being filled with desperate anxiety for her old friend kannoa. strong, almost, as a young greenland fawn, and gifted, apparently, with some of that animal's power to find its way through the woods, she was not long of hitting the right direction, and gaining the coast, along which she ran at her utmost speed. on arriving--breathless and thoroughly exhausted--she found to her dismay that angut, simek, rooney, and okiok had left. the news of her capture had already been brought in by the women with the oomiak, and these men, with as many others as could be spared, had started off instantly to the rescue. "but they are not long gone," said nunaga's mother, by way of comforting her child. "what matters that?" cried nunaga in despair; "dear old kannoa will be lost, for they know nothing of her danger." while the poor girl spoke, her brother ermigit began to prepare himself hastily for action. "fear not, sister," he said; "i will run to the great cliff, for i know it well. they left me to help to guard the camp, but are there not enough to guard it without me?" with these words, the youth caught up a spear, and darted out of the hut. well was it for old kannoa that night that ermigit was, when roused, one of the fleetest runners of his tribe. down to the shore he sprang-- partly tumbled--and then sped along like the arctic wind, which, we may remark, is fully as swift as more southerly breezes. the beach near the sea was mostly smooth, so that the absence of light was not a serious drawback. in a remarkably short space of time the lad overtook the rescue party, not far beyond the spot where the women had been surprised and nunaga captured. great was their satisfaction on hearing of the girl's safe return. "it's a pity you didn't arrive half an hour sooner, however," said rooney, "for poor angut has gone off with a party towards the hills, in a state of wild despair, to carry on the search in that direction. but you look anxious, boy; what more have you to tell?" in a few rapidly-spoken words ermigit told of kannoa's danger. instant action was of course taken. one of the natives, who was well acquainted with the whole land, and knew the mound where the robbers had halted, was despatched with a strong party to search in that direction, while rooney, okiok, and the rest set off at a sharp run in the direction of the great cliff which they soon reached, panting like race-horses. scrambling to the top, they found no one there. by that time the short night of spring had passed, and the faint light of the coming day enabled them to make an investigation of the ground, which tended to prove that no one had been there recently. "we can do nothing now but wait," said red rooney, as he sat on a projecting cliff, wiping the perspiration from his brow. "but we might send some of the young men to look round, and bring us word if they see any of the robbers," said simek. "if we do that," replied okiok, "they will get wind of us, and clear off. then they would kill my great-mother before casting her away." "that's true, okiok. we must keep quiet," said rooney. "besides, they are pretty sure to bring her to the cliff, for that is a favourite mode among you of getting rid of witches." "but what if they _don't_ come here?" asked ippegoo. "then we must hope that they have slept on the mound," returned okiok; "and angut will be sure to find them, and kill them all in their sleep." "too good to hope for," murmured arbalik. "we must hide, if we don't want to be seen," suggested simek. feeling the propriety of this suggestion, the whole party went into a cave which they found close at hand and sat down to wait as patiently as might be. rooney was the last to enter. before doing so he crept on hands and knees to the extreme edge of the cliff and looked down. nothing was visible, however; only a black, unfathomable abyss. but he could hear the sullen roar of ocean as the waves rushed in and out of the rocky caverns far below. drawing back with a shudder, a feeling of mingled horror, rage, and tender pity oppressed him as he thought of kannoa's poor old bones being shattered on the rocks, or swallowed by the waves at the foot of the cliff, while behind and through kannoa there rose up the vision of that grandmother in the old country, whose image seemed to have acquired a fixed habit of beckoning him to come home, with a remonstrative shake of the head and a kindly smile. they had not long to wait. they had been seated about ten minutes in the cavern when the man who had been left outside to watch came gliding in on tip-toe, stepping high, and with a blazing look about the eyes. "they come," he said in a hoarse whisper. "_who_ come, you walrus?" whispered okiok. "the man with the witch." on hearing this, rooney, okiok, and simek went to the entrance of the cave, followed by the rest, who, however, were instructed to keep under cover till required, if no more than three or four men should arrive. a few seconds later, and the robber chief appeared on the flat space in front of them. he was closely followed by a squat comrade and the fierce man with the bundle on his back. as they passed the cave, the bundle gave a pitiful wail. this was enough. with a silent rush, like three bull-dogs, our heroes shot forth. rooney, having forgotten his weapon, used his fist instead, planted his knuckles on the bridge of the leader's nose, and ruined it, as a bridge, for evermore. the robber went down, turned a complete back-somersault, regained his feet, and fled. okiok seized the fierce man by the throat almost before he was aware of the attack, causing him to drop his bundle which rooney was just in time to catch and carry into the cave. there he set it down tenderly, cut the fastenings of the skin, and freed the poor old woman's head. it was a beautiful sight to see the livid hue and gaze of horror change into a flush of loving benignity when kannoa observed who it was that kneeled beside her. "poor old woman!" shouted rooney in her ear. "are you much hurt?" "no; not hurt at all; only squeezed too much. but i'm afraid for nunaga. i think she got away, but i was bundled, when i last heard her voice." "fear no more, then, for nunaga is safe," said rooney; but at that moment all the men rushed from the cave, and he heard sounds outside which induced him to follow them and leave the old woman to look after herself. on issuing from the cave, he saw that the fierce robber was the only one captured, and that he was on the point of receiving summary justice, for simek and okiok had hold of his arms, while arbalik and ippegoo held his legs and bore him to the edge of the cliff. "now then!" cried simek. "stop, stop!" shouted rooney. "_one--two--heave_!" cried okiok. and they did heave--vigorously and together, so that the fierce man went out from their grasp like a huge stone from a roman catapult. there was a hideous yell, and, after a brief but suggestive pause, an awful splash! they did not wait to ascertain whether that fierce man managed to swim ashore--but certain it is that no one answering to his description has attempted to hurl a witch from those cliffs from that day to this. chapter twenty nine. conclusion. need we enlarge on the despair of angut being turned into joy on his return, when he found nunaga and kannoa safe and sound? we think not. a few days thereafter our adventurers arrived at the settlement of the kablunets; and these northern eskimos soon forgot their rough experiences under the influence of the kind, hospitable reception they met with from the moravian brethren. the joy of the brethren at welcoming hans egede, too, was very great, for they had heard of his recent expedition, and had begun to fear that he was lost. not the less welcome was he that he came accompanied by a band of eskimos who seemed not only willing to listen to the gospel but more than usually able to understand it. the interest of these devoted men was specially roused by angut, whom they at once recognised as of greatly superior mental power to his companions. "i cannot help thinking," said egede, in commenting on his character to one of the brethren, "that he must be a descendant of those norse settlers who inhabited this part of greenland long, long ago, who, we think, were massacred by the natives, and the remains of whose buildings are still to be seen." "it may be so," returned the brother; "your viking countrymen were vastly superior in brain-power to the eskimos. we are glad and thankful that our father has sent angut to us, for it is not improbable that he may one day become an evangelist to his brethren in the far north." but of all those who were assembled at the station at that time, red rooney was the man who rejoiced most, for there he found an english vessel on the eve of starting for the "old country," the captain of which was not only willing but glad to get such an able seaman to strengthen his crew. "angut," said rooney, as they walked one evening by the margin of the sea, "it grieves me to the heart to leave you; but the best of friends must part. even for your sake, much though i love you, i cannot remain here, now that i have got the chance of returning to my dear wife and bairns and my native land." "but we shall meet again," replied angut earnestly. "does not your great book teach that the father of all is bringing all people to himself in jesus christ? in the spirit-land angut and nunaga, okiok, nuna, simek, and all the innuit friends, when washed in the blood of jesus, will again see the face of ridroonee, and rejoice." this was the first time that angut had distinctly declared his faith, and it afforded matter for profound satisfaction to rooney, who grasped and warmly shook his friend's hand. "right--right you are, angut," he said; "i do believe that we shall meet again in the fatherland, and that hope takes away much o' the sadness of parting. but you have not yet told me about the wedding. have you arranged it with the brethren?" "yes; it is fixed for the day beyond to-morrow." "good; an' the next day we sail--so, my friend, i'll have the satisfaction of dancing at your wedding before i go." "i know not as to dancing," said angut, with a grave smile, "but we are to have kick-ball, and a feast." "i'm game for both, or any other sort o' fun you like," returned the seaman heartily. while they were speaking they observed a youth running towards them in great haste, and in a state of violent excitement. a whale, he said, had stranded itself in a shallow bay not far off, and he was running to let the people of the settlement know the good news. the commotion occasioned by this event is indescribable. every man and boy who could handle a kayak took to the water with harpoon and lance. ippegoo, arbalik, okiok, simek, norrak, and ermigit were among them, in borrowed kayaks, and mad as the maddest with glee. even kajo joined them. he was as drunk as the proverbial fiddler, having obtained rum from the sailors, and much more solemn than an owl. while these hastened to the conflict, the women and children who could run or walk proceeded by land to view the battle. and it was indeed a grand fight! the unlucky monster had got thoroughly embayed, and was evidently in a state of consternation, for in its efforts to regain deep water it rushed hither and thither, thrusting its blunt snout continually on some shoal, and wriggling off again with difficulty and enormous splutter. the shouts of men, shrieks of women, and yells of children co-mingled in stupendous discord. simek, the mighty hunter, was first to launch his harpoon. it went deep and was well aimed. blood dyed the sea at once, and the efforts of the whale to escape were redoubled. there was also danger in this attack, for no one could tell, each time the creature got into water deep enough to float in, to what point of the shore its next rush would be. "look out!" cried rooney in alarm, for, being close to arbalik in a kayak, he saw that the whale was coming straight at them. it ran on a shoal when close to them, doubled round in terror and whirled its great tail aloft. right over arbalik's head the fan-like mass quivered for one moment. the youth did not give it a chance. over he went and shot down into the water like an eel, just as the tail came down like a thunder-clap on his kayak, and reduced it to a jumble of its shattered elements, while rooney paddled out of danger. arbalik swam ashore, and landed just in time to see the whale rise out of the water, lifting ippegoo in his kayak on its shoulders. the electrified youth uttered a shriek of horror in which the tone of surprise was discernible, slid off, kayak and all, into the sea--and was none the worse! by this time some dozens of harpoons had been fixed in the body of the whale, and the number of bladders attached to them interfered slightly with its movements, but did not render an approach to it by any means safer. at last simek, losing patience, made a bold rush in his kayak, and drove his lance deep into the huge creature's side. the act was greeted with a cheer--or something like one,--which was repeated when red rooney followed suit successfully. okiok and his two sons were not slow to repeat the process. other eskimos rushed in, hovered round, and acted their part, so that finally the whale was killed and hauled nearly out of the water by the united exertion of the entire population of the land. then succeeded the distribution of the prize. eskimos have peculiar and not unreasonable laws on such matters. if two hunters strike a seal at the same time, they divide it. the same holds in regard to wild-fowl or deer. if a dead seal is found with a harpoon sticking in it, the finder keeps the seal, but restores the harpoon to the owner. the harpooner of a walrus claims the head and tail, while any one may take away as much as he can carry of the carcass. but when a whale is captured, the harpooners have no special advantage. there is such a superabundance of wealth that all--even spectators--may cut and come again as often and as long as they please. when, therefore, the whale whose capture we have described was dead, hundreds of men and boys mounted at once, knife in hand, on the carcass, and the scene of blood and confusion that ensued baffles description. "won't we stuff to-night!" remarked kabelaw to her sister, as they went home bending under a weight of blubber. "ay--and to-morrow," replied sigokow. "and some days beyond to-morrow," observed old kannoa, who staggered after them under a lighter load of the spoil. but it was not the eskimos alone who derived benefit from this unexpected prize. the captain of the english ship also got some barrels of oil and a large quantity of whalebone to fill up his cargo, and the bright shawls and real _iron_ knives that were given in exchange soon graced the shoulders of the native women and the belts of the men. it was indeed a time of immense jubilation--for every one was gratified more or less--from the chief of the moravian brethren down to tumbler and pussi, who absolutely wallowed in fun and unctuous food, while angut and nunaga were of course supremely happy. the wedding ceremony, performed by hans egede, we need hardly say, was simple, and the festivities which followed were not complex. the game at kick-ball which preceded the wedding was admittedly one of the best that had ever been played at that station, partly, no doubt, because the captain and crew of the english ship, headed by red rooney, took part in it. strange to say, the only man who seemed to be at all cast down on that occasion was ippegoo. he was found by his mother in the evening in a retired spot by the sea, sitting on the rocks with a very disconsolate countenance. "my son, what is the matter?" "mother, my heart is heavy. i cannot forget ujarak." "but he treated you ill, my son." "sometimes--not always. often he was kind--and--and i loved him. i cannot help it." "grieve not, ippe," rejoined pleasant little kunelik. "do we not know now that we shall meet him again in the great fatherland?" the poor youth was comforted. he dried his eyes, and went home with his mother. yet he did not cease to mourn for his departed wizard friend. we will not harrow the reader's feelings by describing the leave-taking of the eskimos from their friend the kablunet. after he was gone those men of the north remained a considerable time at the settlement, listening to the missionaries as they revealed the love of god to man in jesus christ. what resulted from this of course we cannot tell, but of this we are certain--that their "labour was not in vain in the lord." when the time comes for the creator to reveal his plans to man, surely it will be found that no word spoken, no cup of water given, by these danish and moravian christians, shall lose its appropriate reward. when at last the northern men and their families stood on the sea-shore, with their kayaks, oomiaks and families ready, angut stood forth, and, grasping hans egede by the hand, said earnestly-- "brother, farewell till we meet again. i go now to carry the good news to my kindred who dwell where the ice-mountains cover the land and sea." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ but what of the kablunet? shall we permit him to slip quietly through our fingers, and disappear? nay, verily. he reached england. he crossed over to ireland. there, in a well-remembered cottage-home, he found a blooming "widow," who discovered to her inexpressible joy that she was still a wife! he found six children, who had grown so tremendously out of all remembrance that their faces seemed like a faint but familiar dream, which had to be dreamed over again a good deal and studied much, before the attainment by the seaman of a satisfactory state of mind. and, last, he found a little old woman with wrinkled brow and toothless gums, who looked at and listened to him with benignant wonder, and whose visage reminded him powerfully of another little old woman who dwelt in the land of ice and snow where he used to be known as the kablunet. this kablunet--_alias_ ridroonee,--now regretfully makes his bow and exit from our little stage as red rooney, the last of the crew. the end. ungava, by r.m. ballantyne. introduction. the following story is intended to illustrate one of the many phases of the fur-trader's life in those wild regions of north america which surround hudson's bay. most of its major incidents are facts--fiction being employed chiefly for the purpose of weaving these facts into a readable form. if this volume should chance to fall into the hands of any of those who acted a part in the first settlement of ungava, we trust that they will forgive the liberty that has been taken with their persons and adventures, remembering that transpositions, modifications, and transformations are necessary in constructing a tale out of the "raw material." we take this opportunity of expressing to the leader of the adventurous band our grateful acknowledgements for his kindness in placing at our disposal the groundwork on which this story has been reared. r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. the forest, and the leaders of the folorn-hope--a good shot--a consultation--an ice-floe, and a narrow chance of escape in a small way. "hallo! where are you!" shouted a voice that rang through the glades of the forest like the blast of a silver trumpet, testifying to lungs of leather and a throat of brass. the ringing tones died away, and naught was heard save the rustling of the leafy canopy overhead, as the young man, whose shout had thus rudely disturbed the surrounding echoes, leaned on the muzzle of a long rifle, and stood motionless as a statue, his right foot resting on the trunk of a fallen tree, and his head bent slightly to one side, as if listening for a reply. but no reply came. a squirrel ran down the trunk of a neighbouring pine, and paused, with tail and ears erect, and its little black eyes glittering as if with surprise at the temerity of him who so recklessly dared to intrude upon and desecrate with his powerful voice the deep solitudes of the wilderness. they stood so long thus that it seemed as though the little animal and the man had been petrified by the unwonted sound. if so, the spell was quickly broken. the loud report of a fowling-piece was heard at a short distance. the squirrel incontinently disappeared from the spot on which it stood, and almost instantaneously reappeared on the topmost branch of a high tree; while the young man gave a smile of satisfaction, threw the rifle over his shoulder, and, turning round, strode rapidly away in the direction whence the shot proceeded. a few minutes' walk brought him to the banks of a little brook, by the side of which, on the projecting root of a tree, sat a man, with a dead goose at his feet and a fowling-piece by his side. he was dressed in the garb of a hunter; and, from the number of gray hairs that shone like threads of silver among the black curls on his temples, he was evidently past the meridian of life--although, from the upright bearing of his tall, muscular frame, and the quick glance of his fearless black eye, it was equally evident that the vigour of his youth was not yet abated. "why, stanley," exclaimed the young man as he approached, "i've been shouting till my throat is cracked, for at least half an hour. i verily began to think that you had forsaken me altogether." "in which case, frank," replied the other, "i should have treated you as you deserve, for your empty game-bag proves you an unworthy comrade in the chase." "so, so, friend, do not boast," replied the youth with a smile; "if i mistake not, that goose was winging its way to the far north not ten minutes agone. had i come up half an hour sooner, i suspect we should have met on equal terms; but the fact is that i have not seen hair or feather, save a tree-squirrel, since i left you in the morning." "well, to say truth, i was equally unfortunate until i met this luckless goose, and fired the shot that brought him down and brought you up. but i've had enough o' this now, and shall back to the fort again. what say you? will you go in my canoe or walk?" the young man was silent for a few seconds; then, without replying to his companion's question, he said,--"by-the-bye, is it not to-night that you mean to make another attempt to induce the men to volunteer for the expedition!" "it is," replied stanley, with a alight frown. "and what if they still persist in refusing to go?" "i'll try once more to shame them out of their cowardice. but if they won't agree, i'll compel them to go by means of more powerful arguments than words." "'tis not cowardice; you do the men injustice," said frank, shaking his head. "well, well, i believe i do, lad; you're right," replied stanley, while a smile smoothed out the firm lines that had gathered round his lips for a few seconds. "no doubt they care as little for the anticipated dangers of the expedition as any men living, and they hesitate to go simply because they know that the life before them will be a lonely one at such an out-o'-the-way place as ungava. but we can't help that, frank; the interests of the company must be attended to, and so go they _must_, willing or not willing. but i'm annoyed at this unexpected difficulty, for there's a mighty difference between men who volunteer to go and men who go merely because they must and can't help it." the young man slowly rubbed the stock of his rifle with the sleeve of his coat, and looked as if he understood and sympathised with his friend's chagrin. "if prince were only here just now," said he, looking up, "there would be no difficulty in the matter. these fellows only want a bold, hearty comrade to step forward and show them the way, and they will follow to the north pole if need be. they look upon our willingness to go as a mere matter of course, though i don't see why we should be expected to like banishment more than themselves. but if prince were--" "well, well, prince is _not_ here, so we must do the best we can without him," said stanley. as he spoke, the trumpet note of a goose was heard in the distance. "there he goes!--down with you!" exclaimed frank, darting suddenly behind the stump of the tree, while his companion crouched beside him, and both began to shout at the top of their voices in imitation of the goose. the bird was foolish enough to accept the invitation immediately, although, had it been other than a goose, it would have easily recognised the sound as a wretched counterfeit of the goose language. it flew directly towards them, as geese always do in spring when thus enticed, but passed at such a distance that the elder sportsman was induced to lower his piece. "ah! he's too far off. you'd better give him a shot with the rifle, frank; but you're sure to miss." "to hit, you mean," cried his companion, flushing with momentary indignation at this disparaging remark. at the same moment he took a rapid aim and fired. for a few yards the goose continued its forward flight as if unhurt; then it wavered once or twice, and fell heavily to the ground. "bravo, boy!" cried stanley. "there, don't look nettled; i only jested with you, knowing your weakness on the score of rifle-shooting. now, pick up your bird, and throw it into the canoe, for i must away." frank finished reloading his piece as his friend spoke, and went to pick up the goose; while the other walked down to the edge of the rivulet, and disengaged a light birch-bark canoe from the long grass and sedges that almost hid it from view. "make haste, frank!" he shouted; "there's the ice coming up with the flood-tide, and bearing down on the creek here." at a short distance from the spot where the sportsmen stood, the streamlet already alluded to mingled its waters with a broad river, which, a few miles farther down, flows into james's bay. as every one knows, this bay lies to the south of hudson's bay, in north america. here the river is about two miles wide; and the shores on either side being low, it has all the appearance of an extensive lake. in spring, after the disruption of the ice, its waters are loaded with large floes and fields of ice; and later in the season, after it has become quite free from this wintry encumbrance, numerous detached masses come up with every flood-tide. it was the approach of one of these floes that called forth stanley's remark. the young man replied to it by springing towards the canoe, in which his companion was already seated. throwing the dead bird into it, he stooped, and gave the light bark a powerful shove into the stream, exclaiming, as he did so, "there, strike out, you've no time to lose, and i'll go round by the woods." there was indeed no time to lose. the huge mass of ice was closing rapidly into the mouth of the creek, and narrowing the only passage through which the canoe could escape into the open water of the river beyond. stanley might, indeed, drag his canoe up the bank, if so disposed, and reach home by a circuitous walk through the woods; but by doing so he would lose much time, and be under the necessity of carrying his gun, blanket, tin kettle, and the goose, on his back. his broad shoulders were admirably adapted for such a burden, but he preferred the canoe to the woods on the present occasion. besides, the only risk he ran was that of getting his canoe crushed to pieces. so, plunging his paddle vigorously in the water, he shot through the lessening channel like an arrow, and swept out on the bosom of the broad river just as the ice closed with a crash upon the shore and ground itself to powder on the rocks. "well done!" shouted frank, with a wave of his cap, as he witnessed the success of his friend's exploit. "all right," replied stanley, glancing over his shoulder. in another moment the canoe disappeared behind a group of willows that grew on the point at the river's mouth, and the young man was left alone. for a few minutes he stood contemplating the point behind which his companion had disappeared; then giving a hasty glance at the priming of his rifle, he threw it across his shoulder, and striding rapidly up the bank, was soon lost to view amid the luxuriant undergrowth of the forest. chapter two. headquarters--the men--disputation and uncertainty--new uses for the skins of dead boys!--mutinous resolves. moose fort, the headquarters and depot of the fur-traders, who prosecute their traffic in almost all parts of the wild and uninhabited regions of north america, stands on an island near the mouth of moose river. like all the establishments of the fur-traders, it is a solitary group of wooden buildings, far removed beyond the influences--almost beyond the ken--of the civilised world, and surrounded by the primeval wilderness, the only tenants of which were, at the time we write of, a few scattered tribes of muskigon indians, and the wild animals whose flesh furnished them with food and whose skins constituted their sole wealth. there was little of luxury at moose fort. the walls of the houses within the stockade, that served more as an ornament than a defence, were of painted, in some cases unpainted, planks. the floors, ceilings, chairs, tables, and, in short, all the articles of furniture in the place, were made of the same rough material. a lofty scaffolding of wood rose above the surrounding buildings, and served as an outlook, whence, at the proper season, longing eyes were wont to be turned towards the sea in expectation of "the ship" which paid the establishment an annual visit from england. several large iron field-pieces stood before the front gate; but they were more for the sake of appearance than use, and were never fired except for the purpose of saluting the said ship on the occasions of her arrival and departure. the first boom of the cannon unlocks the long-closed portals of connection between moose fort and england; the second salvo shuts them up again in their frozen domains for another year! a century and a half ago, the band of "adventurers trading into hudson's bay" felled the first trees and pitched their tents on the shores of james's bay, and successive generations of fur-traders have kept the post until the present day; yet there is scarcely a symptom of the presence of man beyond a few miles round the establishment. years ago the fort was built, and there it stands now, with new tenants, it is true, but in its general aspect unchanged; and there it is likely to remain, wrapped in its barrier of all but impregnable solitude, for centuries to come. nevertheless, moose is a comfortable place in its way, and when contrasted with other trading establishments is a very palace and temple of luxury. there are men within its walls who can tell of log-huts and starvation, solitude and desolation, compared with which moose is a terrestrial paradise. frank morton, whom we have introduced in the first chapter, said, on his arrival at moose, that it appeared to him to be the very fag-end of creation. he had travelled night and day for six weeks from what he considered the very outskirts of civilisation, through uninhabited forests and almost unknown rivers, in order to get to it; and while the feeling of desolation that overwhelmed him on his first arrival was strong upon him, he sighed deeply, and called it a "horrid dull hole." but frank was of a gay, hearty, joyous disposition, and had not been there long ere he loved the old fort dearly. poor fellow! far removed though he was from his fellow-men at moose, he afterwards learned that he had but obtained an indistinct notion of the signification of the word "solitude." there were probably about thirty human beings at moose, when mr george stanley, one of the principal fur-traders of the place, received orders from the governor to make preparations, and select men, for the purpose of proceeding many hundred miles deeper into the northern wilderness, and establishing a station on the distant, almost unknown, shores of ungava bay. no one at moose had ever been there before; no one knew anything about the route, except from the vague report of a few indians; and the only thing that was definitely known about the locality at all was, that its inhabitants were a few wandering tribes of esquimaux, who were at deadly feud with the indians, and generally massacred all who came within their reach. what the capabilities of the country were, in regard to timber and provisions, nobody knew, and, fortunately for the success of the expedition, nobody cared! at least those who were to lead the way did not; and this admirable quality of total indifference to prospective dangers is that which, to a great extent, insures success in a forlorn hope. of the leaders of this expedition the reader already knows something. george stanley was nearly six feet high, forty years of age, and endued with a decision of character that, but for his quiet good humour, would have been deemed obstinacy. he was deliberate in all his movements, and exercised a control over his feelings that quite concealed his naturally enthusiastic disposition. moreover, he was married, and had a daughter of ten years of age. this might be thought a disadvantage in his present circumstances; but the governor of the fur-traders, a most energetic and active ruler, thought otherwise. he recommended that the family should be left at moose until an establishment had been built, and a winter passed at ungava. afterwards they could join him there. as for frank morton, he was an inch taller than his friend stanley, and equally powerful; fair-haired, blue-eyed, hilarious, romantic, twenty-two years of age, and so impulsive that, on hearing of the proposed expedition from one of his comrades, who happened to be present when stanley was reading the dispatches, he sprang from his chair, which he upset, dashed out at the door, which he banged, and hurried to his friend's quarters in order to be first to volunteer his services as second in command; which offer was rendered unnecessary by stanley's exclaiming, the moment he entered his room-- "ha, frank, my lad, the very man i wanted to see! here's a letter from headquarters ordering me off on an expedition to ungava. now, i want volunteers; will you go!" it is needless to add that frank's blue eyes sparkled with animation as he seized his friend's hand and replied, "to the north pole if you like, or farther if need be!" it was evening. the sun was gilding the top of the flagstaff with a parting kiss, and the inhabitants of moose fort, having finished their daily toil, were making preparations for their evening meal. on the end of the wharf that jutted out into the stream was assembled a picturesque group of men, who, from the earnest manner in which they conversed, and the energy of their gesticulations, were evidently discussing a subject of more than ordinary interest. most of them were clad in corduroy trousers, gartered below the knee with thongs of deer-skin, and coarse, striped cotton shirts, open at the neck, so as to expose their sunburnt breasts. a few wore caps which, whatever might have been their original form, were now so much soiled and battered out of shape by long and severe service that they were nondescript; but most of these hardy backwoodsmen were content with the covering afforded by their thick, bushy locks. "no, no," exclaimed a short, thick-set, powerful man, with a somewhat ascetic cast of countenance; "i've seen more than enough o' these rascally huskies [esquimaux]. 'tis well for me that i'm here this blessed day, an' not made into a dan to bob about in hudson's straits at the tail of a white whale, like that poor boy peter who was shot by them varmints." "what's a dan?" asked a young half-breed who had lately arrived at moose, and knew little of esquimau implements. "what a green-horn you must be, francois, not to know what a dan is!" replied another, who was inclined to be quizzical. "why, it's a sort of sea-carriage that the esquimaux tie to the tail of a walrus or sea-horse when they feel inclined for a drive. when they can't get a sea-horse they catch a white whale asleep, and wake him up after fastening the dan to his tail. i suppose they have conjurers or wizards among them, since massan told us just now that poor peter was--" "bah! gammon," interrupted francois with a smile, as he turned to the first speaker. "but tell me, massan, what is a dan?" "it's a sort o' float or buoy, lad, used by the huskies, and is made out o' the skin o' the seal. they tie it with a long line to their whale spears to show which way the fish bolts when struck." "and did they use peter's skin for such a purpose?" inquired francois earnestly. "they did," replied massan. "and did you see them do it?" "yes, i did." francois gazed intently into his comrade's face as he spoke; but massan was an adept at what is usually called drawing the long bow, and it was with the most imperturbable gravity that he continued-- "yes, i saw them do it; but i could not render any assistance to the poor child, for i was lying close behind a rock at the time, with an arrow sticking between my shoulders, and a score o' them oily varmints a-shoutin', and yellin', and flourishing their spears in search o' me." "tell us how it happened, massan. let's hear the story," chorused the men, as they closed round their comrade. "well then," began the stout backwoodsman, proceeding leisurely to fill his pipe from an ornamented bag that hung at his belt, "here goes. it was about the year--a--i forget the year, but it don't matter--that we were ordered off on an expedition to the huskies; 'xactly sich a one as they wants us to go on now, and--but you've heerd o' that business, lads, haven't you?" "yes, yes, we've heard all about it; go on." "well," continued massan, "i needn't be wastin' time tellin' you how we failed in that affair, and how the huskies killed some of our men and burnt our ship to the water's edge. after it was all over, and they thought they had killed us all, i was, as i said, lyin' behind a great rock in a sort o' cave, lookin' at the dirty villains as they danced about on the shore, and took possession of all our goods. suddenly i seed two o' them carry peter down to the beach, an' i saw, as they passed me, that he was quite dead. in less time than i can count a hundred they took the skin off him, cut off his head, sewed up the hole, tied his arms and legs in a knot, blew him full o' wind till he was fit to bu'st, an' then hung him up to dry in the sun! in fact, they made a _dan_ of him!" a loud shout of laughter greeted this startling conclusion. in truth, we must do massan the justice to say, that although he was much in the habit of amusing his companions by entertaining them with anecdotes which originated entirely in his own teeming fancy, he never actually _deceived_ them, but invariably, either by a sly glance or by the astounding nature of his communication, gave them to understand that he was dealing not with fact but fiction. "but seriously, lads," said francois, whose intelligence, added to a grave, manly countenance and a tall, muscular frame, caused him to be regarded by his comrades as a sort of leader both in action and in council, "what do you think of our bourgeois' plan? for my part, i'm willing enough to go to any reasonable part o' the country where there are furs and indians; but as for this ungava, from what massan says, there's neither indians, nor furs, nor victuals--nothin' but rocks, and mountains, and eternal winter; and if we do get the huskies about us, they'll very likely serve us as they did the last expedition to richmond gulf." "ay, ay," cried one of the others, "you may say that, francois. nothin' but frost and starvation, and nobody to bury us when we're dead." "except the huskies," broke in another, "who would save themselves the trouble by converting us all into dans!" "tush, man! stop your clapper," cried francois, impatiently; "let us settle this business. you know that monsieur stanley said he would expect us to be ready with an answer to-night.--what think you, gaspard? shall we go, or shall we mutiny?" the individual addressed was a fine specimen of an animal, but not by any means a good specimen of a man. he was of gigantic proportions, straight and tall as a poplar, and endowed with the strength of a hercules. his glittering dark eyes and long black hair, together with the hue of his skin, bespoke him of half-breed extraction. but his countenance did not correspond to his fine physical proportions. true, his features were good, but they wore habitually a scowling, sulky expression, even when the man was pleased, and there was more of sarcasm than joviality in the sound when gaspard condescended to laugh. "i'll be shot if i go to such a hole for the best bourgeois in the country," said he in reply to francois' question. "you'll be dismissed the service if you don't," remarked massan with a smile. to this gaspard vouchsafed no reply save a growl that, to say the best of it, did not sound amiable. "well, i think that we're all pretty much of one mind on the point," continued francois; "and yet i feel half ashamed to refuse after all, especially when i see the good will with which messieurs stanley and morton agree to go." "i suppose _you_ expect to be a bourgeois too some day," growled gaspard with a sneer. "eh, tu gros chien!" cried francois, as with flashing eyes and clinched fists he strode up to his ill-tempered comrade. "come, come, francois; don't quarrel for nothing," said massan, interposing his broad shoulders and pushing him vigorously back. at that moment an exclamation from one of the men diverted the attention of the others. "voila! the canoe." "ay, it's monsieur stanley's canoe. i saw him and monsieur morton start for the swamp this morning." "i wonder what dick prince would have done in this business had he been here," said francois to massan in a low tone, as they stood watching the approach of their bourgeois' canoe. "can't say. i half think he would have gone." "there's no chance of him coming back in time, i fear." "none; unless he prevails on some goose to lend him a pair of wings for a day or two. he won't be back from the hunt for three weeks good." in a few minutes more the canoe skimmed up to the wharf. "here, lads," cried mr stanley, as he leaped ashore and dragged the canoe out of the water; "one of you come and lift this canoe up the bank, and take these geese to the kitchen." two of the men instantly hastened to obey, and stanley, with the gun and paddles under his arm, proceeded towards the gateway of the fort. as he passed the group assembled on the wharf, he turned and said-- "you'll come to the hall in an hour, lads; i shall expect you to be ready with an answer by that time." "ay, ay, sir," replied several of the men. "but we won't go for all your expectations," said one in an undertone to a comrade. "i should think not," whispered another. "i'll be hanged, and burnt, and frozen if _i_ do," said a third. in the meantime mr stanley walked briskly towards his dwelling, and left the men to grumble over their troubles and continue their debate as to whether they should or should not agree to go on the pending expedition to the distant regions of ungava. chapter three. shows how stanley deigned to consult with womankind--the opinions of a child developed--persuasion fails--example triumphs--the first volunteers to ungava. on reaching his apartment, which was in an angle of the principal edifice in the fort, mr stanley flung down his gun and paddles, and drawing a chair close to his wife, who was working with her needle near a window, took her hand in his and heaved a deep sigh. "why, george, that's what you used to say to me when you were at a loss for words in the days of our courtship." "true, jessie," he replied, patting her shoulder with a hand that rough service had rendered hard and long exposure had burnt brown. "but the producing cause then was different from what it is now. _then_ it was love; _now_ it is perplexity." stanley's wife was the daughter of english parents, who had settled many years ago in the fur countries. being quite beyond the reach of any school, they had been obliged to undertake the instruction of their only child, jessie, as they best could. at first this was an easy matter, but as years flew by, and little jessie's mind expanded, it was found to be a difficult matter to carry on her education in a country in most parts of which books were not to be had and schoolmasters did not exist. when the difficulty first presented itself, they talked of sending their little one to england to finish her education; but being unable to bring themselves to part with her, they resolved to have a choice selection of books sent out to them. jessie's mother was a clever, accomplished, and lady-like woman, and decidedly pious, so that the little flower, which was indeed born to blush unseen, grew up to be a gentle, affectionate woman--one who was a lady in all her thoughts and actions, yet had never seen polite society, save that of her father and mother. in process of time jessie became mrs stanley, and the mother of a little girl whose voice was, at the time her father entered, ringing cheerfully in an adjoining room. mrs stanley's nature was an earnest one, and she no sooner observed that her husband was worried about something, than she instantly dropped the light tone in which she at first addressed him. "and what perplexes you now, dear george?" she said, laying down her work and looking up in his face with that straightforward, earnest gaze that in days of yore had set the stout backwoodsman's heart on fire, and still kept it in a perennial blaze. "nothing very serious," he replied with a smile; "only these fellows have taken it into their stupid heads that ungava is worse than the land beyond the styx; and so, after the tough battle that i had with you this morning in order to prevail on you to remain here for a winter without me, i've had to fight another battle with them in order to get them to go on this expedition." "have you been victorious?" inquired mrs stanley. "no, not yet." "do you really mean to say they are _afraid_ to go? has prince refused? are francois, gaspard, and massan cowards?" she inquired, her eye kindling with indignation. "nay, my wife, not so. these men are not cowards; nevertheless they don't feel inclined to go; and as for dick prince, he has been off hunting for a week, and i don't expect him back for three weeks at least, by which time we shall be off." mrs stanley sighed, as if she felt the utter helplessness of woman in such affairs. "why, jessie, that's what you used to say to me when you were at a loss for words in the days of our courtship," said stanley, smiling. "ah, george, like you i may say that the cause is now perplexity; for what can _i_ do to help you in your present difficulty?" "truly not much. but i like to tell you of my troubles, and to make more of them than they deserve, for the sake of drawing forth your sympathy. bless your heart!" he said, in a sudden burst of enthusiasm, "i would gladly undergo any amount of trouble every day, if by so doing i should secure that earnest, loving, anxious gaze of your sweet blue eyes as a reward!" stanley imprinted a hearty kiss on his wife's cheek as he made this lover-like speech, and then rose to place his fowling-piece on the pegs from which it usually hung over the fireplace. at that moment the door opened, and a little girl, with bright eyes and flaxen hair, bounded into the room. "o mamma, mamma!" she said, holding up a sheet of paper, while a look of intense satisfaction beamed on her animated countenance, "see, i have drawn chimo's portrait. is it like, mamma? do you think it like?" "come here, eda, my darling, come to me," said stanley, seating himself on a chair and extending his arms. edith instantly left the portrait of the dog in her mother's possession, and, without waiting for an opinion as to its merits, ran to her father, jumped on his knee, threw her arms round his neck, and kissed him. edith was by no means a beautiful child, but miserable indeed must have been the taste of him who would have pronounced her plain-looking. her features were not regular; her nose had a strong tendency to what is called snubbed, and her mouth was large; but to counterbalance these defects she had a pair of large, deep-blue eyes, soft, golden hair, a fair, rosy complexion, and an expression of sweetness at the corners of her mouth that betrayed habitual good-nature. she was quick in all her movements, combined with a peculiar softness and grace of deportment that was exceedingly attractive. "would you like to go, my pet," said her father, "to a country far, far away in the north, where there are high mountains and deep valleys, inhabited by beautiful reindeer, and large lakes and rivers filled with fish; where there is very little daylight all the long winter, and where there is scarcely any night all the long, bright summer? would my eda like to go there?" the child possessed that fascinating quality of being intensely interested in all that was said to her. as her father spoke, her eyes gradually expanded and looked straight into his, while her head turned slowly and very slightly to one side. as he concluded, she replied, "oh! very, very, _very_ much indeed," with a degree of energy that made both her parents laugh. "ah, my darling! would that my lazy men were endued with some of your spirit," said stanley, patting the child's head. "is prince a lazy man, papa?" inquired edith anxiously. "no, certainly, prince is not. why do you ask?" "because i love prince." "and do you not love all the men?" "no," replied edith, with some hesitation; "at least i don't love them _very_ much, and i hate one." "hate one!" echoed mrs stanley. "come here, my darling." eda slipped from her father's knee and went to her mother, feeling and looking as if she had said something wrong. mrs stanley was not one of those mothers who, whenever they hear of their children having done anything wrong, assume a look of intense, solemnised horror, that would lead an ignorant spectator to suppose that intelligence had just been received of some sudden and appalling catastrophe. she knew that children could not be deceived by such pieces of acting. she expressed on her countenance precisely what she felt--a slight degree of sorrow that her child should cherish an evil passion, which, she knew, existed in her heart in common with all the human race, but which she expected, by god's help and blessing, to subdue effectually at last. kissing eda's forehead she said kindly,--"which of them do you hate, darling?" "gaspard," replied the child. "and why do you hate him?" "because he struck my dog," said eda, while her face flushed and her eyes sparkled; "and he is always rude to everybody, and very, _very_ cruel to the dogs." "that is very wrong of gaspard; but, dearest eda, do you not remember what is written in god's word,--`love your enemies?' it is wrong to _hate_ anybody." "i know that, mamma, and i don't wish to hate gaspard, but i can't help it. i wish if i didn't hate him, but it _won't_ go away." "well, my pet," replied mrs stanley, pressing the child to her bosom, "but you must pray for him, and speak kindly to him when you meet him, and that will perhaps put it away. and now let us talk of the far-off country that papa was speaking about. i wonder what he has to tell you about it." stanley had been gazing out of the window during the foregoing colloquy, apparently inattentive, though, in reality, deeply interested in what was said. turning round, he said-- "i was going to tell eda that you had arranged to follow me to that country next year, and that perhaps you would bring her along with you." "nay, george, you mistake. i did not arrange to do so--you only proposed the arrangement; but, to say truth, i don't like it, and i can't make up my mind to let you go without us. i cannot wait till next year." "well, well, jessie, i have exhausted all my powers of persuasion. i leave it entirely to yourself to do as you think best." at this moment the sound of deep voices was heard in the hall, which was separated from stanley's quarters by a thin partition of wood. in a few seconds the door opened, and george barney, the irish butler and general factotum to the establishment, announced that the "min wos in the hall awaitin'." giving eda a parting kiss, stanley rose and entered the hall, where francois, massan, gaspard, and several others were grouped in a corner. on their bourgeois entering, they doffed their bonnets and bowed. "well, lads," began stanley, with a smile, "you've thought better of it, i hope, and have come to volunteer for this expedition--" he checked himself and frowned, for he saw by their looks that they had come with quite a different intention. "what have you to say to me?" he continued abruptly. the men looked uneasily at each other, and then fixed their eyes on francois, who was evidently expected to be spokesman. "come, francois, speak out," said stanley; "if you have any objections, out with them; you're free to say what you please here." as he spoke, and ere francois could reply, frank morton entered the room. "ah!" he exclaimed, as he deposited his rifle in a corner and flung his cap on the table, "in time, i see, to help at the council!" "i was just asking francois to state his objections to going," said stanley, as his young friend took his place beside him. "objections!" repeated frank; "what objections can bold spirits have to go on a bold adventure? the question should have been, `who will be first to volunteer?'" at this moment the door of stanley's apartment opened, and his wife appeared leading eda by the hand. "here are two volunteers," she said, with a smile; "pray put us at the head of your list. we will go with you to any part of the world!" "bravo!" shouted frank, catching up eda, with whom he was a great favourite, and hugging her tightly in his arms. "nay, but, wife, this is sheer folly. you know not the dangers that await you--" "perhaps not," interrupted mrs stanley; "but _you_ know them, and that is enough for me." "indeed, jessie, i know them not. i can but guess at them.--but, ah! well, 'tis useless to argue further. be it so; we shall head the list with you and eda." "and put my name next," said a deep-toned voice from behind the other men. all turned round in surprise. "dick prince!" they exclaimed; "you here?" "ay, lads," said a tall man of about forty, who was not so remarkable for physical development (though in this respect he was by no means deficient) as for a certain decision of character that betrayed itself in every outline of his masculine, intelligent countenance--"ay, lads, i'm here; an' sorry am i that i've jist comed in time to hear that you're sich poor-spirited rascals as to hang back when ye should jump for'ard." "but how came you so opportunely, prince?" inquired stanley. "i met an injin, sir, as told me you was goin' off; so i thought you might want me, and comed straight back. and now, sir, i'm ready to go; and so is francois," he continued, turning to that individual, who seized his hand and exclaimed, "that am i, my boy--to the moon if ye like!" "and massan, too," continued prince. "all right; book me for nova zembla," replied that worthy. "so, so," cried mr stanley, with a satisfied smile. "i see, lads, that we're all of one mind now. is it not so? are we agreed?" "agreed! agreed!" they replied with one voice. "that's well," he continued. "now then, lads, clear out and get your kits ready.--and ho! barney, give these men a glass of grog.--prince, i shall want to talk with you this evening. come to me an hour hence.-- and now," he added, taking eda by the hand, "come along, my gentle volunteers; let's go to supper." chapter four. explanatory, but not dry!--murderous designs thwarted by vigorous treatment--the cattle pay for it!--preparations for a long, long voyage. in order to render our story intelligible, it is necessary here to say a few words explanatory of the nature and object of the expedition referred to in the foregoing chapters. many years previous to the opening of our tale, it was deemed expedient, by the rulers of the hudson's bay fur company, to effect, if possible, a reconciliation or treaty of peace between the muskigon indians of james's bay and the esquimaux of hudson's straits. the muskigons are by no means a warlike race; on the contrary, they are naturally timid, and only plucked up courage to make war on their northern neighbours in consequence of these poor people being destitute of firearms, while themselves were supplied with guns and ammunition by the fur-traders. the esquimaux, however, are much superior to the muskigon indians physically, and would have held their adversaries in light esteem had they met on equal terms, or, indeed, on any terms at all; but the evil was that they never met. the indians always took them by surprise, and from behind the rocks and bushes sent destruction into their camps with the deadly bullet; while their helpless foes could only reply with the comparatively harmless arrow and spear. thus the war was in fact an annual raid of murderers. the conceited muskigons returned to their wigwams in triumph, with bloody scalps hanging at their belts; while the esquimaux pushed farther into their ice-bound fastnesses, and told their comrades, with lowering brows and heaving bosoms, of the sudden attack, and of the wives and children who had been butchered in cold blood, or led captive to the tents of the cowardly red men. at such times those untutored inhabitants of the frozen regions vowed vengeance on the indians, and cursed in their hearts the white men who supplied them with the deadly gun. but the curse was unmerited. in the councils of the fur-traders the subject of esquimau wrongs had been mooted, and plans for the amelioration of their condition devised. trading posts were established on richmond gulf and little whale river; but owing to circumstances which it is unnecessary to detail here, they turned out failures, and were at length abandoned. still, those in charge of the districts around hudson's bay and labrador continued to use every argument to prevail on the indians to cease their murderous assaults on their unoffending neighbours, but without much effect. at length the governor of east main--a territory lying on the eastern shores of james's bay--adopted an argument which proved eminently successful, at least for one season. his fort was visited by a large band of muskigons from albany and moose districts, who brought a quantity of valuable furs, for which they demanded guns and ammunition, making no secret of their intention to proceed on an expedition against their enemies the esquimaux. on hearing of this, the governor went out to them, and, in a voice of extreme indignation, assured them that they should not have an ounce of supplies for such a purpose. "but we will pay you for what we ask. we are not beggars!" exclaimed the astonished indians, into whose calculations it had never entered that white traders would refuse good furs merely in order to prevent the death of a few esquimaux. "see," cried the angry governor, snatching up the nearest bale of furs--"see, that's all i care for you or your payment!" and hurling the pack at its owner's head, he felled him therewith to the ground. "no," he continued, shaking his fist at them, "i'll not give you as much powder or shot as would blow off the tail of a rabbit, if you were to bring me all the skins in labrador!" the consequence of this vigorous conduct was that the indians retired crestfallen--utterly discomfited. but in the camp that night they plotted revenge. in the darkness of the night they slaughtered all the cattle around the establishment, and before daybreak were over the hills and far away in the direction of their hunting-grounds, loaded with fresh beef sufficient for the supply of themselves and their families for the winter! it was a heavy price to pay; but the poor esquimaux remained unmolested that year, while the indians received a salutary lesson. but the compulsory peace was soon broken, and it became apparent that the only effectual way to check the bloodthirsty propensity of the indians was to arm their enemies with the gun. the destruction of the first expedition to the esquimaux, and the bad feeling that existed in the minds of the natives of richmond gulf consequent thereon, induced the fur-traders to fix on another locality for a new attempt. it was thought that the remote solitudes of ungava bay, at the extreme north of labrador,--where the white man's axe had never yet felled the stunted pines of the north, nor the ring of his rifle disturbed its echoes,--would be the spot best suited for the erection of a wooden fort. accordingly, it was appointed that mr george stanley should select a coadjutor, and proceed with a party of picked men to the scene of action as early in the spring as the ice would permit, and there build a fort as he best could, with the best materials he could find; live on whatever the country afforded in the shape of food; establish a trade in oil, whalebone, arctic foxes, etcetera, etcetera, if they were to be got; and bring about a reconciliation between the esquimaux and the indians of the interior, if that were possible. with the careful minuteness peculiar to documents, stanley's instructions went on to point out that he was to start from moose--with two half-sized canoes, each capable of carrying ten _pieces_ or packages of pounds weight each, besides the crew--and _bore_ through the ice, if the ice would allow him, till he should reach richmond gulf; cross this gulf, and ascend, if practicable, some of the rivers which fall into it from the height of land supposed, but not positively known, to exist somewhere in the interior. passing this height, he was to descend by the rivers and lakes (if such existed) leading to the eastward, until he should fall upon a river reported to exist in these lands, and called by the natives _caniapuscaw_, or south river, down which he was to proceed to the scene of his labours, ungava bay; on reaching which he was considerately left to the unaided guidance of his own discretion! reduced to their lowest term and widest signification, the instructions directed our friend to start as early as he could, with whom he chose, and with what he liked; travel as fast as possible over _terra incognita_ to a land of ice-- perhaps, also, of desolation--and locate himself among bloody savages. it was hoped that there would be found a sufficiency of trees wherewith to build him a shelter against a prolonged winter; in the meantime he might enjoy a bright arctic summer sky for his canopy! but it was known, or at least supposed, that the esquimaux were fierce and cruel savages, if not cannibals. their very name implies something of the sort. it signifies _eaters of raw flesh_, and was bestowed on them by their enemies the muskigons. they call themselves _innuit_-men, or warriors; and although they certainly do eat raw flesh when necessity compels them--which it often does--they asserted that they never did so from choice. however, be this as it may, the remembrance of their misdeeds in the first expeditions was fresh in the minds of the men in the service of the fur-traders, and they evinced a decided unwillingness to venture into such a country and among such a people,--an unwillingness which was only at length overcome when mrs stanley and her little daughter heroically volunteered to share the dangers of the expedition in the manner already narrated. stanley now made vigorous preparations for his departure. some of the men had already been enrolled, as we have seen, and there were more than enough of able and active volunteers ready to complete the crews. "come hither, lads," he cried, beckoning to two men who were occupied on the bank of the river, near the entrance to moose fort, in repairing the side of a canoe. the men left their work and approached. they were both esquimaux, and good stout, broad-shouldered, thick-set specimens of the race they were. one was called oolibuck, [_this name is spelt as it should be pronounced. the correct spelling is ouligbuck_], the other augustus; both of which names are now chronicled in the history of arctic adventure as having belonged to the well-tried and faithful interpreters to franklin, back, and richardson, in their expeditions of north-west discovery. "i'm glad to see you busy at the canoe, boys," said stanley, as they came up. "of course you are both willing to revisit your countrymen." "yes, sir, we is. glad to go where you choose send us," answered oolibuck, whose broad, oily countenance lighted up with good-humour as he spoke. "it will remind you of your trip with captain franklin," continued stanley, addressing augustus. "me no like to 'member dat," said the esquimau, with a sorrowful shake of the head. "me love bourgeois franklin, but tink me never see him more." "i don't know that, old fellow," returned stanley, with a smile. "franklin is not done with his discoveries yet; there's a talk of sending off another expedition some of these days, i hear, so you may have a chance yet." augustus's black eyes sparkled with pleasure as he heard this. he was a man of strong feeling, and during his journeyings with our great arctic hero had become attached to him in consequence of the hearty and unvarying kindness and consideration with which he treated all under his command. but the spirit of enterprise had been long slumbering, and poor augustus, who was now past the prime of life, feared that he should never see his kind master more. "now i want you, lads, to get everything in readiness for an immediate start," continued stanley, glancing upwards at the sky; "if the weather holds, we shan't be long off paying your friends a visit. are both canoes repaired?" "yes, sir, they is," replied oolibuck. "and the baggage, is it laid out? and--" "pardon, monsieur," interrupted massan, walking up, and touching his cap. "i've jest been down at the point, and there's a rig'lar nor'-wester a-comin' down. the ice is sweepin' into the river, an' it'll be choked up by to-morrow, i'm afraid." stanley received this piece of intelligence with a slight frown, and looked seaward, where a dark line on the horizon and large fields of ice showed that the man's surmise was likely to prove correct. "it matters not," said stanley, hastily; "i've made arrangements to start to-morrow, and start we shall, in spite of ice or wind, if the canoes will float!" massan, who had been constituted principal steersman of the expedition, in virtue of his well-tried skill and indomitable energy, felt that the tone in which this was said implied a want of confidence in his willingness to go under _any_ circumstances, so he said gravely-- "pardon, monsieur; i did not say we could not start." "true, true, massan; don't be hurt. i was only grumbling at the weather," answered stanley, with a laugh. just then the first puff of the coming breeze swept up the river, ruffling its hitherto glassy surface. "there it comes," cried stanley, as he quitted the spot. "now, massan, see to it that the crews are assembled in good time on the beach to-morrow. we start at daybreak." "oui, monsieur," replied massan, as he turned on his heel and walked away. "parbleu! we shall indeed start to morrow, an it please you, if all the ice and wind in the polar regions was blowed down the coast and crammed into the river's mouth. c'est vrai!" chapter five. ice looks unpropitious--the start--an important member of the party nearly forgotten--chimo. stanley's forebodings and massan's prognostications proved partly incorrect on the following morning. the mouth of the river, and the sea beyond, were quite full of ice; but it was loose, and intersected in all directions by lanes of open water. moreover, there was no wind. the gray light of early morning brightened into dawn, and the first clear ray of the rising sun swept over a scene more beautiful than ever filled the fancy of the most imaginative poet of the temperate zones. the sky was perfectly unclouded, and the surface of the sea was completely covered with masses of ice, whose tops were pure white like snow, and their sides a delicate greenish-blue, their dull, frosted appearance forming a striking contrast to the surrounding water, which shone, when the sun glanced upon it, like burnished silver. the masses of ice varied endlessly in form and size, some being flat and large like fields, others square and cornered like bastions or towers--here a miniature temple with spires and minarets, there a crystal fortress with embrasures and battlements; and, in the midst of these, thousands of broken fragments, having all the varied outlines of the larger masses, appearing like the smaller houses, cottages, and villas of this floating city of ice. "oh how beautiful!" exclaimed little edith, as her father led her and mrs stanley towards the canoes, which floated lightly in the water, while the men stood in a picturesque group beside them, leaning on their bright red paddles. "it is indeed, my pet," replied stanley, a smile almost of sadness playing around his lips. "come, george, don't let evil forebodings assail you to-day," said mrs stanley in a low tone. "it does not become the leader of a forlorn hope to cast a shade over the spirits of his men at the very outset." she smiled as she said this, and pressed his arm; but despite herself, there was more of sadness in the smile and in the pressure than she intended to convey. stanley's countenance assumed its usual firm but cheerful expression while she spoke. "true, jessie, i must not damp the men; but when i look at you and our darling eda, i may be forgiven for betraying a passing glance of anxiety. may the almighty protect you!" "is the country we are going to like this, papa?" inquired eda, whose intense admiration of the fairy-like scene rendered her oblivious of all else. "yes, dear, more like this than anything else you have ever seen; but the sun does not always shine so brightly as it does just now, and sometimes there are terrible snow-storms. but we will build you a nice house, eda, with a very large fireplace, so that we won't feel the cold." the entire population of moose fort was assembled on the beach to witness the departure of the expedition. the party consisted of fifteen souls. as we shall follow them to the icy regions of ungava, it may be worth while to rehearse their names in order as follows:-- mr. and mrs. stanley and edith. frank morton. massan, the guide. dick prince, principal hunter to the party. la roche, stanley's servant and cook. bryan, the blacksmith. francois, the carpenter. oolibuck, augustus, and moses, esquimau interpreters. gaspard, labourer and fisherman. oostesimow and ma-istequan, indian guides and hunters. the craft in which these were about to embark were three canoes, two of which were large and one small. they were made of birch bark, a substance which is tough, light, and buoyant, and therefore admirably adapted for the construction of craft that have not only to battle against strong and sometimes shallow currents, but have frequently to be carried on the shoulders of their crews over rocks and mountains. the largest canoe was sixteen feet long by five feet broad in the middle, narrowing gradually towards the bow and stern to a sharp edge. its loading consisted of bales, kegs, casks, and bundles of goods and provisions; each bale or cask weighed exactly pounds, and was called a _piece._ there were fifteen pieces in the canoe, besides the crew of six men, and mr stanley and his family, who occupied the centre, where their bedding, tied up in flat bundles and covered with oiled cloth, formed a comfortable couch. notwithstanding the size and capacity of this craft, it had been carried down to the beach on the shoulders of massan and dick prince, who now stood at its bow and stern, preventing it with their paddles from rubbing its frail sides against the wharf; for although the bark is tough, and will stand a great deal of tossing in water and plunging among rapids, it cannot sustain the slightest blow from a rock or other hard substance without being cracked, or having the gum which covers the seams scraped off. to those who are unacquainted with travelling in the wild regions of the north it would seem impossible that a long journey could be accomplished in such tender boats; but a little experience proves that, by judicious treatment and careful management, voyages of great length may be safely accomplished in them--that they are well adapted for the necessities of the country, and can be taken with greater ease through a rough, broken, and mountainous region than ordinary wooden boats, even of smaller size, could be. the second canoe was in all respects similar to the one we have described, excepting that it was a few inches shorter. the third was much smaller--so small that it could not contain more than three men, with their provisions and a few bales, and so light that it could with the greatest ease be carried on the shoulders of one man. it was intended to serve as a sort of pioneer and hunting craft, which should lead the way, dart hither and thither in pursuit of game, and warn the main body of any danger that should threaten them ahead. it was manned by the two indian guides, oostesimow and ma-istequan, and by frank morton, who being acknowledged one of the best shots of the party, was by tacit understanding regarded as commissary-general. it might have been said that frank was the best shot, were it not for the fact that the aim of dick prince was perfect, and it is generally admitted that perfection cannot be excelled. although differing widely in their dispositions and appearance, the men of the expedition were similar at least in one respect--they were all first-rate, and had been selected as being individually superior to their comrades at moose fort. and a noble set of fellows they looked, as they stood beside their respective canoes, leaning on their little, brilliantly coloured paddles, awaiting the embarkation of their leaders. they all wore new suits of clothes, which were sufficiently similar to give the effect of a uniform, yet so far varied in detail as to divest them of monotony, and relieve the eye by agreeable contrast of bright colours. all of them wore light-blue cloth capotes with hoods hanging down behind, all had corduroy trousers gartered below the knee, and all wore moccasins, and had fire-bags stuck in their belts, in which were contained the materials for producing fire, tobacco, and pipes. so far they were alike, but the worsted belts of some were scarlet, of others crimson, and of others striped. some gartered their trousers with thongs of leather, others used elegant bands of bead-work--the gifts, probably, of sorrowing sweethearts, sisters, or mothers--while the fire-bags, besides being composed some of blue, some of scarlet cloth, were ornamented more or less with flowers and fanciful devices elegantly wrought in the gaily-dyed quills of the porcupine. on seeing stanley and his wife and child approaching, massan gave the order to embark. in a moment every man divested himself of his capote, which he folded up and placed on the seat he was to occupy; then, shaking hands all round for the last time, they stepped lightly and carefully into their places. "all ready, i see, massan," said stanley, as he came up, "and the ice seems pretty open. how say you? shall we make a good day of it?" massan smiled dubiously as he presented his thick shoulder as a support to mrs stanley, while she stepped into her place. he remembered the conversation of the previous evening, and determined that, whatever should happen, he at least would not cast the shadow of a doubt on their prospects. but in his own mind he suspected that their progress would be interrupted ere long, as the wind, although very light--almost imperceptible--was coming from the north-west. "it'll be full flood in less nor half an hour," he replied, "and--(take care, miss edith, give me your little hand; there, now, jump light)--and we'll be past the p'int by that time, and git the good o' the ebb till sun-down." "i fear," said frank morton, approaching, "that the ice is rather thick for us; but it don't much matter, it will only delay us a bit--and at any rate we'll make good way as far as the point." "true, true," said stanley; "and it's a great matter to get fairly started. once off we must go forward. all ready, lads?" "ay, ay, sir." "now, frank, into your canoe and show us the way; mind we trust to your guidance to keep us clear of blind alleys among these lanes of water in the ice." at this moment edith--who had been for the last few minutes occupied in alternately drying her eyes and kissing her hands to a group of little children who had been her play-fellows during her sojourn at the fort-- uttered a loud exclamation. "oh! oh! papa, mamma--chimo!--we've forgot chimo! oh me! don't go away yet!" "so we have!" said her father; "dear me, how stupid to forget our old friend!--hallo! frank, frank, we've forgot the dog," shouted stanley to his young comrade, who was on the point of starting. on hearing this, frank gave a long, shrill whistle. "that'll bring him if he's within ear-shot." when the well-known sound broke upon chimo's ear, he was lying coiled up in front of the kitchen fire, being privileged to do so in consequence of his position as edith's favourite. the cook, having gone out a few minutes previously, had left chimo to enjoy his slumbers in solitude, so that, when he started suddenly to his feet on hearing frank's whistle, he found himself a prisoner. but chimo was a peculiarly strong-minded and strong-bodied dog, and was possessed of an iron will! he was of the esquimau breed, and bore some resemblance to the newfoundland, but was rather shorter in the legs, longer in the body, and more powerfully made. moreover, he was more shaggy, and had a stout, blunt, straightforward appearance, which conveyed to the beholder the idea that he scorned flattery, and would not consent to be petted on any consideration. indeed this was the case, for he always turned away with quiet contempt from any of the men who attempted to fondle him. he made an exception, however, of little edith, whom he not only permitted to clap him to any extent, but deliberately invited her to do so by laying his great head in her lap, rubbing himself against her, and wagging his bushy tail, as if to say, "now, little girl, do what you will with me!" and eda never refused the animal's dumb-show request. when she was very young and had not much sense--at which time chimo was young too, but possessed of a great deal of sense--she formed a strong affection for the esquimau dog, an affection which she displayed by putting her little arms round his neck and hugging him until he felt a tendency to suffocation; she also pulled his ears and tail, and stuffed her fat little hands into his eyes and mouth,--all of which dreadful actions she seemed to think, in her childish ignorance, must be very pleasant to chimo, and all of which the dog appeared really to enjoy. at all events, whether he liked it or not, he came regularly to have himself thus treated every day. as eda grew older she left off choking her favourite and poking out his eyes, and contented herself with caressing him. chimo also evinced a partiality for mr stanley and frank morton, and often accompanied the latter on his hunting excursions; but he always comported himself towards them with dignified hauteur, accepting their caresses with a slight wag of acknowledgment, but never courting their favour. on jumping up, as we have already said, and observing that the door was shut, the dog looked slowly and calmly round the apartment, as if to decide on what was best to be done; for chimo was a dog of great energy of character, and was never placed in any circumstances in which he did not pursue some decided course of action. on the present occasion there was not a hole, except the key-hole, by which he could hope to make his escape. yes, by-the-bye, there was a hole in the window, which was made of parchment; but as that was merely the bullet-hole through which the animal that had given his skin for a window had been shot, and was not larger than a shilling, it did not afford much hope. nevertheless chimo regarded it with a steady gaze for a minute or two, then he turned to the fire, and having satisfied himself that the chimney was impracticable, being full of flames and smoke, he faced the window once more, and showed his teeth, as if in chagrin. "whew-ew! chimo-o-o!" came frank's voice, floating faintly from afar. chimo took aim at the bullet-hole. one vigorous bound--a horrible crash, that nearly caused the returning cook to faint--and the dog was free. "ah, here he comes!--good dog!" cried frank, as the animal came bounding over intervening obstacles towards the canoes. chimo made straight for the small canoe, in answer to his master's call; but, like many dogs and not a few men, he owned a higher power than that of a master. the voice of his little mistress sounded sweetly in his ear, like the sound of a silver bell. "o chimo, chimo! my darling pet! come here--here." it was a soft, tiny voice at the loudest, and was quite drowned amid the talking and laughter of the men, but chimo heard it. turning at a sharp angle from his course, he swept past the light canoe, and bounding into that of mr stanley, lay down beside eda and placed his head in her lap, where it was immediately smothered in the caresses of its young mistress. mr stanley smiled and patted his little girl on the shoulder, as he said, "that's right, eda; the love of a faithful dog is worth having and cherishing." then turning towards the stern of the canoe, where massan stood erect, with his steering paddle ready for action, he said to that worthy-- "now, massan, all ready; give the word." "ho, ho, boys; forward!" the paddles dipped simultaneously in the water with a loud, gurgling sound; the two large canoes shot out into the stream abreast of each other, preceded by the light one, which, urged forward by the powerful arms of frank and the two indians, led the way among the floating fields of ice. the people on shore took off their caps and waved a last farewell. dick prince, who possessed a deep, loud, sonorous voice, began one of those beautiful and wild yet plaintive songs peculiar to the _voyageurs_ of the wilderness. the men joined, with a full, rich swell, in the chorus, as they darted forward with arrow-like speed--and the voyage began. chapter six. character partially developed--ducks for supper--a threatened "nip"-- bundled out on the ice. fortunately the wind veered round to the south-east soon after the departure of the canoes from moose fort, and although there was not enough of it to ruffle the surface of the river, it had the effect of checking the influx of ice from james's bay. the tide, too, began to ebb, so that the progress of the canoes was even more rapid than it appeared to be; and long before the sun set, they were past the point at the mouth of the river, and coasting along the shores of the salt ocean. outside of them the sea was covered with hummocks and fields of ice, some of which ever and anon met in the cross currents caused by the river, with a violent shock. close to the shore, however, the thickness of the ice caused it to strand, leaving a lane of open water, along which the canoes proceeded easily, the depth of water being much more than sufficient for them, as the largest canoe did not draw more than a foot. sometimes, however, this space was blocked up by smaller fragments, and considerable difficulty was experienced in steering the canoes amongst them. had the party travelled in boats, they would have easily dashed through many of these checks; but with canoes it is far otherwise. not only are their bark sides easily broken, but the seams are covered with a kind of pitch which becomes so brittle in ice-cold water that it chips off in large lumps with the slightest touch. for the sea, therefore, boats are best; but when it comes to carrying the craft over waterfalls and up mountain sides, for days and weeks together, canoes are more useful, owing to their lightness. "take care, massan," said mr stanley, on approaching one of these floes. "don't chip the gum off if you can help it. if we spring a leak, we shan't spend our first night on a pleasant camping-ground, for the shore just hereabouts does not look inviting." "no fear, sir," replied massan. "dick prince is in the bow, and as long as his mouth's shut i keep my mind easy." "you appear to have unlimited confidence in prince," said stanley, with a smile. "does he never fail in anything, that you are so sure of him?" "fail!" exclaimed the steersman, whose paddle swept constantly in a circle round his head, while he changed it from side to side as the motions of the canoe required--"fail! ay, that does he sometimes. mortal man must get on the wrong side o' luck now and then. i've seen dick prince fail, but i never saw him make a mistake." "well, i've no doubt that he deserves your good opinion. nevertheless, be more than ordinarily careful. if you had a wife and child in the canoe, massan, you would understand my anxiety better." stanley smiled as he said this, and the worthy steersman replied in a grave tone,--"i have the wife and child of my bourgeois under my care." "true, true, massan," said stanley, lying back on his couch and conversing with his wife in an undertone. "'tis curious," said he, "to observe the confidence that massan has in prince; and yet it would be difficult to say wherein consists the superiority of the one over the other." "perhaps it is the influence of a strong mind over a weaker," suggested his wife. "it may be so. yet prince is an utterly uneducated man. true, he shoots a hair's-breadth better than massan; but he is not a better canoe-man, neither is he more courageous, and he is certainly less powerful: nevertheless massan looks up to him and speaks of him as if he were greatly his superior. the secret of his power must lie in that steady, never-wavering inflexibility of purpose, that characterises our good bowman in everything he does." "papa," said edith, who had been holding a long conversation with chimo on the wonders of the scene around them--if we may call that a conversation where the one party does all the talking and the other all the listening--"papa, where shall we all sleep to-night?" the thought seemed to have struck her for the first time, and she looked up eagerly for an answer, while chimo gave a deep sigh of indifference, and went to sleep, or pretended to do so, where he was. "in the woods, eda. how do you think you will like it?" "oh, i'm sure i shall like it very much," replied the little one. "i've often wished to live in the woods altogether like the indians, and do nothing but wander about and pull berries." "ah, jessie," said stanley, "what an idle little baggage your daughter is! i fear she's a true chip of the old block!" "which do you consider the old block," retorted mrs stanley--"you or me?" "never mind, wife; we'll leave that an open question.--but tell me, eda, don't you think that wandering about and pulling berries would be a very useless sort of life?" "no," replied edith, gravely. "mamma often tells me that god wants me to be happy, and i'm quite sure that wandering about all day in the beautiful woods would make me happy." "but, my darling," said stanley, smiling at the simplicity of this plausible argument in favour of an idle life, "don't you know that we ought to try to make others happy too, as well as ourselves?" "oh yes," replied eda, with a bright smile, "i know that, papa; and i would try to make everybody happy by going with them and showing them where the finest flowers and berries were to be found; and so we would all be happy together, and that's what god wants, is it not?" mr stanley glanced towards his wife with an arch smile. "there, jessie, what think you of that?" "nay, husband, what think you?" "i think," he replied in an undertone, "that your sagacious teaching against idleness, and in favour of diligence and attention to duty, and so forth, has not taken very deep root yet." "and _i_ think," said mrs stanley, "that however wise you men may be in some things, you are all most incomprehensibly stupid in regard to the development of young minds." "take care now, jessie; you're verging upon metaphysics. but you have only given me your opinion of men as yet; you have still to say what you think of eda's acknowledged predilection for idleness." "well," replied mrs stanley, "i think that my sagacious teaching, as you are pleased to call it, has taken pretty firm root already, and that eda's speech is one of the first bright, beautiful blossoms, from which we may look for much fruit hereafter; for to make one's self and one's fellow-creatures happy, _because such is the will of god_, seems to me a simple and comprehensive way of stating the whole duty of man." stanley's eyes opened a little at this definition. "hum! _multum in parvo_; it may be so," he said; and casting down his eyes, he was soon lost in a profound reverie, while the canoe continued to progress forward by little impulsive bounds, under the rapid stroke of the paddles. eda rested her fair cheek on the shaggy brow of chimo, and accompanied him to the land of nod, until the sun began to sink behind the icebergs on the seaward horizon, where a dark line indicated an approaching breeze. massan cast an uneasy glance at this from time to time. at length he called to his friend in the bow, "hello, prince! will it come stiff; think ye?" "no," replied prince, rising and shading his eyes with his hand; "it'll be only a puff; but that's enough to drive the ice down on us, an' shut up the open water." "it's my 'pinion," said massan, "that we should hold away for the p'int yonder, an' camp there." dick prince nodded assent, and resumed his paddle. as he did so the report of a gun came sharply over the water. "ha!" exclaimed stanley, looking out ahead; "what's that?" "only mr frank," said massan; "he's dowsed two birds. i see'd them splash into the water." "that's right," said stanley; "we shall have something fresh for the kettle to-night. and, by the way, we'll need all we can kill, for we haven't much provision to depend on, and part of it must be reserved in case of accidents, so that if frank does not do his duty, we shall have to live on birch bark, massan." "that would be rayther tough. i'm afeerd," replied the steersman, laughing. "i've tried the tail o' a deer-skin coat afore now, an' it wasn't much to boast of; but i niver tried a birch-bark steak. i doubt it would need a power o' chewin?" by this time the two large canoes had drawn gradually nearer to the leading one. as they approached, frank ordered his men to cease paddling. "well, frank, what success?" said stanley, as they came up. "there's our supper," cried frank, tossing a large duck into the canoe; "and there's a bite for the men," he added, sending a huge gray goose into the midst of them. "i saw a herd of reindeer on the other side of the point; but the ice closed up the passage, and prevented me from getting within range. it will stop our further progress for to-night too; so i waited to advise you to camp here." "there it comes!" cried dick prince. "jump out on the ice, lads, and unload as fast as you can." as dick spoke he sprang on to a field of ice which was attached to the shore, and drawing the canoe alongside, began hastily to remove the cargo. his example was instantly followed by the men, who sprang over the gunwales like cats; and in less than five minutes the cargoes were scattered over the ice. meanwhile, the breeze which massan had observed continued to freshen, and the seaward ice bore rapidly down on the shore, gradually narrowing and filling up the lanes of water among which the travellers had been hitherto wending their way. dick prince's sudden action was caused by his observing a large, solid field, which bore down on them with considerable rapidity. his warning was just in time, for the goods were scarcely landed and the three canoes lifted out of the water, when the ice closed in with a crash that would have ground the frail barks to pieces, and the passage was closed up. so completely was every trace of water obliterated, that it seemed as though there never had been any there before. chapter seven. shows how the party made themselves at home in the bush--talk round the camp fire--a flash of temper--turning in. the spot where they were thus suddenly arrested in their progress was a small bay, formed by a low point which jutted from the mainland, and shut out the prospect in advance. there was little or no wood on the point, except a few stunted willows, which being green and small would not, as la roche the cook remarked, "make a fire big enough to roast the wing of a mosquito." there was no help for it, however. the spot on which massan had resolved to encamp for the night was three miles on the other side of the point, and as the way was now solid ice instead of water, there was no possibility of getting there until a change of wind should drive the ice off the shore. moreover, it was now getting dark, and it behoved them to make their preparations with as much speed as possible. accordingly, massan and prince shouldered one canoe, francois and gaspard carried the other, and the light one was placed on the shoulders of bryan the blacksmith; la roche took the provision-basket and cooking utensils under his special charge; while the three esquimau interpreters and the two indian guides busied themselves in carrying the miscellaneous goods and baggage into camp. as for chimo, he seated himself quietly on a lump of ice, and appeared to superintend the entire proceedings; while his young mistress and her mother, accompanied by frank and stanley, crossed the ice to the shore, to select a place for their encampment. but it was some time ere a suitable place could be found, as the point happened to be low and swampy, and poor eda's first experience of a life in the woods was stepping into a hole which took her up to the knees in mud and water. she was not alone, however, in misfortune, for just at the same moment bryan passed through the bushes with his canoe, and staggered into the same swamp, exclaiming as he did so, in a rich brogue which many years' residence among the french half-breeds of rupert's land had failed to soften, "thunder an' turf! such a blackguard counthry i niver did see. och, bryan dear, why did ye iver lave yer native land?" "pourquoi, why, mon boy? for ver' goot raison," cried la roche, in a horrible compound of french and broken english, as he skipped lightly past, with a loud laugh, "for ver' goot raison--dey was tired of you to home, vraiment. you was too grande raskale; dey could not keep you no longer." "thrue for ye, la roche," replied the blacksmith, "thrue for ye, boy; they sartinly could not keep me on nothin', an' as the murphies was all sp'iled wi' the rot, i had to lave or starve." at last, after a long search, frank morton found a spot pretty well adapted for their purpose. it was an elevated plot of gravel, which was covered with a thin carpet of herbage, and surrounded by a belt of willows which proved a sufficient shelter against the wind. a low and rather shaggy willow-tree spread its branches over the spot, and gave to it a good deal of the feeling and appearance of shelter, if not much of the reality. this was of little consequence, however, as the night proved fine and comparatively mild, so that the black vault of heaven, spangled with hosts of brilliant stars, amply compensated for the want of a leafy canopy. under the willow-tree, frank and la roche busied themselves in spreading a very small white tent for mr stanley and his family. frank himself, although entitled from his position in the company's service to the luxury of a tent, scorned to use one, preferring to rough it like the men, and sleep beneath the shelter of the small canoe. meanwhile, mr stanley proceeded to strike a light with his flint and steel; and bryan, having deposited his burden near the tent, soon collected a sufficiency of driftwood to make a good fire. edith and her mother were not idle in the midst of this busy scene. they collected a few bundles of dried twigs to make the fire light more easily, and after the blaze was casting its broad glare of light over the camp, and the tent was pitched, they assisted la roche in laying the cloth for supper. of course, in a journey like this, none but necessary articles were taken, and these were of the most homely character. the kettle was the tea-pot, the cups were tin pannikins, and the table-cloth was a large towel, while the table itself was the ground, from the damp of which, however, the party in the tent were protected by an ample oil-cloth. when all the things were carried up, and the men assembled, the camp presented the following appearance: in the centre of the open space, which nature had arranged in the form of a circle, blazed the fire; and a right jovial, sputtering, outrageous fire it was, sending its sparks flying in all directions, like the artillery of a beleaguered fortress in miniature, and rolling its flames about in fierce and wayward tongues, that seemed bent on licking in and swallowing up the entire party, but more especially la roche, who found no little difficulty in paying due attention to his pots and kettles. sometimes the flames roared fiercely upwards, singeing off the foliage of the overhanging willow as they went, and then, bursting away from their parent fire, portions of them floated off for a few seconds on the night air. on the weather side of this fire stood mr stanley's tent, under the willow-tree, as before described, its pure white folds showing strongly against the darkness of the sky beyond. the doorway, or curtain of the tent, was open, displaying the tea-equipage within, and the smiling countenances of stanley and his wife, frank and eda, who, seated on blankets and shawls around the towel, were preparing to make an assault on the fat duck before mentioned. this duck had been split open and roasted on a piece of stick before the blaze, and now stood with the stumps of its wings and legs extended, as if demanding urgently to be eaten--a demand which chimo, who crouched near the doorway, could scarce help complying with. to the right of the tent was placed the small canoe, bottom up, so as to afford a partial protection to the bedding which oostesimow was engaged in spreading out for frank and himself and his comrade ma-istequan. facing this, at the other side of the fire, and on the left of the tent, the largest canoe was turned up in a similar manner, and several of the men were engaged in covering the ground beneath it with a layer of leaves and branches, above which they spread their blankets; while others lounged around the fire and smoked their beloved pipes, or watched with impatient eyes the operations of bryan, who, being accustomed to have familiar dealings with the fire, had been deemed worthy of holding the office of cook to the men, and was inducted accordingly. it is due to bryan to say that he fully merited the honour conferred upon him; for never, since the days of vulcan, was there a man seen who could daringly dabble in the fire as he did. he had a peculiar sleight-of-hand way of seizing hold of and tossing about red-hot coals with his naked hand, that induced one to believe he must be made of leather. flames seemed to have no effect whatever on his sinewy arms when they licked around them; and as for smoke, he treated it with benign contempt. not so la roche: with the mercurial temperament of his class he leaped about the fire, during his culinary operations, in a way that afforded infinite amusement to his comrades, and not unfrequently brought him into violent collision with bryan, who usually received him on such occasions with a strong irish growl, mingled with a disparaging or contemptuous remark. beyond the circle of light thrown by the fire was the belt of willows which encompassed the camp on all sides except towards the sea, where a narrow gap formed a natural entrance and afforded a glimpse of the ocean with its fields and hummocks of ice floating on its calm bosom and glancing in the faint light of the moon, which was then in its first quarter. "how comfortable and snug everything is!" said mrs stanley, as she poured out the tea, while her husband carved the duck. "yes, isn't it, eda?" said frank, patting his favourite on the head, as he held out her plate for a wing. "there, give her a bit of the breast too," he added. "i know she's ravenously hungry, for i saw her looking at chimo, just before we landed, as if she meant to eat him for supper without waiting to have him cooked." "o frank, how can you be so wicked?" said eda, taking up her knife and fork and attacking the wing with so much energy as almost to justify her friend's assertion. "snug, said you, jessie? yes, that's the very word to express it," said stanley. "there's no situation that i know of (and i wasn't born yesterday) that is so perfectly snug, and in all respects comfortable, as an encampment in the woods on a fine night in spring or autumn." "or winter," added frank, swallowing a pannikin of tea at a draught, nodding to chimo, as much as to say, "do that if you can, old fellow," and handing it to mrs stanley to be replenished. "don't omit winter-- cold, sharp, sunny winter. an encampment in the snow, in fine weather, is as snug as this." "rather cold, is it not?" said mrs stanley. "cold! not a bit," replied frank, making a reckless dive with his hand into the biscuit-bag; "if you have enough wood to get up a roaring fire, six feet long by three broad and four deep, with a bank of snow five feet high all around ye, a pine-tree with lots of thick branches spreading overhead to keep off the snow, and two big green blankets to keep out the frost--(another leg of that widgeon, please)--you've no notion how snug it is, i assure you." "hum!" ejaculated stanley, with a dubious smile, "you forgot to add--a youthful, robust frame, with the blood careering through the veins like wildfire, to your catalogue of requisites. no doubt it is pleasant enough in its way; but commend me to spring or autumn for thorough enjoyment, when the air is mild, and the waters flowing, and the woods green and beautiful." "why don't you speak of summer, papa?" said eda, who had been listening intently to this conversation. "summer, my pet! because--" "allow me to explain," interrupted frank, laying down his knife and fork, and placing the forefinger of his right hand in his left palm, as if he were about to make a speech. "because, eda, because there is such a thing as heat--long-continued, never-ending, sweltering heat. because there are such reprehensible and unutterably detestable insects as mosquitoes, and sand-flies, and bull-dogs; and there is such a thing as being bitten, and stung, and worried, and sucked into a sort of partial madness; and i have seen such sights as men perpetually slapping their own faces, and scratching the skin off their own cheeks with their own nails, and getting no relief thereby, but rather making things worse; and i have, moreover, seen men's heads swelled until the eyes and noses were lost, and the mouths only visible when opened, and their general aspect like that of a scotch haggis; and there is a time when all this accumulates on man and beast till the latter takes to the water in desperation, and the former takes to intermittent insanity, and that time is--_summer_.--another cup, please, mrs stanley. 'pon my conscience, it creates thirst to think of it." at this stage the conversation of the party in the tent was interrupted by a loud peal of laughter mingled with not a few angry exclamations from the men. la roche, in one of his frantic leaps to avoid a tongue of flame which shot out from the fire with a vicious velocity towards his eyes, came into violent contact with bryan while that worthy was in the act of lifting a seething kettle of soup and boiled pork from the fire. fortunately for the party whose supper was thus placed in jeopardy, bryan stood his ground; but la roche, tripping over a log, fell heavily among the pannikins, tin plates, spoons, and knives, which had been just laid out on the ground in front of the canoe. "ach! mauvais chien," growled gaspard, as he picked up and threw away the fragments of his pipe, "you're always cuttin' and jumpin' about like a monkey." "oh! pauvre crapaud," cried francois, laughing; "don't abuse him, gaspard. he's a useful dog in his way." "tare an' ages! you've done it now, ye have. bad luck to ye! wasn't i for iver tellin' ye that same. shure, if it wasn't that ye're no bigger or heavier than a wisp o' pea straw, ye'd have druve me and the soup into the fire, ye would. be the big toe o' st. patrick, not to mintion his riverince the pope--" "come, come, bryan," cried massan, "don't speak ill o' the pope, an' down wi' the kettle." "the kittle, is it? sorra a kittle ye'll touch, massan, till it's cool enough to let us all start fair at wance. ye've got yer mouth and throat lined wi' brass, i believe, an' would ate the half o't before a soul of us could taste it!" "don't insult me, you red-faced racoon," retorted massan, while he and his comrades circled round the kettle, and began a vigorous attack on the scalding mess; "my throat is not so used to swallowin' fire as your own. i never knowed a man that payed into the grub as you do.--bah! how hot it is.--i say, oolibuck, doesn't it remember you o' the dogs o' yer own country, when they gits the stone kettle to clean out?" oolibuck's broad visage expanded with a chuckle as he lifted an enormous wooden spoonful of soup to his ample mouth. "me tink de dogs of de innuit [esquimaux] make short work of dis kettle if 'e had 'im." "do the dogs of the huskies eat with their masters?" inquired francois, as he groped in the kettle with his fork in search of a piece of pork. "dey not eat _wid_ der masters, but dey al'ays clean hout de kettle," replied moses, somewhat indignantly. "ha!" exclaimed massan, pausing for a few minutes to recover breath; "yes, they always let the dogs finish off the feast. ye must know, comrades, that i've seed them do it myself--anyways i've seed a man that knew a feller who said he had a comrade that wintered once with the huskies, which is pretty much the same thing. an' he said that sometimes when they kill a big seal, they boil it whole an' have a rig'lar feast. ye must understand, mes garcons, that the huskies make thumpin' big kettles out o' a kind o' soft stone they find in them parts, an' some o' them's big enough to boil a whole seal in. well, when the beast is cooked, they take it out o' the pot, an' while they're tuckin' into it, the dogs come and sit in a ring round the pot to wait till the soup's cool enough to eat. they knows well that it's too hot at first, an' that they must have a deal o' patience; but afore long some o' the young uns can't hold on, so they steps up somewhat desperate like, and pokes their snouts in. of course they pulls them out pretty sharp with a yell, and sit down to rub their noses for a bit longer. then the old uns take courage an' make a snap at it now and again, but very tenderly, till it gits cooler at last, an' then at it they go, worryin', an' scufflin', an' barkin', an' gallopin', just like moses there, till the pot's as clean as the day it wos made." "ha! ha! oh, ver' goot, tres bien; ah! mon coeur, just tres splendiferous!" shouted la roche, whose risibility was always easily tickled. "it's quite true, though--isn't it, moses?" said massan, as he once more applied to the kettle, while some of his comrades cut up the goose that frank had shot in the afternoon. "why, moses, what a capacity you have for grub!" said francois. "if your countrymen are anything like you, i don't wonder that they have boiled seals and whales for dinner." "it'll take a screamin' kittle for a whale," spluttered bryan, with his mouth full, "an' a power o' dogs to drink the broth." "you tink you funny, bryan," retorted moses, while an oily smile beamed on his fat, good-humoured countenance; "but you not; you most dreadful stupid." "thrue for ye, moses; i was oncommon stupid to let you sit so long beside the kittle," replied the irishman, as he made a futile effort to scrape another spoonful from the bottom of it. "och! but ye've licked it as clane as one of yer own dogs could ha' done it." "mind your eye!" growled gaspard, at the same time giving la roche a violent push, as that volatile worthy, in one of his eccentric movements, nearly upset his can of water. "oh! pardon, monsieur," exclaimed la roche, in pretended sorrow, at the same time making a grotesque bow that caused a general peal of laughter. "why, one might as well travel with a sick bear as with you, gaspard," said francois half angrily. "hold your jaw," replied gaspard. "not at your bidding," retorted francois, half rising from his reclining posture, while his colour heightened. gaspard had also started up, and it seemed as if the little camp were in danger of becoming a scene of strife, when dick prince, who was habitually silent and unobtrusive, preferring generally to listen rather than to speak, laid his hand on gaspard's broad shoulder and pulled him somewhat forcibly to the ground. "shame on you, comrades!" he said, in a low, grave voice, that instantly produced a dead silence; "shame on you, to quarrel on our first night in the bush! we've few enough friends in these parts, i think, that we should make enemies o' each other." "that's well said," cried massan, in a very decided tone. "it won't do to fall out when there's so few of us." and the stout voyageur thrust his foot against the logs on the fire, causing a rich cloud of sparks to ascend, as if to throw additional light on his remark. "pardon me, mes comrades," cried francois; "i did not intend to quarrel;" and he extended his hand to gaspard, who took it in silence, and dropping back again to his recumbent posture, resumed his pipe. this little scene was witnessed by the party in the tent, who were near enough to overhear all that was said by the men, and even to converse with them if they should desire to do so. a shade of anxiety crossed mr stanley's countenance, and some time after, recurring to the subject, he said-- "i don't feel quite easy about that fellow gaspard. he seems a sulky dog, and is such a hercules that he might give us a deal of trouble if he were high-spirited." a slight smile of contempt curled frank's lip as he said, "a strong arm without a bold heart is not of more value than that of my eda here in the hour of danger. but i think better of gaspard than you seem to do. he's a sulky enough dog, 'tis true; but he is a good, hard worker, and does not grumble; and i sometimes have noticed traces of a better spirit than usually meets the eye. as for his bulk, i think nothing of it; he wants high spirit to make it available. francois could thrash him any day." "perhaps so," replied stanley; "i hope they won't try their mettle on each other sooner than we expect. not that i care a whit for any of the men having a round or two now and then and be done with it; but this fellow seems to `nurse his wrath to keep it warm.' on such an expedition as ours, it behoves us to have a good understanding and a kindly feeling in the camp. one black sheep in the flock may do much damage." "he's only piebald, not black," said frank, laughing, as he rose to quit the tent. "but i must leave you. i see that eda's eyes are refusing to keep open any longer, so good-night to you all, and a sound sleep." frank's concluding remarks in reference to him were overheard by gaspard, who had risen to look at the night, and afterwards kneeled near the tent, in order to be at some distance from his comrades while he said his prayers; for, strange though it may seem, many of the rough and reckless voyageurs of that country, most of whom are roman catholics, regularly retire each night to kneel and pray beneath a tree before lying down on their leafy couches, and deem the act quite consistent with the swearing and quarrelling life that too many of them lead. such is human nature. as gaspard rose from his knees frank's words fell upon his ear, and when he drew his blanket over his head that night there was a softer spot in his heart and a wrinkle less on his brow. when frank stepped over to the place where his canoe lay, the aspect of the camp was very different from what it had been an hour before. the fire had burned low, and was little more than a mass of glowing embers, from which a fitful flame shot forth now and then, casting a momentary glare on the forms of the men, who, having finished their pipes, were all extended in a row, side by side, under the large canoe. as they possessed only a single green blanket each, they had to make the most of their coverings, by rolling them tightly around their bodies, and doubling the ends down under their feet and over their heads; so that they resembled a row of green bolsters, all their feet being presented towards the fire, and all their heads resting on their folded capotes. a good deal of loud and regular snoring proved that toil and robust health seldom court the drowsy god long in vain. turning to his own canoe, frank observed that his indian friends were extended out under it, with a wide space between them, in which his own bedding was neatly arranged. the grave sons of the forest had lain down to rest long before their white comrades, and they now lay as silent and motionless as the canoe that covered their heads. being a small canoe, it did not afford protection to their legs and feet; but in fine weather this was of no consequence, and for the morrow they cared not. before lying down frank kneeled to commend himself and his comrades to the protection of god; then stirring up the embers of the fire, he pulled out a small bible from his breast pocket and sat down on a log to read. frank was a careless, rollicking, kind-hearted fellow, and how much there was of true religion in these acts none but himself could tell. but the _habit_ of reading the word, and of prayer, had been instilled into him from infancy by a godly mother, and he carried it with him into the wilderness. when he drew his blanket over him and laid his head on his capote the stars were still twinkling, and the moon still sailed in a clear sky and gave silver edges to the ice upon the sea. all was calm and solemn and beautiful, and it seemed as if it could never be otherwise in such a tranquil scene. but nature does not always smile. appearances are often deceitful. chapter eight. bryan's adventure with a polar bear, etcetera. ice, ice, ice! everything seemed to have been converted into ice when the day broke on the following morning and awoke the sleepers in the camp. a sharp frost during the night, accompanied by a fall of snow, had, as if by magic, converted spring into winter. icy particles hung upon and covered, not only the young leaves and buds of the bushes, but the branches also, giving to them a white and extremely airy appearance. snow lay on the upper sides of the canoes, and weighed heavily on the tent, causing its folds, once seemingly so pure and white, to look dirty by contrast. snow lay on the protruding legs of the men, and encircled the black spot where rested the ashes of last night's brilliant fire. ice grated on the pebbles of the shore; ice floated on the sea; icy hummocks and mounds rose above its surface; and icebergs raised their pinnacles on the far-off horizon, and cut sharply into the bright blue sky. it was cold, but it was not cheerless; for when eda put out her head at the curtain doorway of the tent, and opened her eyes upon the magic scene, the sun's edge rose above the horizon, as if to greet her, and sent a flood of light far and near through the spacious universe, converting the sea into glass, with islands of frosted silver on its bosom. it was a gorgeous scene, worthy of its great creator, who in his mysterious working scatters gems of beauty oftentimes in places where there is scarce a single human eye to behold their excellence. although the sea was covered with ice, there were, nevertheless, several lanes of open water not far from the shore; so that when stanley called a council, composed of frank morton, dick prince, and massan, it was agreed unanimously that they should attempt to proceed. and it was well that they did so; for they had not advanced many miles, winding their way cautiously among the canals of open water, when they doubled a promontory, beyond which there was little or no ice to be seen, merely a few scattered fragments and fields, that served to enhance the beauty of the scene by the airy lightness of their appearance in contrast with the bright blue of the sea and sky, but did not interrupt the progress of the travellers. the three canoes always maintained their relative positions during the journey as much as possible. that is to say, frank and the two indians went first in the small canoe, to lead the way, while the two large canoes kept abreast of each other when the open water was wide enough to permit of their doing so. this, besides being more sociable, enabled the two crews to join in the chorus of those beautiful songs with which they frequently enlivened the voyage. during all this day, and for many days following, they continued to enjoy fine weather and to make rapid progress. sometimes the ice was pretty thick, and once or twice they narrowly escaped being nipped by collapsing masses, which caused them to jump out, hastily throw the baggage on the ice, and haul the canoes out of the water. on these occasions the men proved themselves to be sterling fellows, nearly all of them being cool, prompt, and collected in the moment of danger. no doubt there were exceptions. la roche, when any sudden crisis of danger arose, usually threw himself blindly over the side of the canoe on to the ice with the lightness and agility of a harlequin. he recked not whether he came down on his head or his feet, and more than once nearly broke his neck in consequence of his precipitancy. but la roche was no coward, and the instant the first burst of excitement was over he rushed to render effective assistance. bryan, too, although not so mercurial as la roche, was apt to lose self-command for about five minutes when any sudden danger assailed him, so that he frequently sat still, staring wildly straight before him, while the others were actively unloading the canoes; and once, when the danger was more critical than usual, having sat till the canoe was empty, and paid no attention to a prompt, gruff order to jump ashore, he had been seized by the strong arms of gaspard and tossed out of the canoe like a puppy dog. on these occasions he invariably endeavoured to make up for his fault by displaying, on recovery, the most outrageous and daring amount of unnecessary recklessness,--uttering, at the same time, an amazing number of strange expressions, among which "tare an' ages!" "och! murder!" and several others less lucid in signification, predominated. chimo was always first ashore, and instantly wheeled round to greet eda, who was also _always_ second, thanks to the strong and prompt arm of francois, who sat just in front, and by tacit agreement took her under his special charge. as for mrs stanley, the arm that was rightfully her own, and had been her shield in many a scene of danger, proved ever ready and able to succour the "first volunteer" to ungava. at times the sea was quite free of ice, and many miles were soon added to the space which separated the little band of adventurers from the rest of the human world. their encampments varied according to the nature of the coast, being sometimes among pine-trees, or surrounded by dwarf willows; at other times on the bare sand of the sea-shore; and occasionally at the extremity of long-projecting capes and promontories, where they had to pitch their tent and make their beds in the clefts of the solid rock. but wherever they laid them down to rest--on the rock, or on the sand, or within the shade of the forest--it was always found, as mrs stanley remarked of the first night's encampment, that they were extremely comfortable and eminently snug. they were successful, too, in procuring an ample supply of fresh provisions. there were ducks and geese of various kinds, and innumerable quantities of plover, cormorants, gulls, and eider-ducks, the eggs of which they found in thousands. many of these birds were good for food, and the eggs of most of them, especially those of the eider-duck, were excellent. reindeer were also met with; and, among other trophies of his skill as a hunter, frank one day brought in a black bear, parts of which were eaten with great gusto by the esquimaux and indians, to the immense disgust of bryan, who expressed his belief that the "haythens was barely fit to live," and were most justly locked out from society in "thim dissolate polar raygeons." there were many seals, also, in the sea, which put up their ugly, grotesque heads ever and anon, gazed at the canoes with their huge, fishy eyes, as in surprise at the sight of such novel marine monsters, and then sank slowly beneath the wave. these animals were never molested, out of respect to the feelings of the two indians, who believed them to be gods, and assured stanley that the destruction of one would infallibly bring down ill-luck and disaster on the heads of the party. stanley smiled inwardly at this, but gave orders that no seals should be shot-- an order which all were very willing to obey, as they did not require the animals either for food or any other purpose. several white polar bears were seen, but they also were spared, as they require a great deal of shot to kill them, if not hit exactly behind the ear; and besides, neither their bodies nor skins were of any use to the travellers. thus all went favourably for a time. but life is a chequered story, and the sun of prosperity does not always shine, as we shall see. one fine morning, as they were paddling cheerfully along in the neighbourhood of cape jones, it struck mr stanley that he might prove the correctness of his sextant and other instruments before entering upon the country which to most of the party was _terra incognita_. this was the more necessary that he could not depend on the guidance of oostesimow and ma-istequan, they having travelled only once, long ago, through part of the country, while the latter part of it was totally unknown to them. it was one of those beautiful mornings that are peculiar to arctic regions, when the air is inexpressibly still, and all inanimate nature seems hushed in profound repose--a repose which is rather rendered more effective than otherwise by the plaintive cries of wild-fowl or the occasional puffing of a whale. there was a peculiar brilliancy, too, in the atmosphere, caused by the presence of so many fields and hummocks of white ice, looming fantastically through a thin, dry, gauze-like haze, which, while it did not dim the brightness of the solar rays, lent an additional charm to every object by shrouding it in a veil of mystery. on passing the point the men ceased rowing, and proceeded to solace themselves with a five-minutes' pipe--an indulgence which voyageurs always claim as their due after a long spell at the oars or paddles. "put ashore here, massan," said stanley, turning to the guide; "i shall take an observation, if possible, and you can set the men to hunt for eggs. we shall want them, as the larder is rather low just now." massan muttered assent, and, shouting to the other canoe to put ashore, ran alongside the rocks. "you'd better hail the little canoe," said stanley, as he landed. "i shall want mr morton to assist me." massan stepped upon an elevated rock, and, shading his eyes with his hands, looked earnestly ahead where he observed the little canoe almost beyond vision, and just going to double a point of land. transferring his hands to his mouth, he used them as a trumpet, and gave forth a shout the like of which had never startled the echoes of the place before. "it's no use, sir," said massan; "he's past hearin'. i'm afeerd that they're off in the direction o' the white bear hills, in hopes o' gittin' a shot." "try again, massan," urged stanley; "raise your pipe a little higher. perhaps it will reach them." massan shook his head. "try it, bryan," he said, turning to the irishman, who was sitting on a rock leisurely filling his short, black pipe. "is it to halloo ye want me?" replied bryan, rising. "shure the great gun of athlone itself could niver hold a candle to ye, massan, at yellin'; but i'll try, anyhow;" and putting his hands to his mouth he gave forth a roar compared to which massan's was nothing. there was a sort of crack in the tone of it, however, that was so irresistibly ridiculous that the whole party burst incontinently into a fit of laughter. loud though it was, it failed to reach the ears of those in the little canoe, which in a few seconds doubled the point and disappeared. "ah, bad luck to it!" said bryan, in disgust; "the pipe's damaged intirely. small pace to ye, bob mahone; for shure it was howlin' and screechin' at your wake like a born scrandighowl that broke it." "never mind, lad; what remains of it is not bad," said stanley, laughing, as he proceeded to open the box containing his scientific instruments. meanwhile his wife and edith wandered along the rocks picking up shells and pebbles; and the men dispersed, some to smoke and chat, others to search for eggs. bryan and la roche, who were both aspiring geniuses, and had formed a sort of rough attachment to each other, asked permission to take a walk to the point ahead, where they would wait for the canoes. having obtained it, they set off at a good round pace, that would have been "throublesome to kape up," as bryan remarked, "with payse in yer shoes!" "why you come for to jine de company?" inquired la roche, as they jogged along. "why? bekase i'd nothin' else to do, as the ould song says. ye see, losh," (bryan had invented a contraction for his friend's name, which he said was "convanient")--"ye see, losh, there may be more nor wan raison for a gintleman lavin' his native land in order to thravel in furrin parts. it's thrue i had nothin' in the univarse to do, for i could niver git work nohow, an' whin i got it i could niver kape it. i niver could onderstan' why, but so it was. nivertheless i managed to live well enough in the ould cabin wid the murphies--" "vat is murphies?" inquired la roche. "bliss yer innocent face, don't ye know it's praties?" "'tis vat?" "praties, boy, or pit-taties, if i must be partic'lar." "ah! goot, goot, i understan'--pettitoes. oui, oui, ye call him _pomme de terre_." "hum! well, as i was sayin', i got on pretty well wid the pumdeterres an' the pig, but the pig died wan day--choked hisself on a murphy--that is, a pumbleterre; an' more betoken, it was the last murphy in the house, a powerful big wan that my grandmother had put by for supper. after this ivery thin' wint to smithereens. the rot came, and i thought i should have to list for a sodger. well, bob mahone died o' dhrink and starvation, an' we had a beautiful wake; but there was a rig'lar shindy got up, an' two or three o' the county p'lice misbehaved themselves, so i jist floored them all, wan after the other, an' bolted. well, i wint straight to dublin, an' there i met wid an ould friend who was the skipper o' a ship bound for new york. says he, `bryan, will ye go?' says i, `av coorse; 'an 'shure enough i wint, an' got over the say to 'meriky.' but i could niver settle down, so, wan way or another, i came at last to montreal and jined the company; an' afther knockin' about in the columbia and mackenzie's river for some years, i was sint to moose, an' here i am, losh, yer sarvant to command." "goot, ver' goot, mais peculiaire," said la roche, whose intimacy with this son of erin had enabled him to comprehend enough of his jargon to grasp the general scope of his discourse. "av ye mane that lavin' the ould country was _goot_," said bryan, stooping to pick up a stone and skim it along the smooth surface of the sea, "p'raps ye're right; but there's wan thing i niver could make my mind aisy about," and the blacksmith's voice became deep and his face grave as he recalled these bygone days. "vat were dat?" inquired la roche. "why, ye see, losh, i was so hard druve by the p'lice that i was forced to lave wid-out sayin' good day to my ould mother, an' they tould me it almost broke her heart; but i've had wan or two screeds from the priest wid her cross at them since, and she's got over it, an' lookin' out for my returnin'--bliss her sowl!--an' i've sint her five pounds ivery year since i left: so ye see, losh, i've great hope o' seein' her yit, for although she's ould she's oncommon tough, an' having come o' a long-winded stock, i've great hopes o' her." poor bryan! it never entered into his reckless brain to think that, considering the life of almost constant peril he led in the land of his pilgrimage, there was more hope of the longevity of his old mother than of himself. like many of his countrymen, he was a man of strong, passionate, warm feelings, and remarkably unselfish. "is your contry resemblance to dat?" inquired la roche, pointing, as he spoke, towards the sea, which was covered with fields and mountains of ice as far out as the eye could discern. "be the nose o' my great-grandmother (an' that was be no manes a short wan), no!" replied bryan, with a laugh. "the say that surrounds ould ireland is niver covered with sich sugar-plums as these. but what have we here?" as he spoke they reached the point at which they were to await the coming up of the canoes, and the object which called forth bryan's remark was the little canoe, which lay empty on the beach just beyond the point. from the manner in which it lay it was evident that frank and his indians had placed it there; but there was no sign of their presence save one or two footprints on the sand. while la roche was examining these, his companion walked towards a point of rock that jutted out from the cliffs and intercepted the view beyond. on turning round this, he became suddenly rooted to the spot with horror. and little wonder, for just two yards before him stood an enormous polar bear, whose career was suddenly arrested by bryan's unexpected appearance. it is difficult to say whether the man or the beast expressed most surprise at the rencounter. they both stood stock still, and opened their eyes to the utmost width. but the poor irishman was evidently petrified by the apparition. he turned deadly pale, and his hands hung idly by his sides; while the bear, recovering from his surprise, rose on his hind legs and walked up to him--a sure sign that he was quite undaunted, and had made up his mind to give battle. as for la roche, the instant he cast his eyes on the ferocious-looking quadruped, he uttered a frightful yell, bounded towards a neighbouring tree, and ceased not to ascend until its topmost branches were bending beneath his weight. meanwhile the bear walked up to bryan, but not meeting with the anticipated grapple of an enemy, and feeling somewhat uneasy under the cataleptic stare of the poor man's eyes--for he still stood petrified with horror--it walked slowly round him, putting its cold nose on his cheek, as if to tempt him to move. but the five minutes of bewilderment that always preceded bryan's recovery from a sudden fright had not yet expired. he still remained perfectly motionless, so that the bear, disdaining, apparently, to attack an unresisting foe, dropped on his forelegs again. it is difficult to say whether there is any truth in the well-known opinion that the calm, steady gaze of a human eye can quell any animal. doubtless there are many stories, more or less authentic, corroborative of the fact; but whether this be true or not, we are ready to vouch for the truth of _this_ fact--namely, that under the influence of the blacksmith's gaze, or his silence it may be, the bear was absolutely discomfited. it retreated a step or two, and walked slowly away, looking over its shoulder now and then as it went, as if it half anticipated an onslaught in the rear. we have already said that bryan was no craven, and that when his faculties were collected he usually displayed a good deal of reckless valour on occasions of danger. accordingly, no sooner did he see his shaggy adversary in full retreat, than the truant blood returned to his face with a degree of violence that caused it to blaze with fiery red, and swelled the large veins of his neck and forehead almost to bursting. uttering a truly irish halloo, he bounded forward like a tiger, tore the cap off his head and flung it violently before him, drew the axe which always hung at his belt, and in another moment stood face to face with the white monster, which had instantly accepted the challenge, and rose on its hind legs to receive him. raising the axe with both hands, the man aimed a blow at the bear's head; but with a rapid movement of its paw it turned the weapon aside and dashed it into the air. another such blow, and the reckless blacksmith's career would have been brought to an abrupt conclusion, when the crack of a rifle was heard. its echo reverberated along the cliffs and floated over the calm water as the polar bear fell dead at bryan's feet. "hurrah!" shouted frank morton, as he sprang from the bushes, knife in hand, ready to finish the work which his rifle had so well begun. but it needed not. frank had hit the exact spot behind the ear which renders a second ball unnecessary--the bear was already quite dead. chapter nine. a storm brewing--it bursts, and produces consequences--the party take to the water per force--all saved. "ah, bryan! `a friend in need is a friend indeed,'" said frank, as he sat on a rock watching the blacksmith and his two indians while they performed the operation of skinning the bear, whose timely destruction has been related in the last chapter. "i must say i never saw a man stand his ground so well, with a brute like that stealing kisses from his cheek. were they sweet, bryan? did they remind you of the fair maid of derry, hey?" "ah! thrue for ye," replied the blacksmith, as he stepped to a rock for the purpose of whetting his knife; "yer honour was just in time to save me a power o' throuble. bad skran to the baste! it would have taken three or four rounds at laste to have finished him nately off, for there's no end o' fat on his ribs that would have kep' the knife from goin' far in." frank laughed at this free-and-easy way of looking at it. "so you think you would have killed him, do you, if i had not saved you the trouble?" "av coorse i do. shure a man is better than a baste any day; and besides, had i not a frind at my back ridy to help me?" bryan cast a comical leer at la roche as he said this, and the poor frenchman blushed, for he felt that his conduct in the affair had not been very praiseworthy. it is due to la roche to say, however, that no sooner had he found himself at the top of the tree, and had a moment to reflect, than he slid rapidly to the bottom again, and ran to the assistance of his friend, not, however, in time to render such assistance available, as he came up just at the moment the bear fell. in half an hour afterwards the two large canoes came up, and bryan and his little friend had to undergo a rapid fire of witticism from their surprised and highly-amused comrades. even moses was stirred up to say that "bryan, him do pratty well; he most good 'nuff to make an eskimo!" having embarked the skin of the bear, the canoes once more resumed their usual order and continued on their way. the carcass of the bear being useless for food, was left for the wolves; and the claws, which were nearly as large as a man's finger, were given by frank to the blacksmith, that he might make them into a necklace, as the indians do, and keep it in remembrance of his rencounter. but the weather was now beginning to change. dick prince, whose black eye was ever roving about observantly, told massan that a storm was brewing, and that the sooner he put ashore in a convenient spot the better. but stanley was anxious to get on, having a long journey before him, at the termination of which there would be little enough time to erect a sufficient protection against the winter of the north; so he continued to advance along shore until they came to a point beyond which there was a very deep bay that would take them many hours to coast. by making a traverse, however, in a direct line to the next point, they might cross it in a much shorter time. "how say you, prince? shall we cross?" asked stanley, as they rested on their paddles and cast furtive glances up at the dark clouds and across the still quiet bay. prince shook his head. "i fear we won't have time to cross. the clouds are driving too fast and growin' black." "well, then, we had better encamp," said stanley.--"is there a proper place, massan, hereabouts?" "no, sir," replied the guide. "the stones on the beach are the only pillows within six mile o' us." "ho! then, forward, boys, make a bold push for it," cried stanley; "if it does begin to blow before we're over, we can run back again at all events." in another moment the canoes swept out to sea, and made for the point far ahead like race-horses. although the clouds continued to gather, the wind did not rise, and it seemed as though they would get over easily, when a sudden gust came off the shore--a direction whence, from the appearance of the clouds, it had not been expected. ruffling the surface of the water for a few seconds, it passed away. "give way, boys, give way," cried massan, using his large steering paddle with a degree of energy that sent the canoe plunging forward. "we can't go back, an' if the storm bursts off the shore--" a loud peal of thunder drowned the remainder of the sentence, and in a few seconds the wind that had been dreaded came whistling violently off the shore and covered the sea with foam. the waves soon began to rise, and ere long the frail barks, which were ill calculated to weather a storm, were careering over them and shipping water at every plunge. it now became a matter of life and death with them that they should gain the point, for, deeply loaded as they were, it was impossible that they could float long in such a sea. it is true that a wind off the shore does not usually raise what sailors would consider much of a sea; but it must be remembered that, although it was off shore, the bay which they were crossing extended far inland, so that the gale had a wide sweep of water to act upon before it reached them. besides this, as has already been explained, canoes are not like boats. their timbers are weak, the bark of which they are made is thin, the gum which makes their seams tight is easily knocked off in cold water, and, in short, they cannot face a sea on which a boat might ride like a sea-gull. for a considerable time the men strained every nerve to gain the wished-for point of land, but with so little success that it became evident they would never reach it. the men began to show signs of flagging, and cast uneasy glances towards stanley, as if they had lost all hope of accomplishing their object, and waited for him to suggest what they should do. poor mrs stanley sat holding on to the gunwale with one hand and clasping edith round the waist with the other, as she gazed wistfully towards the cape ahead, which was now almost lost to view under the shadow of a dark cloud that rolled towards them like a black pall laden with destruction. "god help us!" murmured stanley, in an undertone, as he scanned the seaward horizon, which was covered with leaden clouds and streaks of lurid light, beneath which the foaming sea leaped furiously. "call upon me in the time of trouble, and i will deliver thee," said mrs stanley, who overheard the exclamation. stanley either heard her not or his mind was too deeply concentrated on the critical nature of their position to make any reply. as she buried her face in her hands, edith threw her trembling arms round her mother and hid her face in her bosom. even chimo seemed to understand their danger, for he crept closer to the side of his young mistress and whined in a low tone, as if in sympathy. the waves had now increased to such a degree that it required two of the men to bail incessantly in order to prevent their being swamped, and as stanley cast a hurried glance at the other canoes, which were not far off, he observed that it was as much as they could do to keep afloat. "could we not run back, massan?" asked stanley, in despair. "unposs'ble, sir," replied the guide, whose voice was almost drowned by the whistling of the wind. "we're more nor half-way over, an' it would only blow us farther out to sea if we was to try." while the guide spoke, stanley was gazing earnestly in the direction of the horizon. "round with you, massan," he exclaimed suddenly; "put the canoe about and paddle straight out to sea.--hallo!" he shouted to the other canoes, "follow us out to sea--straight out." the men looked aghast at this extraordinary order. "look alive, lads," continued their leader; "i see an island away there to leeward. perhaps it's only a rock, but any way it's our only chance." the canoes' heads were turned round, and in another moment they were driving swiftly before the wind in the direction of the open sea. "right, right," murmured dick prince, as they made towards this new source of hope; "mayhap it's only a bit o' ice, but even that's better than nothin'." "if 'tis only ice," cried la roche, "ye have ver' pauvre chance at all." "shure, an' if we are to go ashore at all, at all," said bryan, whose spirits had suddenly risen with this gleam of hope from fifty degrees below to fifty above zero--"if we are to go ashore at all, at all, it's better to land on the ice than on the wather." with such a breeze urging them on, the three canoes soon approached what appeared to be a low sand-bank, on which the sea was dashing in white foam. but from the tossing of the waves between them and the beach, it was difficult to form a conjecture as to its size. indeed, at times they could scarcely see it at all, owing to the darkness of the day and the heavy rain which began to fall just as they approached; and more than once stanley's heart sank when he lost sight of the bank, and he began to think that he had made a mistake, and that they were actually flying out to the deep sea, in which case all hope would be gone for ever. but god's mercy was extended to them in this hour of peril. the island appeared to grow larger as they neared it, and at last they were within a stone's-throw of the shore. but a new danger assailed them here. the largest canoe, which neared the island first, had begun to leak, and took in water so fast that the utmost efforts of those who bailed could not keep it under, and from the quantity that was now shipped they made very little way. to add to the horror of the scene, the sky became very dark, and another crash of thunder pealed forth accompanied by a blinding flash of lightning. "paddle, boys, paddle for your lives!" cried stanley, throwing off his coat, and seizing a tin dish, with which he began to throw out the water. the canoe rose on a huge wave which broke all round it. this nearly filled it with water, and carried it towards the shore with such velocity that it seemed as if they should be dashed in pieces; but they fell back into the trough of the sea, and lay motionless like a heavy log, and in a sinking condition. "now, lads, look out for the next wave, and give way with a will," cried massan. the worthy steersman acted rather too energetically on his own advice, for he dipped his paddle with such force that it snapped in two. "be ready to jump out," cried dick prince, standing up in the bow in order to give more power to his strokes. as he spoke, stanley turned to his wife, and said, "jessie, hold on by my collar; i'll take eda in my arms." at that instant the canoe gave a lurch, and before stanley could grasp his child, they were all struggling in the sea! at this awful moment, instead of endeavouring to do as her husband directed, mrs stanley instinctively threw her arms around edith, and while the waves were boiling over her, she clasped the child tightly to her bosom with her left arm, while with her right she endeavoured to raise herself to the surface. twice she succeeded, and twice she sank, when a box of merchandise providentially struck her arm. seizing this, she raised herself above the water, and poor edith gasped convulsively once or twice for air. then the box was wrenched from her grasp by a wave, and with a wild shriek she sank again. just then a strong arm was thrown around her, her feet touched the ground, and in a few seconds she was dragged violently from the roaring waves and fell exhausted on the beach. "thanks be to god, we are saved!" murmured mrs stanley, as her husband assisted her to rise and led her beyond the reach of the waves, while edith still clung with a deadly grasp to her mother's neck. "ay, jessie, thank god indeed! but for his mercy we should have all been lost. i was floundering about beside the canoe when your scream showed me where you were, and enabled me to save you. but rest here, in the lee of this bale.--i cannot stay by you. frank is in danger still." without waiting for a reply, he sprang from her side and hurried down to the beach. here everything was in the utmost confusion. the two large canoes had been saved and dragged out of the reach of the waves, and the men were struggling in the boiling surf to rescue the baggage and provisions, on which latter their very lives depended. as stanley reached the scene of action, he observed several of the men watching the small canoe which contained frank and his two indians. it had been left some distance behind by the others, and was now approaching with arrow speed on the summit of a large wave. suddenly the top of the billow curled over, and in another moment the canoe was turned bottom up! like a cork it danced on the wave's white crest, then falling beneath the thundering mass of water, it was crushed to pieces and cast empty upon the beach. but frank and his men swam like otters, and the party on shore watched them with anxious looks as they breasted manfully over the billows. at last a towering wave came rolling majestically forward. it caught the three swimmers in its rough embrace, and carrying them along on its crest, launched them on the beach, where it left them struggling with the retreating water. those who have bathed in rough weather on an exposed coast know well how difficult it is to regain a firm footing on loose sand while a heavy wave is sweeping backward into its parent ocean. frank and the two indians experienced this; and they might have struggled there till their strength had been exhausted, were it not for stanley, prince, and massan, who rushed simultaneously into the water and rescued them. as the whole party had now, by the goodness of god, reached the land in safety, they turned their undivided energies towards the bales and boxes which were rolling about in the surf. many of these had been already collected, and were carried to the spot where mrs stanley and edith lay under the shelter of a bale. as the things were successively brought up they were piled around the mother and child, who soon found themselves pretty well sheltered from the wind, though not from the rain, which still fell in torrents. soon after frank came to them, and said that all the things were saved, and that it was time to think of getting up some sort of shelter for the night. this was very much needed, for poor edith was beginning to shiver from the wet and cold. "now then, francois, massan," shouted frank, "lend a hand here to build a house for eda. we'll be all as snug as need be in a few minutes." despite the cold and her recent terror, the poor child could not help smiling at the idea of building a house in a few minutes, and it was with no little curiosity that she watched the operations of the men. meanwhile mr stanley brought some wine in a pannikin, and made edith and his wife drink a little. this revived them greatly, and as the rain had now almost ceased they rose and endeavoured to wring the water out of their garments. in less than half an hour the men piled the bales and boxes in front of the largest canoe, which was turned bottom up, and secured firmly in that position by an embankment of sand. over the top of all, three oil-cloths were spread and lashed down, thus forming a complete shelter, large enough to contain the whole party. at one end of this curious house mr stanley made a separate apartment for his wife and child, by placing two large bales and a box as a partition; and within this little space edith soon became very busy in arranging things, and "putting the house to rights," as she said, as long as the daylight lasted, for after it went away they had neither candles nor fire, as the former had been soaked and broken, and as for the latter no wood could be found on the island. the men's clothes were, of course, quite wet, so they cut open a bale of blankets, which had not been so much soaked as the other goods, having been among the first things that were washed ashore. at the time they were wrecked the dashing spray and the heavy rain, together with the darkness of the day, had prevented the shipwrecked voyageurs from ascertaining the nature of the island on which they had been cast; and as the night closed in while they were yet engaged in the erection of their temporary shelter, they had to lie down to rest in ignorance on this point. after such a day of unusual fatigue and excitement, they all felt more inclined for rest than food; so, instead of taking supper, they all lay down huddled together under the canoe, and slept soundly, while the angry winds whistled round them, and the great sea roared and lashed itself into foam on the beach, as if disappointed that the little band of adventurers had escaped and were now beyond the reach of its impotent fury. chapter ten. the sand-bank--dismal prospects--consultations--internal arrangements exposed and detailed. of all the changes that constantly vary the face of nature, the calm that succeeds a storm is one of the most beautiful, and the most agreeable, perhaps, to the feelings of man. few conditions of nature convey to the mind more thoroughly the idea of complete repose--of deep rest after mortal strife, of sleep after exhausting toil; and those who have passed through the violence of the storm and done battle with its dangers are, by the physical rest which they enjoy after it is over, the more fitted to appreciate and sympathise with the repose which reigns around them. when the sun rose, on the morning after the storm, it shone upon a scene so calm and beautiful, so utterly unconnected with anything like the sin of a fallen world, and so typical, in its deep tranquillity, of the mind of him who created it, that it seemed almost possible for a moment to fancy that the promised land was gained at last, and that all the dark clouds, the storms and dangers, the weary journeyings and the troubles of the wilderness, were past and gone for ever. so glorious was the scene that when edith, rising from her rude couch and stepping over the prostrate forms of her still slumbering companions, issued from the shelter of the canoe and cast her eyes abroad upon the glassy sea, she could not restrain her feelings, and uttered a thrilling shout of joy that floated over the waters and reverberated among the glittering crags of the surrounding icebergs. the island on which the travellers had been cast was a mere knoll of sand, not more than a few hundred yards in circumference, that scarcely raised its rounded summit above the level of the water, and at full tide was reduced to a mere speck, utterly destitute of vegetation. the sea around it was now smooth and clear as glass, though undulated by a long, regular swell, which rolled, at slow, solemn intervals, in majestic waves towards the sand-bank, where they hovered for a moment in curved walls of dark-green water, then, lipping over, at their crests, fell in a roar of foam that hissed a deep sigh on the pebbles of the beach, and left the silence greater than before. masses of ice floated here and there on the surface of the deep, the edges and fantastic points of which were tipped with light. not far from the northern extremity of the sand-bank a large iceberg had grounded, from the sides of which several pinnacles had been hurled by the shock and now lay stranded on the beach. the shout with which edith had welcomed the morning roused the whole party, and in a few minutes they were all assembled outside of their little hut, some admiring the scene, others--of a less enthusiastic and more practical turn--examining the circumstances of their position, and considering the best course that should be pursued in their difficulty. mr stanley, dick prince, and massan, as was their wont, held a council upon the existing state of things, and after much gazing round at the sea and up at the sky, and considerable grunting of his deep voice and rubbing of his capacious chin, on the part of the latter, he turned to dick prince, as if appealing to his superior sagacity, and said-- "well, ye see, my 'pinion's jist this: yonder's the mainland there" (pointing to the eastward, where, about ten miles distant, the rocks and trees were seen distorted and faintly looming through a tremulous haze), "an' there's our canoes _there_" (jerking his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the large canoes, whose torn sides and damaged ribs, as they lay exposed on the sand, bore sad testimony to the violence of the previous night's storm), "and there's the little canoe yonder," (glancing towards the craft in question, which lay on the beach a hopelessly-destroyed mass of splinters and shreds of bark that projected and bristled in all directions, as in uncontrollable amazement at the suddenness and entirety of its own destruction). "now, that bein' the case, an' the baggage all wet, an' the day parfitly beautiful, an' the sun about hot enough to bile the sea, we can't do better nor stay where we are, an' mend the canoes, dry the goods, an' start fair to-morrow mornin'." stanley looked at prince, as if expecting a remark from him; but the grave countenance of the silent bowman indicated that he was absorbed in contemplation. "'tis quite evident, massan," said stanley, "that we must repair the canoes; but a few hours could do that, and i don't like the idea of staying another night on a strip of sand like this, which, i verily believe, another stiff nor'-wester would blow away altogether.--but what say you, prince? do you advise our remaining?" "yes," replied dick, "i do. ye see there's no fear of another storm soon. 'tis a good chance for dryin' the goods, so i vote for stoppin'." "well, then, we shall stay," replied stanley. "to say truth, i agreed with you at first, massan, but it's always advisable to look at both sides of a question--" "yes, and `in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom,'" said frank morton, coming up at the moment, and tapping his friend on the shoulder. "if you will include me in your confabulation, you shall have the benefit of deep experience and far-sighted sagacity." "come, then, master frank," replied stanley, "what does your sagacity advise on the point of our staying on this sandbank? shall we spend another night on it in order to dry the goods, or shall we up and away to _terra firma_ as soon as the canoes are seaworthy?" "stay, of course," said frank. "as to the sand-bank, 'tis firm enough, to my mind, after resisting the shock of the wave that dashed me ashore last night. then we have everything we need--shelter and food, and even fuel." as frank mentioned the last word, he glanced round with a rueful countenance and pointed to the bark and timbers of his broken canoe. "true, frank, we have wherewith to boil the kettle, and as the water-cask was full when we started yesterday morning, there will be enough at least for one or two days." "by the way, that reminds me that eda and your wife are particularly desirous of having breakfast," said frank. "in fact they sent me specially to lay their melancholy case before you; and i have great fears that eda will lay violent hands on the raw pork if her morning meal is delayed much longer. as for chimo, he is rushing about the island in a state of ravenous despair; so pray let us be going." "be it so, frank," said stanley, taking his friend's arm, and sauntering towards the canoe, while massan and prince went to inform their comrades of the determination of their leader. in an hour after the above discourse breakfast was over, and the men, under stanley's inspection, arranged and examined the baggage, which, considering that it had been rolled about by the surf for a considerable time, was not so much soaked as might have been expected. the two kegs of gunpowder were first inspected, being the most valuable part of the cargo, as on them depended much of their future livelihood. they were found to be quite dry, except a small portion of powder at the seams of the staves, which, having caked with the moisture, had saved the rest from damage. some of the bales, however, containing knives and other hardware, were very wet, and had to be opened out and their contents wiped and spread out to dry. blankets, too, and other woollen garments that had suffered, were also spread out on the sand, so that in a short time the little island was quite covered with a strange assortment of miscellaneous articles, that gave to it the appearance of a crowded store. the entire wealth of the fur-traders was now exposed to view, and it may perhaps be interesting to enumerate the different articles, in order to give some idea of the outfit deemed necessary on such an expedition. and, first, there were two kegs of gunpowder, as before mentioned, containing each thirty pounds, with four bags of ball and three of shot of various sizes--in all, about pounds of lead. six nets of four and a half inch mesh. a large quantity of twine for making nets--most of the men being able to construct these useful articles. a small bag of gun-flints. sixty pounds of roll tobacco. twelve large axes. six augers. seven dozen scalping-knives. six pounds of variously-coloured beads. two dozen fire-steels, and a pretty large assortment of awls, needles, thread, nails, and such like small articles, which, though extremely useful, were too numerous and comparatively insignificant to mention in detail. besides these, there was a small bale containing gaudy ornaments and attractive articles, which were intended as propitiatory presents to the esquimaux when they should be met with. then there were two runlets of salt pork, containing about ninety pounds each, and in the centre of each runlet were two hams. a barrel of flour and a barrel of oatmeal constituted all their provision, if we except a small cask of hard biscuit, and a little tea and sugar, which were the private property of stanley and frank morton. there was also a large deerskin tent, capable of holding from twenty to thirty men, which was intended to be used while they were engaged in building their winter residence at ungava. as to arms, each man had one of the long single-barrelled fowling-pieces that are supplied by the fur company to the natives, and are styled indian guns. stanley had a double-barrelled flint fowling-piece; and frank had a rifle, besides a single gun of a description somewhat finer than that supplied to the indians. of course each man carried a scalping-knife and an axe in his belt, not for the purpose of self-defence, but for carving their food and cutting their fuel. it may be well to remark here that the goods and provisions which we have detailed above were merely intended as a supply for their immediate necessities, and to enable them to commence active operations at once on arriving at their destination, while the heavy stores and goods necessary for the year's trade were to be forwarded in a small sloop from the depot direct through hudson's straits to ungava bay. when the work of unpacking and exposing the things to dry in the sun was accomplished, it was long past noon, and high time for dinner; so a fire was lighted by bryan, who cut up another portion of frank's canoe for the purpose. a rasher of pork and a flour cake were disposed of by each of the party in a surprisingly short time, and then the men bestirred themselves in mending the canoes. this was a more troublesome job than they expected, but being accustomed not only to mend but to make canoes, they worked with a degree of skill and diligence that speedily put all to rights. in massan's canoe there was a hole large enough, as bryan remarked, to stick his head through, though it was a "big wan, an' no mistake." taking up a roll of bark, which was carried with them for the purpose, massan cut from it a square patch, which he _sewed_ over the hole, using an awl for a needle and the fibrous roots of the pine tree, called wattape, for thread. after it was firmly sewed on, the seams were covered with melted gum, and the broken spot was as tight and strong as ever. there were next found several long slits, one of them fully three feet, which were more easily managed, as they merely required to be sewed and covered with gum. several broken ribs, however, were not so easily repaired. had there been any wood on the island, massan's quick knife would have soon fashioned new ribs; as it was, he had to make the best job he could, by splicing the old ones with several pieces abstracted from frank's little canoe. it was sunset before all was put in complete order, the goods repacked, and placed in readiness for a start at daybreak on the following morning. after all was done, the remains of the small canoe were converted into a bonfire, round which the tired and hungry travellers assembled to smoke and chat, while supper was being prepared by the indefatigable bryan and his friend la roche. as the day faded away the stars came out, one by one, until they glittered in millions in the sky, while the glare of the fire became every moment more and more intense as the darkness deepened. it was a strange, wild scene,--especially when viewed from the extremity of the little sand-bank, which was so low as to be almost indiscernible in the dark night, and seemed scarce a sufficient foundation for the little busy group of human beings who stood radiant in the red light of their camp-fire, like a blazing gem cast upon the surface of the great, cold sea. chapter eleven. start afresh--superstitious notions--the whirlpool--the interior-- fishing in the old way on new ground, and what came of it--a cold bath-- the rescue--saved--deeper and deeper into the wilderness. as if to make amends for its late outrageous conduct, the weather, after the night of the great storm, continued unbrokenly serene for many days, enabling our travellers to make rapid progress towards their destination: it would be both tiresome and unnecessary to follow them step by step throughout their journey, as the part of it which we have already described was, in many respects, typical of the whole voyage along the east coast of hudson's bay. sometimes, indeed, a few incidents of an unusual character did occur. once they were very nearly being crushed between masses of ice; twice the larger canoe struck on a hummock, and had to be landed and repaired; and frequently mishaps of a slighter nature befell them. their beds, too, varied occasionally. at one time they laid them down to rest on the sand of the sea-shore; at another, on the soft turf and springy moss of the woods. sometimes they were compelled to content themselves with a couch of pebbles, few of which were smaller than a man's fist; and, not unfrequently, they had to make the best they could of a flat rock, whose unyielding surface seemed to put the idea of anything like rest to flight, causing the thin men of the party to growl and the fat ones to chuckle. bryan was one of the well-favoured, being round and fleshy; while his poor little friend la roche possessed a framework of bones that were so sparingly covered with softer substance, as to render it a matter of wonder how he and the stones could compromise the matter at all, and called forth from his friend frequent impertinent allusions to "thridpapers, bags o' bones, idges o' knives, half fathoms o' pump water," and such like curious substances. but whatever the bed, it invariably turned out that the whole party slept soundly from the time they lay down till the time of rising, which was usually at the break of day. owing to the little indian canoe having been wrecked on the sand-bank, frank and his men had to embark in the smaller of the large canoes; a change which was in some respects a disadvantage to the party, as frank could not now so readily dash away in pursuit of game. however, this did not much matter, as, in a few days afterwards, they arrived at the mouth of the river by which they intended to penetrate into the interior of the country. the name of the river is deer river, and it flows into richmond gulf, which is situated on the east shore of hudson's bay, in latitude degrees north. richmond gulf is twenty miles long, and about the same in breadth; but the entrance to it is so narrow that the tide pours into it like a torrent until it is full. the pent-up waters then rush out on one side of this narrow inlet while they are running in at the other, causing a whirlpool which would engulf a large boat and greatly endanger even a small vessel. of course it was out of the question to attempt the passage of such a vortex in canoes, except at half flood or half ebb tide, at which periods the waters became quiet. on arriving at the mouth of the gulf, the travellers found the tide out and the entrance to it curling and rolling in massive volumes, as if all the evil water-spirits of the north were holding their orgies there. oostesimow and ma-istequan, being by nature and education intensely superstitious, told stanley--after they had landed to await the flow of the tide--that it was absolutely necessary to perform certain ceremonies in order to propitiate the deities of the place, otherwise they could not expect to pass such an awful whirlpool in safety. their leader smiled, and told them to do as they thought fit, adding, however, that he would not join them, as he did not believe in any deities whatever, except the one true god, who did not require to be propitiated in any way, and could not be moved by any other means than by prayer in the name of jesus christ. the red men seemed surprised a little at this, but, with their proverbial stoicism, refrained from any further or more decided expression of feeling. nevertheless, the indians sufficiently showed their faith in their own doctrines by immediately setting about a series of curious and elaborate ceremonies, which it was impossible to comprehend, and decidedly unprofitable to describe. they appeared, however, to attach much importance to their propitiatory offerings, the chief among which seemed to be a few inches of tobacco, with which it was fondly hoped the deities of the gulf would condescend to smoke the pipe of peace while their red children ventured to trespass a little on their domain; and hard indeed must have been the hearts of the said spirits had they refused so valuable an offering, for tobacco is the life and marrow, the quintessence of terrestrial felicity, the very joy and comfort of a voyageur, and the poor indians had but little of it to spare. while this was going on, bryan stood with his back to the fire, a remarkably short and peculiarly black pipe in his mouth, and his head inclined sagaciously to one side, as if he designed, by dint of a combination of intense mental abstraction, partial closing of his eyes, severe knitting of his brows, and slow but exceedingly voluminous emission of smoke, to come to a conclusion in regard to the unfathomable subject of indian superstition. la roche, steeped in unphilosophic indifference on such matters, and keenly alive to the gross cravings of hunger, busied himself in concocting a kettle of soup; while the rest of the party rambled about the beach or among the bushes in search of eggs. in this latter search frank and edith were very successful, and returned with pockets laden with excellent eggs of the eider-duck, which were immediately put into the kettle, and tended not a little to increase the excellence of the soup and the impatience of the men. meanwhile the tide rose, the power of the current was gradually checked, and towards noon they passed the dangerous narrows in safety. from the view that was now obtained of the interior, it became evident that the worst of their journey yet lay before them. on arriving at the mouth of deer river, the mountains were seen to rise abruptly and precipitously, while far away inland their faint blue peaks rose into the sky. indeed from this point the really hard work of the voyage may be said to have commenced; for scarcely had they proceeded a few miles up the river, when their further progress, at least by water, was effectually interrupted by a rapid which came leaping madly down its rocky bed, as if the streams rejoiced to escape from the chasms and mountain gorges, and find rest at last on the ample bosom of the great deep. "what think ye of that, boy?" said stanley to frank morton, as they leaped from their respective canoes, and stood gazing at the rugged glen from which the rapid issued, and the wild appearance of the hills beyond. "it seems to me that report spoke truly when it said that the way to clearwater lake was rugged. here is no despicable portage to begin with; and yonder cliffs, that look so soft and blue in the far distance, will prove to be dark and hard enough when we get at them, i warrant." "when we get at them!" echoed mrs stanley, as she approached, leading edith by the hand. "get at them, george! had any one asked me if it were possible to pass over these mountains with our canoes and cargoes, i should have answered, `decidedly not!'" "and yet you were so foolish and reckless as to be the first to volunteer for this decidedly impossible expedition!" replied stanley. "there you are inconsistent," said mrs stanley, smiling. "if reckless, i cannot be foolish, according to your own showing; for i have heard you give it as your opinion that recklessness is one of the most essential elements in the leaders of a forlorn hope. but really the thing does seem to my ignorant mind impossible.--what think you, eda?" mrs stanley bent down and looked into the face of her child, but she received no reply. the expanded eyes, indeed, spoke volumes; and the parted lips, on which played a fitful, exulting smile, the heightened colour, and thick-coming breath, told eloquently of her anticipated delight in these new regions, which seemed so utterly different from the shores of the bay: but her tongue was mute. and well might mrs stanley think the passage over these mountains impossible; for, except to men accustomed to canoe travelling in the american lakes and rivers, such an attempt would have appeared as hopeless as the passage of a ship through the ice-locked polar seas in winter. not so thought the men. already several of the most active of them were scrambling up the cliffs with heavy loads on their backs; and, while stanley and his wife were yet conversing, two of them approached rapidly, bearing the large canoe on their shoulders. the exclamation that issued from the foremost of these proved him to be bryan. "now, bad luck to ye, gaspard! can't ye go stidy? it's mysilf that'll be down on me blissid nose av ye go staggerin' about in that fashion. sure it's losh, the spalpeen, that would carry the canoe better than you." gaspard made no reply. bryan staggered on, growling as he went, and in another minute they were hid from view among the bushes. "what do you see, frank?" inquired stanley; "you stare as earnestly as bryan did at the white bear last week. what is't, man? speak!" "a fish," replied frank. "i saw him rise in the pool, and i'm certain he's a very large one." "very likely, frank; there ought to be a fish of some sort there. i've been told--hist! there he's again. as i live, a salmon! a salmon, frank! now for your rod, my boy." but frank heard him not, for he was gone. in a few minutes he returned with a fishing-rod, which he was busily engaged in putting up as he hurried towards the rocks beside the pool. now, frank morton was a fisher. we do not mean to say that he was a fisher by profession; nor do we merely affirm that he was rather fond of the gentle art of angling, or generally inclined to take a cast when he happened to be near a good stream. by no means. frank was more than that implies. he was a steady, thorough-going disciple of izaak walton; one who, in the days of his boyhood, used to flee to the water-side at all seasons, in all weathers, and despite all obstacles. not only was it his wont to fish when he could, or how he could, but too often was he beguiled to fish at times and in ways that were decidedly improper; sometimes devoting those hours which were set apart expressly for the acquirement of greek and latin, to wandering by mountain stream or tarn, rod in hand, up to the knees in water, among the braes and woodlands of his own native country. and frank's enthusiasm did not depend entirely on his success. it was a standing joke among his school-fellows that frank would walk six miles any day for the chance of a nibble from the ghost of a minnow. indeed he was often taunted by his ruder comrades with being such a keen fisher that he was quite content if he only hooked a drowned cat during a day's excursion. but frank was good-natured; he smiled at their jests, and held on the even tenor of his way, whipping the streams more pertinaciously than his master whipped _him_ for playing truant; content alike to bear ignominy and chastisement, so long as he was rewarded by a nibble, and overjoyed beyond expression when he could return home with the tail of a two-pounder hanging over the edge of his basket. far be it from us to hold up to ridicule the weakness of a friend, but we cannot help adding that master frank made the most of his tails. his truthful and manly nature, indeed, would not stoop to actual deception, but he had been known on more than one occasion to offer to carry a friend's waterproof fishing-boots in his basket, when his doing so rendered it impossible to prevent the tails of his trout from protruding arrogantly, as if to insinuate that there were shoals within. another of frank's weaknesses was, upon the hooking of every fish, to assert, with overweening confidence and considerable excitement, that it was a tremendously big one. experience had, during all his piscatorial career, contradicted him ninety-nine times out of every hundred; but frank's firm belief in his last minnow being a big trout--at least until it lay gasping on the bank at his feet--was as unshaken after long years of mistaken calculation as when first he sallied forth to the babbling brook with a willow branch, a fathom of twine, and a crooked pin! such untiring devotion, of course, could not fail to make frank particularly knowing in all the details and minutiae of his much-loved sport. he knew every hole and corner of the rivers and burns within fifteen miles of his father's house. he became mysteriously wise in regard to the weather; knew precisely the best fly for any given day, and, in the event of being unhappily destitute of the proper kind, could dress one to perfection in ten minutes. as he grew older and taller, and the muscles on his large and well-made limbs began to develop, frank slung a more capacious basket on his back, shouldered a heavier rod, and, with a pair of thick shoes and a home-spun shooting suit, stretched away over the highland hills towards the romantic shores of the west coast of scotland. here he first experienced the wild excitement of salmon-fishing; and here the waltonian chains, that had been twining and thickening around him from infancy, received two or three additional coils, and were finally riveted for ever. during his sojourn in america, he had happened to dwell in places where the fishing, though good, was not of a very exciting nature; and he had not seen a salmon since the day he left home, so that it is not matter for wonder that his stride was rapid and his eye bright while he hurried towards the pool, as before mentioned. he who has never left the beaten tracks of men, or trod the unknown wilderness, can have but a faint conception of the feelings of a true angler as he stands by the brink of a dark pool which has hitherto reflected only the antlers of the wild deer--whose dimpling eddies and flecks of foam have been disturbed by no fisher since the world began, except the polar bear. besides the pleasurable emotions of strong hope, there is the additional charm of uncertainty as to what will rise, and of certainty that if there be anything piscatine beneath these fascinating ripples it undoubtedly _will_ rise--and bite too! then there is the peculiar satisfaction of catching now and then a drop of spray from, and hearing the thunder of, a cataract, whose free, surging bound is not yet shackled by the tourist's sentimental description; and the novelty of beholding one's image reflected in a liquid mirror whose geographical position is not yet stereotyped on the charts of man. alas for these maps and charts! despite the wishes of scientific geographers and the ignorance of unscientific explorers, we think them far too complete already; and we can conceive few things more dreadful or crushing to the enterprising and romantic spirits of the world than the arrival of that time (if it ever shall arrive) when it shall be said that _terra incognita_ exists no longer--when every one of those fairy-like isles of the southern seas, and all the hidden wonders of the polar regions, shall be put down, in cold blood, on black and white, exposed profanely on the schoolroom walls, and drummed into the thick heads of wretched little boys who don't want to learn, by the unsympathising hands of dominies who, it may be, care but little whether they do or not! but to return. while frank stood on the rocks, attaching to the line a salmon-fly which he had selected with much consideration from his book, he raised his eyes once or twice to take a rapid glance at his position and the capabilities of the place. about fifty yards further up the river the stream curled round the base of a large rock, and gushed into a pool which was encircled on all sides by an overhanging wall, except where the waters issued forth in a burst of foam. their force, however, was materially broken by another curve, round which they had to sweep ere they reached this exit, so that when they rushed into the larger pool below they calmed down at once, and on reaching the point where frank stood, assumed that oily, gurgling surface, dimpled all over with laughing eddies, that suggests irresistibly the idea of fish not only being there, as a matter of course, but being there expressly and solely for the purpose of being caught! a little further down, the river took a slight bend, and immediately after, recurring to its straight course, it dashed down, for a distance of fifty yards, in a tumultuous rapid, which swept into sudden placidity a few hundred yards below. having taken all this in at a glance, frank dropped the fly into the water and raised his rod to make a cast. in this act he almost broke the rod, to his amazement; for, instead of whipping the fly lightly out of the water, he dragged a trout of a pound weight violently up on the bank. "bravo!" cried stanley, laughing heartily at his friend's stare of mingled wonder and amazement,--"bravo, frank! i'm no fisher myself, but i've always understood that fish required a little play before being landed. however, you have convinced me of my ignorance. i see that the proper way is to toss them over your head! a salmon must be rather troublesome to toss, but no doubt, with your strong arms, you'll manage it easily, hey?" "why, what an appetite they must have!" replied frank, answering his friend's badinage with a smile. "if the little fellows begin thus, what will not the big ones do?" as he spoke, he disengaged the fish and threw it down, and made the next cast so rapidly, that if another trout was waiting to play him a similar trick, it must have been grievously disappointed. the line swept lightly through the air, and the fly fell gently on the stream, where it had not quivered more than two seconds when the water gurgled around it. the next moment frank's rod bent like a hoop, and the line flew through the rings with whirring rapidity, filling these lonely solitudes for the first time with the pleasant "music of the reel." almost before frank had time to take a step in a downward direction, fifty yards were run out, the waters were suddenly cleft, and a salmon sprang like a bar of burnished silver twice its own height into the air. with a sounding splash it returned to its native element; but scarcely had its fins touched the water, when it darted towards the bank. being brought up suddenly here, it turned at a tangent, and flashed across the pool again, causing the reel to spin with renewed velocity. here the fish paused for a second, as if to collect its thoughts, and then coming, apparently, to a summary determination as to what it meant to do, it began steadily to ascend the stream, not, indeed, so rapidly as it had descended, but sufficiently so to give frank some trouble, by means of rapidly winding up, to keep the line tight. having bored doggedly towards the head of the rapid, the fish stopped and began to shake its head passionately, as if indignant at being foiled in its energetic attempts to escape. after a little time, it lay sulkily down at the bottom of the pool, where it defied its persecutor to move it an inch. "what's to be done now?" asked stanley, who stood ready to gaff the fish when brought near to the bank. "we must rouse him up," said frank, as he slowly wound up the line. "just take up a stone and throw it at him." stanley looked surprised, for he imagined that such a proceeding would frighten the fish and cause it to snap the line; but seeing that frank was in earnest, he did as he was directed. no sooner had the stone sunk than the startled fish once more dashed across the river; then taking a downward course, it sped like an arrow to the brink of the rough water below. to have allowed the salmon to go down the rapid would have been to lose it, so frank arrested the spinning of his reel and held on. for a second or two the rod bent almost in a circle, and the line became fearfully rigid. "you'll break it, frank," cried stanley, in some anxiety. "it can't be helped," said frank, compressing his lips; "he must not go down there. the tackle is new; i think it will hold him." fortunately the tackle proved to be very good. the fish was arrested, and after one or two short runs, which showed that its vigour was abated, it was drawn carefully towards the rocks. as it drew near it rolled over on its side once or twice--an evident sign of being much exhausted. "now, stanley, be careful," said frank, as his friend stepped cautiously towards the fish and extended the gaff. "i've seen many a fine salmon escape owing to careless gaffing. don't be in a hurry. be sure of your distance before you strike, and do it quickly. now, then--there--give it him! hurrah!" he shouted, as stanley passed the iron hook neatly into the side of the fish, and lifted it high and dry on the rocks. the cheer to which frank gave vent, on this successful termination to the struggle, was re-echoed heartily by several of the men, who, on passing the spot with their loads, had paused and become deeply interested spectators of the sport. "powerful big fish, sir," said bryan, throwing down his pack and taking up the salmon by the gills. "twinty pounds at laste, av it's an ounce." "scarcely that, bryan," said stanley; "but it's not much less, i believe." "ah! oui, 'tis ver' pritty. ver' superb for supper," remarked la roche. the little frenchman was right in saying that it was pretty. unlike the ordinary salmon, it was marked with spots like a trout, its head was small and its shoulders plump, while its silvery purity was exceedingly dazzling and beautiful. "'tis a hearne-salmon," said massan, approaching the group. "i've seed lots o' them on the coast to the south'ard o' this, an' i've no doubt we'll find plenty o' them at ungava." while the men were discussing the merits of the fish, frank had hooked another, which, although quite as large, gave him much less trouble to land; and before the men had finished carrying the canoes and goods over the portage, he had taken three fish out of the same pool. wishing, however, to try for a larger one nearer the sea, he proceeded to take a cast below the rapid. meanwhile, la roche, whose activity had enabled him to carry over his portion of the cargo long before his comrades, came to the pool which frank had just left, and seating himself on a large stone, drew forth his tobacco-pouch. with a comical leer at the water which had so recently been deprived of its denizens, he proceeded leisurely to fill a pipe. it is impossible to foresee, and difficult to account for, the actions of an impulsive human being. la roche sat down to smoke his pipe, but instead of smoking it, he started to his feet and whirled it into the river. this apparently insane action was followed by several others, which, as they were successively performed, gradually unfolded the drift of his intentions. drawing the knife which hung at his girdle, he went into the bushes, whence he quickly returned, dragging after him a large branch. from this he stripped the leaves and twigs. fumbling in his pocket for some time, he drew forth a piece of stout cord, about four yards long, with a cod-hook attached to the end of it. this line had been constructed some weeks before when the canoes were wind-bound at a part of the coast where la roche, desirous of replenishing the kettle, had made an unsuccessful attempt at sea-fishing. fastening this line to the end of his extemporised rod, la roche proceeded to dress his hook. this he accomplished by means of the feather of a duck which frank shot the day before, and a tag from his scarlet worsted belt; and, when finished, it had more the appearance of some hideous reptile than a gay fly. however, la roche surveyed it for a moment or two with an expression of deep satisfaction, and then, hurrying to the brink of the water, made a violent heave. "oh! cent milles tonnerres!" he exclaimed angrily, as the enormous hook caught in the leg of his trousers. the large and clumsy barb was deeply imbedded, so there was no help for it but to use the knife. the second throw was more successful, and the hook alighted in the water with a splash that ought to have sent all the fish in the pool away in consternation. instead of this, however, no sooner did the reptile trail upon the stream than a trout dashed at it in such violent haste that it nearly missed it altogether. as it was, it hooked itself very slightly, and the excitable frenchman settled the matter by giving the line a violent tug, in his anxiety to land the fish, that pulled the hook entirely out of its mouth. "ah! c'est dommage, ver' great; mais try it encore, my boy," exclaimed the mortified angler. the next throw, although well accomplished, produced nothing; but at the third attempt, ere the reptile had settled on the water for a second, it was engulfed by a salmon fully six pounds weight, and la roche's rod was almost drawn out of his grasp. "hilloa, losh! what have ye got there?" exclaimed bryan, as, with several of the men, he approached to where the frenchman and the salmon strove in uncertain conflict. "by the mortial, he's hucked a whale! out with it, boy, afore it pulls ye in!" said the irishman, running to the rescue. just then the salmon gave a pull of more than ordinary vigour, at the same moment la roche slipped his foot, and, ere bryan could lay hold of him, fell headlong into the water and disappeared. bryan's hands hung helplessly down, his jaw dropped, and his eyes opened wide, as he gazed in mute wonderment at the spot where his friend's toes had vanished. suddenly he wrenched off his cap and flung it down, and proceeded to tear off his coat, preparatory to leaping into the river to the rescue, when his arms were pinioned to his sides by the powerful grip of massan. "come, bryan," said he, "you know very well that you can't swim; you'd only make things worse." "och! murder! _he_ can't swim neither. let me go, ye black villain. thunder an' turf! will ye see the poor lad drownded forenint yer two eyes?" cried the poor irishman, as he made violent but unavailing struggles to get free. but massan knew that to allow him to escape would only add to the number requiring to be saved, and as he himself could not swim, he saw at once that the only service he could render under the circumstances would be to hold the irishman down. clasping him, therefore, as in a vice, he raised his head and gave a shout for help that rolled in deep echoes among the overhanging cliffs. another shout was uttered at the same instant. edith, who happened to come up just as la roche's head emerged from the water gasping for breath, uttered a wild shriek that made more than one heart among the absentees leap as they flew to the rescue. meanwhile la roche rose and sank several times in the surges of the pool. his face on these occasions exhibited a mingled expression of terror and mischievous wildness; for although he could not swim a stroke, the very buoyancy of his mercurial temperament seemed partially to support him, and a feeling of desperate determination induced him to retain a death-like gripe of the rod, at the end of which the salmon still struggled. but his strength was fast going, and he sank for the fourth time with a bubbling cry, when a step was heard crashing through the adjacent bushes, and dick prince sprang down the slope like a deer. he did not pause when the scene burst upon his view, but a smile of satisfaction played upon his usually grave face when he saw edith safe on the banks of the stream. another spring and an agile bound sent him headlong into the pool about a yard from the spot where la roche had last sunk. scarcely had he disappeared when the dog chimo bounded towards the scene of action, and, with what intent no one could tell, leaped also into the water. by this time frank, stanley, and nearly all the party had assembled on the bank of the river, ready to render assistance. in a few seconds they had the satisfaction of seeing dick prince rise, holding poor la roche by the collar of his capote with his left hand, while he swam vigorously towards the shore with his right. but during the various struggles which had taken place they had been gradually sucked into the stream that flowed towards the lower rapid, and it now became apparent to prince that his only chance of safety was in catching hold of the point of rock that formed the first obstruction to the rush of water. abandoning all effort, therefore, to gain the bank beside him, he swam with the current, but edged towards the shore as he floated down. "hallo! la roche!" he exclaimed loudly. "do you hear? do you understand me?" "ah! oui, vraiment. i not dead yit." "then let go that rod and seize my collar, and mind, sink deep in the water. show only enough o' your face to breathe with, or i'll drown ye." the frenchman obeyed to the extent of seizing dick's collar and sinking deep in the water, so as not to overburden his friend; but nothing could induce him to quit the rod to which he had clung so long and so resolutely. prince's arms being now free, one or two powerful strokes placed him beyond the influence of the strong current, and as he passed the rocks before mentioned, he seized an overhanging branch of a small shrub, by which he endeavoured to drag himself ashore. this, however, he found to be impossible, partly owing to the steepness of the shelving rock, and partly to the fact that chimo, in his ill-directed attempts to share in the dangers of his friends, had seized la roche by the skirts of the coat in order to prevent himself from going down the stream. those on shore, on seeing prince make for the rock, ran towards the spot; but having to make a slight detour round the bend of the river, they did not reach it until he seized the branch, and when frank, who was the first, sprang down, the slope to the rescue, he found them streaming out and waving to and fro in the current, like some monstrous reptile--dick holding on to the branch with both hands, la roche holding on to dick, chimo holding on by his teeth to la roche, and the unfortunate salmon holding on to the line which its half-drowned captor scorned to let go. a few seconds sufficed to drag them dripping from the stream; and the energetic little frenchman no sooner found his feet on solid ground than he hauled out his fish and landed it triumphantly with his own hand. "'tis a pretty fish, la roche," said frank, laughing, as he busied himself in taking down his rod, while several of the men assisted dick prince to wring the water out of his clothes, and others crowded round la roche to congratulate him on his escape--"'tis a pretty fish, but it cost you some trouble to catch it." "throuble, indeed!" echoed bryan, as he sat on a rock smoking his pipe; "troth it's more nor him came to throuble by that same fish: it guve me the throuble o' bein' more nor half choked by massan." "half choked, bryan! what mean you?" asked frank. "mane? i just mane what i say; an' the raison why's best known to himself." a loud peal of laughter greeted massan's graphic explanation of the forcible manner in which he had prevented the irishman from throwing himself into the river. the party now turned earnestly to the more serious duties of the journey. already too much time had been lost in this "playing themselves with fish," as stanley expressed it, and it behoved them to embark as speedily as possible. about a mile above the pool which had nearly proved fatal to la roche was the head of a series of insurmountable rapids, which extended all the way down to the waterfall. beyond this was a pretty long reach of calm water, up which they proceeded easily; but as they advanced the current became so strong that no headway could be made with the paddles, and it was found necessary to send a party of the men ashore with a long line, by means of which the canoes were slowly dragged against the current. at length they came to shallow water, which necessitated another portage; and as it was about sunset when they reached it, stanley ordered the tent to be pitched for the night, and the fire lighted, under the shadow of a stupendous mountain, the rocky sides of which were sprinkled with dwarf pine trees, and partially covered with brush and herbage. here edith and her mother discovered multitudes of berries, the most numerous being cloud and crow berries; both of which were found to be good, especially the former, and a fragrant dish of these graced the towel that evening at supper. thus, day by day, our adventurous travellers penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of the wilderness, which became more savage and mountainous as they left the coast. stanley drew forth his quadrant and compass, wherewith he guided the party towards their future home. at night, after the labour of the day was over, he and frank would spread their charts in the blaze of the camp fire, and study the positions of the land so far as it was laid down; while edith sat beside her mother, helping her to repair the torn and way-worn habiliments of her husband and frank, or listening with breathless interest to the men, as they recounted their experiences of life in the different regions through which they had travelled. many of these tales were more or less coloured by the fancy of the narrators, but most of them were founded on fact, and proved an unfailing source of deep interest to the little child. frank's fishing-rod was frequently in requisition, and often supplied the party with more than enough of excellent fish; and at every new bend and turn of the innumerable lakes and rivers through which they passed, reindeer were seen bounding on the mountain-sides, or trotting down the ravines to quench their thirst and cool their sides in the waters; so that food was abundant, and their slender stock of provisions had not to be trenched upon, while the berries that grew luxuriantly everywhere proved a grateful addition to their store. thus, day by day, they slowly retreated farther and farther from the world of mankind-- living in safety under the protection of the almighty, and receiving the daily supply of all their necessities from his fatherly and bountiful hand; thus, day by day, they rose with the sun, and lay down at night to rest upon the mountain's side or by the river's bank; and thus, day by day, they penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of the unknown wilderness. chapter twelve. a new scene--the esquimau--deer-slaying--enemies in the bush. turn we now to another, a more distant, and a wilder scene. near the bleak shores of hudson's straits there flows a river which forms an outlet to the superfluous waters of the almost unknown territory lying between the uninhabited parts of labrador and that tract of desert land which borders hudson's bay on the east, and is known to the fur-traders by the appellation of east main. this river is called the caniapuscaw, and discharges itself into ungava bay. the scene to which we would turn the reader's attention is upwards of twenty miles from the mouth of this river, at a particular bend, where the stream spreads itself out into a sheet of water almost worthy of being called a lake, and just below which two bold cliffs shut out the seaward view, and cause an abrupt narrowing of the river. the scene is peculiar, and surpassingly grand. on each side of the stream majestic mountains raise their bald and rugged peaks almost into the clouds. little herbage grows on the more exposed places, and nothing, save here and there a stunted and weather-worn pine, breaks the sharp outline of the cliffs. but in the gorges and dark ravines--for there are no valleys--clumps of small-sized spruce--fir and larch trees throw a softness over some of the details of a spot whose general aspect is one of sterility. the mountains rise in a succession of irregular steps or terraces, whose faces are so precipitous that they cannot be ascended. to accomplish the feat of scaling the mountain-tops it would be necessary to clamber up a ravine until the first terrace should be gained, then, walking along that, ascend the next ravine, and so on. at the upper end of the lake (as we shall hereafter call this wide part of the river) lies a low island, fringed with a scanty growth of willows; and not far from this, on the eastern bank of the river, lies a small patch of level sand. this spot is somewhat peculiar, inasmuch as it is backed by a low platform of rock, whose surface is smooth as a table. at the foot of this rock bubbles a little spring, which, meandering through a tangled spot of stunted shrubbery ere it mingles with the sand, gives unusual green-ness and vitality to the surrounding herbage. on the edge of this rocky platform sat the figure of a man. it was evening. the declining sun shot its last few rays over the brow of the opposite mountains, and bathed him in mellow light, as he sat apparently contemplating the scene before him. the man's costume bespoke him a native of the savage region in the midst of which he seemed the only human being. but although an esquimau, he exhibited several physical peculiarities not commonly supposed to belong to that people. to an altitude of six feet three he added a breadth of shoulder and expansion of chest seldom equalled among men of more highly-favoured climes; and his real bulk being very greatly increased by his costume, he appeared to be a very giant--no unfitting tenant of such giant scenery. the said costume consisted of an extremely loose coat or shirt of deerskin, having the hair outside, and a capacious hood, which usually hung down behind, but covered his head at this time, in order to protect it from a sharp north-west breeze that whirled among the gullies of the mountains, and surging down their sides, darkened the surface of the water. a pair of long sealskin boots encased his limbs from foot to thigh; and a little wallet or bag of sealskin, with the hair outside, hung from his shoulders. simple although this costume was, it had a bulky rotundity of appearance that harmonised well with the giant's frank, good-humoured countenance, which was manly, firm, and massive, besides being rosy, oily, and fat. in the latter peculiarity he partook of the well-known characteristic of his tribe; but the effeminacy in appearance that is produced by a round, fat face was done away in the case of our giant by a remarkably black though as yet downy moustache and beard, of a length suitable to twenty-three winters. his hair was long, straight, and black, besides being uncommonly glossy--an effect attributable to the prevalence of whale-oil in these regions. on the forehead the locks were cut short, so as to afford free scope to his black eyes and sturdy-looking nose. by his side lay a long hunting spear, and a double-bladed paddle, fully fifteen feet long; which latter belonged to a kayak, or esquimau canoe, that lay on the sand close to the water's edge. sitting there, motionless as the rocks around him, the giant looked like a colossal statue of an esquimau. he was no figure of stone, however, but a veritable human being, as was proved by his starting suddenly from his reverie and hastening towards the spring before mentioned, at which he stooped and drank rapidly, like one who had to make up for lost time. after a few hurried gulps, the man strode towards his canoe; but as he went his restless eye became fixed on the branching antlers of a deer, that were tossed in the air on the summit of a neighbouring cliff. like one who is suddenly paralysed, the esquimau stood transfixed in the attitude in which he had been arrested. he did not even seem to breathe, as the antlers moved to and fro, clearly defined against the blue sky. at length they disappeared, and the animal to which they belonged slowly descended a ravine towards the river. then, as if set free from a spell, the man glided into his kayak, and swept rapidly but noiselessly behind a projecting point of rock, where he waited patiently till the deer took to the water. he had not long to wait, however, for in a few minutes afterwards the deer, followed by several companions, walked out upon the patch of sand, snuffed the air once or twice, and entered the stream with the intention of crossing. but there was an enemy near whom they little dreamed of--not an enemy who would dash excitedly into the midst of them, or awaken the thunders of the place with his noisy gun, but a foe who could patiently bide his time, and take cool and quiet advantage of it when it came. when the deer had proceeded about a hundred yards into the river, the esquimau dipped his paddle twice, and the narrow, sharp-pointed canoe, which, at a short distance, seemed little more than a floating plank, darted through the water and ranged alongside of the startled animals. the fattest of the herd was separated from its fellows and driven towards the shore from which it had started, while the others struggled across the river. once or twice the separated deer endeavoured to turn to rejoin its comrades--an attempt which was frustrated by the esquimau, who could paddle infinitely faster over the water in his skin canoe than the deer could swim. as they neared the shore, the giant cast on it one or two glances, and having made up his mind as to the most convenient spot for landing, he urged the point of his canoe between the antlers of the deer, and steered it in this manner to the sand-bank. the deer, thus directed, had no resource but to land where its persecutor chose; but no sooner did its foot touch ground, than it sprang convulsively forward in the vain hope to escape. the same instant its captor's canoe shot beside it. grasping the long lance before mentioned in his hand, he placed its glittering point on the deer's side, tickled it slowly to ascertain that it was between two ribs, and, with a quick thrust, stabbed it to the heart. a convulsive shudder, as the deer's head sank in the stream, proved that, though cold-blooded in appearance, the action was more effective and less cruel than many other more approved methods of killing game. our esquimau thought neither of the method of slaying his deer nor of man's opinion regarding it. his sole object was to procure supper, having tasted nothing since early morning; and the manner in which he ate showed at once the strength of his appetite and his total indifference to cookery, for he ate it raw. there was a certain appearance of haste in all his actions which, however, seemed unaccountable, considering the peaceful nature of the vast solitudes around him. scarcely had he cut off and devoured a portion of the deer than he hastened again to his canoe, and darted like an arrow from the shore. this is no exaggerated simile. the long, thin, sharp esquimau kayak is highly suggestive of an arrow in its form, and much more so in its extraordinary speed. it consists of an extremely light framework of wood covered with sealskin parchment, which is stretched upon it all over as tight as a drum. the top of the canoe being covered as well as the bottom, it is thus, as it were, decked; and a small hole in the middle of this deck admits its occupant. the kayak can only hold one person. the paddle, as already said, is a long pole with a blade at each end. it is dipped alternately on each side, and is used not only to propel the kayak, but to prevent it from upsetting. indeed, so liable is it to upset that nothing but the wonderful adroitness of its occupant prevents it from doing so with every swing of his body. quick, however, though the kayak sped over the rippling wave, it could not have escaped the messenger of death that seemed about to be dispatched after it by a dark-skinned, red-painted indian, who, at the moment the vessel left the shore, leapt from behind a rocky point, and, levelling a long gun, took a steady aim at the unconscious esquimau. a little puff of powder answered to the click of the lock, as the gun missed fire. with an exclamation of anger the savage seized his powder-horn to reprime, when a rude grasp was laid on his shoulder, and another indian, who, from the eagle feather in his hair, and his general bearing, appeared to be a chief, exclaimed-- "fool! you have the impatience of a woman, and you have not yet shown that you have the heart of a man. would the scalp of yon eater-of-raw-flesh pay us for coming so far from our hunting-grounds? if your gun had spoken among these mountains, we would have found the empty wigwams of his people, instead of fringing our belts with their scalps." with a frown of anger the chief turned on his heel and retraced his steps into the ravine from which he had emerged, followed by his abashed and silent companion. meanwhile the esquimau, ignorant of the fate from which he had just escaped, continued to ply his paddle with right good will. the little craft, obedient to the powerful impulse, combined as it was with the current of the ebb-tide, flew rather than floated toward the narrows, through which it passed, and opened up a view of the ice-encumbered waters of ungava bay. directing his course along the western shores of the river, the esquimau speedily reached the coast at a point where several low, rough-built summer huts clustered near the shore. here he ran his kayak into a little creek, and, having lifted it beyond tide mark, betook himself to his dwelling. chapter thirteen. savage love--a wife purchased--the attack--the flight--the escape--the wounded man. scarcely had the stout esquimau proceeded a few steps along the shore, when he was met by a young girl who laid her hand on his arm. taking her gently by the shoulders, he drew her towards him and kissed her on both cheeks--an action which caused her to blush deeply as, with a half smile half frown on her face, she pushed him away. love is the same all the world over, whether it glows beneath the broad-cloth and spotless linen of a civilised gentleman, or under the deerskin coat of a savage. and its expression, we suspect, is somewhat similar everywhere. the coy repulse of pretended displeasure came as naturally from our plump little arctic heroine as it could have done from the most civilised flirt, and was treated with well-simulated contrition by our arctic giant, as they walked slowly towards the huts. but the esquimau had other matters than love in his head just then, and the girl's face assumed a grave and somewhat anxious look as he continued to whisper in her ear. at the little hamlet they separated, and the maiden went to her grandfather's abode; while her lover, lifting the skin-curtain door of a rudely-constructed hut, entered his own humble dwelling. the room was empty, and its owner did not seem as if he meant to cheer it with his presence long. in one corner lay a pile of miscellaneous articles, which he removed, and, taking the tusk of a walrus which lay near his hand, began to dig with it in the sand. in a few seconds it struck a hard substance, and the esquimau, putting his hand into the hole, drew forth a glittering axe, upon which he gazed with supreme satisfaction. now be it known to you, reader, that among the esquimaux of the frozen north iron is regarded with about as much delight as gold is by ourselves. and the reason is simple enough. these poor people live entirely upon the produce of the chase. polar bears, seals, walruses, and whales are their staff of life. to procure these animals, spears are necessary; to skin and cut them up, knives are needful. but bone and stone make sorry knives and spears; so that, when a bit of iron, no matter how poor its quality or small its size, can be obtained, it is looked on as the most valuable of possessions; and the ingenuity displayed by esquimaux in fashioning the rudest piece of metal into the most useful of implements is truly astonishing, proving, in the most satisfactory way, that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. the precious metal is obtained in two ways: by the discovery of a wreck, which is extremely rare; and by barter with those tribes which sometimes visit the moravian settlements of labrador. but neither source is very productive. even a nail is treasured as a blessing, while an axe is a fortune! when our giant, therefore, drew forth the shining implement, and gazed with delight at its keen edge, he experienced as great satisfaction as a miser does when gloating over his banker's book! having satisfied himself that the axe was free from all approximation to rust, he stuck it into a belt of raw hide, which he put on for the express purpose of sustaining it, as esquimaux do not generally wear belts. he then sallied forth, and walked with the air of a man who wears the grand cross of the legion of honour. as he went to the hut in which lived the oldest man of the tribe, the shade of anxiety, which had clouded his brow more than once during the day, again rested on his face. on entering, he observed the old esquimau listening with anxious countenance to the young girl whom we have already introduced to the reader. now this girl--aneetka by name--was by no means an angel in esquimau habiliments. among civilised folk probably she would not have been deemed even pretty. nevertheless, in the eyes of her lover she was most decidedly beautiful, and round, and fat, and rosy, and young, awkward, and comfortable! and the giant loved her--never so strongly, perhaps, as when he saw her striving to allay the fears of her old grandfather. but this same grandfather was obstinate. he wanted her to become the wife of an esquimau who lived far to the westward, and who once had dealings with the fur-traders, and from whom he expected to derive considerable advantages and gifts of bits of hoop-iron and nails. but _she_ wanted to become the giant's wife; so there the matter stood. "the spirits o' the wind and sea protect us, and may the god o' the mist cover us!" said the old man, as the young esquimau sat down on a dead seal beside him. "is it true that you saw the men of fire?" this was, of course, said in the language of the esquimaux, and we render it as literally as possible. "yes, it is true," replied the young man. "i saw them at the rapid water in caniapuscaw, and i took kayak to bring the news." various exclamations of mingled surprise and anger escaped from the compressed lips of several stalwart natives, who had crowded into the tent on hearing of the arrival of their comrade. "yes," continued the young man, "we must go away this night. they had fire-tubes, and there were thirty men. we have only ten." again a murmur ran through the listeners, but no one spoke for a few seconds. "did they see you?" asked the old man anxiously. "no. i came on them suddenly, when i was chasing deer, and almost ran into their camp; but i saw, and fell in the grass. i thought the chief raised his head quickly when i fell; but he looked down again, and i crawled away." in this the young esquimau was mistaken. he knew little of the craft and the quickness of the red indian, and easily fell into the snare of his savage enemy, who, having been momentarily startled by the sudden sound of the esquimau approach, had endeavoured to throw him off his guard, by pretending that although he heard the sound he thought nothing of it. but no sooner had the esquimau retired than he was closely followed and watched by the whole party. they could have easily shot him, but refrained from doing so, that he might unwittingly be their guide to the habitations of his people. the rapid flight of his kayak distanced his pursuers at first, but they made up for this during an hour or two in the night, when the tired esquimau allowed himself a short season of repose to recruit his energies for the following day's journey. during this period the indians shot far ahead of him, and when he arrived at the coast next day they were not much in the rear. "and now, old man," said our young esquimau, "it is time that i should have my wife. if the allat [see note ] come here to-night, as i know they will, i want to have a right to defend her, and carry her away when we flee. are you willing?" the young giant said this with a degree of roughness and decision that at any other time would have made the obstinate old grandfather refuse point blank; but as there was every probability of having to flee for his life ere the break of another day, and as his old heart trembled within him at the thought of the dreaded guns of the indians, he merely shook his head and pondered a little. "what will you give me?" he said, looking up. the young man answered by drawing the axe from his belt and laying it on the ground before him. the old man's eyes glistened with pleasure as he surveyed the costly gift. "good; that will do. take her and go." a second bidding was not needed. the young man arose hastily, took his blushing bride by the hand, and led her from the tent of her grandfather towards his own. here she set to work instantly to assist her husband in hurriedly packing up their goods and chattels; and, immediately afterwards, the little village became a perfect babel of confusion, as the alarmed inhabitants, on learning the threatened danger, prepared for instant flight. in less than an hour the most of them were ready. the men launched their kayaks, while the women, having loaded their oomiaks with their goods, tossed their dogs and children on the top of them. the oomiak, or women's boat, is quite a different affair from the kayak, in which the men travel singly. it is usually made large and capacious, in order to hold the entire household of the esquimau. like the kayak it is made of skin, but has no covering above, and is propelled by means of short single-bladed paddles, which are worked by the women, upon whom devolves the entire care and management of the oomiak. it is a clumsy affair to look at, but, like the boats of savages generally, it is uncommonly useful and a good sea-boat. while the esquimaux were busied in completing their arrangements, one of the dogs rushed towards the bushes that lined the shore just behind the village, and barked vociferously. instantly it was joined by the whole pack, and the esquimaux, who, ever since they had heard of the proximity of their indian foes, were in a state of the utmost trepidation, made a general rush towards their canoes. before they reached them, however, a volley of musketry was fired from the bushes, and three of their number--a man and two women--filled the air with their death-shriek, as they fell dead upon the beach; while the indians sprang from their concealment, and, brandishing their knives and tomahawks, rushed with a fearful yell upon the terror-stricken esquimaux. shrill and terrible though the indian war-cry is proverbially known to be, it was excelled in appalling wildness by the shriek which arose from the esquimaux, as they hurried tumultuously into their canoes and put off to sea. these poor creatures were naturally brave--much more so, indeed, than their assailants; but the murderous effects of the terrible gun caused the sternest brow among them to blanch and the stoutest heart to quail. the arrow and the spear, however rapid, could be avoided, if observed in time; but this dreaded implement of destruction was so mysterious to them, and its death-dealing bullet so quick, and the smoke, the fire, and the loud report so awful, that they shuddered even when they thought of it. no wonder, then, that they uttered a despairing cry when it actually sounded in their ears. when the dogs first gave tongue, our tall esquimau was alone in his hut, having just sent his wife down with a bundle to the oomiak. when the volley rang in his ears, he rushed towards the beach, supposing that she was there before him. this was not the case, however. aneetka had gone towards her grandfather's hut, and when the indians fired she rushed in to assist him to fly. but the old man was already gone. turning instantly, she sprang nimbly towards the shore. at that moment a single shot was fired, and she saw her husband stumble forward and fall headlong to the earth, where he lay motionless. her first impulse was to run towards the body and throw herself upon it; but this intention was effectually checked by a strong, dark-skinned arm which encircled her waist, and, despite her cries and struggles, bore her away into the bushes. her captor was the indian whose gun once before on that day had been levelled at her lover's head. when the young esquimau fell, as already related, he was so close to the water that he stumbled into it, and, fortunately, not a yard distant from an oomiak which the women were frantically thrusting into the sea. they had no time to lift so heavy a weight on board, but, as the light craft darted from the shore, an old woman, who had often received kind attentions from the good-natured youth, leant over the stern and seized him by the hair. in this manner he was dragged through the water until they were out of gun-shot, when he was lifted inside and laid beside the dogs and children. meanwhile the indians had rushed into the water up to their middle, in the hope of catching the last of the little fleet, but without success. mad with disappointed rage, they waded back to the shore, and, standing in a line along the edge of the waves, reloaded their guns with the utmost rapidity. the poor esquimaux knew well what would follow, and strained every nerve to increase their distance. once more the guns belched forth their leaden shower, which went skipping over the water towards the flotilla. only one kayak was hit by the discharge. it was that of the old grandfather already mentioned. the ball ripped up the side of the canoe, which filled and upset, and the poor old man would certainly have been drowned but for the opportune coming up of the oomiak containing his wounded grandson. the old woman who had already saved the life of the young giant of the tribe, again put forth her skinny hand and grasped the patriarch, who was soon hauled on board in safety. a few minutes more placed the whole party out of danger. in the meantime, the indians, furious with disappointment, scalped the three dead bodies and tossed them into the sea; after which they went into the huts in order to collect all the valuables that might have been left behind. very little, however, was to be found, as the entire property of an esquimau is not worth much to a red man. the most useful thing they laid hands on was the axe which the old grandfather had left behind in his hurried flight. having taken all they could carry, the savages destroyed the rest; and then, setting fire to the village, they returned to the bush. here a fire was made, and a council of war held. when the indian who had captured the esquimau girl led her forward towards the fire, there was a general yell of indignation. tomahawks were grasped, and more than one knife was unsheathed. but the chief commanded silence. "what does white heart mean to do with the eater-of-raw-flesh?" he inquired, turning to the young man. "he will take her to the hunting-grounds of the crees." "that cannot be," said the chief. "the girl must die, and white heart must kill her." the young man made no reply. "if," continued the chief sarcastically, "white heart is afraid to see blood on his knife, another warrior will show him how to do it!" as he spoke, a dark-visaged savage drew his scalping-knife, and, with one stride, stood beside the trembling girl, who, during the consultation of the savages, had stood silently beside her captor listening intently to the words which she did not comprehend. seizing her by the shoulder, the savage plunged his knife at her bosom; but, ere the keen point reached it, the arm was caught by the young indian, and the scowling savage was hurled violently back. with dilated eye and expanded nostril, the young man, not deigning to bestow a glance upon his fallen comrade, turned to his chief and said-- "did not i take her? the girl is mine. i will carry her to my tent and make her my _wife_." "be it so," replied the chief abruptly. then turning to his followers, he gave orders to start immediately. in a few minutes all was ready. the chief led the way into the bush. the esquimau girl and her captor followed; and the whole band, silently and in single file, commenced to retrace their steps to the far distant hunting-grounds of the cree indians. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ note . esquimau name for indians. chapter fourteen. the pursuit--seal-spearing--the giant's despair. when the young esquimau began to recover from the lethargic state into which his wound had thrown him, he found himself lying at the bottom of the women's oomiak with his old grandfather by his side, and a noisy crew of children and dogs around him. raising himself on his elbow, he brushed the clotted blood and hair from his temples, and endeavoured to recall his scattered faculties. seeing this, the old crone who had saved his life laid down her paddle and handed him a sealskin cup of water, which he seized and drank with avidity. fortunately the wound on his forehead, although it had stunned him severely at first, was trifling, and in a few minutes after partaking of the cool water, he recovered sufficiently to sit up and look around him. gradually his faculties returned, and he started up with a troubled look. "where are the allat? where is my wife?" he exclaimed vehemently, as his eye fell on the prostrate form of his still insensible grandfather. "gone," answered several of the women. "gone!" repeated the youth, gazing wildly among the faces around him in search of that of his wife. "gone! tell me, is she in one of the other oomiaks?" the women trembled as they answered, "no." "have the allat got her?" there was no reply to this question, but he did not need one. springing like a tiger to the stern of the oomiak, he seized the steering paddle, and turning the head of the boat towards the shore, paddled with all his energy. nearly two hours had elapsed since they had commenced their flight, and as all danger of pursuit was over the moment the indians turned their backs on the sea, the esquimaux had gradually edged in-shore again, so that a few minutes sufficed to run the prow of the oomiak on the shingle of the beach. without saying a word, the young man sprang over the side, drew a hunting-spear from the bottom of the boat, and hurried back in the direction of the deserted village at the top of his speed. the women knew that nothing could stop him, and feeling that he was quite able to take care of himself, they quietly put to sea again, and continued their voyage. the limbs of the young esquimau, as we have already said, were gigantic and powerful, enabling him to traverse the country at a pace which few of his fellows could keep up with; and although a stern-chase is proverbially a long one, and the distance between two parties travelling in opposite directions is amazingly increased in a short space of time, there is no doubt that he would have overtaken his indian foes ere many hours had passed, but for the wound in his head, which, although not dangerous, compelled him more than once to halt and sit down, in order to prevent himself from falling into a swoon. hunger had also something to do with this state of weakness, as he had eaten nothing for many hours. in his hasty departure from the boat, however, he had neglected to take any provisions with him, so that he had little hope of obtaining refreshment before arriving at the village, where some scraps might perhaps be picked up. slowly, and with a reeling brain, he staggered on; but here no relief awaited him, for every scrap of food had been either taken away or destroyed by the indians, and it was with a heavy sigh and a feeling akin to despair that he sat down beside the blackened ruins of his late home. but esquimaux, more than other men, are accustomed to reverses of fortune, and the sigh with which he regarded the ruins of his hut had no reference whatever to the absence of food. he knew that about this time the mouth of the river would be full of ice, carried up by the flood-tide, and that seals would, in all probability, be found on it; so he started up, and hastening along the beach soon gained the floes, which he examined carefully. a glance or two sufficed to show him that he was right in his conjecture. on a sheet of ice not more than a couple of hundred yards from shore were two seals fast asleep. these he prepared to stalk. between the floe and the shore ran a stream of water twenty yards broad. over this he ferried himself on a lump of loose ice; and, on reaching the floe, he went down on his hands and knees, holding the spear in his right hand as he advanced cautiously towards his victim. the esquimau seal-spear is a curious weapon, and exhibits in a high degree the extraordinary ingenuity of the race. the handle is sometimes made of the horn of the narwal, but more frequently of wood. it has a movable head or barb, to which a long line of walrus hide or sealskin is attached. this barb is made of ivory tipped with iron, and is attached to the handle in such a way that it becomes detached from it the instant the animal is struck, and remains firmly imbedded in the wound with the line fastened to it, while the handle floats away on the water or falls on the ice, as the case may be. when the esquimau had approached to within a hundred yards, he lay down at full length and slowly worked himself forward. meanwhile the seals raised their heads, but seeing, as they imagined, a companion coming towards them, they did not make for their holes, which were a few yards distant from them. having drawn near enough to render the animals suspicious, the young giant now sprang up, rushed forward, and got between one seal and its hole just as its more active companion dived into the water. in another moment the deadly lance transfixed its side and killed it. this was a fortunate supply to the esquimau, whose powers of endurance were fast failing. he immediately sat down on his victim, and cutting a large steak from its side, speedily made a meal that far exceeded the powers of any alderman whatsoever! it required but a short time to accomplish, however, and a shorter time to transfer several choice [junks] chunks to his wallet; with which replenished store he resumed his journey. although the man's vigour was restored for a time, so that he travelled with great speed, it did not last long, owing to the wound in his head, which produced frequent attacks of giddiness, and at last compelled him, much against his will, to halt for a couple of hours' repose. glancing round, in order to select a suitable camping ground, he soon observed such a spot in the form of a broad, overhanging ledge of rock, beneath which there was a patch of scrubby underwood. here he lay down with the seal blubber for a pillow, and was quickly buried in deep, untroubled slumber. in little more than two hours he awoke with a start, and, after a second application to the contents of the wallet, resumed his solitary march. the short rest seemed to have quite restored his wonted vigour, for he now stalked up the banks of the river at a rate which seemed only to accelerate as he advanced. as has been already said, these banks were both rugged and precipitous. in some places the rocks jutted out into the water, forming promontories over which it was difficult to climb; and frequently these capes terminated in abrupt precipices, necessitating a detour in order to advance. in other places the coast was indented with sandy bays, which more than doubled the distance the traveller would have had to accomplish had he possessed a kayak. unfortunately in his hasty departure he neglected to take one with him; but he did his best to atone for this oversight by making almost superhuman exertions. he strode over the sands like an ostrich of the desert, and clambered up the cliffs and over the rocks--looking, in his hairy garments, like a shaggy polar bear. the thought of his young and pretty bride a captive in the hands of his bitterest foes, and doomed to a life of slavery, almost maddened him, and caused his dark eye to flash and his broad bosom to heave with pent-up emotion, while it spurred him on to put forth exertions that were far beyond the powers of any member of his tribe, and could not, under less exciting circumstances, have been performed even by himself. as to what were his intentions should he overtake the indians, he knew not. the agitation of his spirits, combined with the influence of his wound, induced him to act from impulse; and the wild tumult of his feelings prevented him from calculating the consequences or perceiving the hopelessness of an attack made by one man, armed only with knife and spear, against a body of indians who possessed the deadly gun. alas! for the sorrows of the poor human race. in all lands they are much the same, whether civilised or savage--virtue and vice alternately triumphing. bravery, candour, heroism, in fierce contest with treachery, cowardice, and malevolence, form the salient points of the record among all nations, and in all ages. no puissant knight of old ever buckled on his panoply of mail, seized his sword and lance, mounted his charger, and sallied forth singlehanded to deliver his mistress from enchanted castle, in the face of appalling perils, with hotter haste or a more thorough contempt of danger than did our esquimau giant pursue the indians who had captured his bride; but, like many a daring spirit of romance, the giant failed, and that through no fault of his. on arriving at the rocky platform beside the spring where we first introduced him to the reader, the esquimau sat down, and, casting his spear on the ground, gazed around him with a look of despair. it was not a slight matter that caused this feeling to arise. notwithstanding his utmost exertions, he had been unable to overtake the indians up to this point, and beyond this point it was useless to follow them. the mountains here were divided into several distinct gorges, each of which led into the interior of the country; and it was impossible to ascertain which of these had been taken by the indians, as the bare, rocky land retained no mark of their light, moccasined feet. had the pursuer been an indian, the well-known sagacity of the race in following a trail, however slight, might have enabled him to trace the route of the party; but the esquimaux are unpractised in this stealthy, dog-like quality. their habits and the requirements of their condition render it almost unnecessary; so that, in difficult circumstances, their sagacity in this respect is not equal to the emergency. add to this the partial confusion created in the young giant's brain by his wound, and it will not appear strange that despair at length seized him, when, after a severe journey, he arrived at a spot where, as it were, half a dozen cross-roads met, and he had not the most distant idea which he had to follow. it is true the valley of the river seemed the most probable route; but after pursuing this for a whole day without coming upon a vestige of the party, he gave up the pursuit, and, returning to the spring beside the rock, passed the night there with a heavy heart. when the sun rose on the following morning he quitted his lair, and, taking a long draught at the bubbling spring, prepared to depart. before setting out, he cast a melancholy glance around the amphitheatre of gloomy hills; shook his spear, in the bitterness of his heart, towards the dark recesses which had swallowed up the light of his eyes, perchance for ever; then, turning slowly towards the north, with drooping head, and with the listless tread of a heart-broken man, he retraced his steps to the sea-coast, and, rejoining his comrades, was soon far away from the banks of the caniapuscaw river. chapter fifteen. end of the voyage--plans and prospects--exploring parties sent out. three weeks alter the departure of the esquimaux from the neighbourhood of ungava bay, the echoes of these solitudes were awakened by the merry song of the canadian voyageurs, as the two canoes of stanley and his comrades swept down the stream and approached the spring at the foot of the flat rock. as the large canoe ran its bow lightly on the sand, the first man who leaped ashore was la roche. he seemed even more sprightly and active than formerly, but was a good deal darker in complexion, and much travel-stained. indeed, the whole party bore marks of having roughed it pretty severely for some time past among the mountains. edith's face was decidedly darker than when she left moose, and her short frock considerably shorter in consequence of tear and wear. "bad luck to ye, losh! out o' the way, an' let yer betters land before ye," exclaimed bryan, as he jumped into the water, and dragged the canoe towards the beach. the only marks that rough travelling had put on bryan were one or two additional wrinkles in his battered white hat; as for his face, it was already so thoroughly bronzed by long exposure, that a week or two more or less made no difference in its hue. "jump into my arms, miss edith," said francois, as he stood in the water beside the canoe. "steady, boy; mind the gum," cried massan, as oolibuck strained the canoe roughly in shouldering a package. "look out ashore, there," cried dick prince, throwing the tent poles on the beach as he spoke. regardless of the warning, gaspard did not "look out," and received a rap on the leg from one of the poles, whereat he growled savagely, and threw down a sack, which rested on his shoulder, so violently that it nearly knocked over ma-istequan, who was passing at the time with the camp-kettle in his hand. "what an ould buffalo it is!" exclaimed bryan, pushing gaspard rudely aside with his left shoulder, and hitching off la roche's cap with his right, as he sprang back to the canoe for another load. "pardonay mwa, losh, may garson," he exclaimed, with a broad grin. "now thin, boys, out wid the fixin's. faix it's mysilf is plazed to git ashore anyhow, for there's nothin' gone into my intarior since brickfust this mornin'." at this moment the bow of the other canoe grated on the sand, and frank morton leaped ashore. "capital place to camp, frank," said stanley, who had just finished pitching the tent on the scrimp herbage that forced its way through the sand. "there's a splendid spring of pure water below yonder rock. i've just left my wife and eda busy with the tea-cups, and la roche preventing them from getting things ready, by way of helping them." "it does indeed seem a good place," replied frank, "and might do for temporary headquarters, perhaps, while we make excursions to the coast to fix on a spot for our new home." stanley gazed contemplatively around him as his friend spoke. "hand me the telescope, frank; it strikes me we are nearer the sea than you think. the water here is brackish, and yonder opening in the mountains might reveal something beyond, if magnified by the glass." after a lengthened survey of the surrounding hills, frank and stanley came to the conclusion that they could make nothing of it, at least that night; and as it was becoming gradually dark, they resolved to postpone all further consideration of the subject till the next day. meanwhile, the men busied themselves in preparing supper, and chimo unexpectedly lent them some assistance by bringing into camp a ptarmigan which he had just killed. true, chimo had, in his innocence, designed this little delicacy of the season for his own special table; but no sooner was he seen with the bird between his teeth, than it was snatched from him and transferred to the pot forthwith. the following day was an era in the existence of the travellers. for the first time since commencing their arduous voyage, the cargoes were left behind, and the canoes paddled away, light and buoyant, on a trip of investigation. stanley had rightly judged that they were now near the sea, and the great breadth of the river led him to believe that there might be water sufficient to float the vessel in which the goods for the station were to be forwarded. if this should turn out as he expected, there could not be a better spot for establishing a fort than that on which they had encamped, as it was situated just below the last rapids of the river; had a fine spring of fresh water in its vicinity; and was protected from the cold blasts of winter, to some extent at least, by the surrounding mountains. "now, frank," added mr stanley, after stating his opinion on this point, "what i mean to do is this: i shall take the large canoe, with dick prince, francois, gaspard, la roche, and augustus--the last to interpret should we fall in with esquimaux, whom i am surprised not to have found hereabouts. with these i will proceed to the sea, examine the coast, observe whether there be any place suitable for building on, and, if all goes well, be back to supper before sunset. you will take the other canoe, with bryan, massan, oolibuck, and ma-istequan, and proceed down the opposite side of the river a short way. examine the shores there, and above the island; see whether there be any place better than where we stand for a permanent residence; and at night we shall compare notes. my wife and eda shall remain in camp under the care of oostesimow and moses." "and pray who is to defend your poor wife and innocent child in the event of an attack by a band of savage natives?" inquired mrs stanley, as she joined her husband and frank. "no fear of the wife and child," replied stanley, patting his better half on the shoulder. "if indians should find out the camp, oostesimow can palaver with them; and should esquimaux pay you a visit, moses will do the polite. besides, had you not interrupted, i was going to have given special instructions to frank regarding you. so, master frank, be pleased to take eda off your shoulder, and give ear to my instructions. while you are examining the other side of the water, you will keep as much as possible within eye-shot, and always within ear-shot, of the camp. in a still day like this a gun-shot can be heard five or six miles off; and should you see any sign of the natives having been here recently, return instantly to the camp." frank promised implicit obedience to these instructions, and the whole party then set to work to pile the goods on a ledge in the steep cliffs behind the spring, so that a fortress was soon formed, which, with two such stout and courageous men as moses and oostesimow, armed with two guns each, a brace of pistols, two cutlasses, and an ample supply of ammunition, could have stood a prolonged siege from much more practised enemies than indians or esquimaux. after having completed these defensive arrangements, and provided occupation for those who remained in camp, by laying on them the duty of having the goods examined, in order to see that nothing had been damaged by wet or rough usage, the two canoes pushed from the shore, and bounded lightly away, while the men sang merrily at their easy labour; for now that the canoes were light, they might have been propelled by two men. frank directed his course obliquely up the river, towards the island already alluded to, and stanley proceeded with the current towards the narrows beyond which he expected to catch sight of the sea. after passing above the island, which was found to be low and thinly covered with vegetation and a few scrubby bushes, frank and his men pushed over to the other side and proceeded carefully to examine the coast. it was found to be much the same as that which they had just left. a narrow belt of sandy and shingly beach extended along the margin of the river, or, as it might be more appropriately termed, the lake, at least in as far as appearance went. this strip or belt was indented here and there with numerous bays and inlets, and in many places was intersected by rocky capes which jutted out from the mountains. these mountains were bare and precipitous, rising abruptly, like those on the other side, from the edge of the sand, and ascending in a succession of terraces, whose faces were so steep that it was almost impossible to scale them. they could be ascended in succession, however, by means of the ravines and numerous gullies which rose in rugged and zigzag lines from the beach to the mountain tops. in the very first of these gullies in which the exploring party landed, they found the remains of an esquimau summer encampment. these consisted of a few stunted trees, which appeared to have been built in the form of rude huts; but they were thrown about in some confusion, and altogether bore evidence of having remained in a state of ruin for many years. another discovery of a more satisfactory kind was made--namely, the tracks of deer, which were so fresh as to induce frank to take his rifle and mount the ravine in search of the animals, accompanied by massan, whose natural temperament was exceedingly prone to enjoy the excitement of the chase. so much, indeed, was this the case, that the worthy guide had more than once been on the point of making up his mind to elope to the backwood settlements of the states, purchase a rifle and ammunition there, don a deerskin hunting-shirt, and "make tracks," as he styled it, for the prairies, there to dwell and hunt until his eye refused to draw the sight and his finger to pull the trigger of a kentucky rifle. but massan's sociable disposition came in the way of this plan, and the thought of leading a solitary life always induced him to forego it. "it's my 'pinion, sir," remarked the guide, as he followed frank up the ravine, the sheltered parts of which were covered with a few clumps of stunted pines--"it's my 'pinion that we'll have to cut our logs a long bit up the river, for there's nothin' fit to raise a fort with hereabouts." "true, massan," replied frank, glancing from side to side, hunter fashion, as he walked swiftly over the broken ground; "there's not a tree that i can see big enough to build a backwoods shanty with." "well, master, 'twill do for firewood, if it's fit for nothin' else, and that's a blessin' that's not always to be comed by everywhere. let's be thankful for small matters. i see sticks growin' up them gullies that'll do for stakes for the nets, an' axe handles, an' paddles, an' spear shafts, an'--" the honest guide's enumeration of the various articles into which the small timber of the place might be converted was brought to a sudden pause by frank, who laid his hand on his shoulder, and while he pointed with the butt of his rifle up the ravine, whispered, "don't you see anything else up yonder besides trees, massan?" the guide looked in the direction indicated, and by an expressive grunt showed that his eye had fallen on the object referred to by his companion. it was a deer which stood on an overhanging ledge of rock, high up the cliffs--so high that it might easily have been mistaken for a much smaller animal by less practised sportsmen. below the shelf on which it stood was a yawning abyss, which rendered any attempt to get near the animal utterly hopeless. "what a pity," said frank, as he crouched behind a projecting rock, "that it's out of shot! it would take us an hour at least to get behind it, and there's little chance, i fear, of its waiting for us." "no chance whatever," replied massan decidedly. "but he's big enough to cover from where we stand." "to cover! ay, truly, i could point straight at his heart easy enough-- indeed i would think it but slight boasting to say i could cover his eye from this spot--but the bullet would refuse to go, massan; it's far beyond shot." "try, sir, try," exclaimed the guide quickly, for as they spoke the deer moved. "i've been huntin' on the rocky mountains afore now, an' i know that distance cheats you in sich places. it's not so far as you think--" he had scarcely finished speaking when frank's rifle poured forth its contents. the loud echoes of the crags reverberated as the smoke floated away to leeward. the next instant the deer sprang with one wild bound high into the air--over the cliff--and descending with lightning speed through the dark space, was dashed almost in pieces on the rocks below. massan gave a low chuckle of satisfaction as he walked up to the mangled animal, and pointing to a small round hole just over its heart, he said, "the old spot, mr frank; ye always hit them there." having paid frank this compliment, massan bled the animal, which was in prime condition, with at least two inches of fat on its flanks, and having placed it on his shoulders, returned with his companion to the canoe. while frank was thus engaged, stanley had descended towards the shores of ungava bay, which he found to be about twenty-five miles distant from the encampment beside the spring. he made a rapid survey of the coast as they descended, and sounded the river at intervals. when he reached its mouth he had made two important discoveries. the one was, that there did not seem to be a spot along the whole line of coast so well fitted in all respects for an establishment as the place whereon their tents were already pitched. the other was, that the river, from its mouth up to that point, was deep enough to float a vessel of at least three or four hundred tons burden. this was very satisfactory, and he was about to return to the camp when he came upon the deserted esquimau village which, a few weeks before, had been the scene of a murderous attack and a hasty flight. on a careful examination of the place, the marks of a hasty departure were so apparent that stanley and his men made a pretty near guess at the true state of affairs; and the former rightly conjectured that, having made a precipitate flight in consequence of some unexpected attack, there was little probability of their returning soon to the same locality. this was unfortunate, but in the hope that he might be mistaken in these conjectures, and that the natives might yet return before winter, he set up a pole on a conspicuous place, and tied to the top of it a bag containing two dozen knives, one dozen fire-steels, some awls and needles, several pounds of beads, and a variety of such trinkets as were most likely to prove acceptable to a savage people. while bryan was engaged in piling a heap of stones at the foot of this pole to prevent its being blown down by the wind, the rest of the party re-embarked, and prepared to return home; for although the camp beside the spring was scarcely one day old, the fact that it was likely to become the future residence of the little party had already invested it with a species of homelike attraction. man is a strange animal, and whatever untravelled philosophers may say to the contrary, he speedily makes himself "at home" _anywhere_! "hallo, bryan!" shouted stanley from the canoe, "look sharp; we're waiting for you!" "ay, ay, yer honour," replied the irishman, lifting a huge mass of rock; "jist wan more, an' it'll be stiff an' stidy as the north pole himself." then in an undertone he added, "`look sharp,' is it ye say? it's blunt ye are to spake that way to yer betters. musha! but it's mysilf wouldn't give a tinpinny for all that bag houlds, twinty times doubled; an' yit thim haythens, thim pork-faced huskimos, 'll dance round this here pole wi' delight till they're fit to dhrop. och! but salvages is a quare lot; an', bryan, yer a cliver boy to come this far all the way to see thim." with this self-complimentary conclusion, bryan resumed his place at the paddle, and the party returned to the camp. here they found things in a most satisfactory state. frank and his party had returned, and the deer, now cut up into joints and steaks, was impaled on a number of stakes of wood, and stuck up to roast round a large and cheering fire. the savoury steam from these, with the refreshing odour of the tea-kettle, produced a delectable sensation in the nostrils of the hungry explorers. stanley's tent was erected with its back towards the mountains and its open door towards the fire, which lighted up its snug interior, and revealed mrs stanley and edith immersed in culinary operations, and chimo watching them with a look of deep, grave sagacity--his ears very erect, and his head a good deal inclined to one side, as if that position favoured the peculiar train of his cogitations. la roche was performing feats of agility round the fire, that led one to believe he must be at least half a salamander. at a respectful distance from stanley's tent, but within the influence of the fire, the men were employed in pitching, for the first time, the large skin tent which was to be their residence until they should build a house for themselves; and on a log, within dangerous proximity to the mercurial la roche, sat frank morton, busily employed in entering in his journal the various events of the day. there was much talk and loud laughter round the fire that night, for the different parties had much to tell and much to hear regarding the discoveries that had been made, and discussions as to the prospects of the expedition were earnest and long. it was generally admitted that first appearances were, upon the whole, favourable, although it could not be denied that the place looked dreadfully barren and rugged. under the happy influence of this impression, and the happier influence of the savoury steaks on which they had supped, the entire party lay down to rest, and slept so profoundly that there was neither sound nor motion to indicate the presence of human beings in the vast solitudes of ungava, save the fitful flame of the fire as it rose and fell, casting a lurid light on the base of the rugged mountains, and a sharp reflection on the dark waters. chapter sixteen. resources of the country begin to develop--bryan distinguishes himself-- fishing extraordinary. there is a calm but deep-seated and powerful pleasure which fills the heart, and seems to permeate the entire being, when one awakens to the conviction that a day of arduous toil is about to begin--toil of an uncertain kind, perhaps connected with danger and adventure, in an unexplored region of the earth. ignorance always paints coming events in glowing colours; and the mere fact that our adventurers knew not the nature of the country in which their tent was pitched--knew not whether the natives would receive them as friends or repel them as foes--knew not whether the nature and capabilities of the country were such as would be likely to convert the spot on which they lay into a comfortable home or a premature grave;--the mere fact of being utterly ignorant on these points was, in itself, sufficient to fill the poorest spirit of the band (had there been a poor spirit among them) with a glow of pleasurable excitement, and a firm resolve to tax their powers of doing and suffering to the uttermost. when the sun rose on the following morning the whole party was astir, the fire lighted, and an early breakfast in course of preparation. much had to be done, and it behoved them to set about it with energy and at once, for the short autumn of these arctic regions was drawing on apace, and a winter of great length and of the utmost severity lay before them. there was also one consideration which caused some anxiety to stanley and frank, although it weighed little on the reckless spirits of the men, and this was the possibility of the non-arrival of the ship with their winter supply of provisions and goods for trade. without such a supply a winter on the shores of ungava bay would involve all the hardships and extreme perils that too often fall to the lot of arctic discoverers; and he who has perused the fascinating journals of those gallant men, knows that these hardships and perils are neither few nor light. the leaders of the expedition were not, indeed, men to anticipate evils, or to feel unduly anxious about possible dangers; but they would have been more or less than human had they been able to look at mrs stanley and little edith without a feeling of anxiety on their account. this thought, however, did not influence them in their actions; or, if it did, it only spurred them on to more prompt and vigorous exertions in the carrying out of their undertaking. after breakfast stanley assembled his men, and gave each special directions what to do. one of the most important points to ascertain was whether there were many fish in the river. on this hung much of the future comfort and well-being, perhaps even the existence, of the party. gaspard was, therefore, ordered to get out his nets and set them opposite the encampment. oolibuck, being officially an interpreter of the esquimau language, and, when not employed in his calling, regarded as a sort of male maid-of-all-work, was ordered to assist gaspard. the next matter of primary importance was to ascertain what animals inhabited the region, and whether they were numerous. dick prince, being the recognised hunter of the party, was directed to take his gun and a large supply of ammunition, and sally forth over the mountains in search of game; and as massan was a special friend of his, a good shot, and, moreover, a sagacious fellow, he was ordered to accompany him. they were also directed to observe particularly the state of the woods and the quality of the timber growing therein; but as this last required special attention, the style and size of the future fort being dependent on it, francois, the carpenter, was appointed to make a journey of observation up the caniapuscaw river, in company with augustus the esquimau and ma-istequan the indian--it being thought probable that if natives were to be met with at all, they would be on the banks of the river rather than in the mountains. it was further arranged that frank morton should ascend the mountains in company with bryan, and ascertain if there were any lakes, and whether or not they contained fish. as for mr stanley, he resolved to remain by the camp. on entering his tent after dispatching the several parties, he said to his wife-- "i'm going to stay by you to-day, jessie. all the men, except moses, oostesimow, gaspard, and la roche, are sent off to hunt and fish in the mountains, and i have kept these four to paddle about this neighbourhood, in order to take soundings and examine the coast more carefully; because, you see, it would be an unfortunate thing if we began our establishment in a place not well suited for it." mrs stanley and edith were, of course, quite pleased with this arrangement, and while the males of the party were absent, the former employed herself in dressing the skin of the deer that had been shot the day before. she accomplished this after the indian fashion, by scraping and rubbing it with the animal's brains. afterwards she smoked it over a fire of green wood, and in this way produced a soft, pliant substance similar to chamois leather, but coarser and stouter. as for edith, she rambled at will among the bushes of the nearest ravine, under the faithful guardianship of chimo, and hurried back to the camp almost every hour, laden with cloudberries, cranberries, blaeberries, and crowberries, which grew in profusion everywhere. opposite to the camp the water was found to be eight fathoms deep. this was of great importance, as affording facility for unloading the ship abreast of the establishment. higher up the river the ground was more favourable for building, both on account of its being more sheltered and better wooded with timber fit for the construction of houses; but the water was too shallow to float the ship, and the island before mentioned, which was named cross island, proved an effectual barrier to the upward progress of any craft larger than a boat. but as stanley surveyed the spot on which the tent was pitched, and observed the sheltering background of mountains, with their succession of terraces; the creek or ravine to the right, with its growth of willows and stunted pines; the level parcel of greensward, with the little fountain under the rock; and the fine sandy bay in which gaspard and oolibuck were busily engaged in setting a couple of nets,--when he surveyed all this, he felt that, although not the best locality in the neighbourhood, it was, nevertheless, a very good one, and well suited in many respects for the future establishment. "please, sir, the net him set," shouted oolibuck from the shore to his master, who floated in the bay at the distance of a hundred yards, busily engaged with the sounding-line. on receiving this piece of information, stanley ran the canoe on the beach, and said to his follower-- "oolibuck, i have been thinking much about that river which we saw yesterday, off the mouth of this one; and i cannot help fearing that the ship will run into it, instead of into this, for the land is very deceptive." "me t'ink dat is true," answered the esquimau, with a look of grave perplexity. "if de ship go into dat riv'r he t'ink we no arrive, and so he go 'way, and we all starve!" "nay, oolibuck, i trust that such would not be the sad result of the ship failing to find us; but in order to prevent this, if possible, i intend to send you down to the coast, with a few days' provisions, to keep a look-out for the ship, and light a fire if you see her, so that she may be guided to the right place. so get a blanket and your gun as fast as you can, and be off. i can only afford you four days' provisions, oolibuck, so you will have to prove yourself a good hunter, else you'll starve. will four days' provisions do?" oolibuck's eyes disappeared. we do not mean to say that they flew away, or were annihilated. but oolibuck was fat--so fat that, when he laughed, his eyes reduced themselves into two little lines surrounded by wrinkles; a result which was caused by a physical incapacity to open the mouth and eyes at the same time. as a general rule, when oolibuck's mouth was open his eyes were shut, and when his eyes were open his mouth was shut. being a good-humoured fellow, and of a risible nature, the alternations were frequent. it was the idea of stanley doubting the sufficiency of four days' provisions that closed the eyes of the esquimau on the present occasion. "two days' grub more dan 'nuff," said oolibuck. "give me plenty powder and shot, and me no starve--no fear." "very well," rejoined stanley, laughing, "take as much ammunition as you require, but be careful of it; if the ship fails us we shall need it all. and don't be too eager after the deer, oolibuck; keep a sharp look-out seaward, be on the hill-tops as much as you can, and keep your eyes open." oolibuck replied by closing the said eyes with a smile, as he hurried towards the tent to prepare for his expedition. in the meantime stanley directed oostesimow and la roche to set about building a small canoe out of the birch bark which they had carried with them for the purpose, the large canoes being too cumbrous for the purpose of overhauling the nets. the nets had been set by gaspard in the usual way--that is, with stones attached to the lower lines to act as sinkers, and floats attached to the upper lines to keep them spread; and it was with no little impatience that the party in the camp awaited the issue. indeed they scarcely permitted an hour to pass without an inspection being ordered; but to their chagrin, instead of finding fish, they found the nets rolled up by the conflicting currents of the river and the tide into the form of two ropes. "this will never do," cried stanley, as they brought the nets ashore. "we must set stake-nets immediately. it is nearly low tide now, so if we work hard they may be ready to set up before the tide has risen much." in pursuance of this plan, stanley and his men went to the ravine, of which mention has been already made, and proceeded to cut stakes for the nets; while oolibuck, having explained to mrs stanley and edith that he was "going to look _h_out for de ship," shouldered his wallet and gun, and ascending the ravine, speedily gained the first terrace of the mountains, along which he hastened in the direction of the sea-coast. while the party in the camp were thus engaged, frank morton and bryan instituted a thorough investigation of the country that lay directly in the rear of the camp, in the course of which investigation they made sundry interesting discoveries. after ascending the ravine in which we left stanley and his men cutting stakes for the nets, frank and bryan reached the first terrace, and proceeded along it in the opposite direction from that pursued by oolibuck. a walk of a quarter of a mile, or less, brought them to another ravine, into which they turned, and the first thing that greeted them as they pushed their way through the stunted willows that thickly covered this gorge in the mountains was a covey of ptarmigan. these birds are similar in form and size to ordinary grouse, perhaps a little smaller. in winter they are pure white--so white that it is difficult to detect them amid the snow; but in summer their coats become brown, though there are a few of the pure white feathers left which never change their colour. being unaccustomed to the sight of man, they stood gazing at frank and bryan in mute surprise, until the latter hastily threw forward his gun, when they wisely took to flight. but frank arrested his follower's arm. "don't waste your powder and shot, bryan, on such small game. there may be something more worthy of a shot among the mountains; and if you once raise the echoes among these wild cliffs, i fear the game will not wait to inquire the cause thereof." "maybe not, sir," replied bryan, as he fell back a pace, and permitted frank to lead the way; "but there's an ould proverb that says, `a bird in the hand's worth two in the buss,' an' i've great belaif in that same." "very true, bryan, there is much wisdom in old proverbs; but there are exceptions to every rule, and this is a case in point, as you will admit if you cast your eyes over yonder valley, and observe the edge of the mountain-top that cuts so clear a line against the sky." frank pointed, as he spoke, to the shoulder or spur of one of the mountains which rose at a considerable distance in the interior, and from which they were separated by a dark glen or gorge; for none of the ravines in this part of the country merited the name of valley, save that through which flowed the caniapuscaw river. the ravine up which they had been toiling for some time led into this darksome glen, and it was on rounding a bold precipice, which had hitherto concealed it from view, that frank's quick eye caught sight of the object to which he directed the attention of his companion. "'tis a crow," said bryan, after a gaze of five minutes, during which he had gone through a variety of strange contortions--screwing up his features, shading his eyes with his hand, standing on tip-toe, although there was nothing to look over, and stooping low, with a hand on each knee, though there was nothing to look under, in the vain hope to increase by these means his power of vision. frank regarded him with a quiet smile, as he said, "look again, bryan. saw you ever a crow with antlers?" "anthlers!" exclaimed the irishman, once more wrinkling up his expressive face, and peering under his palm; "anthlers, say you? sorra a thing duv i see 'xcept a black spot on the sky. if ye see anthlers on it, ye're nothin' more nor less than a walkin' spy-glass." "nevertheless i see them, bryan; and they grace the head of a noble buck. now, you see, it is well you did not fire at the ptarmigan. away with you, lad, down into that ravine, and clamber up the mountain through yonder gap with the fallen rock in the middle of it--d'ye see?-- and wait there, lest the deer should turn back. in the meantime i'll run round by the way we came, and descend to the water's edge, to receive him when he arrives there. now don't lose yourself, and take care not to fire at smaller game." as frank concluded these orders, which he issued in a quick low voice, he threw his gun into the hollow of his left arm and strode rapidly away, leaving his companion gazing after him with an expression of blank stupidity on his face. gradually his cheeks and brow were overspread with a thousand wrinkles and a smile took possession of his lips. "`don't lose yersilf!' faix, master frank, ye're free an' aisy. arrah now, bryan dear, don't lose yersilf; you that's crossed the salt saes, an' followed the red injins to the prairie, and hunted in the rocky mountains, and found yer way to ungava--not to mintion havin' comed oraginally from ould ireland--which ov itsilf secures ye agin mistakes of every kind whatsumdiver. lose yersilf! musha, but ye had better git some wan to look after ye, bryan boy. take care now; go softly and kape yer eyes open, for fear ye lose yersilf!" as bryan mumbled forth this bantering soliloquy, he lifted up a large bag which contained a couple of fishing-lines and a few hooks, and throwing it across the stock of his gun, and both across his shoulder, he took his way down the rugged but well-beaten deer-path which led to the ravine or glen. the idea of losing himself seemed to have taken such a hold of bryan's mind, and afforded him so much amusement and such scope for the continued flow of bantering soliloquy to which he was in truth much addicted, that he failed to note the fact that he was walking along the edge of a steep declivity, at the foot of which lay a small, dark sheet of water, which was connected by a short river or strait with a larger lake, whose wavelets rippled at the base of the mountain beyond. the scene was magnificently wild and lonely, and would have riveted the attention and excited the admiration of any one less absent than bryan. high, rugged, and to all appearance inaccessible mountains surrounded the vale on all sides; and although there were several outlets from it, these were so concealed by the peculiar formation of the wild mountains that they could not be seen until they were actually entered. had bryan's eyes been more active, he would have seen that the fringe of bushes by the side of the deer-track, along which he walked, concealed a declivity so steep that it almost merited the name of a precipice. but bryan was lost in philosophic contemplation, and the first thing that awakened him to the fact was the slipping of a stone, which caused him to trip and fall headlong over the bank! the irishman grasped convulsively at the bushes to arrest his fall, but the impetus with which he had commenced the descent tore them from his grasp, and after one or two unpleasant bounds and a good deal of crashing through shrubs that tore his garments sadly, he found himself stretched at full length on the margin of the river that connected the two lakes. so nearly had he been hurled into this strait by the violence of his descent that his head was hanging over the bank ere he stopped! being partially stunned by the fall, bryan lay for a few seconds motionless. as his shaken faculties returned, however, he became aware of the fact that a fish of fully two feet long lay at the bottom of the pool over which his head hung. starting up, and totally forgetting his bruises, he turned to look for the bag containing the fishing-lines, and observing it lying on the ground not far distant, still wrapped round the gun, he ran to pick it up. "oh! wow! poor thing!" he exclaimed, on lifting up his gun, which, though fortunately not broken, was sadly bent, "ye're fit for nothin' but shootin' round the corner now! it's well for you, bryan, ye spalpeen, that your backbone is not in the same fix." while he thus muttered to himself, bryan drew from the bag a stout cod-line, to which he fastened a hook of deadly dimensions, and dressed it into the form of a fly, much in the same manner as was formerly done by la roche. this line and fly he fastened to the end of a short stout pole which he cut from a neighbouring tree, and approaching cautiously to the bank of the strait--for there was too little motion in it to entitle it to be called a stream--he cast the fly with a violent splash into the water. the violence was unintentional--at least the exclamations of reproach that followed the cast would lead us to suppose so. the fish here were as tame as those caught in deer river. in a few seconds the fly was swallowed, and bryan, applying main force to the pole, tossed a beautiful trout of about two pounds weight over his head. "och! ye purty crature," exclaimed the delighted irishman, rubbing his hands with glee as he gazed at the fish after having unhooked it. "shure ye'll make a beautiful fagure in the kittle this night. an' musha! there's wan o' yer relations to kape ye company," he added, as, exerting an enormous degree of unnecessary force, he drew another trout violently from the water. the second trout was larger than the first, and bryan soon became so excited in the sport that he totally forgot frank's orders, and the deer, and everything else in the world, for the time being. having caught six or seven trout, varying from two to four pounds in weight, he changed his position a little, and made a cast over a deep pool nearer to the large lake. as heretofore, the fly was engulfed the instant it fell on the water; but bryan did not, as heretofore, haul the fish violently out of its native element. it is true he attempted to do so, but the attempt proved utterly futile; moreover, the fish darted with such velocity and strength towards the lake, that the angler, albeit entirely ignorant of his art, experienced an inward conviction that the thick cord would snap altogether if not eased of the enormous strain. he therefore followed the fish at the top of his speed, uttering incomprehensible sounds of mingled rage and amazement as he went, and tripping over rocks and bushes in his headlong career. after a smart run of half a minute the fish stopped, turned, and darted back so rapidly that bryan tripped in turning and fell into the water! the place was shallow, but having fallen on his back, he was thoroughly drenched from head to foot. he did not lose the grasp of his rod, however. spluttering, and gasping, and dripping, he followed the fish in its wild career until it turned again at a tangent, and darted towards the bank on which he stood. there was a shelving bed of pebbles, where the water shoaled very gradually. bryan saw this. availing himself of the fish's impetus, and putting all his force to the rod, he dragged it into two inches of water, when the line broke. instantly the fish struggled towards deep water; but it was so large, and the place to which it had been dragged so shallow, that it afforded the excited angler time to rush forward and throw himself bodily on the top of it! the battle that now ensued was of an energetic and deadly character on the part of both man and fish. those who have not grasped a live salmon in their arms have no conception of the strength of a fish; and perhaps it may be said with equal truth that those who have never wielded a forehammer have but a faint conception of the strength of a blacksmith's knuckles. bryan had thrown his whole weight on the fish, and grasped it, as with a vice, in both hands; but at every struggle of its powerful frame he felt how uncertain was the hold he had of its slippery body. once it almost escaped, and dashed the spray over its adversary's face with its tail, as it wriggled out of his grasp; but with a desperate plunge bryan seized it by the head and succeeded in thrusting his thumb under its gill and choking it, while himself was well-nigh choked at the same moment by unintentionally swallowing a gulp of the muddy compound which they had stirred up in their struggles. slowly and with caution bryan rose on one knee, while he crushed the fish against the bottom with both hands; then making a last exertion, he hurled it up the bank, where it fell beyond all hope of return to its native element. the fish thus captured was a beautiful trout of about twenty pounds weight. the lake trout of north america are, some of them, of enormous size, being not unfrequently taken of sixty pounds weight, so that as a specimen of those inhabiting these lakes this was by no means a large one. nevertheless it was a splendid fish, and certainly the largest that had ever been captured by the worthy son of vulcan. the thick coat of liquid mud with which his face was covered could not entirely conceal the smile of intense satisfaction with which he regarded his prize, as he sat down on the bank before it. "kape quiet now, honey!" he exclaimed, as the trout made a last fluttering attempt to escape; "kape quiet. have patience, darlint. it's o' no manner o' use to hurry natur'. just lie still, an' it'll be soon over." with this consolatory remark, bryan patted the fish on the head, and proceeded to wring the water from his upper garments, after which he repaired his broken tackle, and resumed his sport with an eagerness and zest that cold and water and mud could not diminish in the smallest degree. chapter seventeen. successes and encouragement--bryan lost and found. it was evening before the tide began to fall and uncover the stake-nets, which were eagerly and earnestly watched by those who had remained in the camp. mrs stanley and edith were seated on an empty box by the margin of the sandy bay; mr stanley sat on a nail-keg beside them; la roche and the indian were still working at the small canoe a few yards from the tent; and gaspard, with folded arms, and an unusual smile of good humour playing on his countenance, stood close behind stanley. none of the hunting and exploring parties had returned, although the sun had long since disappeared behind the mountains, and the mellow light of evening was deepening over the bay. "there's a tail, sir," said gaspard, as he hurried towards the net. "so it is!" cried stanley, leaping up. "come along, eda, and take the first fish." edith needed no second invitation, but bounded towards the edge of the water, which was now gradually leaving the nets. gaspard had already disengaged a white fish from the mesh, and wading to the beach, gave it to the little girl, who ran with it joyously to her mother. meanwhile, another and another fish was left by the tide, and stanley soon after brought up a splendid salmon of about twenty-five pounds weight, and laid it at edith's feet. "oh, how very beautiful!" cried the child, as she gazed in delight at the silvery scales of the fish. "my mind is much relieved by this, jessie," said stanley, reseating himself on the keg, while oostesimow and la roche carried the fish ashore as gaspard freed them from the nets. "i now see that there are plenty of fish in the river, and if the hunters bring in a good report to-night, our anxiety on the score of food will be quite removed." although none of the party had ever set a net on stakes before, they had frequently heard of this manner of fishing, and their first attempt proved eminently successful. at low tide stakes had been driven into the sand, extending from the edge of the water towards high-water mark. on these the nets had been spread, and thus the misfortune which had attended the setting of the nets with floats and sinkers was avoided. the quantity of fish taken gave promise of an ample supply for the future. there were two hearne-salmon (that is, spotted like trout), and one large common salmon, besides thirty white-fish, averaging between two to six pounds weight each, all of which were in excellent condition. the white-fish is of the salmon species, but white in the flesh, and being less rich than the salmon, is much preferred by those who have to use it constantly as an article of food. "this is a most fortunate supply," remarked stanley, "and will prevent the necessity of putting the men on short allowance." "short allowance!" exclaimed his wife; "i thought we had more than enough of food to last us till the arrival of the ship." "ay, so we have. but until now i did not feel at liberty to use it; for if through any accident the ship does not come, and if there had chanced to be no fish in the river, the only course open to us would be to retrace our steps, and as that would be a long and slow process, we would require to economise our food. in fact, i had resolved to begin operations by putting the men on short allowance; but this haul of fish shows me that we shall have more than enough. "but who comes here?" he added, on observing the figure of a man approaching the camp. "he seems to carry a burden on his back, as far as i can make out in the uncertain light." "did any of the men go out alone?" inquired mrs stanley. "no; but i suppose that this one must have separated from his comrade.-- hallo! who goes there?" the man tossed the bundle from his shoulders, and hastening forward revealed the flushed countenance of frank morton. "what! frank! why, man, you seem to have had a hard day of it, if i may judge by your looks." "not so hard but that a good supper will put its effects to flight," replied frank, as he rested his gun against a rock and seated himself on the keg from which stanley had risen. "the fact is, i have slain a noble buck, and being desirous that the men should have as much of it as possible, i loaded myself rather heavily. the ground, too, is horribly bad; but pray send gaspard for the bundle. i should have been here sooner but for the time required to dissect the animal." "where is bryan, frank?" inquired mrs stanley. "you went away together." "bryan! i know not. he and i parted in the mountains some hours ago; and as he failed to keep his appointment with me, i concluded that he must have become foot-sore and returned to camp." "he has not returned," said stanley; "but i have no fear for the honest blacksmith. he's too old a nor'wester to lose himself, and he's too tough to kill. but come, frank, let us to our tent. i see that la roche has already prepared our salmon for the kettle, and so--" "salmon!" interrupted frank. "ay, lad, salmon! a twenty-five pounder too! but come, change your foot-gear, and then we shall have our supper, in the course of which we shall exchange news." as they proceeded towards the camp the voices of some of the men were heard in the distance; it was now too dark to see them. in a few minutes francois, followed by augustus and ma-istequan, strode into the circle of light around the fire, and laying aside their guns proceeded to light their pipes, while they replied to the questions of frank and stanley. "you do not come empty-handed," remarked the latter, as francois and his comrades threw down several fat ducks and a few grouse, which, after the fashion of hunters, they had carried pendent by the necks from their belts. "we only shot a few, monsieur," replied francois, "to put in the kettle for supper. we might have loaded a canoe had we chosen." "that is well," said stanley; "but the kettle is full already, and supper prepared. see, frank has shot a deer, so that we shall fare well to-night.--ah, prince! come along. what! more game?" he added, as dick and massan entered the halo of light, and threw down the choice morsels of a fat deer which they had killed among the mountains. "ah! oui, monsieur," said massan, chuckling as he laid aside his axe and gun; "we might ha' killed three o' them if we had been so minded; but we couldn't ha' brought them into camp, an', as dick said, 'tis a pity to kill deer to feed the wolves with." "right!" exclaimed frank; "but did any of you see bryan? he gave me the slip in the mountains, and, i fear, has lost himself." to this the men replied in the negative, and some of them smiled at the idea of the blacksmith being lost. "no fear, vraiment! he no lost," cried la roche with a laugh, as he lifted the huge kettle from the fire and placed it in the midst of the men, having previously abstracted the best portions for the special benefit of his master. "no fear of bryan, certainment; he like one bad shilling--he come up toujours. ah! mauvais chien, him give me all de trouble ov get supper ready mylone." "i trust it may be so," said stanley. "we are all here except him and oolibuck, whom i have sent to the coast for a few days to watch for the ship. but let us have supper, la roche, and spread ours nearer the fire to-night--it is rather cold; besides, i want to hear the reports of the men." in compliance with this order, the lively frenchman spread the supper for his master's family close beside that of the men, and in a few minutes more a most vigorous attack was made on the viands, during the first part of which the hungry travellers maintained unbroken silence. but as the cravings of nature began to be satisfied, their tongues found time to remark on the excellence of the fare. the salmon was superb. even edith, who seldom talked about what she ate, pronounced it very good. the white-fish were better than any of the party had ever eaten in their lives, although most of them had travelled over the length and breadth of the north american wilderness. the ducks were perfect. even the ptarmigan were declared passable; and the venison, with an inch of fat on the haunches--words were not found sufficiently expressive to describe it. those who are philosophically inclined may suspect that some of this super-excellence lay in the keen appetites of the men. well, perhaps it did. while the travellers were in the midst of this, and ere yet their tongues were fairly loosened, a loud unearthly shout rang with appalling reverberations among the surrounding cliffs, causing the entire party to start up and rush for their arms. again the cry was heard. "ah! bad skran to ye, losh!--hould on, moses, ye fat villain. lave me wan mouthful, jist wan, to kape me from givin' up the ghost intirely." a shout of laughter greeted the advent of bryan's voice, but it was nothing to the peals that burst forth on the appearance of that individual in _propria persona_. to say that he was totally dishevelled would convey but half the truth. besides being covered and clotted with mud, he was saturated with water from head to foot, his clothes rent in a most distressing manner, and his features quite undistinguishable. "why, bryan, what ails you? where have you been?" inquired stanley, in a tone of sympathy. "bin, is it? sorra wan o' me knows where i've bin. it's mysilf is glad to be sartin i'm here, anyhow." "i'm glad you're certain of it," said frank, "for if it were not for the sound of your voice, i should doubt it." "ah monsieur," said la roche, "make your mind easy on dat. no von but bryan ever regard de kettle dat way." "taizy voo, ye petit varmint," said bryan, approaching the said kettle, and smiling rapturously through the mud that encrusted his face on beholding its contents. without waiting to change his garments the hungry blacksmith began supper, having first, however, directed attention to the bag which he had brought in. from this bag la roche now extracted about a dozen trout, some of which were of great size-- especially one, whose bulk exceeded that of the large salmon. "there's plinty more where thim comed from," said bryan, through a mouthful of venison; "but i'll tell ye ov it afther supper." "ah, true! don't let us interrupt him just now," said stanley. "in the meantime, francois, since you seem to be about done, tell us what you have seen, and let us hear what you have to say of the country." francois having lighted his pipe, cleared his throat and began:-- "well, monsieur, after we had paddled a short bit beyond the point below the last rapid in caniapuscaw river, we shoved the canoe ashore, and landed prince and massan, who set off to look for game, leavin' augustus, ma-istequan, and me to paddle up the river as well as we could. but we soon found that three men in a big canoe could not make much way agin the strong current of the river, so we put ashore again and took to our legs. "after making a long tramp up the banks o' the river, we fell in with some good-sized pines; but although they are big for this part of the country, they are not big enough for building. then we pushed into the gullies, which are sheltered from the cold winds off the bay, and here we found the trees a good deal bigger. there are pines and larch in abundance, and some of the larch are even bigger than we require." "are they far inland?" inquired stanley. "no, monsieur, they are only a few hundred yards from the banks of the river, and growin' on the edge of a small creek, which i noticed is deep enough to float them down." "good, very good," said stanley, filling his pipe with a fresh charge of tobacco; "that is most fortunate, for it will save time, and take fewer men to bring them here. go on, francois." "bien, monsieur. then i felled one or two o' the trees, to see what like they are; and i found that they are very tough and good. the pines are firmer and tougher than any i ever saw in the indian country, owing, i suppose, to their stunted growth. while i was thus employed, augustus shot the grouse we brought home, and we saw a great many coveys of them. in fact, we might have shot many more; but as we did not know how far we should have to walk, we thought it best not to burden ourselves too much. we also saw a great many ducks, and shot a few, as you see." "did you see goose?" inquired la roche, whose mind had a natural tendency to culinary matters. "no," replied francois, "i saw no geese; but i did not go out of my way to look for them. i was more taken up with the timber than replenishing the kettle." "ah! that ver' great pity. oui, grand dommage. de kittle toujours de most importance t'ing on de voyage. if you forget him, you goot for not'ing. mais, francois, did you look into the deep clear pool at de foot of de rapid?" francois emitted a cloud of smoke with a negative in the middle of it. "an!" said la roche with a sigh, "i thought not; mais it was pity. you see one goose for certain, if you have look straight down into dat pool." "bien," continued francois, turning to stanley. "i then went into one or two more gullies, and saw some more sticks fit for building; but after all it is only in the gullies they grow, and there are not very many. the trees on the banks of the river are chiefly pines, and only fit for firewood." "and an important item is firewood, as we shall find ere long," remarked stanley. "your account of the timber is very satisfactory, francois. did you see traces of indians or esquimaux?" "no; i saw none." "perhaps you did, prince," continued stanley, turning to that worthy, who was stretched, along with massan, at full length before the blaze, and had been listening attentively to the conversation while he solaced himself with his pipe. "yes, sir, we seed the marks they left behind them," answered prince, while he glanced towards massan, as if to invite him to give the desired information. "ay, we saw their marks, no doubt," said the guide, knocking the ashes out of his pipe, and raising himself from his reclining posture to that of a tailor, the more conveniently to recharge that beloved implement. "ay, we saw their marks, and they was by no means pleasant to look on. after we had landed above the p'int, as francois told ye, dick prince and me went up one o' the gullies, an' then gettin' on one o' them flat places that run along the face of all the mountains hereabouts, we pushed straight up the river. we had not gone far when, on turnin' a p'int, we both clapped eyes at the same moment on the most ill-lookin' blackguard of a wolf i ever saw. up went both our guns at once, and i believe we were very near puttin' a bullet in each of his eyes, when we noticed that these same eyes were not bookin' at us, but starin', most awful earnest like, up a gully in the mountains; so we looked up, an', sure enough, there we saw a deer on the mountain-top, tossin' its head and snuffin' round to see that the coast was clear before it came down to the water. we noticed that a regular beaten deer-track passed down this gully, and master wolf, who knowed the walk very well, was on the lookout for his dinner; so we waited quiet till the deer came down, an' dick put a bullet in its heart, an' i put one into the wolf's head, so they both tumbled down the cliffs together. the shot made another deer, that we had not seen, start off into the river; but before it got a few yards from the shore, dick loaded again and put a bullet into its head too, an' it was washed ashore at the p'int below us. "havin' fixed them off comfortably, we cut up the deer, and put all we could carry on our shoulders, for we knowed that if we left them we'd find nothin' but the bones when we came back. about an hour after this we came upon a deserted camp of indians. it was so fresh that we think they must have passed but a few weeks ago. the whole camp was strewed with bones of deer, as if the red varmints had been havin' a feast. an' sure enough, a little farther on we came upon the dead carcasses of ninety-three deer! the rascals had taken nothin' but the tongues an' tit-bits, leavin' the rest for the wolves." "ay, they're a reckless, improvident set," remarked stanley. "i've been told that the esquimaux are quite different in this respect. they never kill what they don't require; but the redskins slaughter the deer by dozens for the sake of their tongues." "we also found the broken head of an esquimau seal-spear, and this little bit of sealskin." massan handed these as he spoke to stanley. "i fear," said frank, "this looks as if they had made an attack on the esquimaux very recently." "i fear it much," said stanley, examining the little shred of sealskin, which had beautifully glossy hair on one side, and on the other, which was dressed, there were sundry curious marks, one of which bore a rude resemblance to an indian wigwam, with an arrow pointing towards it. "i found the bit o' sealskin hanging on a bush a little apart from the place where they camped, an' from what i've seen o' the ways o' redskins, it's my 'pinion that it was put there for some purpose or other." "very likely.--take care of it, jessie," said stanley, throwing it to his wife; "it may be explained some day.--well, massan, did you see any other animals?" "yes, sir, lots o' them. we saw deer on the hill-tops, and might ha' shot more o' them if we could have brought them into camp. an' we saw porcupines in all the pine bluffs. an' we saw fish in the lakes among the mountains. there are lots o' them lakes--small things some o' them--in all the gullies, and fish in most o' them; but we had neither lines nor hooks, so we catched none." "faix, if ye catched none, yer betters catched plinty," said bryan, who, having concluded supper and changed his garments, was now luxuriating in a smoke. the blacksmith pointed as he spoke to the bag of splendid trout which lay at a short distance from the fire. "'tis mysilf's the boy to catch them. i would have brought ye two times as much, if it wasn't that i lost my hook and line. i think it must have bin a fresh-water whale, the last wan, bad luck to it! for it pulled me into the wather three times, an' wint off at last with two fathom o' cod-line trailin' behind it." "so then, bryan," said frank, "it must have been the yells with which you accompanied your fishing that frightened the deer i was after and caused me to lose him. however, as i got another soon afterwards which must have been frightened towards me by the same halloos, i forgive you." frank now gave the party an account of what he had seen, but as his experience merely corroborated that of dick prince and massan, we will not trouble the reader with the details. the evidence of the various exploring parties, when summed up, was undoubtedly most satisfactory, and while it relieved the mind of the leaders of the band, it raised and cheered the spirits of the men. timber, although not plentiful or very large, was to be had close to the spot where they proposed to erect their fort; game of all kinds swarmed in the mountains in abundance; and the lakes and rivers were well stocked with excellent fish: so that, upon the whole, they considered that they had made an auspicious commencement to their sojourn in the land of the esquimaux. chapter eighteen. outpost-building--fort chimo--an unexpected arrival, which causes much joy. the band of fur-traders now set earnestly about the erection of their winter dwelling. the season was so far advanced that the men could no longer be spared from the work to hunt or fish in the mountains, so that they lived chiefly on the produce of the stake-nets in front of the camp, and a small allowance of the provisions with which they had started from moose fort. occasionally frank sallied forth and returned with the best parts of a deer on his shoulders; but these excursions were rare, as both he and stanley worked with the men in the erection of the fort. no one was idle for a moment, from the time of rising-- shortly after daybreak--to the time of going to rest at night. even little edith found full occupation in assisting her mother in the performance of a host of little household duties, too numerous to recapitulate. the dog chimo was the only exception to the general rule. he hunted the greater part of the forenoon, for his own special benefit, and slept when not thus occupied, or received with philosophical satisfaction the caresses of his young mistress. the future fort was begun on the centre of the level patch of green-sward at the foot of the flat rock by the spring, where the party had originally encamped. a square was traced on the ground to indicate the stockade; and within this, stanley marked off an oblong patch, close to the back stockade, for the principal dwelling-house, facing the river. two other spaces were on either side of this--one for a store, the other for a dwelling for the men. when finished, the fort would thus have the form of three sides of a square surrounded by a stockade. in the centre of this, and the first thing that was erected, was a flag-staff, on which the h.b.c.--hudson's bay company--flag was hoisted, and saluted with three cheers as its crimson folds fluttered out in the breeze for the first time. the plan on which the houses were constructed was that on which all the dwellings of the fur-traders are built--namely, a framework of timber, the interstices of which are filled up with logs sliding into grooves cut in the main posts and beams. this manner of building is so simple that a house can be erected without any other instruments than an axe, an auger, and a large chisel; and the speed with which it is put up would surprise those whose notions of house-building are limited to stone edifices. the axes of the wood-cutters resounded among the gullies and ravines of ungava, and awakened the numerous echoes of the mountains. the encampment no longer presented a green spot, watered by a tiny rill, but was strewn with logs in all stages of formation, and chips innumerable. the frameworks of the dwelling-houses began to rise from the earth, presenting, in their unfinished condition, a bristling, uncomfortable appearance, suggesting thoughts in the beholder's mind highly disparaging to art, and deeply sympathetic with outraged nature. the tents still stood, and the campfire burned, but the superior proportions of the rising fort threw these entirely into the shade. a rude wharf of unbarked logs ran from the beach into the river. it had been begun and finished in a couple of days, for the convenience of gaspard while visiting his nets, as he sometimes did before the water left them. everything, in short, bore evidence of the most bustling activity and persevering energy; and in a few weeks from the time of their first landing, the dwelling-houses were sufficiently weather-tight to be habitable, and the other portions of the establishment in an advanced condition. the openings between the logs of the houses were caulked with a mixture of mud and moss, and left in that condition in the meantime, until the pit-saw could be set to work to produce boards for the better protection of the walls without and within. the window and door frames were also made, and covered temporarily with parchment, until the arrival of the ship should enable them to fill the former with glass and the latter with broad panels. the effect of the parchment-covered door, however, was found to be somewhat troublesome. being large, and tightly covered, it sounded, when shut violently, with a noise so strongly resembling the report of a distant cannon that, during the first day after its erection, the men more than once rushed down to the beach in the expectation of seeing the long and ardently wished-for ship, which was now so much beyond the time appointed for her arrival that stanley began to entertain serious apprehensions for her safety. this ship was to have sailed from york fort, the principal depot of the fur-traders in hudson's bay, with supplies and goods for trade with the esquimaux during the year. she was expected at ungava in august, and it was now september. the frost was beginning, even at this early period, to remind the expedition of the long winter that was at hand, and in the course of a very few weeks hudson's straits would be impassable; so that the anxiety of the traders was natural. just before the partitions of the chief dwelling-house were completed, stanley went to the tent in which his wife and child were busily employed in sewing. "can you spare edith for a short time, wife?" said he, as his partner looked up to welcome him. "yes, for a short time; but she is becoming so useful to me that i cannot afford to spare her long." "i'm afraid," said stanley, as he took his child by the hand and led her away, "that i must begin to put in my claim to the services of this little baggage, who seems to be so useful. what say you, eda; will you allow me to train you to shoot, and fish, and walk on snow-shoes, and so make a trader of you?" "i would like very much, papa, to learn to walk on snowshoes, but i think the gun would hurt me--it seems to kick so. don't you think i am too little to shoot a gun off?" stanley laughed at the serious way in which the child received the proposal. "well, then, we won't teach you to shoot yet, eda; but, as you say, the snow-shoe walking is worth learning, for if you cannot walk on the long shoes when the snow falls, i fear you'll not be able to leave the fort at all." "yes, and francois has promised to make me a pair," said edith gaily, "and to teach me how to use them; and mamma says i am old enough to learn now. is it not kind of francois? he is always very good to me." "indeed it is very kind of him, my pet; but all the men seem to be very good to you--are they not?" "oh yes!--all of them. even gaspard is kind now. he never whips chimo, and he patted me on the head the other day when i met him alone in the ravine--the berry ravine, you know, where i go to gather berries. i wonder if there are berries in all the other ravines?--but i don't care much, for there are thousands and thousands of all kinds in my own ravine, and--where are you going, papa?" this abrupt question was caused by her father turning into the square of the new fort, in which the most of the men were at work. "i'm going to show you our house, eda, and to ask you to fix on the corner you like best for your own room. the partitions are going to be put up, so we must fix at once." as he spoke they passed through the open doorway of the new dwelling, which was a long, low building; and, placing his little daughter in the centre of the principal hall, stanley directed her to look round and choose a corner for herself. for a few minutes edith stood with an expression of perplexity on her bright face; then she began to examine the views from each of the corner windows. this could only be done by peeping through the bullet-hole in the parchment skins that in the meantime did duty for glass. the two windows at the back corners looked out upon the rocky platform, behind which the mountains rose like a wall, so they were rejected; but edith lingered at one of them, for from it she saw the spring at the foot of the rock, with its soft bed of green moss and surrounding willow-bushes. from the front corner on the left hand cross island and the valley of the river beyond were visible; but from the window on the right the view embraced the whole sweep of the wide river and the narrow outlet to the bay, which, with its frowning precipices on either side, and its bold flanking mountains, seemed a magnificent portal to the arctic sea. "i think this is the nicest corner," said edith, turning with a smile to her father. "then this shall be yours," said stanley. "but," exclaimed edith, as a sudden thought occurred to her, "perhaps frank would like this corner. i would not like to have it if frank wants it." "frank doesn't want it, and frank shan't have it. there now, run to your mother, you little baggage; she can't get on without you. off you go, quick!" with a merry laugh edith bounded through the doorway, and disappeared like a sunbeam from the room. on the th of september, stanley was standing on the beach, opposite the fort, watching with a smile of satisfaction the fair, happy face of his daughter, as she amused herself and chimo by throwing a stick into the water, which the latter dutifully brought out and laid at her feet as often as it was thrown in. frank was also watching them. "what shall we call the fort, frank?" said his companion. "we have a fort good hope, and a fort resolution, and a fort enterprise already. it seems as if all the vigorous and hearty words in the english language were used up in naming the forts of the hudson's bay company. what shall we call it?" "chimo! chimo! chimo!" shouted edith to the dog, as the animal bounded along the beach. both gentlemen seemed to be struck with the same idea simultaneously. "there's an answer to your question," said frank; "call the fort `chimo.'" "the very thing!" replied stanley; "i wonder it did not occur to me before. nothing could be more appropriate. i salute thee, fort chimo," and stanley lifted his cap to the establishment. in order that the peculiar appropriateness of the name may appear to the reader, it may be as well to explain that chimo (the _i_ and _o_ of which are sounded long) is an esquimau word of salutation, and is used by the natives when they meet with strangers. it signifies, _are you friendly_? by those who speak first, and seems to imply, _we are friendly_, when returned as an answer. so well known is the word to the fur-traders who traffic with the natives of hudson's straits that they frequently apply it to them as a name, and speak of the esquimaux as chimos. it was, therefore, a peculiarly appropriate name for a fort which was established on the confines of these icy regions, for the double purpose of entering into friendly traffic with the esquimaux, and of bringing about friendly relations between them and their old enemies, the muskigon indians of east main. after playing for some time beside the low wharf, edith and her dog left the beach together, and rambled towards a distant eminence, whence could be obtained a commanding bird's-eye view of the new fort. she had not sat many minutes here when her eye was arrested by the appearance of an unusual object in the distance. frank, who was yet engaged in conversation with stanley on the beach, also noticed it. laying his hand on the arm of his companion, he pointed towards the narrows, where a small, white, triangular object was visible against the dark cliff. as they gazed, a second object of similar form came into view; then a fore and top sail made their appearance; and, in another second, a schooner floated slowly through the opening! ere the spectators of this silent apparition could give utterance to their joy, a puff of white smoke sprang from the vessel's bow, and a cannon-shot burst upon the mountains. leaping on from cliff to crag, it awakened a crash of magnificent echoes, which, after prolonged repetitions, died away in low mutterings like distant thunder. it was followed by a loud cheer from the schooner's deck, and the h.b.c. flag was run up to the main, while the union jack floated at the peak. "now, frank, give the word," cried stanley, taking off his cap, while the men ran down to the beach _en masse_. "hip, hip, hurrah!" "hurrah!" echoed the men, and a cheer arose among the cliffs that moved to the very centre the hearts of those who heard and gave it. again and again the stirring shout arose from the fort, and was replied to from the schooner. it was no matter of form, or cheer of ceremony. there was a deep richness and a prolonged energy in the tone, which proved that the feelings and lungs of the men were roused to the uttermost in its delivery. it told of long gathering anxieties swept entirely away, and of deep joy at seeing friendly faces in a sterile land, where lurking foes might be more likely to appear. at all times the entrance of a ship into port is a noble sight, and one which touches the heart and evokes the enthusiasm of almost every human being; but when the ship arriving is almost essential to the existence of those who watch her snowy sails swelling out as they urge her to the land--when her keel is the first that has ever ploughed the waters of their distant bay--and when her departure will lock them up in solitude for a long, long year--such feelings are roused to their utmost pitch of intensity. cheer upon cheer rose and fell, and rose again, among the mountains of ungava. even edith's tiny voice helped to swell the enthusiastic shout; and more than one cheer was choked by the rising tide of emotion that forced the tears down more than one bronzed cheek, despite the iron wills that bade them not to flow. chapter nineteen. bustle and business--a great feast, in which bryan and la roche are prime movers--new ideas in the art of cooking. the scene at fort chimo was more bustling and active than ever during the week that followed the arrival of the schooner. the captain told stanley, as they sat sipping a glass of madeira in the hall of the new fort, that he had been delayed by ice in the straits so long, that the men were afraid of being set fast for the winter, and were almost in a state of mutiny, when they fortunately discovered the mouth of the river. as had been anticipated by stanley, the ship entered false river by mistake, unseen by oolibuck, notwithstanding the vigilance of his lookout. fortunately he observed it as it came out of the river, just at the critical period when the seamen began to threaten to take the law into their own hands if the search were continued any longer. oolibuck no sooner beheld the object of his hopes than he rushed to the top of a hill, where he made a fire and sent up a column of smoke that had the immediate effect of turning the vessel's head towards him. soon afterwards a boat was sent ashore, and took the esquimau on board, who explained, in his broken english, that he had been watching for them for many days, and would be happy to pilot the vessel up to the fort. "you may be sure," continued the captain, "that i was too happy to give the ship in charge to the fellow, who seemed to understand thoroughly what he was about. he is already quite a favourite with the men, who call him oily-buss, much to his own amusement; and he has excited their admiration and respect by his shooting, having twice on the way up shot a goose on the wing." "not an unusual exhibition of skill among fur-traders," said stanley; "but i suppose your men are not much used to the gun. and now, captain, when must you start?" "the moment the cargo is landed, sir," replied the captain, who was distinguished by that thorough self-sufficiency and prompt energy of character which seem peculiar to sea-captains in general. "we may have trouble in getting out of the straits, and, after getting to quebec, i am bound to carry a cargo of timber to england." "i will do my best to help you, captain. your coming has relieved my mind from a load of anxiety, and one good turn deserves another, so i'll make my fellows work night and day till your ship is discharged." stanley was true to his word. not only did the men work almost without intermission, but he and frank morton scarce allowed themselves an hour's repose during the time that the work was going on. night and day "yo heave ho" of the jack tars rang over the water; and the party on shore ran to and fro, from the beach to the store, with bales, kegs, barrels, and boxes on their shoulders. there were blankets and guns, and axes and knives, powder and shot, and beads and awls, and nets and twine. there were kettles of every sort and size; cloth of every hue; capotes of all dimensions, and minute etceteras without end: so that, had it been possible to prevail on the spirits of the ice to carry to the esquimaux intelligence of the riches contained in the store at chimo, an overwhelming flood of visitors would speedily have descended on that establishment. but no such messengers could be found--although bryan asserted positively that more than "wan o' them" had been seen by him since his arrival; so the traders had nothing for it but to summon patience to their aid and bide their time. when the work of discharging was completed, and while stanley and the captain were standing on the beach watching the removal of the last boat-load to the store, the former said to the latter: "now, captain, i have a favour to request, which is that you and your two mates will dine with me to-morrow. your men will be the better of a day's rest after such a long spell of hard work. you could not well get away till the evening of to-morrow at any rate, on account of the tide, and it will be safer and more pleasant to start early on the day after." "i shall be most happy," replied the captain heartily. "that's right," said stanley. "dinner will be ready by four o'clock precisely; and give my compliments to your crew, and say that my men will expect them all to dinner at the same hour." ten minutes after this, stanley entered his private apartment in the fort, which, under the tasteful management of his wife, was beginning to look elegant and comfortable. "wife," said he, "i will order la roche to send you a box of raisins and an unlimited supply of flour, butter, etcetera, wherewith you will be so kind as to make, or cause to be made--on pain of my utmost displeasure in the event of failure--a plum-pudding large enough to fill the largest sized washing-tub, and another of about quarter that size; both to be ready boiled by four to-morrow afternoon." "sir, your commands shall be obeyed. i suppose you intend to regale the sailors before they leave. is it not so?" "you have guessed rightly for once; and take care that you don't let eda drown herself in the compost before it is tied up. i must hasten to prepare the men." two minutes later and stanley stood in the midst of his men, who, having finished their day's work, were now busy with supper in their new house, into which they had but recently moved. "lads," said stanley, "you have stuck to your work so hard of late that i think it a pity to allow you to fall into lazy habits again. i expect you all to be up by break of day to-morrow." "och! musha!" sighed bryan, as he laid down his knife and fork with a look of consternation. "i have invited the ship's crew," continued stanley, "to dine with you before they leave us. as the larder is low just now, you'll all have to take to the hills for a fresh supply. make your arrangements as you please, but see that there is no lack of venison and fish. i'll guarantee the pudding and grog." so saying, he turned and left the house, followed by a tremendous cheer. "oh! parbleu! vat shall i do?" said la roche, with a look of affected despair. "i am most dead for vant of sleep already. c'est impossible to cook pour everybody demain. i vill be sure to fall 'sleep over de fire, prehaps fall into him." "och, losh, losh, when will ye larn to think nothin' o' yoursilf? ye'll only have to cook for the bourgeois; but think o' me! all the min, an' the ship's crew to boot!" the blacksmith concluded by knocking la roche's pipe out of his mouth, in the excess of his glee at the prospective feast; after which he begged his pardon solemnly in bad french, and ducked his head to avoid the tin can that was hurled at it by the indignant frenchman. at the first streak of dawn the following morning, and long before the sun looked down into the ravines of ungava, massan and dick prince were seen to issue with noiseless steps from the fort, with their guns on their shoulders, and betake themselves to the mountains. half an hour later bryan staggered out of the house, with a bag on his shoulder, scarcely half awake, rubbing his eyes and muttering to himself in a low tone, as he plunged rather than walked into the ravine which led to the first terrace on the mountain. when the sun rose over the mountain-tops and looked down upon the calm surface of the river, there was not a man remaining in the fort, with the exception of stanley and frank, and their active servant la roche. a deep calm rested on the whole scene. the sailors of the vessel, having risen to dispatch breakfast, retired to their hammocks again and went to sleep; stanley, frank, and their household, were busy within doors; chimo snored in the sunshine at the front of the fort; and the schooner floated on a sheet of water so placid, that every spar and delicate rope was clearly reflected. nothing was heard save the soft ripple on the shore, the distant murmur of mountain streams, and, once or twice through the day, the faint reverberation of a fowling-piece. but as the day advanced, evidences of the approaching feast began to be apparent. early in the forenoon massan and prince returned with heavy loads of venison on their shoulders, and an hour later bryan staggered into the fort bending under the weight of a well-filled bag of fish. he had been at his favourite fishing quarters in the dark valley, and was dripping wet from head to foot, having fallen, as usual, into the water. bryan had a happy facility in falling into the water that was quite unaccountable--and rather enviable in warm weather. as the cooking operations were conducted on an extensive scale, a fire was kindled in the open air in the rear of the men's house; round which fire, in the course of the forenoon, bryan and la roche performed feats of agility so extravagant, and apparently so superhuman, that they seemed to involve an element of wickedness from their very intensity. of course no large dinner ever passed through the ordeal of being cooked without some accidents or misfortunes, more or less. even in civilised life, where the most intricate appliances are brought to bear on the operation by _artistes_ thoroughly acquainted with their profession, infallibility is not found. it would be unjust, therefore, to expect that two backwoodsmen should be perfectly successful, especially when it is remembered that their branch of the noble science was what might be technically termed plain cookery, the present being their first attempt in the higher branches. their first difficulty arose from the larger of the two plum-puddings, which la roche had compounded under the directions of mrs stanley and the superintendence of edith. "i say, losh," cried bryan to his companion, whose head was at the moment hid from view in a cloud of steam that ascended from a large pot over which he bent, apparently muttering incantations. "vell, fat you want?" "faix, and it's just _fat_ that i don't want," said bryan, pointing, as he spoke, to the large pudding, which, being much too large for the kettle, was standing on the rim thereof like the white ball of foam that caps a tankard of double x. "it's more nor twice too fat already. the kittle won't hould it, no how." "oh, stuff him down, dat is de way," suggested la roche. "stuff it down, avic, an' what's to come o' the wather?" said bryan. "ah! true, dat is perplexible, vraiment." at this moment the large pot boiled over and a cloud of scalding steam engulfed the sympathetic frenchman, causing him to yell with mingled pain and rage as he bounded backwards. "musha! but ye'll come to an early death, losh, if ye don't be more careful o' yer dried-up body." "taisez vous, donc," muttered his companion, half angrily. "taisin' ye? avic, sorra wan o' me's taisin' ye. but since ye can't help me out o' me throubles, i'll try to help mysilf." in pursuance of this noble resolve, bryan went to the store and fetched from thence another large tin kettle. he then undid the covering of the unwieldy pudding, which he cut into two equal parts, and having squeezed them into two balls, tied them up in the cloth, which he divided for the purpose, and put them into the separate kettles, with the air of a man who had overcome a great difficulty by dint of unfathomable wisdom. it was found, however, that the smaller pudding, intended for stanley's table, was also too large for its kettle; but the energetic blacksmith, whose genius was now thoroughly aroused, overcame this difficulty by cutting off several pounds of it, and transferring the pudding thus reduced to the kettle, saying in an undertone as he did so, "there's more nor enough for the six o' ye yit, av yer only raisonable in yer appetites." but the superfluity of the pudding thus caused became now a new source of trouble to bryan. "what's to be done wid it, losh? i don't like to give it to the dogs, an' it's too small intirely to make a dumplin' of." "you better heat him raw," suggested la roche. "faix, an' i've half a mind to; but it would spile my dinner. hallo! look out for the vainison, losh." "ah, oui; oh! misere!" cried la roche, springing over the fire, and giving a turn to the splendid haunch of venison which depended from a wooden tripod in front of the blaze, and, having been neglected for a few minutes, was beginning to singe. "what have ye in the pot there?" inquired bryan. "von goose, two duck, trois plovre, et von leetle bird--i not know de name of--put him in pour experiment." "very good, losh; out wid the goose and we'll cram the bit o' dumplin' into him for stuffin'." "ah! superb, excellent," cried la roche, laughing, as he lifted out the goose, into which bryan thrust the mass of superfluous pudding; after which the hole was tied up and the bird re-consigned to the pot. everything connected with this dinner was strikingly suggestive of the circumstances under which it was given. the superabundance of venison and wild-fowl; the cooking done in the open air; the absence of women, and the performance of work usually allotted to them by bronzed and stalwart voyageurs; the wild scenery in the midst of which it took place; and the mixture of irish, english, french, indian, esquimau, and compound tones, that fell upon the ear as the busy work went on,--all tended to fill the mind with a feeling of wild romance, and to suggest powerfully the idea of being, if we may so express it, _far, far away_! as the proceedings advanced towards completion, this feeling was rather increased than removed. tables and chairs were a luxury that still remained to be introduced at fort chimo, when the men found leisure from more urgent duties to construct them. therefore the dining-table in stanley's hall was composed of three large packing-cases turned bottom up. there was no cloth wherewith to cover its rough boards; but this was a matter of little importance to the company which assembled round it, punctually at the hour of four. in place of chairs there were good substantial nail-kegs, rather low, it is true, and uncommonly hard, but not to be despised under the circumstances. owing to the unusual demand for dishes, the pewter plates and spoons and tin drinking-cups--for they had little crockery--were of every form and size that the store contained; and the floor on which it all stood was the beaten ground, for the intended plank flooring was still growing in the mountain glens. but if the equipage was homely and rude, the fare was choice and abundant; and an odour that might have gladdened the heart of an epicure greeted the nostrils of the captain and his two mates when they entered the hall, dressed in blue surtouts with bright brass buttons, white duck trousers, and richly flowered vests [waistcoats]. there was a splendid salmon, of twenty pounds weight, at one end of the board; and beside it, on the same dish, a lake-trout of equal size and beauty. at the other end smoked a haunch of venison, covered with at least an inch of fat; and beside it a bowl of excellent cranberry jam, the handiwork of the hostess. a boiled goose and pease-pudding completed the catalogue. afterwards, these gave place to the pudding which had caused bryan so much perplexity, and several dishes of raisins and figs. last, but not least, there was a bottle of brandy and two of port wine; which, along with the raisins and figs, formed part of the limited supply of luxuries furnished by the hudson's bay company to stanley, in common with all the gentlemen in the service, in order to enable them, now and then, on great occasions, to recall, through the medium of a feast, the remembrance of civilised life. the display in the men's house was precisely similar to that in the hall. but the table was larger and the viands more abundant. the raisins and figs, too, were wanting; and instead of wine or brandy, there was a small supply of rum. it was necessarily small, being the gift of stanley out of his own diminutive store, which could not, even if desired, be replenished until the return of the ship next autumn. on the arrival of the guests a strange contrast was presented. the sailors, in white ducks, blue jackets with brass buttons, striped shirts, pumps, and straw hats, landed at the appointed hour, and in hearty good-humour swaggered towards the men's house, where they were politely received by the quiet, manly-looking voyageurs, who, in honour of the occasion, had put on their best capotes, their brightest belts, their gayest garters, and most highly-ornamented moccasins. the french canadians and half-breeds bowed, shook hands, and addressed the tars as _messieurs_. the sailors laughed, slapped their entertainers on the shoulders, and called them messmates. the indians stood, grave and silent, but with looks of good-humour, in the background; while the esquimaux raised their fat cheeks, totally shut up their eyes, and grinned perpetually, not to say horribly, from ear to ear. but the babel that followed is beyond the powers of description, therefore we won't attempt it. here, however, the characteristic peculiarity of our scene ceases. the actual demolition of food is pretty much the same among all nations that are not absolutely savage; and, however much contrast might have been observed in the strange mixture of human beings assembled under the hospitable roof of fort chimo, there was none whatever in the manner in which they demolished their viands. as the evening advanced, a message was sent to monsieur stanley for the loan of his violin. "ay," said he, as the instrument was delivered to bryan, who happened to be the messenger and also the performer--"ay, i thought it would come to that ere long. don't be too hard on the strings, lad. 'twill be a rough ball where there are no women." "thrue, yer honour," replied the blacksmith, as he received the instrument, "there's a great want of faymales in thim parts; but the sailors have consinted to ripresint the purty craytures on the present occasion, which is but right, for, ye see, the most o' thim's shorter nor us, an' their wide breeches are more like the pitticoats than our leggin's." many were the stories that were told and retold, believed, disbelieved, and doubted, on that memorable night; and loud were the songs and long and strong the dancing that followed. but it was all achieved under the influence of pure animal spirits, for the rum supplied afforded but a thimbleful to each. the consequence was that there were no headaches the following morning, and the men were up by break of day as fresh and light as larks. a feeling of sadness, however, gradually crept over the band as the dawn advanced and the schooner prepared for her departure. by six o'clock the flood-tide turned, and a few minutes later all the sailors were aboard, hoisting the sails and anchor, while the men stood silently on the beach where they had just parted from their guests. "good-bye once more, mr stanley; good-bye, mr morton," said the captain, as he stepped into his boat. "i wish you a pleasant winter and a good trade." "thank you, thank you, captain," replied stanley; "and don't forget us out here, in this lonely place, when you drink the health of absent friends at christmas time." in a few minutes the anchor was up, and the schooner, bending round with a fair wind and tide, made for the narrows. "give them a cheer, lads," said frank. obedient to the command, the men doffed their caps and raised their voices; but there was little vigour in the cheer. it was replied to from the schooner's deck. just as the flying-jib passed the point a gun was fired, which once more awakened the loud echoes of the place. when the smoke cleared away, the schooner was gone. thus was severed the last link that bound the civilised world to the inhabitants of fort chimo. chapter twenty. winter approaches--esquimaux arrive--effect of a word--a sucking baby-- prospects of trade. for many days after the ship's departure the work of completing the fort went forward with the utmost rapidity, and not until the houses and stores were rendered weather-tight and warm did stanley consider it advisable to send out hunting and fishing parties into the mountains. now, however, the frosts continued a great part of the day as well as during the night, so it was high time to kill deer and fish, in order to freeze, and so preserve them for winter's consumption. up to this time no further traces of esquimaux had been discovered, and stanley began to express his fears to frank that they had left the neighbourhood altogether, in consequence of the repeated attacks made upon them by indians. soon after this, however, the fur-traders were surprised by a sudden visit from a party of these denizens of the north. it happened on the afternoon of a beautiful day towards the close of autumn, that charming but brief season which, in consequence of its unbroken serenity, has been styled the indian summer. the men had all been dispatched into the mountains in various directions, some to fish, others to shoot; and none were left at the fort except its commandant with his wife and child, and oolibuck the esquimau. stanley was seated on a stone at the margin of the bay, admiring the vivid alterations of light and shade, as the sun dipped behind the mountains of the opposite shore, when his eye was attracted towards one or two objects on the water near the narrows. presently they advanced, and were followed by several others. in a few minutes he perceived that they were esquimau canoes. jumping hastily up, stanley ran to the fort, and bidding his wife and child keep out of sight, put two pair of pistols in his pockets and returned to the beach, where he found oolibuck gazing at the approaching flotilla with intense eagerness. "well, oolibuck, here come your countrymen at last," said stanley. "do they look friendly, think you?" "me no can tell; they most too quiet," replied the interpreter. esquimaux in general are extremely noisy and full of animated gesticulation on meeting with strangers, especially when they meet on decidedly friendly terms. the silence, therefore, maintained by the natives as they advanced was looked upon as a bad sign. the fleet consisted of nine kayaks, and three large oomiaks full of women and children; and a curious appearance they presented at a distance, for the low kayaks of the men being almost invisible, it seemed as if their occupants were actually seated on the water. the oomiaks being much higher, were clearly visible. on coming to within a quarter of a mile of the fort, the men halted to allow the women to come up; then forming in a crescent in front of the oomiaks, the whole flotilla advanced slowly towards the beach. when within a hundred yards or so, stanley said, "now, oolibuck, give them a hail." "chimo! chimo! chimo-o-o!" shouted the interpreter. the word acted like a talisman. "chimo!" yelled the esquimaux in reply, and the kayaks shot like arrows upon the sand, while the women followed as fast as they could. in another minute a loud chattering and a brisk shaking of hands was taking place on shore. the natives were dressed in the sealskin garments with which arctic travellers have made us all more or less acquainted. they were stout burly fellows, with fat, oily, and bearded faces. "now tell them, oolibuck, the reason of our coming here," said stanley. oolibuck instantly began, by explaining to them that they had come for the purpose of bringing about peace and friendship between them and the indians; on hearing which the esquimaux danced and shouted for nearly a minute with joy. but when the interpreter went on to say that they intended to remain altogether among them, for the purpose of trading, their delight knew no bounds; they danced and jumped, and whooped and yelled, tossed up their arms and legs, and lay down on the sand and rolled in ecstasy. in the midst of all this, mrs stanley rushed out of the house, followed by edith, in great terror at the unearthly sounds that had reached her ears; but on seeing her husband and oolibuck laughing in the midst of the grotesque group, her fears vanished, and she stood an amused spectator of the scene. meanwhile, stanley went down and stepped into the midst of one of the oomiaks, with a few beads and trinkets in his hands; and while oolibuck entertained the men on shore, he presented gifts to the women, who received them with the most childish demonstrations of joy. there was something irresistibly comic in the childlike simplicity of these poor natives. instead of the stiff reserve and haughty demeanour of their indian neighbours, they danced and sang, and leaped and roared, embraced each other and wept, with the most reckless indifference to appearances, and seemed upon all occasions to give instant vent to the feelings that happened to be uppermost in their minds. as stanley continued to distribute his gifts, the women crowded out of the other oomiaks into the one in which he stood, until they nearly sank it; some of them extending their arms for beads, others giving a jolt to the hoods on their backs, which had the effect of bringing to light fat, greasy-faced little babies, who were pointed to as being peculiarly worthy of attention. at length stanley broke from them and leaped ashore, where he was soon followed by the entire band. but here new objects--namely, mrs stanley and edith--attracted their wondering attention. approaching towards the former, they began timidly to examine her dress, which was indeed very different from theirs, and calculated to awaken curiosity and surprise. the esquimau women were dressed very much like the men--namely, in long shirts of sealskin or deerskin with the hair on, short breeches of the same material, and long sealskin boots. the hoods of the women were larger than those of the men, and their boots much more capacious; and while the latter had a short stump of a tail or peak hanging from the hinder part of their shirts, the women wore their tails so long that they trailed along the ground as they walked. in some cases these tails were four and six inches broad, with a round flap at the end, and fringed with ermine. it was, therefore, with no little surprise that they found mrs stanley entirely destitute of a tail, and observed that she wore her upper garment so long that it reached the ground. becoming gradually more familiar, on seeing that the strange woman permitted them to handle her pretty freely, one of them gently lifted up her gown to see whether or not she wore boots; but receiving a somewhat prompt repulse, she began to caress her, and assured her that she did not mean to give offence. by this time frank and some of the men had joined the group on the shore, and as it was getting late stanley commanded silence. "tell them i have somewhat to say to them, oolibuck." the interpreter's remark instantly produced a dead silence. "now ask them if they are glad to hear that we are going to stay to trade with them." a vociferous jabbering followed the question, which, by oolibuck's interpretation, meant that their joy was utterly inexpressible. "have they been long on the coast?" "no; they had just arrived, and were on their way up the river to obtain wood for building their kayaks." "did they see the bundle of presents we left for them at the coast?" "yes, they had seen it; but not knowing whom it was intended for, they had not touched it." on being told that the presents were intended for them, the poor creatures put on a look of intense chagrin, which, however, passed away when it was suggested to them that they might take the gifts on their return to the coast. "and now," said stanley, in conclusion, "'tis getting late. go down to the point below the fort and encamp there for the night. we thank you for your visit, and will return it in the morning. good-night." on this being translated, the esquimaux gave a general yell of assent and immediately retired, bounding and shouting and leaping as they went, looking, in their gleesome rotundity, like the infant progeny of a race of giants. "i like the look of these men very much," said stanley, as he walked up to the house with frank. "their genuine trustfulness is a fine trait in their character." "no doubt of it," replied frank. "there is much truth in the proverb, `evil dreaders are evil doers.' those who fear no evil intend none. had they been indians, now, we should have had more trouble with them." "i doubt it not, frank. you would have been pleased to witness the prompt alacrity with which the poor creatures answered to our cry of chimo, and ran their kayaks fearlessly ashore, although, for all they knew to the contrary, the rocks might have concealed a hundred enemies." "and yet," said frank, with an air of perplexity, "the esquimau character seems to me a difficult problem to solve. when we read the works of arctic voyagers, we find that one man's experience of the esquimaux proves them to be inveterate thieves and liars, while another speaks of them as an honest, truthful people--and that, too, being said of the same tribe. nay, further, i have read of a tribe being all that is good and amiable at one time, and all that is bad and vile at another. now the conduct of these good-natured fellows, in reference to the bundle of trinkets we left at the mouth of the river, indicates a degree of honesty that is almost too sensitive; for the merest exertion of common-sense would show that a bundle hung up in an exposed place to public view must be for the public good." "nevertheless they seem both honest and friendly," returned stanley, "and i trust that our experience of them may never change. to-morrow i shall give them some good advice in regard to procuring furs, and show them the wealth of our trading store." when the morrow came the visit of the esquimaux was returned by the entire force of fort chimo, and the childish delight with which they were received was most amusing. the childishness, however, was only applicable to these natives when expressing their strong feelings. in other respects, particularly in their physical actions, they were most manly; and the thick black beards and moustaches that clothed the chins of most of the men seemed very much the reverse of infantine. the children were so exactly like to their parents in costume that they seemed miniature representations of them. in fact, were a child viewed through a magnifying glass it would become a man, and were a man viewed through a diminishing glass he would become a child--always, of course, excepting the beard. bryan became a special favourite with the natives when it was discovered that he was a worker in iron, and the presents with which he was overwhelmed were of a most extraordinary, and, in some cases, perplexing nature. one man, who seemed determined to get into his good graces, offered him a choice morsel of broiled seal. "no, thankee, lad," said bryan; "i've had my brickfust." supposing that the broiling had something to do with the blacksmith's objection, the esquimau hastily cut off a slice of the raw blubber and tendered it to him. "d'ye think i'm a haythen?" said bryan, turning away in disgust. "ah, try it, bryan," cried la roche, turning from an esquimau baby, in the contemplation of which he had been absorbed--"try it; 'tis ver' goot, i 'sure you. ver' goot for your complaint, bryan. but come, here, vitement.--just regardez dat hinfant. come here, queek!" thus urged, bryan broke away from his host (who had just split open the shinbone of a deer, and offered him the raw marrow, but without success), and, going towards la roche, regarded the baby in question. it was a remarkably fine child, seemingly about ten months old, with a round, rosy, oily face, coal-black hair, and large, round, coal-black eyes, with which it returned the stare of the two men with interest. but that which amused the visitors most was a lump of fat or blubber, with a skewer thrust through it, which its mother had given to the child to suck, and which it was endeavouring to thrust down its throat with both hands. "come here, oolibuck; pourquoi is de stick?" "ho, ho, ho!" laughed oolibuck. "dat is for keep de chile quiet; and de stick is for no let him choke; him no can swallow de stick." "musha! but it would stick av he did swallow it," said bryan, turning away with a laugh. in the course of the day stanley and frank conducted the natives to the fort, and having given them all an excellent dinner and a few gifts of needles, scissors, and knives, led them to the store, where the goods for trade were ranged temptingly on shelves round the walls. a counter encompassed a space around the entrance-door, within which the natives stood and gazed on wealth which, to their unsophisticated minds, seemed a dream of enchantment. having given them time to imbibe a conception of the room and its treasures, stanley addressed them through the interpreter; but as reference to this worthy individual is somewhat hampering, we will discard him forthwith--retaining his style and language, however, for the benefit of his fellow-countrymen. "now, you see what useful things i have got here for you; but i cannot give them to you for nothing. they cost us much, and give us much trouble to bring them here. but i will give them for skins and furs and oil, and the tusks of the walrus; and when you go to your friends on the sea-coast, you can tell them to bring skins with them when they come." "ye vill do vat you vish. ye most happy you come. ye vill hunt very mush, and make your house empty of all dese t'ings if ye can." "that's well. and now i am in need of boots for my men, and you have a good many, i see; so, if you can spare some of these, we will begin to trade at once." on hearing this, the natives dispatched several of their number down to the camp, who soon returned laden with boots. these boots are most useful articles. they are neatly made of sealskin, the feet or soles being of walrus hide, and perfectly waterproof. they are invaluable to those who have to walk much in ice-cold water or among moist snow, as is the case in those regions during spring and autumn. in winter the frost completely does away with all moisture, so that the indian moccasin is better at that season than the esquimau boot. for these boots, and a few articles of native clothing, stanley paid the natives at the rates of the regular tariff throughout the country; and this rate was so much beyond the poor esquimau estimate of the relative value of boots and goods, that they would gladly have given all the boots and coats they possessed for what they received as the value of one pair. overjoyed at their good fortune, and laden with treasure, they returned to their camp to feast, and to sing the praises of the _kublunat_, as they termed the fur-traders. chapter twenty one. silent conversation--raw food--female tails--a terrible battle terminated by the interposition of a giant. of all the people at fort chimo no one was more interested in the esquimaux than little edith. she not only went fearlessly among them, and bestowed upon them every trinket she possessed, but, in her childlike desire for the companionship and sympathy of human beings of her own age and sex, she took forcible possession of two little girls who happened to be cleaner, and, therefore, prettier than the others, and led them away to her own ravine, where she introduced them to her favourite berries and to her dog chimo. at first the dog did not seem to relish the intrusion of these new favourites, but seeing that they did not induce his mistress to caress him less than before, he considerately tolerated them. besides, the esquimaux had brought their dogs along with them; and chimo, being of an amicable disposition, had entered into social fellowship with his own kind. we have said that chimo was sagacious, and it is quite possible he may have felt the propriety of granting to edith that liberty which he undoubtedly claimed for himself. but edith's intercourse with her little esquimau _protegees_ was necessarily confined to looks--the language of the eye making up for the absence of that of the tongue. there were many things, however, in which language was not required as a medium of communication between the children. when the berries were good, the brightening eyes and smacking lips spoke a language common to all the human race. so, also, when the berries were sour or bitter, the expression of their faces was peculiarly emphatic. the joyous shout, too, as they discovered a new scene that pleased their eyes, while they roved hand in hand through the ravines, or the shrinking glance of fear as they found themselves unexpectedly on the edge of a precipice, was sufficiently intelligible to the trio. the little friends presented a striking and grotesque contrast. it would have been difficult to say whether the little esquimaux were boys or girls. if anything, the costume seemed more to indicate the former than the latter. like their mothers, they wore loose deerskin shirts with the hair on the outside, which gave them a round, soft, burly appearance--an appearance which was increased by their little boots, which were outrageously wide, and quite as long as their legs. the frocks or shirts had hoods and tails, which latter, according to fashion, were so long that they trailed on the ground. the inconvenience of the tail is so great that the women, while travelling on a journey, get rid of it by drawing it between their legs, and, lifting up the end, fastening it in front to a button sewed to their frock for the purpose. in travelling, therefore, esquimau women seem to be destitute of this appendage; but, on arriving at camp, they undo the fastening, and walk about with flowing tails behind them! edith's costume consisted of a short frock made of dark blue cloth, and a head-dress peculiar to the indian women among the crees. it was preferred by the little wearer to all other styles of bonnet, on account of the ease with which it could be thrown off and on. she also wore ornamented leggings and moccasins. altogether, with her graceful figure, flaxen curls, and picturesque costume, she presented a strong contrast to the fat, dark, hairy little creatures who followed her by brook and bush and precipice the livelong day. one morning, about two weeks after the arrival of the esquimaux, edith went down to the camp after breakfast, and found her two companions engaged in concluding their morning meal. the elder, whose name was arnalooa, was peering with earnest scrutiny into the depths of a marrowbone, from which she had already extracted a large proportion of the raw material. the younger, okatook, seized a lump of raw seal's flesh, as edith entered their hut, and, cutting therefrom a savoury morsel, put it into her mouth as she rose to welcome her visitor. "oh! how _can_ you?" said edith, with a look of disgust at this ravenous conduct on the part of her friend. but edith had said, "oh! how _can_ you?" and "oh! shocking!" and "oh! why don't you give up eating it raw?" and "oh! why _won't_ you have it cooked?" nearly every day for the last two weeks, without producing any other effect than a gleeful laugh from the little esquimaux; for, although they did not comprehend her words, they clearly understood her looks of disapproval. but although they would not give up the habit of eating raw flesh, which they had been accustomed to from their infancy, they were prevailed on so far to break through the habits of their people as to wash their hands and faces before going out to play. this they did because edith positively refused to go with them unless they did so. lifting up the end of her tail and wiping her mouth therewith, arnalooa smiled at edith's look of reproach, and ran laughing towards the shore, where she and okatook washed their hands, after which they followed edith and chimo to their favourite ravine. although she knew that they did not understand a word of what she said, edith invariably kept up a running fire of small talk, in reference chiefly to the objects of nature by which they were surrounded. to this the little hairy creatures listened intently with smiling faces, and sometimes they laughed prodigiously, as though they understood what was said, so that their companion felt as if she were really conversing with them, although she was sadly perplexed at the utter impossibility of obtaining an intelligible reply to a question when she chanced to put one. "oh, what a lovely glen!" cried edith, her eyes beaming with delight, as, on turning the point of a projecting crag, she and her companions found themselves in a spot which they had not before seen during their rambles. it was a wild, savage gorge, full of fallen rocks, hemmed in with high cliffs, fringed here and there with willows and mosses, among which were a few brilliant wild-flowers. the lights and shadows of the spot were thrown into powerful contrast by a gleam of sunshine which flashed down among the rugged masses, lighting up peaks and sharp edges in some spots, while in others they were thrown into the profoundest gloom. "oh! is it not a delightful place?" cried edith, as she bounded up the rugged path, followed by chimo, while the two esquimau girls buttoned up their tails, and followed her as fast as their more cumbrous habiliments would permit. for a quarter of an hour the party toiled up the steep ascent, pausing now and then to pluck a flower, or to look back on the wild path by which they had come, until they reached a ridge of rock, beyond which lay a small lake or pool. so dark and still did it lie within the shadow of the overhanging cliffs that it resembled a pool of ink. here the adventurous explorers sat down to recover breath, and to gaze in childish delight, not unmixed with awe, at the wild scene around them. the peculiar wildness of the spot seemed to exercise an unusual influence over the dog; for, instead of lying down, as it was wont to do, at the feet of its young mistress, it moved about uneasily, and once or twice uttered a low growl. "come here, chimo," said edith, when these symptoms of restlessness had attracted her attention; "what is the matter with you, my dear dog? surely you are not frightened at the appearance of this wild place! speak, dog; see, arnalooa is laughing at you." edith might have said with more propriety that arnalooa was laughing at herself, for the little esquimau was much amused at the serious manner in which her kublunat friend spoke to her dog. but chimo refused to be comforted. he raised his snout, snuffed the air once or twice, and then, descending the gorge a short distance, put his nose close to the ground and trotted away. "that is very odd of chimo," said edith, looking into arnalooa's face with an expression of perplexity. as she spoke okatook pointed, with an eager glance, up the ravine. turning her eyes hastily in the direction indicated, edith beheld a deer bounding towards them. it was closely followed by a savage wolf. the deer seemed to be in the last stage of exhaustion. its flanks were wet with moisture, its eyes starting from their sockets, and its breath issued forth in deep sobs, as it bounded onwards, seemingly more by the force of its impetus than by any voluntary exertion. more intent on the danger behind than on that which lay before it, the deer made straight for the pass in which the three girls stood, and scarcely had they time to spring to the sides of the cliff, when it swept by like an arrow. instantly after, and ere it had taken two bounds past them, the wolf sprang forward; caught it by the throat, and dragged it to the ground, where in a few seconds it worried the noble animal to death. it is probable that the chase now terminated had begun at early dawn that day, for deer being fleeter than wolves they prolong the chase until overcome by the superior strength and dogged perseverance of their ravenous enemies. over mountain and hill they had bounded along together, through glen and gorge, across river and lake, bursting headlong through bush and brake, or under the shadow of frowning cliffs, and toiling, at a foot pace and with panting sides, up the steep hills, in the fierce blaze of the sun, the one impelled by hunger, the other by fear, until at length the scene closed in the wild pass, almost at the feet of the three children. but retribution was in store for the savage destroyer. ere yet the life's blood had teased to flow from the throat of the dying deer, and while the wolf's fangs were still dripping with its gore, a fierce bark, followed by a terrific growl, rang among the cliffs, and chimo, with his ears laid back and his formidable row of teeth exposed, rushed up the gorge and seized the wolf by the neck! thus assailed, the wolf returned the bite with interest, and immediately a fight of the most energetic character ensued. the wolf was much larger and more powerful than chimo, but was greatly exhausted by its long chase, while the dog was fresh and vigorous. once or twice chimo tossed his huge adversary by main strength, but as often he was overturned and dreadfully shaken, while the long fangs of the wolf met in his neck, and mingled the blood of the deer, which bespattered his black muzzle, with the life's blood that began to flow copiously from chimo's veins. at this moment a shout was heard farther up the ravine. the three girls turned hastily, and saw, on a point of rock which projected from the mountain side and overhung the dark pool, the figure of a man, of such immense proportions that they instinctively shrank back with terror. the position in which he stood made him appear larger than he really was. the scattered gleams and slant rays of sunshine that played around the spot invested him as with a supernatural halo, while a bright glow of light on the cliff behind detached him prominently from the surrounding shadows. he poised a spear in his right hand, and, while edith gazed at him in terror, the weapon flew whistling through the air and was buried in the side of the wolf. but so close did the spear pass, that edith involuntarily stepped back as she heard it whiz. in doing so she lost her balance and fell over the cliff. fortunately, arnalooa caught her by the dress and partially broke her fall, but the descent was sufficiently steep and rugged to render the child insensible. when edith recovered consciousness, her first emotion was that of terror, on beholding a large, dark-bearded face bending over her; but a second glance showed her that the eyes of the stranger gazed upon her with a look of tenderness, and that arnalooa and okatook were kneeling beside her with an expression of anxiety. had anything further been wanting to allay her fears, the sight of chimo would have done it. it is true the sturdy dog panted heavily, and occasionally licked his wounds, as he sat on his haunches at her feet; but he was wonderfully calm and collected after his recent mortal conflict, and regarded his young mistress from time to time with an air of patronising assurance. as edith opened her eyes, the stranger muttered some unintelligible words, and, rising hastily, went to a neighbouring spring, at which he filled a rude cup with water. in doing this, he revealed the huge proportions of the gigantic esquimau whom we introduced to our reader in a former chapter. he was dressed in the same manner as when we first saw him, but his face was somewhat altered, and his black eyebrows were marked by that peculiar curve which is expressive of deep melancholy. returning quickly from the spring, he kneeled beside the little girl, and, raising her head on his broad hand, held the goblet to her lips. "thank you," said edith faintly, as she swallowed a few drops; "i think i had better go home. is chimo safe? chimo!" she started up as the recollection of the fight with the wolf flashed upon her; but the fall had stunned her rather severely, and scarcely had she risen to her feet when she staggered and fell back into the arms of the esquimau. seeing that she was quite unable to walk, he raised her in his powerful arm as if she had been a young lamb. catching the dead wolf by the neck as he passed, and springing from rock to rock with catlike agility, he bore his burden down the ravine, and strode towards the fort under the guidance of okatook and arnalooa. chapter twenty two. maximus--deer spearing--a surprisingly bad shot--character of the natives. "hallo! what have we here?" exclaimed stanley, starting from his seat in amazement, as the giant entered the hall of fort chimo--his left hand grasping a blood-stained wolf by the throat, and edith resting in his right arm. at first the startled father imagined his child must have been wounded, if not killed, by the savage animal; but his mind was immediately relieved on this point by edith herself, who was no sooner laid on her bed than she recovered sufficiently to narrate the circumstances attending her fall. "well, maximus," said stanley, returning to the hall and applying to the bulky savage the term that seemed most appropriate to him, "shake hands with me, my good fellow. you've saved chimo's life, it seems; and that's a good turn i'll not forget. but a--. i see you don't understand a word i say. hallo! moses, moses! you deaf rascal, come here!" he shouted, as that worthy passed the window. "yis, mossue," said moses, entering the hall. "oh, me! what a walrus am dis! me do b'lieve him most high as a tree an' more broader nor iveryt'ing!" "hold thy tongue, moses, and ask the fellow where he came from; but tell him first that i'm obliged to him for saving chimo from that villainous wolf." while moses interpreted, arnalooa and okatook, being privileged members of the tribe, crossed over to edith's room. "well, what says he?" inquired stanley, at the end of a long address which the giant had delivered to moses. "him say he heered we have come to trade, from eskeemo to west'ard, and so him come for to see us." "a most excellent reason," said stanley. "has he brought any furs?" "yis; him brought one two fox, and two t'ree deer. no have much furs in dis country, him say." "sorry to hear that. perhaps his opinion may change when he sees the inside of our store. but i would like him to stay about the fort as a hunter, moses; he seems a first-rate man. ask him if he will consent to stay for a time." "p'raps he fuss-rate, p'raps not," muttered moses in a disparaging tone, as he turned to put the question. "him say yis." "very good; then take him to your house, moses, and give him some food and a pipe, and teach him english as fast as you can, and see that it is grammatical. d'ye hear?" "yis, mossue, me quite sure for to teach him dat." as moses turned to quit the hall, stanley called him back. "ask maximus, by-the-bye, if he knows anything of a party of esquimaux who seem to have been attacked, not long ago, by indians in this neighbourhood." no sooner was this question put than the face of maximus, which had worn a placid, smiling expression during the foregoing conversation, totally changed. his brows lowered, and his lips were tightly compressed, as he regarded stanley for a few moments ere he ventured to reply. then, in a deep, earnest tone, he related the attack, the slaughter of his people, their subsequent escape, and the loss of his bride. even moses was agitated as he went on, and showed his teeth like an enraged mastiff when the esquimau came to speak of his irreparable loss. "stay one moment," said stanley, when maximus concluded. "i have something to show you;" and hastening into his room, he quickly returned with the little piece of sealskin that had been found at the deserted indian camp. "do you know anything of this, maximus? do you understand these marks?" the esquimau uttered a cry of surprise when his eye fell on the piece of skin, and he seemed much agitated while he put several quick, earnest questions to moses, who replied as earnestly and quickly; then turning rapidly on his heel, he sprang through the doorway, and was soon lost to view in the stunted woods of the ravine above the fort. "that fellow seems in a hurry," exclaimed frank morton, entering the room just as the savage made his exit. "who is he, and wherefore in so great haste?" "as to who he is," answered stanley, "i'll tell you that after moses has explained the cause of his sudden flight." "he say that him's wife make dat skin, and de arrow on him skin show dat de injuns take her to deir tents." "but did you not tell him that we found the skin long ago, and that the indians must be far, far away by this time--nobody knows where?" demanded frank. "yis, me tell him. but he go for to see de spot. t'ink him find more t'ings, p'raps." "oh, messieurs, voila!" shouted la roche, pointing towards the river, as he rushed, breathless with haste, into the hall; "les esquimaux, dem kill all de deer dans le kontry. oui, voila! dans les kayak. two dozen at vonce--vraiment!" without waiting a reply, the excited frenchman turned round and rushed out of the house, followed by stanley and frank, who seized their guns, which always hung ready loaded on the walls of the apartment. on reaching the water's edge, the scene that met their eye was indeed sufficient to account for the excitement of la roche. a herd of perhaps fifty or sixty deer, on their way to the coast, and ignorant of the foes who had so recently invaded their solitudes, had descended the ravine opposite the fort, with the intention of crossing the river. the esquimaux had perceived this, and keeping themselves and their kayaks concealed until most of the animals were in the water, and the leaders of the herd more than two-thirds over, they then gave chase, and getting between the deer and the opposite shore, cut off their retreat, and drove them towards their encampment. here the slaughter commenced, and stanley and frank arrived at the scene of action while they were in the midst of the wholesale destruction. in all directions the kayaks, with their solitary occupants, were darting about hither and thither like arrows in the midst of the affrighted animals; none of which, however, were speared until they were driven quite close to the shore. in their terror, the deer endeavoured to escape by swimming in different directions; but the long double-bladed paddles of the esquimaux sent the light kayaks after them like lightning, and a sharp prick on their flanks turned them in the right direction. there were so many deer, however, that a few succeeded in gaining the land; but here the guns of the traders awaited them. in the midst of this wild scene, frank's attention was arrested by the cool proceedings of an esquimau, whose name was chacooto. he had several times exhibited a degree of shrewdness beyond his fellows during his residence near the fort, and was evidently a man of importance in the tribe. chacooto had collected together a band of the herd, amounting to fifteen, and, by dint of cool decision and quick movements, had driven them to within a few yards of the shore, exactly opposite the spot whereon his tent stood. one young buck, of about two years old, darted away from the rest more than once, but, with a sweep of the paddle and a prick of the lance, chacooto turned it back again, while a quiet sarcastic smile played on his countenance. having driven the herd close enough in for his purpose, the esquimau ended the career of the refractory buck with a single thrust of his lance, and then proceeded coolly to stab them all one after another. "och, the spalpeen!" said a voice at frank's ear. "'tis himsilf knows how to do it, an' no mistake. musha! his lance goes out and in like a thailor's needle; an' he niver strikes more nor wance, the haythen!" "he certainly does know how to do it, bryan," replied frank; "and it's a comfort to know that every thrust kills in a moment. i like to see as little of the appearance of cruelty as possible in work of this kind." "arrah! there's wan that'll chate 'im, anyhow," cried bryan, throwing forward his gun in nervous haste, as one of the deer gained the land, despite chacooto's rapidity, and bounded towards the hills. frank smiled at the eager haste of his companion, who was one of the poor shots of the party, and, consequently, always in a hurry. "now, bryan, there's a chance. take your time. just behind the shoulder; a little low, for that gun kicks horribly." "murder and blazes, she won't go off!" cried the exasperated irishman, as, after a wavering effort to take aim, he essayed unsuccessfully to pull the trigger. "half-cock, man! cock it!" said frank quickly. "so 'tis, be the mortial! och, bryan, yer too cliver, ye are!" he exclaimed, rectifying his error with a force that nearly tore off the dog-head. at that instant there was a sharp crack, and the deer, bounding into the air, fell dead on the sand at the edge of the willows. "forgive me, bryan," said massan, chuckling and reloading his piece as he walked up to his comrade. "i would not ha' taken't out o' yer teeth, lad, if ye had been ready; but one bound more would ha' put the beast beyond the reach o' a bullet." "faix, massan, ye desarve to be hanged for murther. shure i was waitin' till the poor crayture got into the bushes, to give it a chance o' its life, before i fired. that's the way that gintlemen from the ould country does when we're out sportin'. we always put up the birds first, and fire afterwards; but you salvages murther a poor brute on the sand, whin it's only two fathoms from ye. shame on ye, massan." "see, massan," cried frank, pointing to another deer, which, having escaped its pursuers, had gained the heights above. "that fellow is beyond us both, i fear. be ready when it comes into view beyond the cliff there." but massan did not move; and when frank threw forward his gun, he felt his arm arrested. "pardon me, monsieur," said massan respectfully; "there's a sure bullet about to start for that deer." as he spoke, he pointed to dick prince, who, ignorant of the fact that the deer had been seen by frank, was watching its reappearance from behind a neighbouring rock, at some distance from where they stood. in a second it came into view--the bullet sped--and the deer bounded lightly into the bushes, evidently unhurt! it is difficult to say whether dick prince or his comrades exhibited most amazement in their looks at this result. that the crack shot of the party--the man who could hit a button in the centre at a hundred yards, and cut the head off a partridge at a hundred and fifty--should miss a deer at ninety yards, was utterly incomprehensible. "is it yer own gun ye've got?" inquired bryan, as the discomfited marksman walked up. "no; it's yours," replied prince. a smile, which resolved itself into a myriad of wrinkles, flitted over the blacksmith's face as he said-- "ah, prince! ye'll requare long practice to come to the parfect use o' that wipon. i've always fired three yards, at laste, to the left, iver since we fell over the hill togither. if it's a very long shot, it requares four to take the baste in the flank, or four an' a half if ye want to hit the shoulder, besides an allowance o' two feet above its head, to make up for the twist i gave it the other day in the forge, in tryin' to put it right!" this explanation was satisfactory to all parties, especially so to prince, who felt that his credit was saved; and if prince had a weakness at all, it was upon this point. the deer were now all killed, with the exception of those of the band that had been last in entering the river. these, with a few stragglers, had returned to the shore from which they started. the remainder of the evening was devoted to skinning and cutting up the carcasses--an operation requiring considerable time, skill, and labour. while the people at the fort were thus employed, maximus (who adopted at once the name given to him by stanley) returned from his fruitless journey to the indian camp, and assisted the men at their work. he made no allusion whatever to his visit to the deserted indian camp; but, from the settled expression of deep sadness that clouded his countenance, it was inferred that what he had seen there had not tended to raise his hopes. the supply of deer obtained at this time was very seasonable, for the frost had now begun to set in so steadily that the meat could be hung up to freeze, and thus be kept fresh for winter's consumption. some of it, however, was dried and stored away in bales; while a small quantity was pounded after being dried, made into pemmican, and reserved for future journeys. as for the esquimaux, they gave themselves up, during the first night, to feasting and rejoicing. during the short time that they had been at the fort, they had converted the promontory on which they were encamped into a scene of the utmost confusion and filth. a regard for truth constrains us to say, that although these poor creatures turned out to be honest, and simple, and kind-hearted, they did not by any means turn out to be cleanly; quite the reverse. they had erected four summer tents on the beach, which were composed of skins sewed together, and supported on poles in such a way as to afford ample room for the accommodation of their families. the entrance to each tent was through a passage, which was also made of skins, hung over a line fastened to a pole at the distance of twelve or fifteen feet from the tent. each side of this entrance was lined with piles of provisions--seals, fish, ducks, and venison, in various stages of decay, which rendered the passage into the interior a trying operation. true, it was intended that the frost should prevent this decay; but, unfortunately, the frost did not always do its duty. the manner in which they cut up their deer and prepared them for future use was curious. after cutting the animals into two, without skinning them, they pinned up the front half with the heart and liver in the cavity. the other half they treated in a similar way, minus the heart and liver, and then put them out to freeze until required. when frozen, they were frequently used in their tents as seats, until the gradual diminution of the larder demanded that they should be appropriated to their proper use. the tribe of esquimaux who resided near fort chimo at this time were possessed of an enormous stone kettle, in which they boiled an entire deer at one time; and while the good people luxuriated on the flesh of the animal in their tents, the dogs assembled round the boiler to await the cooling of the soup--thus verifying the assertion formerly made by massan on that head. the dogs resembled those of the newfoundland breed in some respects, but were scarcely so large or good-looking, and had erect instead of pendent ears. there were about a dozen of them; and it was wonderful to observe the patience with which they sat in a circle round the kettle, gazing earnestly at the soup, licking their chaps the while, in anticipation of the feast. the successful hunt was regarded as worthy of being specially celebrated by the distribution of a glass of grog to the men, and also to the esquimaux; for at the time we write of, the hudson's bay company had not yet instituted the wise and humane regulation which has since become a standing order throughout all parts of the country, except where there is opposition--namely, that ardent spirits shall not be given to the natives. however, stanley's natural disposition led him to be very circumspect in giving spirits to the men and natives, and the supply now issued was very small. in the men it produced a desire for the violin, and created a tendency to sing and tell stories. in the esquimaux it produced at first dislike, and afterwards wild excitement, which, in the case of chacooto, ended in a desire to fight. but his comrades, assisted by his wives, overpowered him, tied him in a sack made of sealskin, and left him to roar and kick till he fell asleep! the honesty of these natives was exhibited very strikingly in all their dealings with the fur-traders. although iron tools of every description were scattered about the fort, while the men were engaged in erecting the several buildings, not one was missed; and even the useless nails and scraps of metal that were thrown away, when they were found by chance by the esquimaux, were always brought to the house, and the question asked, "were they of any use?" before being appropriated. they were great beggars, however; which was not surprising, considering the value of the articles possessed by the traders, and their own limited means of purchasing them. their chief wealth at this time lay in boots and deerskins, which the women were constantly employed in preparing; but stanley urged them to go into the interior and hunt, as, although deerskins and boots were useful, furs were infinitely more valuable. but the esquimaux had much too lively a dread of the indians to venture away from the coast, and seemed inclined to hang about the place in comparative idleness much longer than was desirable. chapter twenty three. more arrivals--honesty--indians come upon the scene--the tribes reconciled--disease and death change the aspect of things--philosophic discourse. a day or two after the successful deer-hunt above related, several bands of esquimaux arrived at fort chimo, and encamped beside their comrades. this unusual influx of visitors soon exhausted the venison that had been procured; but hunting parties were constantly on the alert, and as game of all kinds was plentiful, they lived in the midst of abundance. to all of these stanley made small presents of beads and tobacco, and recommended them strongly to go and hunt for furs. but they seemed to like their quarters, and refused to move. the new arrivals, along with those who had first come, formed a band of about three hundred, and were found, almost without exception, to be a quiet, inoffensive, and honest people. as a proof of this latter quality, we may mention a circumstance that occurred a few days after the arrival of the last band. being desirous of taking some additional soundings, stanley launched his boat by the help of the esquimaux, for his own men were all absent hunting and fishing. the boat referred to had been sent to the fort in the ship, and was a most useful and acceptable gift from the governor of the fur company to the gentleman in charge of ungava. stanley hoisted his sails, and prepared to run down the river; but ere he had advanced a hundred yards, he was startled by a burst of loud cries from the shore, and, looking back, he observed the whole band of natives pouring like a torrent into the fort! his heart leaped within him as he thought of his unprotected wife and child. turning the boat towards the shore, he ran it on the beach, and, leaving it with all the sails standing, he rushed into the square of the fort, forcing his way through the crush of natives, whose vociferous talking rendered what they said, for a time, unintelligible. at length moses forced his way through the crowd, followed by one of the natives, who led a large dog by a line fastened round its neck. "what's the matter, moses? what's wrong?" cried stanley. "oh, not'ing at all," replied moses, casting a look of pity at his countrymen. "dem are great gooses. die man here wid de dog, him say dat de child'n was play in de square of dis fort, an' one o' dem trow stone and broke a window. it was de son ob dis man what do it, an' him say he most awful sorry--an' all de people sorry, so dey bring de dog to pay for de broken window." "i'm glad it's nothing worse," cried stanley, much relieved. "tell them i'm happy to find they are sorry, and i hope they will keep the children out of the square in future; but i don't want the dog. it was an accident, and not worth making such a noise about." the esquimaux, however, would not agree to look upon this accident as a light matter. they said truly, that glass was not to be got so easily as the ice-blocks with which they formed windows to their own winter houses, so they insisted on the dog being accepted; and at length stanley gave in, but took care that the native who gave it should not be a loser in consequence of his honesty. moreover, stanley begged of them to send up several of their best dogs, saying that he would purchase them, as he was in want of a team for hauling the winter firewood. next day, while stanley was engaged in the trading store with a party of esquimaux, he was surprised by hearing a volley of musketry fired at the back of the fort. snatching up a loaded gun as he ran hastily out, he found that the shots had been fired by a band of indians as a salute to the fort on their arrival. this was the first time that indians had made their appearance since the arrival of the fur-traders; and their advent at the present time was most fortunate, as it afforded stanley an opportunity of commencing his negotiations as peacemaker in the presence of a considerable band of both parties. the indians, fifteen in number, were all clothed, with the exception of their chief, in deerskin hunting shirts, ornamented moccasins of the same material, and cloth leggings. they wore no head-dress, but their long, straight, black hair was decorated with feathers and small metallic ornaments, among which were several silver thimbles. their powder-horns and shot-pouches were gaily ornamented with bead and quill work; and they were all armed with long guns, on which they leaned as they stood silently, in a picturesque group, on the flat, rocky platform above the spring, which has been more than once alluded to. this platform overlooked the fort, and was a favourite promenade of the traders. at present it formed a sort of neutral ground, on which the indians took their stand. the red men were overawed by the very superior number of the esquimaux, and felt that they were safe only so long as they stood on the flat rock, which was the only path leading to the ravine, through which, if need be, they could easily escape into the mountains. the chief of the indians, unlike his fellows, was dressed in a costume of the most grotesque and brilliant character, and, certainly, one which, however much it might raise the admiration of his savage companions, did not add to his dignity in the eyes of the traders. he wore a long, bright scarlet coat, richly embroidered with gold lace, with large cuffs, and gilt buttons; a pair of blue cloth trousers, and a vest of the same material; a broad worsted sash, and a hat in the form of the ordinary beaver or silk hat of europe. the material, however, was very coarse; but this was made up for by the silver, and gilt cords, and tassels with which it was profusely decorated. he evidently felt his own importance, and stood with a calm, dignified gaze, waiting to be addressed. hailing ma-istequan, who leaned on the axe with which he had been cutting firewood when the volley of the indians arrested him, stanley bade him invite them to enter the fort. "we cannot come down," replied the chief, after ma-istequan had given the invitation. "the eskimos are in numbers like the stars; we are few. if the pale-faces are our friends, let them come up here and take us by the hand and bring us down." "very reasonable," said stanley to frank, who stood beside him; "we must take care that the esquimaux do not take advantage of their numbers to avenge their ancient wrongs." then, turning to the natives, who had now crowded in large numbers into the fort, stanley addressed them in a serious tone; told them that the time had now come when he hoped to reconcile the innuit and the allat [esquimau name for indians] together; and that he expected they would show their gratitude for his many kindnesses to them by treating the indians, who were his friends, with hospitality. the esquimaux promised obedience, after which stanley ascended to the promenade, and taking the indian chief by the hand, led him towards the fort, followed by the whole band in single file. it is not necessary to detail the speeches that followed on both sides on this occasion, and the eloquence that was expended that evening in the cause of peace. suffice it to say that the indians and esquimaux shook hands and exchanged gifts in the presence of the assembled garrison of fort chimo. but although the traders had reason to congratulate themselves on having so far succeeded in the establishment of peace, they could not conceal from themselves the fact that while, on the one hand, the esquimaux appeared to be perfectly sincere and cordial in their professions, on the other hand the indians evinced a good deal of taciturnity at first, and even after their reserve was overcome, seemed to act as men do who are constrained to the performance of a distasteful action. in general character, the indians of labrador do not contrast well with the esquimaux--at least this may with truth be said of those who afterwards became attached to the district of ungava. the indian is reserved and taciturn, while the esquimau is candid, frank, and communicative. of course there are exceptions on both sides. on the evening of the same day, stanley had much difficulty in overcoming the reserve of the indians, so as to procure information regarding the interior; and it was not until their hearts were opened by the influence of tobacco, that they condescended to give the required information. this was to the effect that there were not many fur-bearing animals in the immediate vicinity of ungava, but that there were a good many in the wooded country lying to the southward and eastward. here, however, the indians do not care to hunt, preferring rather to keep to the heights of land, and near the coast, where the deer are numerous. in fact, stanley afterwards found that the facility with which the indians procured deer in this part of the country was a serious drawback to the fur trade, as they contented themselves with trapping just enough of otters, foxes, etcetera, to enable them to procure a supply of ammunition with which to hunt the deer. the indians had brought a few beaver and other furs to trade, and, after receiving a good meal and a few presents, they took up their quarters on a plot of ground close to the fort. here they lived a short time in perfect friendship with the esquimaux, visiting them, and hunting in company; but more than once they exhibited their natural disposition by stealing the goods of their neighbours. on one occasion, two esquimau children were missed from the camp, and in the course of the day they returned to their parents clothed in indian costume! this was a very polite piece of attention on the part of the indians, but the effect of it was much marred, the same day, by the abstraction of a knife from an esquimau tent. stanley insisted on the article being restored, and severely reprimanded the offender. but, although the general harmony of the camp was sometimes broken by such events, the friendship between the two parties seemed to be gradually increasing, and stanley saw with satisfaction that the allat and the innuit bade fair to become fast friends for the future. but an event occurred at this time which put an end to their intercourse, and very much altered the aspect of affairs. for some time past the men at the fort had been subject to rather severe attacks of cold, or a species of influenza. this they unfortunately communicated to the esquimaux, who seemed to be peculiarly susceptible of the disease. being very fat and full-blooded, it had the most dreadful effect on the poor creatures, and at a certain stage almost choked them. at last one night it was reported that ten of their number had died from absolute suffocation. all of these had been strong and robust, and they died after two days' illness. one of those who were attacked was edith's little friend, arnalooa, and just before the ten esquimaux died, edith had gone down to the camp with a present of beads to console her. she found her much better, and, after talking to her for some time, she took her leave, promising to pay her another visit next day. true to her promise, edith sallied forth after breakfast with a little native basket on her arm. about half an hour afterwards, while stanley was sitting in the hall with his wife and frank, they were startled by the sudden appearance of edith, out of breath from the speed with which she had run home, and her face overspread with a deadly paleness. "what is the matter, my darling?" cried her mother, starting up in alarm. "oh! the esquimaux are lying dead on the sand," gasped edith, as she laid her head on her mother's breast, "and the rest are all gone." without waiting to hear more, frank and stanley took down their guns and hastened to the camp. here a scene of the most horrible kind presented itself. the whole camp exhibited evidences of a hasty flight, and eight of the people who had died during the night were lying exposed on the rocks, with their white faces and ghastly eyeballs turned towards the sky. the other two had been buried on the rocks under a heap of stones, which did not conceal them entirely from view. "no wonder poor edith was alarmed," said stanley sadly, as he leaned on his fowling-piece and surveyed the scene of desolation and death. "i have been told," remarked frank, "that the esquimaux have a superstitious dread of this river. oolibuck mentioned to me this morning that he has had a good deal of conversation with the natives about this disease, and they told him that it invariably attacks them when they enter this river, and carries them off by dozens; so that they never come into it except when they require wood, and always stay as short a time as possible." "ah! that's bad," said stanley; "i fear that it will go much against the success of the establishment. but we must hope better things; and, truly, with this exception, all has gone well hitherto. said they anything more, frank?" "yes; they hinted, it seems, their intention of flying away from this fatal spot, and taking up their abode for the winter at the mouth of false river, where they can obtain a livelihood by seal-fishing; but oolibuck thought they did not mean to put the threat in execution, and did not imagine that they were in such alarm that they would go off without burying their dead." "we must do that for them, frank," said stanley, turning to retrace his steps to the fort; "send down as many of the men as you can spare to-day, and get it done at once." "by the way," said frank, as they walked along the beach, "it seems that many years ago the moravian missionaries came to the mouth of this river, and talked of setting up a trading-fort here; but, from some cause unknown, they gave up their design and went away. maximus has been telling me all he knows about the matter; but his reports are vague, and the event must have occurred, if it occurred at all, when he was a child." "very possibly, frank. you know the moravians have settlements along the coasts of labrador, to the eastward of this. they may have made an attempt long ago to push as far as this. i have always had a high opinion of the energy and perseverance of these missionaries, but i cannot get over the incongruity of their strange way of mingling trade with religion. it seems to me an unnatural sort of thing for missionaries to be fur-traders. i do not mean by this to object to their system, however; i daresay it works well, but i've had no means of judging." "it is strange," replied frank; "yet it seems a good plan. the missionaries trade there in order that they may live and preach. 'twould be a good thing for the indian country if the same principles and practice actuated the traders; with this difference, that instead of missionaries becoming fur-traders, the fur-traders would become missionaries. it does seem a species of infatuation," continued frank, energetically, as he warmed with the subject, "that men, calling themselves christians, should live for years and years among the poor indians of america and never once name to them the great and saving name of christ. of course i do not wonder at those who make little or no profession of christianity; but there are men in the fur-trade who seem to be deeply impressed with the truths of god's word--who are alive to the fact that there is no name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved except the name of christ--who know and feel that the indians around them are living without god, and therefore without hope in the world--who feel that _christ_ is _all in all_, and that the christian religion, however perfect and beautiful as a code of morals, is utterly worthless as to salvation unless there be in the heart the special love of jesus christ;--men who admit and profess to believe all this, yet never speak of christ to the natives--never mention the name that can alone save them from eternal destruction." "be not hasty, frank," replied stanley. "i agree with you, that it is strange indeed we do not see and hear more of this missionary spirit among the traders, and i, for one, take your words as a deserved rebuke to myself; but if there are, as you say, many among us who are deeply impressed with the truths of god's word, how know you that we never mention our saviour's name to the indians? although fur-traders do not mount the pulpit, they may, in private, make mention of that name, and do an amount of good that will only be fully known when the trader, the trapper, and the indian shall stand side by side before the judgment-seat of christ. observe, i do not say that this is actually the case; i only suggest that it is possible--may i not add, probable?" "it may be so," returned frank, "it may be so, and god forgive me if i have judged the men of the fur-trade unjustly; but i certainly know one who has made somewhat of a profession of christianity in his day, and yet has done next to nothing, and that one is frank morton." "i'll not gainsay that, frank," said stanley, with a quiet smile; "and i think we are not likely to err much when we apply censure to ourselves. it is curious that you and i should have been thinking of the very same subject. a few days ago, while my wife and i were conversing together about the esquimaux, we agreed to devote a good deal of our leisure time next winter to reading and explaining the bible to our esquimau interpreters, in the hope that they may afterwards be the means of much good among their poor countrymen." whether or not the good resolutions made at this time were ever put in practice we cannot say. let us hope that they were. not long after the sudden flight of the esquimaux, the indians struck their tents and took their departure for the interior, with the intention, as they said, of hunting for furs, but more probably, as ma-istequan suggested, to hunt the deer. during all the time of their residence at the fort, maximus had kept out of their way as much as possible. he seldom met them without a frown of hatred, for he regarded them as the representatives of a race which had robbed him of his bride; and there were times when the giant's spirit chafed so fearfully at the sight of the red men, that nothing but the remembrance of his promise to stanley, to offer them no injury, prevented him from stirring up his tribe to overwhelm and destroy them. it was, therefore, with a feeling of relief that maximus beheld them march single file over the rocky platform, and disappear in the ravine that led into the mountains. the traders of ungava were once more left in solitude, and from this time forward, until the winter set in, they devoted all their energies to laying up a stock of provisions sufficient to last till spring. dick prince and massan were sent after the deer in company. augustus and bryan were dispatched to a small lake to establish a fishery; in which they were very successful, and soon caught a large supply of excellent white-fish, trout, and carp, which they gutted and hung up by their tails to dry and freeze. frank and moses went to another small lake, about ten miles down the river, and built a hut of willows, in which they dwelt while engaged at the fishery. as there was still much to be done in the way of completing the fort, and making furniture, stanley retained la roche, oolibuck, and the two indians to assist him in this, as well as in the performance of the miscellaneous minor duties about the station, such as cutting up firewood, covering the roofs of the stores with tarpaulin, shooting such birds and animals as came near the fort, constructing rude chairs and tables, cooking, etcetera, etcetera; while francois and gaspard were sent up the river to fell trees, for the purposes both of building and firewood. edith and her mother found ample occupation--the latter in the use of her needle and the cares of the household; the former in learning her lessons, visiting her berry-ravine, dressing her doll (for she had a doll, as a matter of course), and in holding long and frequent converse with chimo. thus they spent their time; too busily occupied to take much note of its rapid flight, and scarce noticing the lengthening nights and shortening days, until needles of ice began with slow and silent progress to shoot across and solidify the waters of the bay. chapter twenty four. effect of snow on the feelings, not to mention the landscape--a wonderful dome of ice. there are times and seasons, in this peculiar world of ours, when the heart of man rejoices. the rejoicing to which we refer is not of the ordinary kind. it is peculiar; and, whether its duration be long or short, its effect powerful or slight, it is quite distinct and emphatic. we do not intend to enter into a detail of the occasions that call forth this feeling of exultation. far be it from us to venture into such perilous depths of philosophy. our sole reason for making these preliminary observations is, that we may, with proper emphasis, introduce the statement, that one of these occasions of rejoicing is, when man arises from his couch, on a brilliant, sunny, sparkling morning, gazes forth from his window, and beholds the landscape--which yesterday was green, and red, and brown, and blue--clad in a soft mantle of whitest snow! what! you don't agree with us? you shudder at the preposterous idea of such a sight being fitted to rejoice the heart of man in any degree whatever? well, well; do not sneer at our weakness. if we cannot sympathise with each other on this subject, perchance there are other things in which we can. but whatever be _our_ opinion in regard to this, the point that we have to deal with at present is, the opinion of edith stanley, who, on rising hastily one morning, and looking forth from her little window, evinced the rejoicing of her heart most emphatically, by her loud exclamation of delight and the sparkling of her bright blue eyes. independently of the cheerful lightness and the virgin purity of the mantle, which in itself tended to awaken emotions of gladness in edith's heart, there was something in its sudden appearance that carried her back violently and vividly to bygone days. the winter garb had no associations, yet, with ungava; but it had with moose fort, and the dear companions she used to play with there. it recalled the time when she and her little friends sallied forth, each with her small wooden sledge drawn after her by a line, to slide thereon down the banks of the frozen river with headlong speed, and upset at the bottom amid shouts of laughter. it recalled the time when she made the first attempt to walk in snow-shoes, upon which occasion she tripped and fell into the snow, as a matter of course, and was advised to wait till she was older. it recalled the memory of her father's team of dogs, and the delightful drives she used to have over the frozen river; which drives often resulted in an upset, perhaps several, and always resulted in fun. it recalled the house in the old fort that used to be her home; the row of houses belonging to the men, to which she often went, and was always welcomed as a great favourite; the water-hole on the river from which the old canadian drew his daily supply; and the snow-house in the yard which she built in company with frank morton, and which stood the whole winter through, but gave way at last before the blazing sun of spring, and fell--as ill luck would have it--when she and chimo were sitting there, so that she and the dog together had a hard struggle ere they got free. all these, and many more thick-coming memories of other days, were aroused by the vision of snow that met edith's gaze that morning, and caused her heart with peculiar fervour to rejoice. winter had now descended with iron grasp upon ungava. for some weeks the frost had been so intense that every lake and pool was frozen many inches thick, and the salt bay itself was fringed with a thick and ever-accumulating mass of ice. the snow which now fell was but the ceremonial coronation of a king whose reign had commenced in reality long before. but the sunshine did not last long. the rolling fogs and vapours of the open and ice-laden sea beyond ascended over the wild mountains, obscured the bright sky, and revealed the winter of the north in all its stern, cold reality. every cliff and crag and jagged peak had its crown of snow, and every corrie, glen, and gorge its drifted shroud. in places where the precipices were perpendicular, the grey rocks of the mountains formed dark blotches in the picture; but, dark although they were, they did not equal in blackness the river, on which floated hundreds of masses of ice and several ponderous icebergs, which had been carried up from the sea by the flood-tide. over this inky expanse the frost-smoke hung like a leaden pall--an evil spirit, as it were, which never left the spot till protracted and intense frost closed the waters of the river altogether, and banished it farther out to sea. but this entire closing of the river very seldom happened, and never lasted long. fort chimo itself, at least as much of it as remained unburied, was a mere speck on the edge of the white plain at the mountain's foot, scarce distinguishable, at a short distance, from the straggling black pines and willow bushes that seemed thrust out into the waste from the ravines above and below the fort. but on a nearer approach, the fort assumed an air of greater importance; the influences, too, of the cold, cheerless scene we have described, were broken and dissipated by the sights of comfort and sounds of cheerfulness within. the shout of the water-drawer, as he roused the dogs and went forth with his empty cask, hauled on a little sledge, to draw from the bubbling spring behind the fort; the sounds of the hammer, the chisel, and the axe, in the carpenter's shop; the merry clank of bryan's hammer, and the bright flame that gleamed from the window of the forge,--all bore evidence of the fact, that however powerful the influence of winter might be without, it had little power within the wooden walls of fort chimo, and could not check the life, or heart, or industry of man. the only other human being visible in the open air, besides the water-drawer, was la roche, who, with a fur cap covering his head and ears, and leathern mittens on his hands, hewed and hacked the billets with which he purposed to replenish the fire for cooking the mid-day meal. pausing in his labour, and dusting off the hoar-frost that covered his eyebrows and whiskers, he looked at the edge of his hatchet for a few seconds with an expression of contempt. then, throwing the implement on his shoulder, he crossed the yard and entered the blacksmith's shop. "bryan," said he, seating himself on the edge of the forge and filling his pipe, while vulcan's votary scattered a shower of gems from a white-hot bar of iron at every blow of his hammer--"bryan, you no fit for not'ing. dat axe is blont encore. oui, c'est vrai. now dat is tres mal. how you not can temper him edge better?" "timper it better, is it?" answered bryan, putting the iron bar in the fire, and regarding his companion earnestly while he blew the bellows. "faix, 'tis mysilf i'd need to timper better, in order to put up wi' the likes o' you, ye wretched crature. how can ye expict it to kape its idge when ye lave it for iver lyin' among yer pots and kittles?" "dat is not it," replied la roche, applying a glowing coal to his pipe. "'tis de mauvais steel. but i not com for to fight wid you. your tongue trop long pour dat. i com for ax you to give me turn ov de grindstone, s'il vous plait." "ye don't desarve it, losh; but wait till i've finished this job and i'll lind ye a hand." "be-the-bye," resumed bryan, when the metal was cooled, "has francois finished that sled for miss edith?" "oui," replied la roche, seating himself at the grindstone. "(ah! pas si vite, a leet more slow, bryan.) oui, him make it all ready; only want de ring-bolts." "thin it won't want thim long. ye can take thim over to the shop when ye go across. there they are on the binch." bryan continued to turn the handle of the stone for some time in silence. "d'ye know, losh," he resumed, "whin mister frank is goin' to the fishery?" "he go demain, i b'lieve, and mademoiselle edith go too." "none o' the min goin'?" inquired the blacksmith. "non. monsieur frank just go for to try if dere be any fish to be cotch by de hook; and i t'ink he go more for to give edith one drive dan dat." "very likely, losh. the poor purty little crature. she's very fond o' sledgin' and walkin' in snow-shoes. 'tis well for her, bekase there's a want o' companions for her here intirely." "ah! mercy, dat is superb, magnifique!" said the frenchman, feeling the edge of the axe with his thumb. "it sharp 'nuff to shave de hair off your ogly face, bryan." "thin be off wid ye, an' don't kape me longer from my work. an' shut the door quick behind ye; there's cowld enough in the place already." so saying, bryan resumed his hammer, and la roche, following the snow-track across the yard, recommenced his labour of chopping firewood. next day, frank and edith made preparations for the excursion alluded to in the foregoing conversation. the object for which this excursion was undertaken was twofold--first, to ascertain if there were any fish in a large lake about ten miles distant from the fort; and, secondly, to give little edith a drive for the good of her health. not that her health was bad, but several weeks of bad weather had confined her much to the house, and her mother thought the change would be beneficial and agreeable; and tenderly did that mother's heart yearn over her little child, for she felt that, although she was all to edith that a mother could be, nature had implanted in her daughter's mind a longing desire for the companionship of little ones of her own age, which could not be satisfied by any substitute--not even that of a tender mother, who sought, by all the means in her power, to become a child again for edith's sake. immediately after breakfast that day frank took edith by the hand, and led her round by the back of the fort, towards the kennel where the dogs were kept, intending to release chimo, who was to have the honour of hauling the sledge of his young mistress. in passing the spring, edith paused, as she had often done before during the winter, to gaze with wonder on the transformation that had taken place in the appearance of the once green and fertile spot. not only was it covered with deep snow, but over the spring there was formed a singular dome of ice. this dome was a subject of continual astonishment to every one at ungava. it had commenced to rise soon after the first hard frosts had sealed up the little fountain from the open air. as time passed by, the covering became thick ice, and was bulged gradually up above the surrounding waste, until it reached an elevation of not much less than twelve or thirteen feet. inside of this the spring bubbled up as of yore. "what think you, edith?" said frank, as a sudden thought occurred to him; "shall i cut a doorway into that crystal house, and see if the spirit of the spring dwells there?" edith clapped her hands with delight at the idea, and urged her companion to begin at once. then, checking him as he was about to commence the work with his hatchet, she said earnestly-- "do spirits really dwell in the springs, frank?" "why, eda, we must send to england for a lot of fairy tales to teach you what i mean. i do but jest when i speak of spirits living there. but many books, have been written about pretended spirits and fairies, which tell us of their wonderful adventures, and what they said and did long ago. i shall tell you some of these stories one of these days. but i daresay there are no spirits in this spring." "faix, an' it would be a rale misfortune if there was, sir," remarked bryan, who came up at this moment, and touched his cap; "for it would be only sperits and wather, which wouldn't kape in this cowld climate. i've finished the ring-bolts for the sled, sir, an' came to see when ye would have them fixed." "put them in your pocket, bryan, for a few minutes, and lend a hand here to cut a hole through this dome." as frank spoke, he drew a small axe from his belt, and began to lay about him so vigorously that the icy splinters flew in all directions like a shower of broken crystal. bryan seconded his efforts, and in less than half an hour a block of solid ice, about four feet high and two broad, was cut out and detached from the side of the dome. "that'll do, bryan," said frank, when their work was nearly completed; "i'll finish it myself now. go to the carpenter's house, and francois will show you what to do with the sled." as bryan walked away, frank dealt the mass of ice a blow that split it into several pieces, which he quickly removed, revealing to the astonished and eager gaze of his young companion a cavern of a most beautiful light blue colour. taking edith by the hand, he led her into this icy cave. its walls were quite luminous and delicately blue, except in places where the green moss and earth around the spring had been torn from the ground and lifted up along with the dome. icicles hung in various places from the roof, and the floor was hard and dry, except in the centre, where the spring bubbled up through it, and cut a channel across towards one side of the icy wall, where it disappeared under the snow. "oh, what a beautiful palace!" cried edith, with delight, after she had gazed around her for a few minutes in silent wonder and admiration. "i shall come and live here, frank. oh! do come, and let us get chairs and a small table, and make it our sitting-room. we can come every day when the sun shines and read, or you can tell me the tales about spirits and fairies you spoke of!" "a good idea, eda; but i fear we would need a stove to keep us warm. it strikes me it will make a capital ice-house in spring to keep our fresh meat in. it will last long after the snow is melted." "then we shall make a palace of it in winter and a meat-store in spring," cried edith, laughing, as she walked round this newly-discovered house, examining its blue walls and peeping into the cold black spring. meanwhile frank examined it with a view to the utilitarian purpose, and, after both of them had gone round it several times, they continued on their way towards the dog-kennel. the sledge which francois had constructed for edith was made after the model of those used by the esquimaux. there were two stout runners, or skates, made of wood, for sliding over the snow. these were slightly turned up, or rather _rounded_ up, in front, and attached to each other by means of cross bars and thin planks of wood; all of which were fastened, not by nails (for iron-work snaps like glass in such a cold climate as that of ungava), but by thongs of undressed sealskin, which, although they held the fabric very loosely together in appearance, were, nevertheless, remarkably strong, and served their purpose very well. two short upright bars behind served as a back to lean against. but the most curious part of the machine was the substance with which the runners were shod, in order to preserve them. this was a preparation of mud and water, which was plastered smoothly on in a soft condition, and then allowed to freeze. this it did in a few minutes after being exposed to the open air, and thus became a smooth, hard sheathing, which was much more durable and less liable to break than iron, or indeed any other sheathing that could be devised. this substance is, of course, easily repaired, and is always used by the esquimaux in winter. esquimau sledges being heavy, and meant for carrying a number of people, require large teams of dogs. but edith's sledge--or sled, as the men called it--was little. moreover, edith herself was little and light, therefore chimo was deemed sufficiently powerful to draw it. so thoroughly correct were they in this supposition, that when edith was seated in her sledge for a trial trip, and chimo harnessed, he ran away with her and gave frank a chase of half a mile over the river ere he condescended to stop in his wild career. but the intended excursion was suddenly interrupted and postponed, by an event which we shall relate in the next chapter. chapter twenty five. buried alive--but not killed--the giant in the snow-storm. the event which prevented the excursion referred to in the last chapter was neither more nor less than a snowstorm. "was that all?" say you, reader? nay, that was not all. independently of the fact that it was a snowstorm the like of which you have never seen, unless you have travelled in northern climes, it was a snow-storm that produced results. of these, more hereafter. the storm began with a sigh--a mysterious sigh, that swept over the mountains of ungava with a soft, mournful wail, and died slowly away in the distant glen of the caniapuscaw, as if the spirit of the north wind grieved to think of the withering desolation it was about to launch upon the land. the gathering clouds that preceded and accompanied this sigh induced frank morton to countermand his orders for the intended journey. in order to console edith for the disappointment, he went with her into the hall, and, drawing a low stool towards the blazing stove, placed a draught-board upon it. then he placed another and a lower stool beside the first, on which he seated edith. spreading a deerskin robe upon the ground, he stretched himself thereon at full length, and began to arrange the men. the hall, which was formerly such a comfortless apartment, was now invested with that degree of comfort which always gathers, more or less, round a place that is continually occupied. the ceiling was composed of a carpet of deerskin stretched tightly upon the beams. the walls were hung all round with the thick heavy coats and robes of leather and fur belonging to the inmates, and without which they never ventured abroad. the iron stove in the centre of the apartment, with its pipe to conduct away the smoke, and its radiant fire of logs, emitted a cheerful glow in its immediate vicinity; which glow, however, was not intense enough to melt the thick ice, or rather hoar-frost, an inch deep, with which the two windows were encrusted, to the almost total exclusion of the view and the serious diminution of the light. the door was padded all round its edges with fur, which tended to check the bitter wind that often blew against it, and tempered the slight draught that did force its way through. altogether the hall at fort chimo was curious and comfortable--rather shaggy in its general appearance, but sound and trustworthy at bottom. a small rough table, the work of frank morton, stood close to the stove; and beside it was seated mrs stanley, with a soft yellow deerskin before her, which she was carefully transforming into a hunting coat for her husband. on another and a larger table was spread the tea equipage. those who would understand this aright must for _tea_ read _supper_. among fur-traders the two are combined. candles--dips made at the fort--had been brought some time ago by la roche, who entered the hall by a back door which communicated with a passage leading to the kitchen behind. "what can have become of papa, i wonder?" mrs stanley designated her husband by this epithet, in consequence of her desire to keep up the fiction of her being edith's little sister or playfellow. frank looked up from the board. "i know not," said he. "i left him giving some orders to the men. we have been getting things made snug about the fort, for we expect a pretty stiff breeze to-night.--take care, eda; your crown's in danger." "oh! so it is," cried edith, snatching back her piece, and looking with intense earnestness at the board. frank might have observed, had he not been too deeply engaged with his game, that the expected stiff breeze had already come, and was whistling round the fort with considerable vigour. "you'll beat me, eda, if you play so boldly," said frank, with a smile. "there, give me another crown." "and me too," said edith, pushing up her piece. as she spoke, the door burst open, and stanley sprang into the room. "whew! what a night!" he cried, shutting the door with a forcible bang, in order to keep out the snow-drift that sought to enter along with him. two moves would have made frank the conqueror, but the gust of wind upset the board, and scattered the men upon the floor. stanley looked like a man of white marble, but the removal of his cap, coat, and leggings produced a speedy and entire metamorphosis. "ho! la roche!" "oui, monsieur." "here, take my coat and shake the snow off it, and let's have supper as speedily as may be. the draughts without, frank, are a little too powerful for the draughts within, i fear.--what, wife, making another coat? one would think you had vowed to show your affection for me by the number of coats you made. how many have you perpetrated since we were married?" "never mind; go and put on one now, and come to supper while it is hot." "i'm glad it is hot," cried stanley from his bedroom. "one needs unusual heat within to make up for the cold without. the thermometer is thirty below." while the party in the hall were enjoying their evening meal, the men were similarly employed beside the stove in their own habitation. there was not much difference in the two apartments, save that the confusion in that of the men was much greater, in consequence of the miscellaneous mass of capotes, caps, belts, discarded moccasins, axes, guns, and seal-spears, with which they saw fit to garnish the walls. the fumes of tobacco were also more dense, and the conversation more uproarious. "'tis a howlin' night," observed massan, as a gust of more than usual violence shook the door on its hinges. "me t'ink de snow-drift am as t'ick in de sky as on de ground," said oolibuck, drawing a live coal from the fire and lighting his pipe therewith. "hould on, boys!" cried bryan, seizing his chair with both hands, half in jest and half in earnest, as another blast shook the building to its foundation. the two indians sat like statues of bronze, smoking their calumets in silence, while gaspard and prince rose and went to the window. but the frozen moisture on the panes effectually prevented their seeing out. it was indeed an awful night--such a night as had not, until now, visited the precincts of fort chimo. viewed from the rocky platform on the hill, the raging of the storm was absolutely sublime. the wind came sometimes in short, angry gusts, sometimes in prolonged roars, through the narrows, sweeping up clouds of snow so dense that it seemed as though the entire mass had been uplifted from the earth, hurling it upwards and downwards and in circling eddies, past the ravines, and round the fort, and launching it with a fierce yell into the valley of the caniapuscaw. the sky was not altogether covered with clouds, and the broken masses, as they rolled along, permitted a stray moonbeam to dart down upon the turmoil beneath, and render darkness visible. sometimes the wind lulled for a second or two, as if to breathe; then it burst forth again, splitting through the mountain gorges with a shriek of intensity; the columns of snow sprang in thousands from every hollow, cliff and glen, mingled in wild confusion, swayed, now hither, now thither, in mad uncertainty, and then, caught by the steady gale, pelted on, like the charging troops of ice-land, and swept across the frozen plain. could human beings face so wild a storm as this? ay, they could--at least they could dare to try! there was one traveller out upon the hills on that tremendous night. the giant was in the midst of it; but weak as the bulrush were the mighty limbs of maximus before the rushing gale. several days previous to this the esquimau had been sent down to his brethren at false river, to procure some seal-meat for the dogs, and to ascertain the condition of the natives and their success in fishing. on arriving, he found that they had been so far successful, that starvation (their too frequent guest) had not yet visited their dwellings of snow. but maximus found the old woman who had formerly saved his life very ill, and apparently about to die. having learned from experience the efficacy of stanley's medicines, he resolved to procure some for the old woman, whom he had tenderly watched over and hunted for ever since the eventful day of the attack. his dogs were exhausted, and could not return. but the bold esquimau was in the prime of life, and animated by the fire of vigorous youth. the storm was beginning to mutter in the distance. what then?-- had he not faced the blasts of the frozen regions many a time before?-- without saying a word, he threw a junk of seal-flesh into his wallet, and, striding back upon his track at the mountain's base, he disappeared in the driving snow. before reaching the fort, however, the full fury of the storm had burst upon him. it cast him headlong into the snow; but he rose and staggered on. again it burst forth, and again he fell before it like a stately pine. rising to his knees, maximus draw the hood of his hairy garment close round his head and face, and tried to peer through the driving snow; but he could not see until a slight lull came; then he observed a hummock of ice at a short distance, and, rising, made towards it. the lulls were short-lived, however. the storm threw him down again; instantly he was drifted over with snow; another blast came, lifted the drift into the air, and left the esquimau exposed to all its fury. but maximus was not conquered. he rose again, panting, it is true, but sturdy as ever, and ready to take advantage of the next lull. it came soon; and he saw a rock, or, it might be, the base of a cliff close at hand. with a quick run he reached it; and, going down on his knees, began with his gloved hands to scrape a hollow in the snow. having made a hole big enough to contain his body, he lay down in it, and, pulling the superincumbent snow down upon him, was almost buried in the ruin. scarcely had he drawn the hood of his coat well over his face, when another burst of the storm dashed a column of curling drift upon the rock, and the place where he lay was covered up; not a wrinkle in the drift remained to mark the spot where he was buried! all that night the storm roared among mountains with bitter fury; but next day the wind was subdued, and the sun shone brightly on the grey rocks and on the white wreaths of snow. it shone in all the lustre of an unclouded winter sky. not only did the sun smile upon the scene, but two mock suns or parhelia, almost as bright as himself, shone on either side of him. yet no ray of light illuminated the dwellings of the fur-traders. all was darkness there, until stanley rose from his couch and lighted a candle, for the purpose of examining his watch. "hallo! frank, frank!" he cried, entering the hall, while he hastily threw on his garments; "turn out, man; there's something wrong here. 'tis past noon, and dark as midnight. bring your watch; perhaps i'm wrong." frank yawned vociferously, and sprang from his bed. in two seconds more he made his appearance in his trousers and shirt. "past twelve, no doubt of--yea-o-ow! that accounts for my waking three times and going off again; but--" "hey! what have we here?" cried stanley, as he opened the front door, and disclosed to view a solid wall of snow. "snowed up; dear me! eh! that's odd," said frank, beginning to comprehend the state of matters. snowed up they were, undoubtedly; so thoroughly snowed up that there was not a ray of daylight within their dwelling. had frank been above the snow, instead of below it, he would have seen that the whole fort was so completely buried that nothing was visible above the surface except the chimneys and the flagstaff. after the first few moments of surprise had passed, it occurred to stanley that they might ascend to the regions above by the chimney, which was wide enough, he thought, to admit a man; but on looking up, he found that it also was full of drifted snow. this, however, could have been easily removed; but there was a bar of iron stretching across, and built into the clay walls, which rendered escape by that passage impossible. "there's nothing for it, frank, but to dig ourselves out, so the sooner we begin the better." by this time they were joined by edith and her mother, who, although much surprised, were not at all alarmed; for rough travelling in a wild land had taught them to regard nothing as being dangerous until it was proved to be so. besides, stanley had assured them that they had nothing to fear, as the only evil he anticipated would be the trouble they were sure to have in getting rid of the superabundant snow. while they were talking, the back door was opened violently, and la roche, in a state of dishabille, burst into the room. "o messieurs, c'est fini! oui, le world him shut up tout togedder. oh, misere! fat shall ye to do?" "hold your tongue, la roche," said frank, "and bring the kitchen shovel." the cook instantly turned to obey, and as he rushed towards the kitchen his voice was heard exclaiming in the passage-- "ah, c'est terrible! mais i ver' moshe fear de shovel be out in de neige. ah, non; here it is. c'est bien." returning in haste to the hall, he handed a much dilapidated iron shovel to frank, who threw off his coat and set to work with vigour. the tables and chairs, and all the furniture, were removed into the inner apartments, in order to afford room for the snow which frank dug from the open doorway and shovelled into the centre of the room. as only one at a time could work in the narrow doorway, the three men wrought with the shovel by turns; and while one was digging the tunnel, the other two piled the debris in a compact mound beside the stove. as no fire had yet been kindled, the snow, of course, did not melt, but remained crisp and dry upon the floor. meanwhile edith looked on with deep interest, and occasionally assisted in piling the snow; while her mother, seeing that her presence was unnecessary, retired to her own room. "there," cried frank, pausing and surveying an immense cavern which he had dug into the drift, "that's a good spell. take a turn now, la roche, and dig upwards; we should see daylight soon." "ah, vraiment, it be time, for it am von o'clock," replied la roche, as he plied the shovel. the tunnel was cut in such a way as that, while it ran outwards, it also sloped upwards; and, from the angle at which it lay, stanley calculated that thirty feet or thereabouts would bring them to the surface. in this he was correct, for when la roche had worked for half an hour, the snow above became slightly luminous. but the labour of conveying it from the end of the tunnel into the hall became, of course, greater as the work advanced. at length the light penetrated so clearly that la roche was induced to thrust his shovel upwards, in the expectation of penetrating the mass. the effect of this action was striking and unexpected. instantly the roof fell in, and a flood of sunshine poured into the tunnel, revealing the luckless frenchman struggling amid the ruins. "oh, pull me hout!" he spluttered, as frank and stanley stood laughing heartily at his misfortune. one of his legs happened to protrude from the mass as he made this earnest request; so frank seized it, and dragged the poor man by main force from his uncomfortable position. immediately afterwards they all three scrambled through the aperture, and stood in open day. the sight that met their eyes was a curious though not a satisfactory one. all that remained visible of fort chimo were, as we have said, the chimneys and the flagstaff. in regard to the general aspect of the neighbourhood, however, there was little alteration; for the change of position in the drifts among the mountain gorges, and the addition to their bulk, made no striking alteration in the rugged landscape. in some places the gale had cleared the sides of the mountains and left their cliffs exposed to view; in other spots the gorges and ravines were choked up, and the pine tops nearly covered; and the open water in the lake was more encumbered than usual with icebergs. "now, la roche," said stanley, after they had surveyed the desolate scene for a few minutes in silence, "go fetch the shovel and we'll dig out the men. i daresay, poor fellows, they're beginning to wonder at the length of the night by this time." la roche prepared to descend into the tunnel, when their attention was arrested by a strange sound beneath the snow. in a few minutes the crust began to crack at a spot not more than two yards from where they stood; then there was a sudden rupture, accompanied by a growl, and followed by the appearance of the dishevelled head and arms of a man. "musha, boys, but i'm out!" bryan coughed the snow from around his mouth, and winked it from his eyes, as he spoke. the first sight that met his bewildered gaze was three pair of expanded eyeballs and three double rows of grinning teeth, a few feet from his face. uttering a cry of terror, he fell back into the hole, the snow closed over him, and he was gone! it need scarcely be added that frank and stanley commenced to dig into this hole with as much vigour as their frequent explosions of laughter would allow. in a few minutes it was re-opened, and the men issued one by one from durance vile. "och, sirs, ye gave me a mortial start!" exclaimed bryan, as he rose to view the second time. "i thought for sartin ye were all polar bears. faix we've had a job o't down there. i'll be bound to say there's twinty ton o' snow--bad luck to it--in the middle o' the floor." "there's work for us here that'll last two weeks, i guess," said massan, as he and several of the others stooped down and gazed into the tunnel leading to the hall, at the end of which edith's laughing face met their view. "when did you awake, and begin to suspect that something was wrong?" inquired stanley of dick prince. "awake!" cried bryan, answering the question; "we awoke at laste a dozen times. i suppose it must have bin the time for brikfust; for, ye see, although we could ha' slept on long enough; our intariors couldn't, be no manes, forgit their needcessities." "we shall have to work a bit yet ere these necessities are attended to, i fear," said stanley. "go, francois, and one or two of you, and open up the dog-kennel. the rest of you get all the shovels you can lay hands on, and clear out the houses as fast as you can." "clear out de chimbleys fust, mes garcons," cried la roche, looking up from the tunnel. "den ve vill git dejeuner ready toute suite." "that will we, lad," said bryan, shouldering a spade and proceeding towards the chimney of the hall; while the rest of the party, breaking up into several groups, set to work, with spades, shovels, and such implements as were suitable, to cut passages through the square of the fort towards the doors of the several buildings. as massan had said, it proved to be no light work. the north-west gale had launched the snow upon the exposed buildings of fort chimo until the drift was fifteen or sixteen feet deep, so that the mere cutting of passages was a matter of considerable time and severe labour. meanwhile, maximus awoke, and sought to raise himself from his lair at the foot of the rock. but his first effort failed. the drift above him was too heavy. abandoning, therefore, the idea of freeing himself by main force, he turned round on his side and began to scrape away the snow that was directly above his head. the masses that accumulated in the course of this process he forced down past his chest; and, as his motions tended to compress and crush the drift around him in all directions, he soon made room enough to work with ease. in ten minutes he approached so near to the surface as to be able, with a powerful effort, to burst it upwards, and step out of his strange dormitory into the sunshine. this method of spending the night has been resorted to more than once by arctic travellers who had lost their way; and it is sad to think that many who have perished might have saved their lives had they known that burrowing could be practised with safety. the esquimaux frequently spend the night in this manner, but they prefer building a snow-house to burrowing, if circumstances will permit. cutting a slice of seal-meat, and eating as he went, maximus resumed his journey, and soon afterwards arrived at the fort, where he found the men busied in excavating their buried dwellings. here he stated the case of the old woman, and received such medicines as stanley, in his amateur medical wisdom, saw fit to bestow. with these he started immediately to retrace his steps, having been directed to proceed, after administering them, to the lake where frank meant to try the fishing under the ice. a family of esquimaux had been established on another lake not so far distant from the fort; and having been taught by the fur-traders how to set nets under the ice, they succeeded in procuring more than enough for their subsistence. it was hoped, therefore, that the larger lake would afford a good supply; and, the weather having become decidedly fine, frank prepared to set out on the following day. chapter twenty six. an excursion--igloo building, and fishing under the ice--a snow-table and a good feast--edith spends the night under a snow-roof for the first but not the last time. "now then, edith," cried frank, looking in at the door of the hall, "your carriage waits, and chimo is very restive." "coming, coming," exclaimed a treble voice within; "i'm getting new lines put to my snow-shoes, and will be ready in two minutes." two minutes, translated into female language, means ten, sometimes twenty. frank knew this, and proceeded to re-adjust the sash that secured his leathern capote, as he walked towards the little sledge in front of the fort. he then tied down the ear-pieces of his fur cap more carefully, for it was very cold, though clear and sunny. the frost had set fast the lake opposite the fort, and, by thus removing the frost-cloud that overhung the open water farther out to sea, relieved the fort from the mists in which it was usually enveloped. by this time fifteen out of the "two" minutes having elapsed, he re-examined the lock of his gun, and adjusted the warm deerskin robe on edith's little sledge, patted chimo on the head, looked up at the clouds, and began to whistle. "now, frank, here i am," cried edith, running towards him with her snow-shoes in her hand, followed by her father and mother. "quiet, chimo--down, sir!" said frank, restraining the dog as it sought to bound towards its mistress. being harnessed to the sledge, this was a very improper proceeding and was rebuked accordingly; so chimo was fain to crouch on the snow and look back at edith as frank placed her in the sledge, and arranged the deerskin robes round her. edith wore a long fur cloak and cloth leggings. her feet were protected from the cold by two pair of blanket socks, besides very thick moccasins of deerskin. the usual head-dress of civilised females in these regions is a round fur cap; but edith had a peculiar affection for the cree indian headdress, and, upon the present occasion, wore one which was lined with fur and accommodated with ear-pieces, to defy the winter cold. the child's general appearance was somewhat rotund. painters would probably have said there was a little too much breadth, perhaps, in the picture. her pointed cap, however, with the little bow of ribbon on the top, gave her a piquant air, and did away with the heavy appearance of her costume to some extent; in fact, edith looked like a fat little witch. but if she looked fat before being wrapped up in the sledge furs, she looked infinitely fatter when thus placed, and nothing of her visible except her two twinkling eyes. so grotesque was she that the whole party burst into a loud laugh as they surveyed her. the laugh made chimo start off at full gallop, which caused frank to grasp the line of the sledge that trailed behind, and hurry over the snow at a most undignified pace. "take care of her," cried mr stanley. "ay, ay," shouted frank.--"softly, chimo--softly, you rascal!" in ten minutes the travellers were round the point and fairly out of sight; but the shouts of frank, and an occasional howl from chimo, floated back on the breeze as stanley and his wife returned leisurely to the hall. the road, or rather the ground, over which frank morton drove edith that day was exceedingly rough and rugged--so rough that we will not try the endurance of the reader by dragging him over it. we will merely indicate its general features. first of all, they drove about three miles along the level snow at the foot of the mountains. so far the road was good; and chimo went along merrily to the music of the little thimble-like brass bells with which his harness was garnished. then they came to a ravine, and edith had to get out, put on her snow-shoes, and clamber up, holding by frank's hand; while chimo followed, dragging the sledge as he best could. having gained one of the terraces, edith slipped her feet out of the snow-shoe lines, jumped into the sledge, and was swept along to the next ravine, where she got out again, resumed her snow-shoes, and ascended as before. thus they went up the ravines and along the terraces until the summit of the first mountain range was reached. having rested here a few minutes, edith once more got into the sledge, and chimo set off. but as there was now a long piece of level ground over which for some miles they could travel in the direction of the coast, frank took the sled-line in his hand, and held the dog at a quick walking pace. afterwards they turned a little farther inland, and came into a more broken country, where they had sometimes to mount and sometimes to descend the hills. there were many gorges and narrow fissures in the ground here, some of which were covered over and so concealed with snow that the travellers ran some risk of falling into them. indeed, at one place, so narrow was their escape that chimo fell through the crust of snow, and disappeared into a fissure which descended a hundred feet sheer down; and the sledge would certainly have followed had not frank held it back by the line; and chimo was not hauled up again without great difficulty. after this, frank went in front with a pole, and sounded the snow in dangerous-looking places as he went along. towards the afternoon they arrived at the lake where they intended to encamp, and, to their great delight, found maximus there already. he had only arrived a few minutes before them, and was just going to commence the erection of a snow-house. "glad to see you, maximus," cried frank, as he drove up. "how's the old woman, eh?" "she small better," replied maximus, assisting edith to alight. "dis goot for fish." maximus was a remarkably intelligent man, and, although his residence at the fort had been of short duration as yet, he had picked up a few words of english. "a good lake, i have no doubt," replied frank, looking round. "but we need not search for camping ground. there seems to be very little wood, so you may as well build our hut on the ice. we shall need all our time, as the sun has not long to run." the lake, on the edge of which they stood, was about a mile in circumferenee, and lay in a sort of natural basin formed by savage-looking hills, in which the ravines were little more than narrow fissures, entirely devoid of trees. snow encompassed and buried everything, so that nothing was to be seen except, here and there, crags and cliffs of gray rock, which were too precipitous for the snow to rest on. "now, eda, i will take a look among these rocks for a ptarmigan for supper; so you can amuse yourself watching maximus build our house till i return." "very well, frank," said edith; "but don't be long. come back before dark; chimo and i will weary for you." in a few minutes frank disappeared among the rocks upon the shore; and maximus, taking edith by the hand, and dragging her sledge after him, led her a couple of hundred yards out on to the ice, or, more properly speaking, the hard beaten snow with which the ice was covered. chimo had been turned loose, and, being rather tired after his journey, had coiled himself up on a mound of snow and fallen fast asleep. "dis place for house," said maximus, pausing near a smooth, level part of the lake. "you stop look to me," he added, turning to the little girl, who gazed up in his large face with an expression half of wonder and half of fun. "when you cold, run; when you hot, sit in sled and look at me." in compliance with this request, edith sat down in her sledge, and from this comfortable point of view watched the esquimau while he built a snow-hut before her. first of all, he drew out a long iron knife, which had been constructed specially far him by bryan, who looked upon the giant with special favour. with the point of this he drew a circle of about seven feet in diameter; and so well accustomed was he to this operation that his circle, we believe, could not have been mended even by a pair of compasses. two feet to one side of this circle he drew a smaller one, of about four feet in diameter. next, he cut out of the snow a number of hard blocks, which were so tough that they could not be broken without a severe blow, but were as easily cut as you might have sliced a soft cheese with a sharp knife. these blocks he arranged round the large circle, and built them above each other, fashioning them, as he proceeded, in such a manner that they gradually rose into the form of a dome. the chinks between them he filled compactly with soft snow, and the last block, introduced into the top of the structure, was formed exactly on the principle of the key-stone of an arch. when the large dome was finished, he commenced the smaller; and in the course of two hours both the houses--or, as the esquimaux call them, igloos--were completed. long before this, however, frank had returned, from an unsuccessful hunt, to assist him; and edith had wondered and wearied, grown cold and taken to running with chimo, and grown warm and returned to her sledge, several times. two holes were left in the igloos to serve as doors; and, after they were finished, the esquimau cut a square hole in the top of each, not far from the key-stones, and above the entrances. into these he fitted slabs of clear ice, which formed windows as beautiful and useful as if they had been made of glass. there were two doorways in the large igloo, one of which faced the doorway of the smaller. between these he built an arched passage, so that the two were thus connected, and the small hut formed a sort of inner chamber to the larger. "now, dem done," said maximus, surveying his work with a satisfied smile. "and very well done they are," said frank. "see here, eda, our snow-fort is finished. the big one is to be the grand hall and banqueting-room, and yonder little hut is your private boudoir." "mine!" exclaimed edith, running away from chimo, with whom she had been playing, and approaching the new houses that had been so speedily put up. "oh, how nice! what fun! only think!--a snow bedroom! but won't it be cold, frank? and is the bed to be of snow too?" the black moustache of the giant curled with a smile at the energy with which this was said. "we will make the bedsteads of snow, eda," replied frank, "but i think we shall manage to find blankets of a warmer material.--now, maximus, get the things put inside, and the lamp lighted, for we're all tired and very hungry." the lamp to which frank referred was one which maximus had brought, along with a few other articles, from the esquimau camp. it was made of soft stone, somewhat in the form of a half moon, about eight inches long and three broad, and hollowed out in the inside. esquimaux burn seal-fat in it, and in winter have no other means of warming their houses or cooking their food. but for both purposes it is quite sufficient. the heat created by these lamps, combined with the natural warmth of the inhabitants, is frequently so great in the igloos of the esquimaux that they are fain to throw off a great portion of their upper garments, and sit in a state of partial nudity; yet the snow-walls do not melt, owing to the counteracting influence of the intense cold without. maximus had brought some seal-fat, or blubber, along with him. a portion of this he now put into the lamp, and, placing the latter on a snow-shelf prepared expressly for it, he set it on fire. the flame, although not very steady, was bright enough to illuminate the large igloo, and to throw a strong gleam into the smaller one. over this lamp frank placed a small tin kettle, filled with snow, which was speedily converted into water; and while this was being boiled, he assisted edith in spreading out the bedding. as we have already said, the floor of this snow-house was of the same material as the walls. but one-half of it was raised about a foot above the other half, according to esquimau rules of architecture. this elevated half was intended for the bed, which consisted of a large deer-skin robe, spread entirely over it, with the soft hair upwards. another large robe was placed above this for a blanket, and a smaller one either for a pillow or an additional covering if required; but both of these were tossed down in a heap at the present time, to form a luxuriant seat for frank and edith. as their legs hung over the edge of the elevated couch, they were thus seated, as it were, on an ottoman. a mat of interlaced willows covered the floor, and on this sat maximus, towering in his hairy garments like a huge bear, while his black shadow was cast on the pure white wall behind him. in the midst stood a small table, extemporised by frank out of a block of snow, and covered with the ample skirt of his leathern topcoat, which the increasing temperature of the air inside the igloo rendered too warm. beside edith, on the most comfortable portion of the ottoman, sat chimo, with an air of majestic solemnity, looking, as privileged dogs always do look under like circumstances, as if the chief seat belonged to him as a matter not of favour but of right. on the table was spread a solid lump of excellent pemmican--excellent, because made by the fair hands of mrs stanley. it stood _vis-a-vis_ to a tin plate whereon lay three large steaming cuts of boiled fresh salmon--fresh, because, although caught some months before, it had been frozen solid ever since. there was a large tin kettle of hot tea in the centre of the board--if under the circumstances we may use the term--and three tin cups out of which to drink it; besides a plate containing broken pieces of ship-biscuit and a small quantity of sugar wrapped up in a morsel of paper. also a little salt in a tin box. all these things, and tempting delicacies, had up till now been contained within the compass of a small, compact, insignificant-looking parcel, which during the journey had occupied a retiring position in the hinder part of edith's sledge--so true is it that the really _great_ and the _useful_ court concealment until duty calls them forth and reveals their worth and their importance to an admiring world. the admiring world on the present occasion, however, consisted only of frank, edith, maximus, and chimo; unless, indeed, we may include the moon, who at that moment poured her bright beams through the ice-window of the hut and flooded the centre of the snow-table with light. "aren't we snug, eda?" cried frank, as he filled her tin with tea. "what a charming house! and so cheap, too! there's sugar beside you. take care you don't use salt by mistake.--maximus, hold out your pannikin. that's the true beverage to warm your heart, if you take it hot enough." "tankee, sur," said the giant, extending his cup with one hand, while with the other he forced into his capacious mouth as much pemmican as it could hold. "frank," said edith, "we must build an igloo at the fort when we return." "so we will, now that i know how to do it. hand me the salt, please, and poke chimo's nose away from the salmon. yes, and we'll invite papa and mamma to come and take supper at _our_ house.--maximus, is this the exact way your friends build their winter houses?" "yis, sur," answered the esquimau, looking up from the cut of salmon which he lifted with his fingers in preference to a fork or knife. "dey always buil' um so. but not dis t'ing," he added, touching the snow-table. "no, i suppose not," said frank. "i flatter myself that that is a recent improvement." "we do great many igloo sometime," continued maximus, "vid two, t'ree, four--plenty pass'ges goin' into von a-doder." "what does he mean by that?" inquired edith, laughing. "i suppose he means that they connect a number of their igloos together by means of passages.--and do they keep them as clean and snug as this, maximus?" the esquimau replied by a loud chuckle, and a full display of his magnificent teeth, which frank understood to signify a decided negative. when supper was ended chimo was permitted to devour the scraps, while frank assisted edith to arrange her little dormitory. it was much the same in its arrangements as the larger apartment, and was really as comfortable and warm as one could desire. returning to the large apartment, frank spread out the couch on which he and maximus were to repose; and then, sitting down beside the stone lamp, he drew forth his bible, as was his wont, and began to read. soon after lying down edith heard the deep voices of her companions engaged in earnest conversation; but these sounds gradually died away, and she fell asleep, to dream of her berry-ravine at fort chimo. as the night wore on, the deep breathing of the men told that they, too, had sought and found repose. the lamp burned slowly down and went out, and, when the moon threw her parting rays over the scene, there was nothing to tell of the presence of human beings in that cold, wild spot, save two little white mounds on the frozen lake below. chapter twenty seven. frank morton gets into difficulties. chimo's loud bark and the angry snarl of a large wolf, as it darted away to seek the shelter of the kills, were the sounds that awoke our travellers in the grey dawn of the following morning. frank started up, seized his gun, and darted through the doorway of the igloo; in doing which he dashed the door of snow to atoms. he had only the satisfaction, however, of seeing the wolf's tail flourish in the air, as the animal bounded over a snow-drift and disappeared in a ravine. "ha! how cold it is!" he exclaimed, re-entering the igloo hastily; far having issued forth without his coat or cap, the two minutes during which he stood exposed to the open air cooled him down nearly to the freezing point. "hallo, maximus! jump up; light the lamp while i fill the kettle. heyday! it solidifies the very marrow in one's bones. ho, edith! up with you, lazy thing; there has been a wolf to bid you good-morrow." while frank rattled on thus he belted his leathern coat round him, put on his fur cap, and prepared breakfast; while edith rose and resumed the cap and cloak which she had put off on lying down to rest. "maximus," said frank, after the first duties of the day were concluded, "we must now go and set the hooks; but as cutting holes in the ice will occupy you some time, i'll take a short walk along the margin of the lake with my gun. be careful of edith till i return." so saying, frank went off, taking chimo along with him; while maximus seized the axe and ice-chisel, and began the laborious process of digging through to the water. the ice on the lake was five feet thick, but by dint of great perseverance the esquimau succeeded in making several holes through it ere frank returned. each hole was large enough to contain the body of a man, but a little wider above than below. in these holes were set stout cod-lines, with hooks of about half an inch or more in diameter. they were made of white metal, and clumsy enough to look at; but fish in the lakes of ungava are not particular. these hooks were baited with lumps of seal-fat, and ere half an hour elapsed the success of the anglers was very decided and satisfactory. frank hauled up a white-fish of about six pounds weight at the first dip, and scarcely had he thrown it on the ice when maximus gave a galvanic start, hauled up his line a few yards with laughable eagerness, then stopped suddenly, under the impression, apparently, that it was a false alarm; but another tug set him again in motion, and in three seconds he pulled a fine lake-trout of about ten pounds weight out of the hole. edith, also, who had a line under her care, began to show symptoms of expectation. "capital!" cried frank, beating his hands violently against his shoulders; for handling wet line, with the thermometer at twenty below zero is decidedly cold work--"capital! we must set up a regular fishery here, i think; the fish are swarming. there's another,--eh? no--he's off--" "oh! oh!! oh!!!" shrieked edith in mingled fear and excitement, as, at each successive "oh!" she received a jerk that well-nigh pulled her into the ice-hole. "hold hard!" cried frank; "now then, haul away." edith pulled, and so did the fish; but as it was not more than five pounds weight or so, she overcame it after a severe struggle, and landed a white-fish on the ice. the next shout that edith gave was of so very decided and thrilling a character that frank and maximus darted to her side in alarm, and the latter caught the line as it was torn violently from her grasp. for a few minutes the esquimau had to allow the line to run out, being unable to hold the fish--at least without the risk of breaking his tackle; but in a few seconds the motion of the line became less rapid, and maximus held on, while his huge body was jerked violently, notwithstanding his weight and strength. soon the line relaxed a little, and maximus ran away from the hole as fast as he could, drawing the line after him. when the fish reached the hole it offered decided resistance to such treatment; and being influenced, apparently, by the well-known proverb, "time about's fair play," it darted away in its turn, causing the esquimau to give it line again very rapidly. "he must be an enormously big fellow," said frank, as he and edith stood close to the hole watching the struggle with intense interest. the esquimau gave a broad grin. "yis, he most very biggest--hie!" the cause of this exclamation of surprise was the slacking of the line so suddenly that maximus was induced to believe the fish had escaped. "him go be-off. ho yis!" but he was wrong. another violent tug convinced him that the fish was still captive--though an unwilling one--and the struggle was renewed. in about a quarter of an hour maximus dragged this refractory fish slowly into the hole, and its snout appeared above water. "oh! _what_ a fish!" exclaimed edith. "put in de spear," cried the esquimau. frank caught up a native spear which maximus had provided, and just as the fish was about to recommence the struggle for its life, he transfixed it through the gills, and pinned it to the side of the ice-hole. the battle was over; a few seconds sufficed to drag the fish from its native element and lay it at full length on the ice. and few anglers have ever had the pleasure of beholding such a prize. it was a trout of fully sixty pounds weight, and although such fish are seldom if ever found in other parts of the world, they are by no means uncommon in the lakes of north america. having secured this noble fish, maximus cut it open and cleaned it, after which it was left to freeze. the other fish were then similarly treated; and while the esquimau was thus engaged, frank and edith continued their sport. but daylight in these far northern regions is very short-lived in winter, and they were soon compelled unwillingly to leave off. "now, maximus," said frank, as they rolled up their lines, "i don't intend to keep you longer with us. edith and i can manage the fishing very well, so you may return to your friends at false river, and take the seal-flesh for the dogs up to the fort. get the loan of some of their dogs and a sled to haul it; and come round this way in passing, so as to pick up any fish we may have ready for you. the moon will be up in a little, so be off as fast as you can." in obedience to these orders, maximus packed up a small quantity of provisions, and bidding good-bye to his two friends, set off to make the best of his way to the coast. that night frank and his little charge sat down to sup together in the igloo at the head of their snow-table, and chimo acted the part of croupier in the room of the esquimau. and a pleasant evening they spent, chatting, and laughing, and telling stories, by the light of the stone lamp, the mellow flame of which shed a warm influence over the sparkling dome of snow. before retiring to rest, frank said that they must be up with the first light, for he meant to have a hard day's fishing; but man little knows what a day may bring forth. neither frank nor edith dreamed that night of the events that were to happen on the morrow. on awaking in the morning they were again roused by the voice of the wolf which had visited them the day before. in order to catch this wolf, maximus had, just before starting, constructed a trap peculiar to the esquimaux. it was simply a hole dug down through the ice at the edge of the lake, not far from the igloo. this hole was just wide enough to admit the body of a wolf, and the depth sufficient to render it absolutely impossible for the animal to thrust his snout to the bottom, however long his neck might be. at the bottom a tempting piece of blubber, in very _high_ condition, was placed. the result of this ingenious arrangement was most successful, and, we may add, inevitable. attracted by the smell of the meat, our friend the wolf came trotting down to the lake just about daybreak, and sneaked suspiciously up to the trap. he peeped in and licked his lips with satisfaction at the charming breakfast below. one would have thought, as he showed his formidable white teeth, that he was laughing with delight. then, spreading out his fore legs so as to place his breast on the ice, he thrust his head down into the hole and snapped at the coveted blubber. but he had mistaken the depth, and blaming himself, no doubt, for his stupidity, he slid a little further forward, and pushed his head deeper down. what! not at it yet? oh! this is preposterous! under this impression he rose, shook himself, and advancing his shoulders as far as prudence would allow, again thrust down his head and stretched his neck until the very sinews cracked. then it was, but not till then, that the conviction was forced on him that that precious morsel was totally and absolutely beyond his reach altogether. drawing himself back he sat down on his haunches and uttered a snarling bark of dissatisfaction. but the odour that ascended from that hole was too much for the powers of wolfish nature to resist. showing his teeth with an expression of mingled disappointment and ferocity, he plunged his head into the hole once more. deeper and deeper still it went, but the blubber was yet three inches from his eager nose. another shove--no! dislocation alone could accomplish the object. his shoulders slid very imperceptibly into the hole. his nose was within an inch of the prize, and he could actually touch it with his tongue. away with cowardly prudence! what recked he of the consequences? up went his hind legs, down went his head, and the tempting bait was gained at last! alas for wolfish misfortunes! his fore legs were jammed immovably against his ribs. a touch of his hind foot on the ice would remedy this mishap, but he was too far in for that. vigorously he struggled, but in vain. the blood rushed to his head, and the keen frost quickly put an end to his pains. in a few minutes he was dead, and in half an hour he was frozen, solid as a block of wood, with his hind legs and tail pointing to the sky. it was at the consummation of this event that another wolf, likewise attracted by the blubber, trotted down the wild ravine and uttered a howl of delighted surprise as it rushed forward to devour its dead companion--for such is the custom among wolves. and this was the howl that called frank forth in time to balk its purpose. frank happened to be completely dressed at the time, and as he saw the wolf bound away up the mountain gorge, he seized his gun and snow-shoes, and hastily slung on his powder-horn and shot-belt. "edith," he cried, as he was about to start, "i must give chase to that wolf. i won't be gone long. light the lamp and prepare breakfast, dear--at least as much of it as you can; i'll be back to complete it.-- hallo, chimo! here, chimo!" he shouted, whistling to the dog, which bounded forth from the door of the hut and followed his master up the ravine. edith was so well accustomed to solitary wanderings among the rugged glens in the neighbourhood of fort chimo that she felt no alarm on finding herself left alone in this wild spot. she knew that frank was not far off, and expected him back in a few minutes. she knew, also, that wild animals are not usually so daring as to show themselves in open ground after the break of day, particularly after the shouts of human beings have scared them to their dens; so, instead of giving a thought to any possible dangers that might threaten her, she applied herself cheerfully and busily to the preparation of their morning meal. first she lighted the lamp, which instantly removed the gloom of the interior of the igloo, whose little ice-window as yet admitted only the faint light of the grey dawn. then she melted a little snow, and cleaned out the kettle, in which she placed two cuts of fresh trout; and having advanced thus far in her work, thought it time to throw on her hood and peep out to see if frank was coming. but there was no sign of frank, so she re-entered the igloo and began to set things to rights. she folded up the deerskins on which she had reposed, and piled them at the head of the willow matting that formed her somewhat rough and unyielding mattress, after which she arranged the ottoman, and laid out the breakfast things on the snow-table. having accomplished all this to her entire satisfaction, edith now discovered that the cuts of salmon were sufficiently well boiled, and began to hope that frank would be quick, lest the breakfast should be spoiled. under the influence of this feeling she threw on her hood a second time, and going out upon the lake, surveyed the shore with a scrutinising gaze. the sun was now so far above the natural horizon that the daylight was pretty clear, but the high mountains prevented any of his direct rays from penetrating the gloom of the valley of the lake. still there was light enough to enable the solitary child to distinguish the objects on shore; but frank's tall form was not visible anywhere. heaving a slight sigh, edith returned to the hut, soliloquising thus as she went--"dear me! it is very strange that frank should stay away so long. i fear that the trout will be quite spoiled. perhaps it would be very good cold. no doubt of it. we shall have it cold, and then i can get the tea ready." in pursuance of this plan, the anxious little housekeeper removed the trout from the kettle, which she cleaned out and refilled with snow. when this was melted and boiled, she put in the tea. in due time this also was ready, and she sallied forth once more, with a feeling approaching to anxiety, to look for frank. still her companion did not make his appearance, and for the first time a feeling of dread touched her heart. she strove to avert it, however, by considering that frank might have been obliged to follow the wolf farther than he expected or intended. then a thrill of fear passed through her breast as the thought occurred, "what if the wolf has attacked and killed him?" as time wore on, and no sound of voice or gun or bark of dog broke the dreary stillness of that gloomy place, a feeling of intense horror took possession of the child's mind, and she pictured to herself all kinds of possible evils that might have befallen her companion; while at the same time she could not but feel how awful was her unprotected and helpless condition. one thought, however, comforted her, and this was that maximus would certainly come to the hut on his return to the fort. this relieved her mind in regard to herself; but the very relief on that point enabled her all the more to realise the dangers to which frank might be exposed without any one to render him assistance. the morning passed away, the sun rose above the hills, and the short-lived day drew towards its close; still frank did not return, and the poor child who watched so anxiously for him, after many short and timid wanderings towards the margin of the lake, returned to the igloo with a heart fluttering from mingled anxiety and terror. throwing herself on the deerskin couch, she burst into a flood of tears. as she lay there, sobbing bitterly, she was startled by a noise outside the hut, and ere she could spring from her recumbent position, chimo darted through the open doorway, with a cry between a whine and a bark, and laid his head on edith's lap. "oh! what is it, my dog? dear chimo, where is frank?" cried the child passionately, while she embraced her favourite with feelings of mingled delight and apprehension. "is he coming, chimo?" she said, addressing the dumb animal, as if she believed he understood her. then, rising hastily, she darted out once more, to cast a longing, expectant gaze towards the place where she had seen her companion disappear in the morning. but she was again doomed to disappointment. meanwhile chimo's conduct struck her as being very strange. instead of receiving with his usual quiet satisfaction the caresses she heaped upon him, he kept up a continual whine, and ran about hither and thither without any apparent object in view. once or twice he darted off with a long melancholy howl towards the hills; then stopping short suddenly, stood still and looked round towards his young mistress. at first edith thought that the dog must have lost his master, and had come back to the hut expecting to find him there. then she called him to her and examined his mouth, expecting and dreading to find blood upon it. but there were no signs of his having been engaged in fighting with wolves; so edith felt sure that frank must be safe from _them_ at least, as she knew that chimo was too brave to have left his master to perish alone. the dog submitted with much impatience to this examination, and at last broke away from edith and ran yelping towards the hills again, stopping as before, and looking back. the resolute manner with which chimo did this, and the frequency of its recurrence, at length induced edith to believe that the animal wished her to follow him. instantly it occurred that he might conduct her to frank; so without bestowing a thought on the danger of her forsaking the igloo, she ran in for her snow-shoes, and putting on her hood and thick mittens, followed the dog to the margin of the lake. chime's impatience seemed to subside immediately, and he trotted rapidly towards the ravine into which frank had entered in pursuit of the wolf that morning. the dog paused ever and anon as they proceeded, in order to give the child time to come up with him; and so eager was edith in her adventure, and so hopeful was she that it would terminate in her finding frank, that she pressed forward at a rate which would have been utterly impossible under less exciting circumstances. at the foot of the ravine she found the remains of the wolf which had been caught in the snow-trap that morning. frank had merely pulled it out and cast it on the snow in passing, and the torn fragments and scattered bones of the animal showed that its comrades had breakfasted off its carcass after frank had passed. here edith paused to put on her snow-shoes, for the snow in the ravine was soft, being less exposed to the hardening action of the wind; and the dog sat down to wait patiently until she was ready. "now, chimo, go forward, my good dog. i will follow you without fear," she said, when the lines were properly fastened to her feet. chimo waited no second command, but threaded his way rapidly up the ravine among the stunted willow bushes. in doing so he had frequent occasion to wait for his young mistress, whose strength was rapidly failing under the unwonted exertion she forced herself to make. at times she had to pause for breath, and as she cast her eyes upwards and around at the dreary desolation of the rugged precipices which everywhere met her view, she could with difficulty refrain from shedding tears. but edith's heart was warm and brave. the thought of frank being in some mysterious, unknown danger, infused new energy into her soul and strengthened her slight frame. having now recovered somewhat from the nervous haste which urged her to travel at a rate much beyond her capacity, she advanced into the ravines of the mountains with more of that steady, regular tramp which practice in the use of her snow-shoes had taught her to assume; so that, being of a robust constitution naturally, she became stronger and more able for her undertaking as she advanced. for nearly two hours chimo led edith into the midst of the mountains. the scenery became, if possible, more savage as they proceeded, and at length grew so rugged and full of precipices and dark gorges, or rather _splits_ in the hills, that edith had much difficulty in avoiding the danger of falling over many of the latter, which were partially concealed by, and in some places entirely covered over with, a crust of snow. fortunately, as daylight waned, a brilliant galaxy of stars shone forth, enabling her to pick her steps. hitherto they had followed frank's snow-shoe track undeviatingly, but near the top of a cliff chimo suddenly diverged to the left, and led his mistress by a steep and tortuous natural path to the bottom. here he ran quickly forward, uttering a low whine or whimper, and disappeared round the corner of the precipice. hastening after the dog with a beating heart, edith speedily gained the projection of the cliff, on turning which she was startled and terrified by hearing a loud snarling bark mingled with a fierce growl. in another moment she beheld chimo bounding towards a gaunt savage-looking wolf, which stood close beside the body of a man extended at full length upon the snow. at first the wolf did not seem inclined to retreat, but the shriek which edith uttered on suddenly beholding the scene before her induced him to turn tail and fly. in another moment the terrified child sank exhausted on the snow beside the insensible form of frank morton. chapter twenty eight. edith becomes a heroine indeed. the shock which edith received on beholding the bloodstained countenance of her companion completely paralysed her at first, but only for a few minutes. the feeling of certainty that frank would perish if assistance were not rendered tended to restore her scattered faculties, and nerve her heart for the duties now required of her; and she rose with a feeling of determination to save her companion or die beside him. pour child! she little knew the extent of her own feebleness at that moment; but she breathed an inward prayer to him who can, and often does, achieve the mightiest results by the feeblest means. raising frank's head from the snow, she placed it in her lap, and with her handkerchief removed the blood from his forehead. in doing this she observed, to her inexpressible relief, that he breathed freely, and seemed rather to be in a state of stupor than insensibility. the place where he lay was a dark rent or split in the mountain, the precipices of which rose on either side to a height of between thirty and forty feet. the top of this chasm was entirely covered over with a crust of snow, through which there was a large gap immediately above the spot where frank lay, revealing at once the cause of his present sad condition. he had evidently been crossing the ravine by means of the deceptive platform of snow, unaware of the danger of his position, and had been suddenly precipitated to the bottom. in descending, his head had struck the side of the cliff, which cut it severely; but the softness of the snow into which he fell saved him from further injury, except the stunning effect of the fall. how long he had lain in this state edith had no means of knowing, but it must have been a considerable time, as chimo could not have left him until after his fall. fortunately the wolf had not touched him, and the wound in his head did not appear to be very deep. observing that parts of his face were slightly frostbitten, edith commenced to rub them vigorously, at the same time calling upon him in the most earnest tones to speak to her. the effect of this roused him a little. in a few minutes he opened his eyes, and gazed languidly into the child's face. "where am i, eda?" he said faintly, while a gentle smile played about his lips. "you are in the mountains, frank. dear frank! do open your eyes again. i'm so glad to hear your voice! are you better now?" the sound of his voice attracted chimo, who had long ago abandoned the pursuit of the wolf, and was seated beside his master. rising, he placed his cold nose on frank's cheek. the action seemed to rouse him to the recollection of recent events. starting up on his knees, with an angry shout, frank seized the gun that lay beside him and raised it as if to strike the dog; but he instantly let the weapon fall, and exclaiming, "ah, chimo, is it you, good dog?" he fell back again into the arms of his companion. edith wept bitterly for a few minutes, while she tried in vain to awaken her companion from his state of lethargy. at length she dried her tears hastily, and, rising, placed frank's head on her warm cloak, which she wrapped round his face and shoulders. then she felt his hands, which, though covered with thick leather mittens, were very cold. making chimo couch at his feet, so as to imbue them with some of his own warmth, she proceeded to rub his hands, and to squeeze and, as it were, shampoo his body all over, as vigorously as her strength enabled her. in a few minutes the effect of this was apparent. frank raised himself on his elbow and gazed wildly round him. "surely i must have fallen. where am i, edith?" gradually his faculties returned. "edith, edith!" he exclaimed, in a low, anxious voice, "i must get back to the igloo. i shall freeze here. fasten the lines of my snowshoes, dear, and i will rise." edith did as she was desired, and immediately frank made a violent effort and stood upright; but he swayed to and fro like a drunken man. "let me lean on your shoulder, dear eda," he said in a faint voice. "my head is terribly confused. lead me; i cannot see well." the child placed his hand on her shoulder, and they went forward a few paces together--edith bending beneath the heavy weight of her companion. "do i lean heavily?" said frank, drawing his hand across his forehead. "poor child!" as he spoke he removed his hand from her shoulder; but the instant he did so, he staggered and fell with a deep groan. "o frank! dear frank! why did you do that?" said edith, anxiously. "you do not hurt me. i don't mind it. do try to rise again." frank tried, and succeeded in walking in a sort of half-sleeping, half-waking condition for about a mile--stumbling as he went, and often unwittingly crushing his little guide to the ground. after this he fell once more, and could not again recover his upright position. poor edith now began to lose heart. the utter hopelessness of getting the wounded man to advance more than a few yards at a time, and her own gradually increasing weakness, induced the tears once more to start to her eyes. she observed, too, that frank was sinking into that state of lethargy which is so dangerous in cold climates, and she had much difficulty in preventing him from falling into that sleep which, if indulged in, is indeed the sleep of death. by persevering, however, she succeeded in rousing him so far as to creep a short distance, now and then, on his hands and knees--sometimes to stagger a few paces forward; and at length, long after the cold moon had arisen on the scene, they reached the margin of the lake. here frank became utterly powerless, and no exertion on the part of his companion could avail to rouse him. in this dilemma, edith once more wrapped him in her warm cloak, and causing chimo to lie at his feet, hastened over the ice towards the igloo. on arriving she lighted the lamp and heated the tea which she had made in the morning. this took at least a quarter of an hour to do, and during the interval she endeavoured to allay her impatience by packing up a few mouthfuls of pemmican and biscuit. then she spread the deerskins out on the couch; and when this was done, the tea was thoroughly heated. the snow on the river being quite hard, she needed not to encumber herself with snow-shoes; but she fastened the traces of her own little sledge over her shoulders, and, with the kettle in her hand, ran as fast as her feet could carry her to the place where she had left frank and chimo, and found them lying exactly as they lay when she left them. "frank! frank! here is some hot tea for you. do try to take some." but frank did not move, so she had recourse to rubbing him again, and had soon the satisfaction of seeing him open his eyes. the instant he did so, she repeated her earnest entreaties that he would take some tea. in a few minutes he revived sufficiently to sit up and sip a little of the warm beverage. the effect was almost magical. the blood began to course more rapidly through his benumbed limbs, and in five minutes more he was able to sit up and talk to his companion. "now, frank," said edith, with an amount of decision that in other circumstances would have seemed quite laughable, "try to get on to my sled, and i'll help you. the igloo is near at hand now." frank obeyed almost mechanically, and creeping upon the sled with difficulty, he fell instantly into a profound sleep. edith's chief anxiety was past now. harnessing chimo to the sled as well as she could, she ran on before, and a very few minutes brought them to the snow-hut. here the work of rousing frank had again to be accomplished; but the vigour which the warm tea had infused into his frame rendered it less difficult than heretofore, and soon afterwards edith had the satisfaction of seeing her companion extended on his deerskin couch, under the sheltering roof of the igloo. replenishing the lamp and closing the doorway with a slab of snow, she sat down to watch by his side. chimo coiled himself quietly up at his feet; while frank, under the influence of the grateful warmth, fell again into a deep slumber. as the night wore on, edith's eyes became heavy, and she too, resting her head on the deerskins, slept till the lamp on the snow-shelf expired and left the hut and its inmates in total darkness. contrary to edith's expectations, frank was very little better when he awoke next day; but he was able to talk to her in a faint voice, and to relate how he had fallen over the cliff, and how afterwards he had to exert his failing powers in order to defend himself from a wolf. in all these conversations his mind seemed to wander a little, and it was evident that he had not recovered from the effects of the blow received on his head in the fall. for two days the child tended him with the affectionate tenderness of a sister, but as he seemed to grow worse instead of better, she became very uneasy, and pondered much in her mind what she should do. at last she formed a strange resolution. supposing that maximus must still be at the esquimau village at the mouth of false river, and concluding hastily that this village could not be very far away, she determined to set out in search of it, believing that, if she found it, the esquimau would convey her back to the igloo on the lake, and take frank up to fort chimo, where he could be properly tended and receive medicine. freaks and fancies are peculiar to children, but the carrying of their freaks and fancies into effect is peculiar only to those who are precocious and daring in character. such was edith, and no sooner had she conceived the idea of attempting to find the esquimau camp than she proceeded to put it in execution. frank was in so depressed a condition that she thought it better not to disturb or annoy him by arousing him so as to get him to comprehend what she was about to do; so she was obliged to commune with herself, sometimes even in an audible tone, in default of any better counsellor. it is due to her to say that, in remembrance of her mother's advice, she sought the guidance of her heavenly father. long and earnest was the thought bestowed by this little child on the subject ere she ventured to leave her companion alone in the snow-hut. frank was able to sit up and to assist himself to the articles of food and drink which his little nurse placed within his reach, so that she had no fear of his being in want of anything during the day--or two at most--that she expected to be absent; for in her childlike simplicity she concluded that if maximus could travel thither in a few hours, she could not take much longer, especially with such a good servant as chimo to lead the way. besides this, she had observed the way in which the esquimau had set out, and frank had often pointed out to her the direction in which the camp lay. she knew also that there was no danger from wild animals, but determined, nevertheless, to build up the door of the igloo very firmly, lest they should venture to draw near. she also put frank's loaded gun in the spot where he was wont to place it, so as to be ready to his hand. having made all her arrangements, edith glided noiselessly from the hut, harnessed her dog, closed the door of the snow-hut, and jumping into the furs of her sledge, was soon far away from the mountain lake. at first the dog followed what she thought must be the track that maximus had taken, and her spirits rose when, after an hour's drive, she emerged upon a boundless plain, which she imagined must be the shores of the frozen sea where the esquimaux lived. encouraging chimo with her voice, she flew over the level surface of the hard frozen snow, and looked round eagerly in all directions for the expected signs of natives. but no such signs appeared, and she began to fear that the distance was greater than she had anticipated. towards the afternoon it began to snow heavily. there was no wind, and the snow fell in large flakes, alighting softly and without any sound. this prevented her seeing any great distance, and, what was worse, rendered the ground heavy for travelling. at length she came to a ridge of rocks, and supposing that she might see to a greater distance from its summit, she got out of the sledge and clambered up, for the ground was too rough for the sledge to pass. here the view was dreary enough--nothing but plains and hummocks of ice and snow met her view, except in one direction, where she saw, or fancied that she saw, a clump of willows and what appeared to be a hut in the midst of them. running down the rugged declivity, she crossed the plain and reached the spot; but although the willows were there, she found no hut. overcome with fatigue, fear, and disappointment, she sat down on a wreath of snow and wept. but she felt that her situation was much too serious to permit of her wasting time in vain regrets, so she started up and endeavoured to retrace her steps. this, however, was now a matter of difficulty. the snow fell so thickly that her footsteps were almost obliterated, and she could not see ten yards before her. after wandering about for a few minutes in uncertainty, she called aloud to chimo, hoping to hear his bark in reply. but all was silent. chimo was not, indeed, unfaithful. he heard the cry and responded to it in the usual way, by bounding in the direction whence it came. his progress, however, was suddenly arrested by the sledge, which caught upon and was jammed amongst the rocks. fiercely did chimo strain and bound, but the harness was tough and the sledge immovable. meanwhile the wind arose, and although it blew gently, it was sufficient to prevent edith overhearing the whining cries of her dog. for a time the child lost all self-command, and rushed about she knew not whither, in the anxious desire to find her sledge; then she stopped, and restrained the pantings of her breath, while with both hands pressed tightly over her heart, as if she would fain stop the rapid throbbing there, she listened long and intently. but no sound fell upon her ear except the sighing of the cold breeze as it swept by, and no sight met her anxious gaze save the thickly falling snow-flakes. sinking on her knees, edith buried her face in her hands and gave full vent to the pent-up emotions of her soul, as the conviction was at length forced upon her mind that she was a lost wanderer in the midst of that cold and dreary waste of snow. chapter twenty nine. a dark cloud of sorrow envelops fort chimo. three days after the events narrated in the last chapter the fort of the fur-traders became a place of weeping; for on the morning of that day maximus arrived with the prostrate form of frank morton, whom he had discovered alone in the igloo on the lake, and with the dreadful news that little edith stanley was nowhere to be found! it may be more easily imagined than described the state of mind into which the parents of the child were thrown; but after the first burst of emotion was past, stanley felt that a thorough and immediate search was the only hope that remained to him of finding his little one alive. still, when he considered the intensity of the cold to which she must have been exposed, and the length of time which had already elapsed since she was missed, his heart sank, and he could scarcely frame words of comfort to his prostrated partner. maximus had examined the immediate neighbourhood of the lake, in the hope of finding the tracks of the lost one; but a heavy fall of snow had totally obliterated these, and he wisely judged that it would be better to convey the sick man to the fort as quickly as possible and give the alarm, so that parties might be sent out to scour the country in all directions. frank was immediately put to bed on his arrival, and everything done in order to restore him. in this attempt they succeeded so far as to obtain all the information he could give concerning his fall; but he remembered nothing further than that edith had been the means of bringing him to the snow-hut, where he lay in a deep, torpid slumber, until the voice and hand of maximus awakened him. when frank was told that edith was lost, he sprang from his bed as if he had received an electric shock. the confusion of his faculties seemed swept away, and he began to put on his garments with as much vigour as if he were well and strong; but ere he belted on his leather coat his cheek grew pale, his hand trembled, and he fell in a swoon upon the bed. this convinced him of the impossibility of doing anything in the search, and he was prevailed on, after two or three similar failures, to leave the work to others. meanwhile the mountains and valleys of ungava were traversed far and near by the agonised father and his men. the neighbourhood of the lake was the first place searched, and they had not sought long ere they discovered the little sledge sticking fast among the rocks of the sea-coast, and chimo lying in the traces almost dead with cold and hunger. the dog had kept himself alive by gnawing the deerskin of which the traces were made. around this spot the search was concentrated, and the esquimaux of the neighbouring camp were employed in traversing the country in all directions; but, although scarce a foot of ground escaped the eager scrutiny of one or other of the party, not a vestige of edith was to be seen--not so much as a footprint in the snow. days and nights flew by, and still the search was continued. frank quickly recovered under the affectionate care of the almost heartbroken mother, who found some relief from her crushing sorrow in ministering to his wants. but the instant he could walk without support, and long before it was prudent to do so, frank joined in the search. at first he could do little, but as day after day passed by his strength returned so rapidly that the only symptoms that remained to tell of his late accident were his pale cheek and the haggard expression of his countenance. but the mysterious disappearance of edith had more to do with the latter than illness. weeks passed away, but still the dark cloud of sorrow hung over fort chimo, for the merry young voice that was wont to awake the surrounding echoes was gone. the systematic search had now been given up, for every nook, every glen, and gorge, and corrie within fifteen miles of the spot where they had found the little sledge, had been searched again and again without success. but hope clung with singular tenacity to the parents' hearts long after it had fled from those of the men of the fort and of the esquimaux. every alternate day stanley and frank sallied forth with heavy steps and furrowed brows to explore more carefully those places where the child was most likely to have strayed, expecting, yet fearing, to find her dead body. but they always returned to the bereaved mother with silent lips and downcast looks. they frequently conversed together about her, and always in a hopeful tone, each endeavouring to conceal from the other the real state of his own mind. indeed, except when necessity required it, they seldom spoke on any other subject. one day stanley and frank were seated by the blazing stove in the hall conversing as usual about the plan of the search for that day. mrs stanley was busied in preparing breakfast. "'tis going to blow hard from the north, frank," said stanley, rising and looking out of the window; "i see the icebergs coming into the river with the tide. you will have a cold march, i fear." frank made no reply, but rose and approached the window. the view from it was a strange one. during the night a more than usually severe frost had congealed the water of the lake in the centre, and the icebergs that sailed towards the caniapuscaw river in stately grandeur went crashing through this young ice as if it had been paper, their slow but steady progress receiving no perceptible check from its opposition. some of these bergs were of great size, and in proceeding onwards they passed so close to the fort that the inhabitants feared more than once that a falling pinnacle might descend on the stores, which were built near to the water's edge, and crush them. as the tide gradually rose it rushed with violence into the cavities beneath the solid ice on the opposite shore, and finding no escape save through a few rents and fissures, sent up columns or spouts of white spray in all directions, which roared and shrieked as they flew upwards, as if the great ocean were maddened with anger at finding a power strong enough to restrain and curb its might. at intervals the main ice rent with a crash like the firing of artillery; and as if nature had designed to carry on and deepen this simile, the shore was lined with heaps of little blocks of ice which the constantly recurring action of the tide had moulded into the shape and size of cannon balls. but such sights were common to the inhabitants of fort chimo, and had long ago ceased to call forth more than a passing remark. "may it not be possible," murmured stanley, while he leant his brow on his hand, "that she may have gone up false river?" "i think not," said frank. "i know not how it is, but i have a strange conviction that she is yet alive. if she had perished in the snow, we should certainly have found her long ago. i cannot explain my feelings, or give a reason for them, but i feel convinced that darling eda is alive." "oh, god grant it!" whispered stanley in a deep voice, while his wife hastened from the room to conceal the tears which she could not restrain. while frank continued to gaze in silence on the bleak scene without, a faint sound of sleigh-bells broke upon his ear. "hark!" he cried, starting, and opening the door. the regular and familiar sound of the bells came floating sweetly on the breeze. they grew louder and louder, and in a few seconds a team of dogs galloped into the fort, dragging a small sled behind them. they were followed by two stalwart indians, whose costume and manner told that they were in the habit of associating more with the fur-traders than with their own kindred. the dogs ran the sled briskly into the centre of the fort, and lay down panting on the snow, while the two men approached the hall. "'tis a packet," cried stanley, forgetting for the moment his sorrow in the excitement of this unexpected arrival. in a moment all the men at the fort were assembled in the square. "a packet! where come you from?" "from moose fort," replied the elder indian, while his comrade unfastened from the sled a little bundle containing letters. "any news? are all well?" chorused the men. "ay, all well. it is many day since we left. the way is very rough, and we did not find much deer. we saw one camp of indian, but they 'fraid to come. i not know why. but i see with them one fair flower which grow in the fields of the esquimaux. i suppose the indian pluck her, and dare not come back here." stanley started, and his cheek grew pale. "a fair flower, say you? speak literally, man: was it a little white girl that you saw?" "no," replied the indian, "it was no white girl we saw. it was one young esquimau woman." stanley heaved a deep sigh and turned away, muttering, "ah! i might have known that she could not have fallen into the hands of indians so far to the south." "well, lads, take care of these fellows," he cried, crushing down the feelings that had been for a brief moment awakened in his heart by the indian's words, "and give them plenty to eat and smoke." so saying he went off with the packet, followed by frank. "niver fear ye; come along, honey," said bryan, grasping the elder indian by the arm, while the younger was carried off by massan, and the dogs taken care of by ma-istequan and gaspard. on perusing the letters, stanley found that it would be absolutely necessary to send a packet of dispatches to headquarters. the difficulties of his position required to be more thoroughly explained, and erroneous notions corrected. "what shall i do, frank?" said he, with a perplexed look. "these indians cannot return to moose, having received orders, i find, to journey in a different direction. our own men know the way, but i cannot spare the good ones among them, and the second-rate cannot be depended on without a leader." frank did not give an immediate reply. he seemed to be pondering the subject in his mind. at length he said, "could not dick prince be spared?" "no; he is too useful here. the fact is, frank, i think i must send you. it will do you good, my dear boy, and tend to distract your mind from a subject which is now hopeless." frank at first objected strongly to this plan, on the ground that it would prevent him from assisting in the forlorn search for edith; but stanley pointed out that he and the men could continue it, and that, on the other hand, his (frank's) personal presence at headquarters would be of great importance to the interests of the company. at length frank was constrained to obey. the route by which he purposed to travel was overland to richmond gulf on snow-shoes; and as the way was rough, he determined to take only a few days' provisions, and depend for subsistence on the hook and gun. maximus, oolibuck, and ma-istequan were chosen to accompany him; and three better men he could not have had, for they were stalwart and brave, and accustomed from infancy to live by the chase, and traverse trackless wastes, guided solely by that power of observation or instinct with which savages are usually gifted. with these men, a week's provisions, a large supply of ammunition, a small sledge, and three dogs, of whom chimo was the leader, frank one morning ascended the rocky platform behind the fort, and bidding adieu to ungava, commenced his long journey over the interior of east main. chapter thirty. an old friend amid new friends and novelties--a desperate battle and a glorious victory. the scene of our story is now changed, and we request our patient reader to fly away with us deeper into the north, beyond the regions of ungava, and far out upon the frozen sea. here is an island which for many long years has formed a refuge to the roedeer during the winter, at which season these animals, having forsaken the mainland in autumn, dwell upon the islands of the sea. at the time of which we write the island in question was occupied by a tribe of esquimaux, who had built themselves as curious a village as one could wish to see. the island had little or no wood on it, and the few willow bushes that showed their heads above the deep snow were stunted and thin. such as they were, however, they, along with a ledge of rock over which the snow had drifted in a huge mound, formed a sort of protection to the village of the esquimaux, and sheltered it from the cold blasts that swept over the frozen sea from the regions of the far north. there were about twenty igloos in the village, all of which were built in the form of a dome, exactly similar to the hut constructed by maximus on the lake. they were of various sizes, and while some stood apart with only a small igloo attached, others were congregated in groups and connected by low tunnels or passages. the doorways leading into most of them were so low that the natives were obliged to creep out and in on their hands and knees; but the huts themselves were high enough to permit the tallest man of the tribe to stand erect, and some of them so capacious that a family of six or eight persons could dwell in them easily. we may remark, however, that esquimau ideas of roominess and comfort in their dwellings differ very considerably from ours. their chief aim is to create heat, and for this end they cheerfully submit to what we would consider the discomfort of crowding and close air. the village at a little distance bore a curious resemblance to a cluster of white beehives; and the round, soft, hairy natives, creeping out and in continually, and moving about amongst them, were not unlike (with the aid of a little imagination) to a swarm of monstrous black bees--an idea which was further strengthened by the continuous hum that floated on the air over the busy settlement. kayaks and oomiaks lay about in several places supported on blocks of ice, and seal-spears, paddles, dans, lances, coils of walrus-line, and other implements, were intermingled in rare confusion with sledges, sealskins, junks of raw meat and bones, on which latter the numerous dogs of the tribe were earnestly engaged. in the midst of this village stood a hut which differed considerably from those around. it was built of clear ice instead of snow. there were one or two other igloos made of the same material, but none so large, clean, or elegant as this one. the walls, which were perpendicular, were composed of about thirty large square blocks, cemented together with snow, and arranged in the form of an octagon. the roof was a dome of snow. a small porch or passage, also of ice, stood in front of the low doorway, which had been made high enough to permit the owner of the mansion to enter by stooping slightly. in front and all around this hut the snow was carefully scraped, and all offensive objects--such as seal and whale blubber--removed, giving to it an appearance of cleanliness and comfort which the neighbouring igloos did not possess. inside of this icy residence, on a couch of deerskin was seated edith stanley! on that terrible night when the child lost her way in the dreary plain, she had wandered she knew not whither, until she was suddenly arrested by coming to the edge of the solid ice on the shores of ungava bay. here the high winds had broken up the ice, and the black waters of the sea now rolled at her feet and checked her progress. terrified at this unexpected sight, edith endeavoured to retrace her steps; but she found to her horror that the ice on which she stood was floating, and that the wind, having shifted a point to the eastward, was driving it across to the west side of the bay. here, in the course of the next day, it grounded, and the poor child, benumbed with cold and faint with hunger, crept as far as she could on to the firm land, and then lay down, as she thought, to die. but it was otherwise ordained. in less than half an hour afterwards she was found by a party of esquimaux. these wild creatures had come from the eastward in their dog-sledges, and having passed well out to the seaward in order to avoid the open water off the mouth of false river, had missed seeing their countrymen there, and therefore knew nothing of the establishment of fort chimo. in bending towards the land again after passing the bay they came upon edith's tracks, and after a short search they found her lying on the snow. words cannot convey an adequate impression of the unutterable amazement of these poor creatures as they beheld the fair child, so unlike anything they had ever seen or imagined; but whatever may have been their thoughts regarding her, they had sense enough to see that she was composed of flesh and blood, and would infallibly freeze if allowed to lie there much longer. they therefore lifted her gently upon one of the large sleighs, and placed her on a pile of furs in the midst of a group of women and children, who covered her up and chafed her limbs vigorously. meanwhile the drivers of the sledges, of which there were six, with twenty dogs attached to each, plied their long whips energetically; the dogs yelled in consternation, and, darting away with the sledges as if they had been feathers, the whole tribe went hooting, yelling, and howling away over the frozen sea. the surprise of the savages when they found edith was scarcely, if at all, superior to that of edith when she opened her eyes and began to comprehend, somewhat confusedly, her peculiar position. the savages watched her movements, open-mouthed, with intense curiosity, and seemed overjoyed beyond expression when she at length recovered sufficiently to exclaim feebly,--"where am i? where are you taking me to?" we need scarcely add that she received no reply to her questions, for the natives did not understand a word of her language, and with the exception of the names of one or two familiar objects, she did not understand a word of theirs. of how far or how long they travelled edith could form no idea, as she slept profoundly during the journey, and did not thoroughly recover her strength and faculties until after her arrival at the camp. for many days after reaching the esquimau village poor edith did nothing but weep; for, besides the miserable circumstances in which she was now placed, she was much too considerate and unselfish in her nature to forget that her parents would experience all the misery of supposing her dead, and added to this was the terrible supposition that the natives into whose hands she had fallen might never hear of fort chimo. the distracted child did her utmost by means of signs to make them understand that such a place existed, but her efforts were of no avail. either she was not eloquent in the language of signs, or the natives were obtuse. as time abated the first violence of her grief, she began to entertain a hope that ere long some wandering natives might convey intelligence of her to the fur-traders. as this hope strengthened she became more cheerful, and resolved to make a number of little ornaments with her name inscribed on them, which she meant to hang round the necks of the chief men of the tribe, so that should any of them ever chance to meet with the fur-traders, these ornaments might form a clue to her strange residence. a small medal of whalebone seemed to her the most appropriate and tractable material, but it cost her many long and weary hours to cut a circular piece of this tough material with the help of an esquimau knife. when she had done it, however, several active boys who had watched the operation with much curiosity and interest, no sooner understood what she wished to make than they set to work and cut several round pieces of ivory or walrus-tusk, which they presented to their little guest, who scratched the name edith on them and hung them round the necks of the chief men of the tribe. the esquimaux smiled and patted the child's fair head kindly as they received this piece of attention, which they flattered themselves, no doubt, was entirely disinterested and complimentary. winter wore gradually away, and the ice upon the sea began to show symptoms of decay opposite to the camp of the esquimaux. during the high winds of spring the drift had buried the village so completely that the beehives were scarcely visible, and the big black bees walked about on the top of their igloos, and had to cut deep down in order to get into them. for some time past the natives had been unsuccessful in their seal-hunting; and as seals and walruses constituted their chief means of support, they were reduced to short allowance. edith's portion, however, had never yet been curtailed. it was cooked for her over the stone lamp belonging to an exceedingly fat young woman whose igloo was next to that of the little stranger, and whose heart had been touched by the child's sorrow; afterwards it was more deeply touched by her gratitude and affection. this woman's name was kaga, and she, with the rest of her tribe, having been instructed carefully by edith in the pronunciation of her own name, ended in calling their little guest eeduck! kaga had a stout, burly husband named annatock, who was the best hunter in the tribe; she also had a nephew about twelve or fourteen years old, named peetoot, who was very fond of edith and extremely attentive to her. kaga had also a baby--a mere bag of fat--to which edith became so attached that she almost constituted herself its regular nurse; and when the weather was bad, so as to confine her to the house, she used to take it from its mother, carry it off to her own igloo, and play with it the whole day, much in the same way as little girls play with dolls--with this difference, however, that she considerately restrained herself from banging its nose against the floor or punching out its eyes! it was a bright, clear, warm day. four mock suns encircled and emulated in brilliancy their great original. the balmy air was beginning to melt the surface of the snow, and the igloos that had stood firm for full half a year were gradually becoming dangerous to walk over and unsafe to sit under. considerable bustle prevailed in the camp, for a general seal-hunting expedition was on foot, and the men of the tribe were preparing their dog-sledges and their spears. edith was in her igloo of ice, seated on the soft pile of deerskins which formed her bed at night and her sofa by day, and worrying kaga's baby, which laughed vociferously. the inside of this house or apartment betokened the taste and neatness of its occupant. the snow roof, having begun to melt, had been removed, and was replaced by slabs of ice, which, with the transparent walls, admitted the sun's rays in a soft, bluish light, which cast a fairy-like charm over the interior. on a shelf of ice which had been neatly fitted into the wall by her friend peetoot lay a rude knife, a few pieces of whalebone and ivory (the remains of the material of which her medals had been made), and an ivory cup. the floor was covered with willow matting, and on the raised half of it were spread several deerskins with the hair on. a canopy of willow boughs was erected over this. on another shelf of ice, near the head of the bed, stood a small stone lamp, which had been allowed to go out, the weather being warm. the only other articles of furniture in this simple apartment were a square table and a square stool, both made of ice blocks and covered with sealskins. while edith and her living doll were in the height of their uproarious intercourse, they were interrupted by peetoot, who burst into the room, more like a hairy wild-man-o'-the-wood than a human being. he carried a short spear in one hand, and with the other pointed in the direction of the shore, at the same time uttering a volley of unintelligible sounds which terminated with an emphatic "eeduck!" edith's love for conversation, whether she made herself understood or not, had increased rather than abated in her peculiar circumstances. "what is it, peetoot? why do you look so excited? oh dear, i wish i understood you--indeed i do! but it's of no use your speaking so fast.--(be quiet, baby darling.)--i see you want me to do or say something; what can it be, i wonder?" edith looked into the boy's face with an air of perplexity. again peetoot commenced to vociferate and gesticulate violently; but seeing, as he had often seen before, that his young friend did not appear to be much enlightened, he seized her by the arm, and, as a more summary and practical way of explaining himself, dragged her towards the door of the hut. "oh, the baby!" screamed edith, breaking from him and placing her charge in the farthest and safest part of the couch. "now i'll go with you, though i don't understand what you want. well, i suppose i shall find out in time, as usual." having led edith towards the beach, peetoot pointed to his uncle's sledge, to which the dogs were already harnessed, and made signs that edith should go with them. "oh, i understand you now. well, it is a charming day; i think i will. do you think annatock will let me? oh, you don't understand. never mind; wait till i put on my hood and return the baby to its mother." in two minutes edith reappeared in her fur cloak and indian hood, with the fat baby sprawling and laughing on her shoulder. that baby never cried. it seemed as though it had resolved to substitute laughing in its stead. once only had edith seen tears in its little black eyes, and that was when she had given it a spoonful of soup so hot that its mouth was scalded by it. several of the sledges had already left the island, and were flying at full speed over the frozen sea, deviating ever and anon from the straight line in order to avoid a hummock of ice or a gap of open water caused by the separation of masses at the falling of the tide, while the men shouted, and the dogs yelled as they observed the flourish of the cruelly long and heavy lash. "shall i get in?" said edith to annatock, with an inquiring look, as she approached the place where the sledge was standing. the esquimau nodded his shaggy head, and showed a row of remarkably white teeth environed by a thick black beard and moustache, by way of reply to the look of the child. with a laughing nod to kaga, who stood watching them, edith stepped in and seated herself on a deerskin robe; annatock and peetoot sat down beside her; the enormous whip gave a crack like a pistol-shot, and the team of fifteen dogs, uttering a loud cry, bounded away over the sea. the sledge on which edith was seated was formed very much in the same manner as the little sled which had been made for her at fort chimo. it was very much larger, how ever, and could have easily held eight or ten persons. the runners, which were shod with frozen mud (a substance that was now becoming nearly unfit for use owing to the warm weather), were a perfect wonder of ingenuity--as, indeed, was the whole machine--being pieced and lashed together with lines of raw hide in the most complicated manner and very neatly. the dogs were each fastened by a separate line to the sledge, the best dog being placed in the centre and having the longest line, while the others were attached by lines proportionably shorter according to the distance of each from the leading dog, and the outsiders being close to the runners of the sledge. all the lines were attached to the front bar of the machine. there were many advantages attending this mode of harnessing, among which were the readiness with which any dog could be attached or detached without affecting the others, and the ease with which annatock, when so inclined, could lay hold of the line of a refractory dog, haul him back without stopping the others, and give him a cuffing. this, however, was seldom done, as the driver could touch any member of the team with the point of his whip. the handle of this terrible instrument was not much more than eighteen or twenty inches long, but the lash was upwards of six yards! near the handle it was about three inches broad, being thick cords of walrus-hide platted; it gradually tapered towards the point, where it terminated in a fine line of the same material. while driving, the long lash of this whip trails on the snow behind the sledge, and by a peculiar sleight of hand its serpentine coils can be brought up for instant use. no backwoodsman of kentucky was ever more perfect in the use of his pea-rifle or more certain of his aim than was annatock with his murderous whip. he was a dead shot, so to speak. he could spread intense alarm among the dogs by causing the heavy coil to whiz over them within a hair's-breadth of their heads; or he could gently touch the extreme tip of the ear of a skulker, to remind him of his duty to his master and his comrades; or, in the event of the warning being neglected, he could bring the point down on his flank with a crack like a pistol-shot, that would cause skin and hair to fly, and spread yelping dismay among the entire pack. and how they did run! the sledge seemed a mere feather behind the powerful team. they sprang forth at full gallop, now bumping over a small hummock or diverging to avoid a large one, anon springing across a narrow gap in the ice, or sweeping like the snowdrift over the white plain, while the sledge sprang and swung and bounded madly on behind them; and annatock shouted as he flourished his great whip in the excitement of their rapid flight, and peetoot laughed with wild delight, and edith sat clasping her hands tightly over her knees--her hood thrown back, her fair hair blown straight out by the breeze, her cheeks flushed, her lips parted, and her eyes sparkling with emotion as they whirled along in their mad and swift career. in half an hour the low village was out of sight, and in half an hour more they arrived at the place where a number of the esquimaux were scattered in twos and threes over the ice, searching for seal-holes, and preparing to catch them. "what is that man doing?" cried edith, pointing to an esquimau who, having found a hole, had built a semicircular wall of snow round it to protect him from the light breeze that was blowing, and was sitting, when edith observed him, in the attitude of one who listened intently. the hood of his sealskin coat was over his head, so that his features were concealed. at his feet lay a stout, barbed seal-spear, the handle of which was made of wood, and the barb and lower part of ivory. a tough line was attached to this, and the other end of it was fastened round the man's waist; for when an esquimau spears a seal, he prepares to conquer or to die. if he does not haul the animal out of the hole, there is every probability that it will haul him into it. but the esquimau has laid it down as an axiom that a man is more than a match for a seal; therefore he ties the line round his waist,--which is very much like nailing the colours to the mast. there seems to be no allowance made for the chance of an obstreperously large seal allowing himself to be harpooned by a preposterously small esquimau; but we suppose that this is the exception to the rule. as edith gazed, the esquimau put out his hand with the stealthy motion of a cat and lifted his spear. the next instant the young ice that covered the hole was smashed, and, in an instant after, the ivory barb was deep in the shoulder of an enraged seal, which had thus fallen a sacrifice to his desire for fresh air. the esquimau immediately lay back almost at full length, with his heels firmly imbedded in two notches cut in the ice at the edge of the hole; the seal dived, and the man's waist seemed to be nearly cut in two. but the rope was tough and the man was stout, and although the seal was both, it was conquered in the course of a quarter of an hour, hauled out, and thrown exultingly upon the ice. this man had only watched at the seal-hole a couple of hours, but the natives frequently sit behind their snow walls for the greater part of a day, almost without moving hand or foot. having witnessed this capture, annatock drove on until the most of his countrymen were left behind. suddenly he called to the dogs to halt, and spoke in a deep, earnest tone to his nephew, while both of them gazed intently towards a particular quarter of the sea. edith looked in the same direction, and soon saw the object that attracted their attention, but the only thing it seemed like to her was an enormous cask or barrel. "what is it?" said she to peetoot, as annatock selected his largest spear and hastened towards the object. of course edith received no reply save a broad grin; but the little fellow followed up this remark, if we may so call it, by drawing his fingers through his lips, and licking them in a most significant manner. meanwhile annatock advanced rapidly towards the object of interest, keeping carefully behind hummocks of ice as he went, and soon drew near enough to make certain that it was a walrus, apparently sound asleep, with its blunt snout close to its hole, ready to plunge in should an enemy appear. annatock now advanced more cautiously, and when within a hundred yards of the huge monster, lay down at full length on his breast, and began to work his way towards it after the manner of a seal. he was so like a seal in his hairy garments that he might easily have been mistaken for one by a more intellectual animal than a walrus. but the walrus did not awake, and he approached to within ten yards. then, rising suddenly to his feet, annatock poised the heavy weapon, and threw it with full force against the animal's side. it struck, and, as if it had fallen on an adamantine rock, it bounded off and fell upon the ice, with its hard point shattered and its handle broken in two. for one instant annatock's face blazed with surprise; the next, it relapsed into fifty dimples, as he roared and tossed up his arms with delight at the discovery that the walrus had been frozen to death beside its hole! this catastrophe is not of unfrequent occurrence to these _elephants_ of the northern seas. they are in the habit of coming up occasionally through their holes in the ice to breathe, and sometimes they crawl out in order to sleep on the ice, secure, in the protection of their superabundant fat, from being frozen--at least easily. when they have had enough of sleep, or when the prickling sensation on their skin warns them that nothing is proof against the cold of the polar seas, and that they will infallibly freeze if they do not make a precipitate retreat to the comparatively warm waters below, they scramble to their holes, crush down the new ice with their tusks and thick heads, and plunge in. but sometimes the ice which forms on the holes when they are asleep is too strong to be thus broken, in which case the hapless monster lays him down and dies. such was the fate of the walrus which annatock was now cutting up with his axe into portable blocks of beef. for several days previous to the thaw which had now set in, the weather had been intensely cold, and the walrus had perished in consequence of its ambitious desire to repose in the regions above. not far from the spot where this fortunate discovery had been made, there was a large sheet of recently-formed black ice, where the main ice had been broken away and the open water left. the sheet, although much melted by the thaw, was still about three inches thick, and quite capable of supporting a man. while annatock was working with his back to this ice, he heard a tremendous crash take place behind him. turning hastily round, he observed that the noise was caused by another enormous walrus, the glance of whose large round eyes and whose loud snort showed clearly enough that he was not frozen like his unfortunate companion. by this time the little boy had come up with edith and the sledge. so annatock ordered him to take the dogs behind a hummock to keep them out of sight, while he selected several strong harpoons and a lance from the sledge. giving another lance to peetoot, he signed to edith to sit on the hummock while he attacked the grisly monster of the deep. while these preparations were being made, the walrus dived; and while it was under water, the man and the boy ran quickly forward a short distance, and then lay down behind a lump of ice. scarcely had they done so when the walrus came up again with a loud snort, splashing the water with its broad, heavy flippers--which seemed a sort of compromise between legs and fins--and dashing waves over the ice as it rolled about its large, unwieldy carcass. it was truly a savage-looking monster, as large as a small elephant, and having two tusks of a foot and a half long. the face bore a horrible resemblance to that of a man. its crown was round and bulging, its face broad and massive, and a thick, bristling moustache--rough as the spines of a porcupine--covered its upper lip, and depended in a shaggy dripping mass over its mouth. after spluttering about a short time it dived again. now was annatock's time. seizing a harpoon and a coil of line, he muttered a few words to the boy, sprang up, and running out upon the smooth ice, stood by the edge of the open water. he had not waited here more than a few seconds when the black waters were cleft by the blacker head of the monster, as it once more ascended to renew its elephantine gambols in the pool. as it rose, the esquimau threw up his arm and poised the harpoon. for one instant the surprised animal raised itself breast-high out of the water, and directed a stare of intense astonishment at the man. that moment was fatal. annatock buried the harpoon deep under its left flipper. with a fierce bellow the brute dashed itself against the ice, endeavouring in its fury to reach its assailant; but the ice gave way under its enormous weight, while annatock ran back as far as the line attached to the harpoon would permit him. the walrus, seeing that it could not reach its enemy in this way, seemed now to be actually endued with reason. it took a long gaze at annatock, and then dived. but the esquimau was prepared for this. he changed his position hastily, and played his line the meanwhile, fixing the point of his lance into the ice, in order to give him a more effective hold. scarcely had he done so than the spot he had just left was smashed up, and the head of the walrus appeared, grinning and bellowing as if in disappointment. at this moment peetoot handed his uncle a harpoon, and, ere the animal dived, the weapon was fixed in his side. once more annatock changed his position; and once again the spot on which he had been standing was burst upwards. it was a terrible sight to see that unearthly-looking monster smashing the ice around it, and lashing the blood-stained sea into foam, while it waged such mortal war with the self-possessed and wary man. how mighty and strong the one! how comparatively weak and seemingly helpless the other! it was the triumph of mind over matter--of reason over blind brute force. but annatock fought a hard battle that day ere he came off conqueror. harpoon after harpoon was driven into the walrus; again and again the lance pierced deep into its side and drank its life-blood; but three hours had passed away before the dead carcass was dragged from the deep by the united force of dogs and man. during this terrible combat edith had looked on with such intense interest that she could scarcely believe her eyes when she found, from the position of the sun, that the day was far advanced. it was too late now to think of cutting up the carcasses without assistance, so annatock determined to return home and tell his countrymen of his good fortune. it is a custom among the esquimaux to consider every animal that is killed as the common property of all--the successful hunter being entitled to all the titbits, besides his portion of the equal dividend; so that annatock knew he had only to give the signal, and every able-bodied man in the village, and not a few of the women and children, would descend like vultures on the spoil. jumping into his sledge, he stretched out his exhausted frame at full length beside edith, and committed the whip to peetoot. "i'm so glad," cried edith, with a beaming face, "that we have killed this beast. the poor people will have plenty to eat now." "ha! ha! _ha_!" roared peetoot, giving increased emphasis to each successive shout, and prolonging the last into a yell of delight, as he cracked the ponderous whip from side to side like a volley of pistolry. "o peetoot!" exclaimed edith, in a remonstrative tone, as the sledge swayed to and fro with the rate at which they were sweeping over the plain, "don't drive so fast; you will kill the poor dogs!" "ho! ho! _ho-o-o_! eeduck!" roared the boy, aiming a shot at the leader's left ear, and bringing the thick end of the whip down on the flanks of the six hindmost dogs. thus, amid a volley of roars, remonstrances, yells, yelps, and pistolry, edith and her friends scoured over the frozen sea, and swept into the esquimau camp like a whirlwind. chapter thirty one. another desperate battle, and a decided victory--the esquimaux suffer a severe loss. the night that followed the day of which we have given an account in the last chapter was a night of rest to edith, but not to the esquimaux. scarcely allowing themselves time to harness their dogs, after the news reached them, they set off for the scene of action in a body. every sledge was engaged, every able-bodied male and female started. none were left in camp except the sick, of whom there were few; and the aged, of whom there were fewer. while engaged in the hurried preparations for departure the women sang with delight, for they had been living on very short allowance for some weeks past, and starvation had been threatening them; so that the present success diffused among these poor creatures a universal feeling of joy. but their preparations were not numerous. a short scene of excited bustle followed annatock's arrival, a few yells from the dogs at starting, and the deserted camp was so silent and desolate that it seemed as if human beings had not been there for centuries. it did not continue long, however, in this state. two or three hours later, and the first of the return parties arrived, groaning under the burdens they carried and dragged behind them. the walrus-flesh was packed on the dog-sledges; but as for the few seals that had been caught, they were sledges to themselves--cords being tied to their tails, to which a dozen natives attached themselves, and dragged the carcasses over the snow. peetoot, whose spirit that night seemed to be intoxicated with success, and who felt that he was the lion of the night (after annatock!), seated himself astride of one of the dead seals, and was dragged into camp on this novel sledge, shouting a volley of unintelligible jargon at the top of his voice, in the midst of which "eeduck" frequently resounded. at length the last lingerer arrived, and then began a feast of the most extraordinary kind. the walrus-flesh was first conveyed to the igloo of annatock, where it was cut up and distributed among the natives. the women seemed quite frantic with joy, and went about from hut to hut embracing one another, by way of congratulation. soon the lamps of the village were swimming with oil, the steaks stewing and roasting, the children provided with pieces of raw blubber to keep them quiet while the larger portions were being cooked, and the entire community gormandising and rejoicing as savages are wont to do when suddenly visited with plenty in the midst of starvation. during all this scene, edith went about from hut to hut enjoying herself. nay, reader, be not horrified; thou knowest not the pliable and accommodating nature of humanity. edith did not enjoy the filth by which she was surrounded--far from it; neither did she enjoy the sight of raw blubber being sucked by little babies, especially by her own favourite; but she _did_ enjoy the sight of so much plenty where, but a few hours ago, starvation had begun to threaten a visit; and she did enjoy and heartily sympathise with the undoubted and great happiness of her hospitable friends. a very savoury dish, with a due proportion of lean to the fat, cut specially to suit her taste, smoked on eeduck's table that night, and peetoot and the baby helped her to eat it. really it would be a matter of nice calculation to ascertain whether peetoot or the baby laughed most on this jovial occasion. undoubtedly the former had the best of it in regard to mere noise; nevertheless the pipe of the latter was uncommonly shrill, and at times remarkably racy and obstreperous. but as the hours flew by, the children throughout the camp generally fell asleep, while their seniors sat quietly and contentedly round their kettles and lamps, eating and slumbering by turns. the amount of food consumed was enormous, and quite beyond the belief of men accustomed to the appetites of temperate zones; but we beg them to remember that arctic frosts require to be met with arctic stimulants, and of these an immense quantity of unctuous food is the best. next morning the esquimaux were up and away by daybreak, with their dogs and sledges, to bring home the remainder of the walrus-meat; for these poor people are not naturally improvident, and do not idle their time in luxurious indolence until necessity urges them forth again in search of food. in this respect they are superior to indians, who are notoriously improvident and regardless of the morrow. this day was signalised by another piece of success on the part of annatock and his nephew, who went to the scene of yesterday's battle on foot. edith remained behind, having resolved to devote herself entirely to the baby, to make up for her neglect of the previous day. on reaching the place where the walrus had been slain, annatock cut off and bound up a portion with which he intended to return to the camp. while he was thus employed, along with a dozen or more of his countrymen, peetoot came running towards him, saying that he thought he saw a seal lying on the ice far ahead. having a harpoon and two spears with them, annatock left his work and followed his nephew to the spot where it was supposed to be lying. but on reaching the place they found that it was gone, and a few bells floating at the surface of the hole showed where it had made its descent to the element below. with the characteristic indifference of a man accustomed to the vicissitudes and the disappointments of a hunter's life, the elder esquimau uttered a grunt and turned away. but he had not proceeded more than a few paces when his eye became riveted on the track of some animal on the ice, which appeared to his practised eye to be quite fresh. upon examination this proved to be the case, and annatock spoke earnestly for a few minutes with his nephew. the boy appeared from his gestures to be making some determined remarks, and seemed not a little hurt at the doubting way in which his uncle shook his head. at length peetoot seized a spear, and, turning away, followed the track of the animal with a rapid and determined air; while annatock, grasping the other spear, followed in the boy's track. a brisk walk of half an hour over the ice and hummocks of the sea carried them out of sight of their companions, but did not bring them up with the animal of which they were in chase. at length peetoot halted, and stooped to scrutinise the track more attentively. as he did so an enormous white bear stalked out from behind a neighbouring hummock of ice, and after gazing at him for a second or two, turned round and walked slowly away. the elder esquimau cast a doubtful glance at his nephew, while he lowered the point of his spear and seemed to hesitate; but the boy did not wait. levelling his spear, he uttered a wild shout and ran towards the animal, which instantly turned towards the approaching enemy with a look of defiance. if annatock had entertained any doubts of his nephew's courage before, he had none now; so, casting aside all further thought on the subject, he ran forward along with him to attack the bear. this was a matter attended with much danger, however, and there was some reason in the man feeling a little uncertainty as to the courage of a youth who, he was aware, now faced a bear for the first time in his life! at first the two hunters advanced side by side towards the fierce-looking monster, but as they drew near they separated, and approached one on the right, the other on the left of the bear. as it was determined that annatock should give the death-wound, he went towards the left side and hung back a moment, while peetoot advanced to the right. when about three yards distant the bear rose. the action had a powerful and visible effect upon the boy; for as polar bears are comparatively long-bodied and short-legged, their true proportions are not fully displayed until they rear on their hind legs. it seemed as if the animal actually grew taller and more enormous in the act of rising, and the boy's cheek blanched while he shrank backwards for a moment. it was only for a moment, however. a quick word of encouragement from annatock recalled him. he stepped boldly forward as the bear was glancing savagely from side to side, uncertain which enemy to attack first, and, thrusting his lance forward, pricked it sharply on the side. this decided the point. with a ferocious growl the animal turned to fall upon its insignificant enemy. in doing so its left shoulder was fully exposed to annatock, who, with a dart like lightning, plunged his spear deep into its heart. a powerful shudder shook the monster's frame as it fell dead upon the ice. annatock stood for a few minutes leaning on his spear, and regarding the bear with a grim look of satisfaction; while peetoot laughed, and shouted, and danced around it like a maniac. how long he would have continued these wild demonstrations it is difficult to say--probably until he was exhausted--but his uncle brought them to a speedy termination by bringing the butt-end of his spear into smart contact with peetoot's flank. with a howl, in which consternation mingled with his glee, the boy darted away over the ice like a reindeer to convey the glad news to his friends, and to fetch a sledge for the bear's carcass. on returning to the village there was immediately instituted another royal feast, which continued from day to day, gradually decreasing in joyous intensity as the provender decreased in bulk, until the walruses, the bear, and the seals were entirely consumed. soon after this the weather became decidedly mild, and the power of the sun's rays was so great that the snow on the island and the ice on the sea began to be resolved into water. during this period several important changes took place in the manners and customs of the esquimaux. the women, who had worn deerskin shoes during the winter, put on their enormous waterproof summer boots. the men, when out on the ice in search of seals, used a pair of wooden spectacles, with two narrow slits to peep through, in order to protect their eyes from the snow-blindness caused by the glare of the sun on the ice and snow--a complaint which is apt to attack all arctic travellers in spring if not guarded against by some such appliance as the clumsy wooden spectacles of the esquimaux. active preparations were also made for the erection of skin summer tents, and the launching of kayaks and oomiaks. moreover, little boys were forbidden to walk, as they had been wont to do, on the tops of the snow-houses, lest they should damage the rapidly-decaying roofs; but little boys in the far north inherit that tendency to disobedience which is natural to the children of adam the world over, and on more than one occasion, having ventured to run over the igloos, were caught in the act by the thrusting of a leg now and then through the roofs thereof, to the indignation of the inmates below. a catastrophe of this sort happened to poor peetoot not long after the slaying of the polar bear, and brought the winter camp to an abrupt termination. edith had been amusing herself in her house of ice all the morning with her adopted baby, and was in the act of feeding it with a choice morsel of seal-fat, partially cooked, to avoid doing violence to her own prejudices, and very much under-done in order to suit the esquimau baby's taste--when peetoot rushed violently into the hut, shouted eeduck with a boisterous smile, seized the baby in his arms, and carried it off to its mother. edith was accustomed to have it thus torn from her by the boy, who was usually sent as a messenger when kaga happened to desire the loan of her offspring. the igloo in which kaga and her relations dwelt was the largest in the village. it was fully thirty feet in diameter. the passage leading to it was a hundred yards long, by five feet wide and six feet high, and from this passage branched several others of various lengths, leading to different storehouses and to other dwellings. the whiteness of the snow of which this princely mansion and its offices were composed was not much altered on the exterior; but in the interior a long winter of cooking and stewing and general filthiness had turned the walls and roofs quite black. being somewhat lazy, peetoot preferred the old plan of walking over this palace to going round by the entrance, which faced the south. accordingly, he hoisted the fat and smiling infant on his shoulder, and bounded over the dome-shaped roof of kaga's igloo. alas for the result of disobedience! no sooner had his foot touched the key-stone of the arch than down it went. dinner was being cooked and consumed by twenty people below at the time. the key-stone buried a joint of walrus-beef, and instantly peetoot and the baby lay sprawling on the top of it. but this was not all. the roof, unable to support its own weight, cracked and fell in with a dire crash. the men, women, and children struggled to disentomb themselves, and in doing so mixed up the oil of the lamps, the soup of their kettles, the black soot of the walls and roof, the dogs that had sneaked in, the junks of cooked, half-cooked, and raw blubber, and their own hairy-coated persons, into a conglomerate so atrocious to behold, or even think upon, that we are constrained to draw a curtain over the scene and spare the reader's feelings. this event caused the esquimaux to forsake the igloos, and pitch their skin tents on a spot a little to the southward of their wintering ground, which, being more exposed to the sun's rays, was now free from snow. they had not been encamped here more than three days when an event occurred which threw the camp into deep grief for a time. this was the loss of their great hunter, annatock, the husband of kaga. one of those tremendous north-west gales, which now and then visit the arctic seas and lands with such devastating fury, had set in while annatock was out on the ice-floe in search of seals. many of his comrades had started with him that day, but being a bold man, he had pushed beyond them all. when the gale came on the esquimau hunters prepared to return home as fast as possible, fearing that the decaying ice might break up and drift away with them out to sea. before starting they were alarmed to find that the seaward ice was actually in motion. it was on this ice that annatock was employed; and his countrymen would fain have gone to warn him of his danger, but a gap of thirty feet already separated the floe from the main ice, and although they could perceive their friend in the far distance, busily employed on the ice, they could not make their voices heard. as the gale increased the floe drifted faster out to sea, and annatock was observed running anxiously towards the land; but before he reached the edge of the ice-raft on which he stood, the increasing distance and the drifting clouds of snow hid him from view. then his companions, fearful for their own safety, hastened back to the camp with the sad news. at first kaga seemed quite inconsolable, and edith exerted herself as a comforter without success; but as time wore on the poor woman's grief abated, and hope began to revive within her bosom. she recollected that the event which had befallen her husband had befallen some of her friends before in exactly similar circumstances, and that, although on many occasions the result had been fatal, there were not a few instances in which the lost ones had been driven on their ice-raft to distant parts of the shore, and after months, sometimes years, of hardship and suffering, had returned to their families and homes. still this hope was at best a poor one. for the few instances there were of return from such dangers, there were dozens in which the poor esquimaux were never heard of more; and the heart of the woman sank within her as she thought of the terrible night on which her husband was lost, and the great, stormy, ice-laden sea, over whose surging bosom he was drifted. but the complex machinery of this world is set in motion and guided by one whose power and wisdom infinitely transcend those of the most exalted of his creatures; and it is a truth well worthy of being reiterated and re-impressed upon our memories, that in his hands those events that seem most adverse to man often turn out to be for his good. chapter thirty two. edith waxes melancholy, but her sadness is suddenly turned into joy; and the esquimaux receive a surprise, and find a friend, and lose one. the sea! how many stout hearts thrill and manly bosoms swell at the sound of that little word, or rather at the thought of all that it conveys! how many there are that reverence and love thy power and beauty, thy freedom and majesty, o sea! wherein consists the potent charm that draws mankind towards thee with such irresistible affection? is it in the calm tranquillity of thy waters, when thou liest like a sheet of crystal, with a bright refulgent sky reflected in thy soft bosom, and the white ships resting there as if in empty space, and the glad sea-mews rippling thy surface for a brief moment and then sailing from the blue below to the deeper blue above, and the soft song of thy wavelets as they slide upon the shingly shore or lip among the caves and hollows of the rocks! or is it in the loud roar of thy billows, as they dash and fume and lash in fury on the coasts that dare to curb thy might?--that might which, commencing, mayhap, in the torrid zone of the south, has rolled and leaped in majesty across the waste of waters, tossed leviathans as playthings in its strength, rushed impetuously over half the globe, and burst at last in helplessness upon a bed of sand! or does the charm lie in the yet fiercer strife of the tempest and the hurricane, when the elements, let loose, sweep round the shrinking world in fury; or in the ever-changing aspect of thy countenance, now bright and fair, now ruffled with the rising breeze, or darkened by the thunder-cloud that bodes the coming storm! ah yes! methinks not one but all of these combined do constitute the charm which draws mankind to thee, bright ocean, and fills his soul with sympathy and love. for in the changeful aspects of thy visage there are talismans which touch the varied chords that vibrate in the hearts of men. perchance, in the bold whistle of thy winds, and the mad rolling of thy waves, an emblem of freedom is recognised by crushed and chafing spirits longing to be free. they cannot wall thee round. they cannot map thee into acres and hedge thee in, and leave us naught but narrow roads between. no ploughshare cleaves thee save the passing keel; no prince or monarch owns thy haughty waves. in thy hidden caverns are treasures surpassing those of earth; and those who dwell on thee in ships behold the wonders of the mighty deep. we bow in adoration to thy great creator; and we bow to thee in love and reverence and sympathy, o sea! edith sat on the sea-shore. the glassy waves were no longer encumbered with ice, but shone like burnished gold in the light of the summer sun. here and there, however, a large iceberg floated on the deep--a souvenir of winter past, a guarantee of winter yet to come. at the base of these blue islands the sea, calm though it was, broke in a continual roar of surf, and round their pinnacles the circling sea-birds sailed. the yellow sands on which the child sat, the green willows that fringed the background of brown rocks, and the warm sun, contrasted powerfully with the vestiges of winter on the sea, while a bright parhelia in the sky enriched and strengthened these characteristics of an arctic summer. there was busy life and commotion in the esquimau camp, from which edith had retired to some distance to indulge in solitude the sad reveries of home, which weighed more heavily on her mind as the time flew by and the hope of speedy delivery began to fade. "o my own dear mother," sighed the child aloud, while a tear trickled down each cheek, "shall i never see you more? my heart is heavy with wishing, always wishing. but no one comes. i never see a boat or a ship on that wide, wide sea. oh, when, when will it come?" she paused, and, as she had often done before, laid her face on her hands and wept. but edith soon recovered. these bursts of grief never lasted long, for the child was strong in hope. she never doubted that deliverance would come at _last_; and she never failed to supplicate at the throne of mercy, to which her mother had early taught her to fly in every time of trouble and distress. soon her attention was attracted from the sea, over whose wide expanse she had been gazing wistfully, by the loud voices of the esquimaux, as a number of them prepared to embark in their kayaks. several small whales had been descried, and the natives, ever on the alert, were about to attack them. presently edith observed peetoot running along the beach towards her with a seal-spear or harpoon in his hand. this youth was a remarkably intelligent fellow, and had picked up a few words and sentences of english, of which he made the most. "eeduck! eeduck!" he cried, pointing to one of the oomiaks which the women were launching, "you go kill whale--funny; yes, eeduck." "i don't think it will be very funny," said edith, laughing; "but i'll go to please you, peetoot." "goot, eeduck; you is goot," shouted the boy, while he flourished his harpoon, and seizing his companion by the hand, dragged her in the direction of the kayaks. in a few minutes edith was ensconced in the centre of the oomiak amid a pack of noisy esquimau women, whose tongues were loosed and spirits raised by the hope of a successful hunt. they went merely for the purpose of witnessing the sport, which was to be prosecuted by twelve or thirteen men, each in his arrow-like kayak. the women sat round their clumsy boat with their faces to the bow, each wielding a short, broad paddle, with which they propelled their craft at good speed over the glassy wave; but a few alternate dips of the long double-bladed paddles of the kayaks quickly sent the men far ahead of them. in the stern of the oomiak sat an old grey-headed man, who filled the office of steersman; a duty which usually devolves upon old men after they become unfit to manage the kayak. indeed, it requires much vigour as well as practice to paddle the kayak, for it is so easily upset that a man could not sit in it for a minute without the long paddle, in the clever use of which lies the security of the esquimau. when the flotilla had paddled out a short distance a whale rose, and lay as if basking on the surface of the water. instantly the men in the kayaks shot towards it, while the oomiak followed as fast as possible. on drawing near, the first esquimau prepared his harpoon. to the barb of this weapon a stout line, from eight to twelve fathoms long, was attached, having a _dan_, or float, made of a sealskin at the other end of it. the dan was large enough to hold fifteen gallons or more. having paddled close to the whale, the esquimau fixed the harpoon deep in its side, and threw the dan overboard. the whale dived in an agony, carrying the dan down along with it, and the esquimau, picking up the liberated handle of the harpoon as he passed, paddled in the direction he supposed the whale must have taken. in a short time the dan re-appeared at no great distance. the kayaks, as if shot from a bow, darted towards the spot, and before the huge fish could dive a second time, it received two more harpoons and several deep stabs from the lances of the esquimaux. again it dived, carrying two additional dans down with it. but the dragging tendency of these three large floats, combined with the deep wounds it had received, brought the fish sooner than before to the surface, where it was instantly met and assailed by its relentless pursuers, who, in the course of little more than an hour, killed it, and dragged it in triumph to the shore. the natives were still occupied in towing the captured fish, when one of the men uttered a wild shout, and pointed eagerly out to sea. at first edith imagined that they must have seen another whale in the distance; but this opinion was quickly altered when she observed the eager haste with which they paddled towards the land, and the looks of surprise with which, ever and anon, they regarded the object on the horizon. this object seemed a mere speck to edith's unaccustomed eyes; but as she gazed long and earnestly at it, a thought flashed across her mind. she sprang up; her sparkling eyes seemed as though they would burst from their sockets in her eager desire to make out this object of so great interest. at this moment the oomiak touched the land. with a bound like a gazelle edith sprang on shore and ran panting with excitement to the top of a rocky eminence. here she again directed her earnest gaze out to sea, while her colour went and came as she pressed her hands upon her breast in an agony of hope. slowly but surely the speck came on; the wind shifted a point, which caused a gleam of sunlight to fall upon a sail. it was a boat! there could be no doubt of it--and making directly for the island! unable to contain herself, edith, uttering a piercing cry, sank upon the ground and burst into a passionate flood of tears. it was the irresistible impulse of hope long deferred at length realised; for the child did not entertain a doubt that this was at length the answer to her prayers. meanwhile the esquimaux ran about in a state of extraordinary excitement. these people had very probably heard of the ships which once a year pass through hudson's straits on their way to the depots on the shores of hudson's bay; but they had never met with them, or seen a kublunat (white face) before that great day in their annals of discovery when they found little edith fainting in the snow. their sharp eyes had at once detected that the approaching boat was utterly different from their own kayaks or oomiaks. and truly it was; for as she drew near with her white sails bending before the evening breeze that had recently sprung up, and the union jack flying from her peak, and the foam curling before her sharp prow, she seemed a very model of grace and symmetry. there were only three figures in the boat, one of whom, by the violent gesticulations that he made as they approached, bespoke himself an esquimau; the other two stood erect and motionless, the one by the tiller, the other by the sheet. "let go," said a deep soft voice, when the boat was within a stone's-cast of the shore. the sheet flapped in the wind as the peak fell, and in another instant the keel grated on the sand. for one moment a feeling of intense disappointment filled edith's heart as she sought in vain for the face of her father or frank; then with a cry of joy she sprang forward and flung herself into the arms of her old enemy, gaspard! "thank god!" said dick prince, with a tremulous voice, as he leaped lightly from the boat and clasped the child in his arms; "thank god we have found you, miss edith! this will put new life into your poor mother's heart." "oh! how is she? why did she not come with you?" sobbed edith; while dick prince, seating himself on a rock, drew her on his knee and stroked her fair head as she wept upon his shoulder. meanwhile annatock was being nearly devoured by his wife and child and countrymen, as they crowded round him to obtain information, and to heap upon him congratulations; and gaspard, in order to restrain, and at the same time relieve his feelings, essayed to drag the boat out of the water, in which attempt, giant though he was, being single-handed, he utterly failed. after the first eager questions were answered on both sides, the natives were informed by their comrade of the nature and objects of the establishment at ungava, and they exhibited the most extravagant signs of joy on hearing the news. when their excitement was calmed down a little, they conducted the party to their principal tent, and set before them the choicest viands they possessed, talking vehemently all the while, and indulging in a few antics occasionally, expressive of uncontrollable delight. "ye see, miss edith," began prince, when he and gaspard were seated before a round of walrus-beef, "the way we came to know your whereabouts was this: gaspard and me was sent down to the coast to hunt seals, for we were getting short o' blubber, and did not like to be obleeged to give deer's-meat to the dogs. your father gave us the boat; `for,' says he, `prince, it'll take ye down faster than the canoe with this wind; and if ye see any o' the natives, be sure ye don't forget to ask about _her_, prince.' ye see, miss edith, ever since ye was lost we never liked to mention your name, although we often spoke of you, for we felt that we might be speakin' o' the dead. hows'ever, away we went for the shores o' the bay, and coasted along to the westward a bit. then we landed at a place where there was a good lot o' field-ice floatin', with seals lyin' on it, and we began to catch them. one day, when we was goin' down to the ice as usual, we saw a black object sittin' on a floe that had drifted in the night before with a stiff breeze. "`that's a queer-lookin' seal,' says gaspard. "`so 'tis,' said i. `if there was ever black bears up hereabouts, i would say it was one o' them.' "`put a ball in yer gun,' says gaspard; for ye see, as we had been blazin' at small birds the day before, there was nothing but shot in it. so i put in a ball, and took aim at the beast, intendin' to give it a long shot. but i was mercifully prevented from firin'. jist as i squinted along the barrel, the beast rose straight up, and held up both its fore paws. `stop!' roars gaspard, in an awful fright; and sure enough i lowered my gun, and the beast hailed us in the voice of a man, and began to walk to the shore. he seemed quite worn out when he landed, and i could understand enough of his jargon to make out that he had been blown out to sea on the floe, and that his name was annatock. "while we were talkin' to the esquimau, gaspard cries out, `i say, prince, look here! there's a sort o' medal on this chap's neck with somethin' written on it. you're a larned fellow, prince; see if ye can make it out.' so i looked at it, and rubbed my eyes once or twice, i can tell you, for, sure enough, there was edith as plain as the nose on my face." "oh," exclaimed edith, smiling through her tears, "that was the medal i hung round his neck long, long ago! i hoped that it might be seen some day by people who knew me." "i thought so, miss," returned prince--"i thought as much, for i knew that the esquimau could never have invented and writ that out of his own head, ye see. but gaspard and me had most awful trouble to get him to explain how he came by it, and where he came from. howsoever, we made out at last that he came from an island in this direction; so we just made up our minds to take the boat and come straight away for the island, which we did, takin' annatock to pilot us." "then does my father not know where you are, or anything about your having heard of me?" inquired edith, in surprise. "why, no, miss edith," replied prince. "you see, it would have lost us two or three days to have gone back to fort chimo; and, after all, we thought it might turn out a false scent, and only raise your poor mother's hopes for nothin'. besides, we were sent away for a week or two, so we knew they wouldn't wonder at our absence; so we thought, upon the whole, it would be best to come at once, specially since it was sich a short distance." "a short distance!" repeated edith, starting up. "i thought we must be miles and miles, oh, ever so far away! is the distance really short?" "ay, that it is, little one," said prince, patting the child on the head. "it is not more than three days' rowing from this island, and a stiff breeze on the quarter would carry us there in less than two." "and frank, where is frank?" said edith,--with a look of eager inquiry. "ah, miss," replied prince, "he has been away almost as long as yourself. soon after you were lost a packet came from the south, and he was obleeged to give up the sarch after you--though he was loath to do it--and set out with three o' the men for moose. from that day to this we've heerd nothin' of him. but the journey he had to make was a long one--havin' to go round all the way to york fort--so we didn't expect to hear o' him afore now. but i'll tell ye more about all your old friends when we git--things ready for a start to-morrow." the remainder of that day was spent in making preparation for setting sail on the following morning. the first intimation of the existence of the new trading-fort had thrown the child-like natives into rapturous delight; but when prince told them he intended to go off the next day with the child who had been as a bright spirit in their camp so long, they fell into the depths of grief. indeed, there was manifested a slight desire to offer forcible opposition to this; but when edith told them, through the medium of peetoot, who acted as her interpreter, that the distance to her father's fort was not great, and that she would expect them to come often there, and stay long, they became reconciled to her departure; and when she sought to turn their minds (a work of no great difficulty at any time) away from that subject by describing to them the treasures of the trading-store, they danced and laughed and sang like very children. even kaga's baby crowed with a racy richness of feeling, and smiled with an oily brilliancy of expression, compared with which all its former exhibitions were mere child's play. but when the hour of departure really came, and edith bade farewell to her kind friends, whose rude but warm hospitality she had enjoyed so long, they were again plunged into the deepest distress; and when the little boat finally put to sea, there was not a tearless eye among the tribe, while edith was swiftly borne from their island shore before a strong and favouring breeze. chapter thirty three. the clouds are broken, the sun bursts through and once more irradiate port chimo--hopes and fears for maximus. the wings of time moved slowly and heavily along at fort chimo. hope long deferred, expectation frequently reviving and as often disappointed, crushed the spirits of the little party. the song, and jest, and laugh seldom sounded from the houses of the men, who went through their daily avocations almost in silence. not only had the loss of edith--the bright spirit of the place, the tender rosebud in that savage wilderness--cast an overwhelming gloom upon the fort, but the failure of the trade, to a great extent, had added to the general depression, and now fresh anxiety was beginning to be felt at the non-appearance of frank morton. "jessie," said stanley one day, as he rose from the desk at which he had been writing, and put on his cap with the intention of taking a stroll along the beach, "will you come with me today? i know not how it is, but every time i go out now i expect to hear the ship's gun as it comes through the narrows." mrs stanley rose, and throwing on a shawl and hood, accompanied her husband in silence. "perhaps," she said at length, "you expect to hear the gun because the vessel _ought_ to be here by this time." as she spoke, la roche came up and touched his cap. "please, madame, vat you vill have pour dinner?" "whatever you please, la roche. repeat yesterday's," answered mrs stanley, with the air of one who did not wish to be troubled further on the subject. but la roche was not to be so easily put down. "ah, madame! pardonnez moi. dat is impossible. ve have fresh fish yesterday, dere be no fresh fish to-day. more de pity. c'est dommage-- dat gaspard him gone away--" la roche was interrupted by a sudden exclamation from his master, who pointed, while he gazed earnestly, towards the narrows of the river. it seemed as if the scene of last year were repeated in a vision. against the dark rock appeared the white, triangular sail of a vessel. slowly, like a phantom, it came into view, for the wind was very light; while the three spectators on the beach gazed with beating hearts, scarcely daring to credit their eyes. in a few seconds another sail appeared--a schooner floated into view; a white cloud burst from her bows, and once again the long, silent echoes of ungava were awakened by the roaring of artillery. the men of the fort left their several employments and rushed to the beach to welcome the vessel with a cheer; but although it was heartfelt and vigorous, it was neither so prolonged nor so enthusiastic as it was on the first occasion of the ship's arrival. as the vessel dropped anchor opposite the fort, frank morton leaped on her bow, and along with the crew returned the cheer with a degree of energy that awakened memories of other days. "there's frank!" cried stanley, turning on his wife a glance of joy. "bless the boy! it warms my heart to see him. he must have picked up some indian woman by the way. i see the flutter of a petticoat." as he spoke, the boat pushed off from the vessel's side, and a few rapid strokes sent it bounding towards the shore. "eh! what's this?" exclaimed stanley, as his wife broke from him, and with a wild shriek rushed into the lake. the figure of a child stood on the boat's bow, with her arms extended to the shore. "hurrah, lads! give way!" shouted frank's deep voice. "mother! mother!" cried the child. in another moment frank bounded over the boat's side and placed edith in her mother's arms! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ reader, there are incidents in the histories of men which cannot be minutely described without being marred. such an one was the meeting between the father and mother and their long-lost child. we refrain from attempting to draw aside the curtain further than to say that the joy and gratitude in more than one heart at ungava found vent that night in thanksgiving to him who can bring light out of darkness and turn sorrow into joy. the greater part of the day was spent at the fort in that feverish excitement which cannot calm down to steady conversation, but vents itself in eager, rambling questions and abrupt replies. meanwhile, the necessity of discharging the cargo of the vessel, and preparing the furs for shipment, served to distract the attention and occupy the hands of the whole party. as evening advanced, la roche, true to his duty, placed supper on the table, and stanley and his wife, along with edith and frank, while they partook of the meal, continued their inquiries. "whereabouts was it, frank, that you fell in with the boat?" said stanley. "not more than five miles from the mouth of the river, at about six this morning. we observed the boat beset by a pretty solid pack of ice, and you may be sure we were not a little surprised when we saw the union jack run up to her peak; so i ordered our boat to be lowered, intending to go to her assistance. while the men were doing this, i examined her with the glass, and then it was that i found, to my amazement and inexpressible joy, that the boat contained prince, gaspard, and edith." "ah! frank," said mrs stanley, "was it not a strange providence that you, who were so sad at being compelled to give up the search, should be the one appointed to find our beloved child, and bring her back to us?" "nay," replied frank, "it was not i who found her. let me not rob dick prince and gaspard of the honour and gratitude which they have nobly won." "and what do you think of the non-arrival of maximus?" said stanley, whose feelings were still too much perturbed to allow him to dwell for more than a few minutes at a time on any subject. frank shook his head. "i know not what to think," said he. "as i have told you already, we left him at moose fort with his recovered bride, and we got the missionary to marry them there in due form. next day they started in a small canoe on their return voyage to ungava, and the day following i left for lake superior. i fully expected to find them here on my return." stanley looked grave. "i fear much," said he, "that some mischance has befallen the good-hearted esquimau. he was well armed, you say, and amply supplied with provisions?" "ay, most certainly. he took two guns with him, saying that his wife was as good a shot as himself." "the men wish to know where the heavy goods are to be put," said massan, as he opened the door, and stood, cap in hand, awaiting orders. stanley rose to leave the room. "i'll be with you in a minute, massan.--then, frank, we'll expect an account of your journey to-night. eda is very anxious that we should be told all about your wonderful adventures in the mountains. meanwhile i shall be off to look after the men." when the sun had set that night, and the song of the sailors had ceased, and most of the wearied inhabitants of fort chimo were enjoying a fragrant pipe after the labours of the day, frank and stanley seated themselves, one on either side of the fire-place, with mrs stanley and edith in front of the hearth between them. an extra pine-knot was thrown on the fire, which, in a few minutes, rendered the candle on the table unnecessary. stanley lit his pipe, and after drawing one or two whiffs to make sure that it would keep alight, said,--"now, frank, my boy, we're ready for you; fire away." frank fired away, literally, for he applied a piece of glowing charcoal to his pipe, and fired off half a dozen rapid puffs in reply, as it were, to his friend opposite. then he began. chapter thirty four. rough and tumble--a polar bear made useful--fishing and floundering, and narrow escapes--an unexpected discovery, productive of mingled perplexity and joy. "you remember, i daresay, that the day on which i left ungava, last spring, was an unusually fine one--just such a day, eda, as those on which you and i and chimo were wont to clamber up the berry-glen. but the clambering that we went through there was nothing to the work we went through on our third day from the fort. maximus and oolibuck were first-rate climbers, and we would have got over the ground much faster than we did but for the dogs, which could not travel easily over the rough ground with their loaded sled. chimo, indeed, hauled like a hero, and if the other dogs had been equal to him we would have been here before to-day. well, as i said, our third day was one of considerable toil. leaving the river we struck into the mountains, but after nearly breaking our sled to pieces, and endangering our necks more than once, we found it necessary to return to the river and follow its windings into the interior. "after many days of as rough travelling as i ever experienced, we came to the lake district on the height of land, and travelled for some time more rapidly and with much greater ease. there were plenty of ptarmigan here, so that we saved our provisions--a matter of importance, as you know, in a country where we might have found nothing fit for food. one evening, towards sunset, as we were crossing a large lake, it came on to snow heavily, and ere long we could not see the land. "`what shall we do, maximus?' said i; `it seems to me that if we go on we may wander out of our course and lose much time ere we find it again. shall we turn back?' "`better go on,' replied maximus. "oolibuck seemed to be of the same opinion, so i gave my whip a flourish to urge on the dogs, which were beginning to flag, owing to the difficulty of drawing the sled through the deepening snow. but the two rear dogs could hardly be prevailed on to move. even chimo was knocked up. in this dilemma maximus came to my aid. he hung one of the ptarmigan at his belt, and letting the dogs smell it, walked on before. the hungry animals brightened up instantly, and went forward for a considerable distance with alacrity. "but after trudging on for two or three miles, the snow fell so thickly that we thought proper to call a halt and hold another council of war. "`now,' said i, `it is my opinion that we should encamp on the ice; there is no use in wearying the dogs, and ourselves in uncertainty; what think you, lads?' "`me t'ink so too,' said oolibuck. "maximus nodded his head by way of assent, so we immediately set to work to make our encampment. you recollect the hut we built on the lake when i was so badly hurt, and when you were lost, eda? well, we made a snow-house just like that one; and as we worked very hard, we had it up and were all snug under its shelter in little more than two hours. meanwhile, the dogs were fed; and a small piece of wood, that we fortunately brought with us on the sled, was cut up, and a fire kindled. but this only served long enough to boil the kettle; and then it went out, leaving us to eat our supper in the dark, for by this time the sun had set. however, we did not mind that much; and when we had finished, and were stretched out side by side on the snow, smoking our pipes, while the dogs lay at our feet and kept us warm, i thought that a palace could not have been more comfortable than our snow-house. "as we had no wood wherewith to make another fire, and so could not procure water except by the tedious process of digging through the ice, i resolved to try an experiment which i had once heard had been attempted with success. this was, to fill a bottle with snow and take it to bed with me. during the night the heat of my body melted the snow, and in the morning we had sufficient water to give us each a draught at breakfast. "when morning came we found that it was blowing and drifting so hard that we could not venture to move; so we made up our minds to remain where we were until the weather should moderate. "`maximus,' said i, after our breakfast of cold boiled ptarmigan was over, `set to work outside and dig a hole through the ice. i have no doubt we shall find fish in this lake. if we do, they will form an excellent addition to our fare. i will prepare the lines and hooks.' "maximus, whose huge body was stretched out at full length, while he enjoyed his pipe, rose to obey; but as he was about to leave the hut oolibuck said a few words to him. "`please, sir,' said oolibuck, with his usual oily smile, `my countrymen fish in igloo when blow hard. pr'aps ve make hole here, if you like.' "`very good,' said i; `make the hole where you please, and look sharp about it, else i shall have my lines prepared before you reach the water.' "the two esquimaux immediately set to work, and in less than an hour a hole about six feet deep was yawning in the middle of our floor. through this we set two lines, and our usual luck attended us immediately. we caught five or six excellent white-fish, and one or two trout, in the first half-hour, so that we were enabled to give the dogs a capital feed. moreover, we froze as many as we could carry along with us for future use; but we had not the satisfaction of having a good dinner of them that day, as we had no wood wherewith to make fire. you would have been greatly amused had you peeped in at the ice-window of our igloo that day, as we sat round the hole in the floor with eager, excited looks. i confess, however, that i left the work principally to the two men, who seemed to relish it amazingly. maximus was earnest and energetic, as he always is; but the expression of oolibuck's face underwent the most extraordinary transformations--now beaming with intense hope, as he felt, or thought he felt, a _tug_; anon blazing with excitement, while his body jerked as if a galvanic shock had assailed it, under the influence of a decided _pull_. then his visage was elongated as the fish escaped, and was again convulsed by another pull, or shone in triumph as he hauled the wriggling captive into the light of day. "towards evening the wind fell, and we resumed our journey. we were not again interrupted by weather for more than a week after this, but were much perplexed by the chains of small lakes into which we came. at last we reached clearwater lake, and had a long consultation as to the best course to pursue, because it was now a question whether we should follow the chain of lakes by which we came up to ungava in our canoes, or make a straight cut for the coast and take our chance of finding it. while we were yet uncertain what to do, our course was decided by a polar bear!" "a polar bear!" cried edith, in surprise. "ay; a polar bear and her cub settled the question for us, as you shall hear presently," replied frank. "but first hand me papa's tobacco-pouch, please, as my pipe is exhausted. "there, now," continued frank, re-lighting his pipe, and throwing a fresh log on the fire, "that's comfortable. well, as i said, we were somewhat perplexed as to what we should do, when, in wandering about the lake endeavouring to find the outlet, i came upon the track of a polar bear; and by the side of it were little foot-prints, which showed me that it was a she-bear with her cub. i observed that the tracks were quite fresh. "`now, then, maximus,' said i, pointing to the tracks, which went to the westward, `there is a sure guide who will conduct us by the quickest route to the coast.' i could tell this, eda, because i knew that the bear had found food rather scarce in those high regions, and would descend clearwater river in order to fish in the open water at the falls, which are very numerous in that river. on reaching the coast it would find plenty seals in the sea. in the meantime i had nothing to do but follow its track to be conducted by the shortest route to clearwater river, the commencement of which was difficult to find owing to the flatness of the margin of the lake at this end. away we went then, and, as i had expected, were soon led to the river, down the banks of which we scrambled, over rocks and crags, through bushes and snow, until we came to the coast at richmond gulf. "but it took us many weeks to accomplish the journey which i have briefly sketched thus far, and when we reached the coast, worn with hard travel, and our clothing uncomfortably ragged, the spring was well advanced--rivers were breaking up, ducks and geese were passing to the north, and there were thousands of deer, so that we found ourselves suddenly in the midst of abundance. just before reaching the gulf i witnessed the breaking up of a river, which was one of the grandest sights i ever saw. "the river was not a very large one. on reaching it we were much struck with a curious barrier of ice that was jammed across it. on examination i saw that the ice had given way some time before we arrived there, and an enormous cake, of many yards surface and fully six feet thick, had, while being hurled along by the swelling water, caught upon the rugged rocks and been tilted upon end. thus it formed a temporary barrier, against which other masses were forced until the outlet was completely checked, and the water began to rise with great rapidity. as we stood on the high cliff, looking down on the wild ravine in which this was going on, i heard a loud crack. in another instant the obstructing barrier burst like a thunderclap, and the pent-up waters leaped with one mighty roar into their accustomed channel! the devastation created was inconceivably grand. rocks of many tons weight were torn up, cast like playthings on the rushing ice, and hurled on the cliffs below, while trees, and ice, and water swept down the gorge in a mad whirl, that made my brain reel as i gazed at it. in an hour the worst of this awful scene was over, but the unutterable desolation that was left will remain for centuries, i believe, to tell of the mighty _rush_ that happened there. "our first experience of richmond gulf was not by any means pleasant. when we arrived it was covered with ice; but we did not know that, although it appeared to be solid enough, it was in reality little better than frozen sludge or foam. oolibuck happened to be walking first, with the line of his little sled over his shoulder. for a short distance we plodded on, intending to cross the gulf; but i was suddenly aroused from a reverie by a shout from maximus. looking hastily up, i beheld nothing of oolibuck except his head above the ice, while maximus was trying to pull him out by hauling at the tail-line of the sled. luckily oolibuck had kept fast hold of the line which was over his shoulder, and after much trouble we succeeded in dragging him out of the water. a sharp frost happened to have set in, and before we got back to the shore the poor fellow's garments were frozen so stiff that he could not run. "`this is a bad job, maximus,' said i; `we must carry him. do you lift his head, and i'll take the feet.' "`oh be queek! i is frizzen up,' cried oolibuck, casting a rueful look through his tangled locks, which were a mere mass of icicles! "maximus gave a loud chuckle, and before i could assist him he seized his comrade in his powerful arms, heaved him over his shoulder like a sack, and ran towards the shore as lightly as if his burden were a child instead of a big over-fed esquimau! "arrived at the woods, we wrapped oolibuck in our blankets; then we kindled a fire, and in two hours after his clothes were dried and himself ready to proceed. this might have turned out a more serious accident, however, and we felt very thankful when we had our damp companion steaming beside a good fire. the lesson was not thrown away, for we coasted round richmond gulf instead of attempting to cross it. "and now," continued frank, stirring the fire and re-lighting his pipe, which invariably went out at the interesting parts of his narrative--"now i come to that part of my story which bears on the fate of maximus. "as i have said, we had arrived at the coast, and began to look forward to moose fort as the first resting-place on our journey. by far the greater part of the journey lay before us, eda; for, according to my calculation, i have travelled since last spring a distance of three thousand miles, nearly a thousand of which have been performed on foot, upwards of a thousand in boats and canoes, and a thousand by sea; and in the whole distance i did not see a civilised spot of ground or a single road--not so much as a bridle-path. as bryan's favourite song has it-- "`over mountains and rivers i was pelted to shivers.' "but i'm happy to say i have not, as the same song continues, `met on this land with a wathery grave.' i was very near it once, however, as you shall hear. "well, away we went along the coast of james's bay, much relieved to think that the mountains were now past, and that our road henceforth, whatever else it might be, was level. one evening, as we were plodding wearily along, after a hard day's march over soft snow alternated with sandy beach--for the spring was fast advancing--we came suddenly on a camp of indians. at first i thought they must be some of the moose indians, but on inquiry i found that they were a party of muskigons, who had wandered all over east main, and seemed to be of a roving, unsettled disposition. however, we determined to encamp along with them for that night, and get all the information we could out of them in regard to their hunting-grounds. "we spent a great part of the night in the leathern wigwam of the principal chief, who was a sinister-looking old rascal, though i must say he received us hospitably enough, and entertained us with a good deal of small-talk, after time and the pipe had worn away his reserve. but i determined to spend part of the night in the tent of a solitary old woman who had recently been at moose fort, and from whom i hoped to hear some news of our friends there. you know i have had always a partiality for miserable old wives, eda; which accounts, perhaps, for my liking for you! this dame had been named old moggy by the people at moose; and she was the most shrivelled, dried-up, wrinkled old body you ever saw. she was testy too; but this was owing to the neglect she experienced at the hands of her tribe. she was good-tempered by nature, however; a fact which became apparent the longer i conversed with her. "`well, old moggy,' said i, on entering her tent, `what cheer, what cheer?' "`there's no cheer here,' she replied peevishly, in the indian tongue. "`nay, then,' said i, `don't be angry, mother; here's a bit o' baccy to warm your old heart. but who is this you have got beside you?' i asked, on observing a good-looking young girl, with a melancholy cast of countenance, seated in a dark corner of the wigwam, as if she sought concealment. i observed that she was whiter than indians usually are, and supposed at first that she was a half-breed girl; but a second glance convinced me that she had little if any of the indian blood in her veins. "`she is my only friend,' said old moggy, her dark eye brightening as she glanced towards the girl. `she was to have been my son's wife, but the great spirit took my son away. she is all that is left to me now.' "the old woman's voice trembled as she spoke the last few words, and she spread her skinny hands over the small fire that smouldered in the centre of the floor. "i was proceeding to make further inquiries into this girl's history, when the curtain-door of the tent was raised and oolibuck thrust in his shaggy head. "`please, sir, de ole chief him wants baccy. i have smoke all mine. vill you give some?' "`here you are,' said i, throwing a lump to the esquimau. `send maximus to me; i want to speak with him.' "`i is here,' said maximus, outside the tent. "`ah! that's right.--now, old moggy, i'll be back in a few minutes, so don't go to sleep till i return.' "as i was about to issue from the tent, the young girl passed me hastily, and, drawing the hood over her head and face, darted through the opening. i found maximus gazing after her in surprise. "`hallo, maximus! what's wrong? do you think the girl's a witch?' "`no; but i t'ink she be funny. she look close into my face, and fly 'way when you come hout o' tent.' "`that's odd. did you ever see her before?' "`i not see her yet. she keep face covered up.' "`well, come along, it doesn't signify. i want you to go with me to the chief's wigwam, to ask where we are to put the dogs for the night, and to see about our own quarters.' "old moggy's wigwam stood at the distance of several hundred yards from the other tents of the village, from which it was separated by a belt of stunted trees and willows. through this copsewood maximus and i took our way, following one of the many beaten tracks made by the indians. the night was clear, and we found no difficulty in picking our steps among the low shrubs. when we were about half-way through this wood, i observed a female form gliding among the bushes. she ran towards maximus, who walked in advance and concealed me with his bulky form. but a slight bend in the road revealed my figure, and the woman paused, as if uncertain what to do. "`surely that is your unknown friend again,' said i, as we both halted. then i beckoned her to approach. at first she appeared unwilling to do so; but suddenly she seemed to change her mind, and walking boldly up to maximus, she threw back her hood and stood before him. i observed that she was moggy's young friend, but a wondrous change had come over her. the pale cheeks were now covered with a bright blush, and the sad eyes were sparkling with animation, as she gazed intently into the face of the esquimau. for a few seconds maximus looked like one thunder-struck. `aneetka!' he exclaimed vehemently, and, striding forward with a suppressed cry, clasped the girl in his arms. "you may easily conceive my surprise at this scene. immediately the recollection of the attack by the indians on the esquimau camp, and of maximus's young bride having been carried off, flashed upon me, and i had no doubt that the esquimau girl now stood before me. indeed, the fact of the broken exclamations uttered by the pair being in the esquimau tongue put this beyond a doubt. a feeling of great delight filled my heart as i looked upon the couple thus unexpectedly reunited; while they, quite oblivious of my presence, poured out a flood of question and reply, in the midst of which they ever and anon embraced, to make sure, no doubt, of their physical identity. then it suddenly occurred to me that i was behaving very ill, so i wheeled about and sauntered away to a little distance in the direction of the shore, in order to take some astronomical observations of the sky, and gaze inquiringly up at the moon, which at that moment broke through a bank of clouds, tipping the icebergs on the sea and the branches of the overhanging trees with silver light. "in quarter of an hour maximus came to me and presented his long-lost bride, aneetka, whose pretty face beamed with joy, while her lover's frame appeared to expand with felicity until he looked like an exaggerated hercules. but we had no time to waste in talking of the past. the present required our instant and earnest attention; so we sat down on the stem of a fallen tree to consult as to how we were to get aneetka out of the hands of her indian captors. her brief history, after she was captured at ungava, was as follows:-- "the indian who had intended to make her his bride found her resolved rather to die than to marry him; but hoping that time would overcome her objection, he placed her under the care of his widowed mother, old moggy, on returning to his village in the interior. soon afterwards this indian was killed by a brown bear, and the poor mother became a sort of outcast from the tribe, having no relations to look after her. she was occasionally assisted, however, by two youths, who came to sue for the hand of the esquimau girl. but aneetka, true to her first love, would not listen to their proposals. one of these lovers was absent on a hunting expedition at the time we discovered aneetka; the other, a surly fellow, and disliked by the most of his comrades, was in the camp. from the day of her son's death, a feeling of sympathy had sprung up between old moggy and the esquimau girl, and this had gradually strengthened into affection. "thus matters stood when we fell in with her. after much deliberation, it was resolved that i should go to the old chief and tell him that old moggy and her adopted child wished to quit the tribe and go to moose with us, to live there; while aneetka should go and acquaint her old protectress with our plans and her own altered circumstances. "`adieu, then, aneetka,' said i, as the girl pushed her lover away and bounded into the woods.--`now, maximus, nothing will do for it but stout hearts and strong arms. come along, lad.' "i found, to my surprise, that the old chief had no objection to the arrangement i proposed. a few of the others did not seem inclined to part with their captive; but i explained to them the advantage it would be to them to have friends at court, as it were, and said that the fur-traders would be glad to support moggy in her old age--which was true enough, for you all know as well as i do that there is not a post in the country where there are not one or more old or otherwise helpless indians supported gratuitously by the hudson's bay company. the only man who resolutely opposed the proposal was meestagoosh, the rejected lover; but i silenced him in a novel manner. he was a tall, powerful fellow, of about my own size. "`come,' said i to his assembled comrades, in the indian language, for i found they understood my bad mixture of cree and sauteaux very well--`come, friends, let us deal fairly in this matter. my man there has taken a fancy to the girl--let meestagoosh and maximus wrestle for her.' "a loud laugh greeted this proposal, as the indians surveyed the huge proportions of my esquimau. "`well, then,' i continued, `if meestagoosh is afraid of the esquimau, i have no objections to try him myself.' the indian looked at me with an angry glance, and seemed, i thought, half inclined to accept the challenge; so, to cut the matter short, i took him by the throat and hurled him to the ground--a feat which was evidently enjoyed by his countrymen. "meestagoosh rose and retired with a savage scowl on his face, and i saw no more of him. indeed, i believe he left the camp immediately. "after this no opposition was offered, and i made the matter sure by distributing a large quantity of powder, shot, and tobacco to the chiefs. old moggy made no objection to our plan, so we set out the next day with an additional dog purchased from the indians in order to make our team strong enough to haul the old woman when she got knocked up with walking. six days brought us to moose fort, just as the ice on the river was breaking up. here, as i have already told you, maximus and aneetka were married in due form by the wesleyan missionary, after they had received some instruction and expressed their desire to become christians. then they were supplied with a canoe and all necessary provisions, and sent off to go round the coast to ungava, accompanied by our good dog chimo, for whom we had now no further use, and by old moggy, who would not consent to be separated from her friend aneetka. they started along the coast on a fine spring day, and the back of his sealskin coat, shining in the sun's rays like velvet, as the canoe swept out to sea, and disappeared behind a low point, was the last that i saw of maximus. "i will not weary you just now," continued frank, "with the details of my subsequent journeying, as, although full of incidents, nothing of a very thrilling character occurred except once. at moose i remained till the rivers were clear of ice, and then set off into the interior of the country with a small canoe and five men, oolibuck being bowsman. for many days we voyaged by rivers and lakes, until we arrived at the michipicoten river, which is a very rough one, and full of tremendous falls and rapids. one day, while we were descending a rapid that rushed through a dark gorge of frowning rocks, and terminated in a fall, our canoe was broken in two, and the most of us thrown into the water. we all swam ashore in safety, with the exception of one man, who clung to the canoe, poor fellow, and was carried along with it over the fall. we never saw him more, although we searched long and carefully for his body. "we now found ourselves in a very forlorn condition. we were dripping wet, without the means of making a fire, and without provisions or blankets, in the midst of a wild, uninhabited country. however, we did not lose heart, but set off on foot to follow the river to its mouth, where we knew we should find relief at michipicoten fort. the few days that followed were the most miserable i ever passed. we allayed the cravings of hunger by scraping off the inner bark of the trees, and by a few of last year's berries which had been frozen and so preserved. once or twice we crossed the river on rafts of drift-wood, and at night lay down close to each other under the shelter of a tree or cliff. at length we arrived at the fort on lake superior, quite worn out with fatigue and starvation. here we waited until the canoes from canada passed; and after a somewhat similar voyage, through woods, rivers, and lakes, arrived at length, about the beginning of autumn, at york fort, on hudson's bay. "here i spent some weeks in recalling to memory and recording on paper the contents of my dispatches, which had been lost, along with our canoe and baggage, in michipicoten river; and when these were finished and delivered, i embarked, along with our outfit of goods, in the _beaver_, and sailed for ungava. i need scarcely add that the voyage was a prosperous one, and that the brightest day in it all was that on which we found the boat, with our dear little edith, beset among the ice near the entrance to ungava bay." while frank was thus occupied in narrating the events of his long journey in the hall of fort chimo, oolibuck was similarly employed in entertaining the men. after the day's toil of unloading the ship was over, he was placed in the middle of the circle, directly in front of the blazing fire, by dick prince and massan; while moses, oostesimow, gaspard, and ma-istequan sat on his right; and bryan, la roche, francois, and augustus supported him on the left--all having pipes in their mouths, which were more or less blackened by constant use. a pipe was then handed to oolibuck, and the order given, generally by bryan, "to blaze away." this the oily-visaged esquimau did with right good-will; and the shouts of laughter which issued from the house occasionally, as he proceeded with his interminable narration, proved that the spirit and humour of the stout voyageur had not been crushed by the trials and dangers of his long, eventful journey. chapter thirty five. a stirring period in the life of maximus. intermingled joy and sorrow is the lot of man. thus it has ever been; thus, no doubt, it shall continue to be until the present economy shall have reached its termination. "shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" is a sufficient reply to those who would fain have it otherwise. but, independently of this view of the subject, may we not, with the painter's eye, regard joy as the light, sorrow as the shade, in the picture of life? and who would have a painting _all_ light or _all_ shadow? maximus found it so in his experience. the shadows in the picture of his life had of late been broad and dark, but a flash of vivid brilliancy had crossed it when he found his bride. afterwards the light and shade were chequered, as we shall see. on leaving moose, maximus proceeded a day's journey along the coast, and at night, as the weather was fine, he encamped with his wife and old moggy and chimo on the open seashore. here he held a consultation as to their future proceedings. as long as they were on the shore of james's bay they were in danger of being found by indians; but once beyond richmond gulf they would be comparatively safe, and in the land of the esquimaux. after mature deliberation it was resolved that they should travel during the night, and rest and cook their food during the daytime, when a fire would not be so likely to attract attention if kindled in sequestered places. this plan answered very well, and they passed stealthily along the coast when the indians, if there were any there, were buried in repose. on approaching the camp of the tribe, however, from whom aneetka had been taken, maximus deemed it advisable to paddle far out to sea--the weather being fortunately calm--and to rest for a day and a night as well as they could in their frail bark. maximus sat in the stern of the canoe and steered; his wife sat in the bow and paddled day after day as vigorously as if she had been a man. as for poor old moggy, she sat in the middle and paddled a little when she felt cold; but she slept during the greater part of the journey. chimo conceived it to be his duty to enjoy himself, and did so accordingly, at all times and in every possible way. during that livelong day and night, and all the following day, the giant's arm never flagged; aneetka, too, rested only once or twice at the earnest request of her husband; but the little bark never once slackened its speed until the second night. then old moggy was awakened. "mother," said aneetka, who acted as interpreter between her husband and the old woman, "we want to sleep for an hour or two. you seem to have rested well. will you wake and watch?" the old woman yawned, rubbed her eyes, and assented, after the question had been twice repeated. then laying their heads on opposite sides of the canoe, without otherwise changing their positions, the husband and wife sank into repose. two hours afterwards the old indian woman, who had remained motionless as a dark statue all the time, uttered a slight sound. instantly the sleepers awoke, for those who are in the midst of danger sleep lightly. "it is time to go on," said the old woman, as she lay back again in her lair, rolled herself up into a bundle, and went to sleep. maximus and his wife resumed their paddles, and the light craft glided swiftly on its way to the far north. as the sun rose they neared the land, and soon after they were seated not far from a high cliff, eating their breakfast beside a small fire, which sent so thin a column of smoke into the air that it was almost dissipated ere it reached the tree-tops. it was hoped that the indians had been now so far overshot that there was no danger of even a straggler being near them. but they took the precaution to load their two guns with ball, and lean them against a tree within reach of their hands. when the meal was over, maximus retired from the fire a few paces, and throwing himself at full length on the green moss beneath a tree, he fell into a sound sleep. he had not lain thus more than quarter of an hour when he was startled by the report of a gun, which was followed by a wild scream and a chorus of unearthly yells. at the same instant, and ere he could attempt to rise, his legs and arms were pinioned to the ground by four powerful indians. for an instant maximus was paralysed. then the terrible reality of his position, the scream of aneetka, and the sight of the thong with which his captors were about to bind him, caused his spirit to rebound with a degree of violence that lent him for the moment the strength of a giant. with a shout, in which even a tone of contempt seemed to mingle the esquimau hurled his captors right and left, and sprang to his feet. the indians fled; but one, who was a moment later in rising than the others, received a blow that felled him instantly. maximus glanced quickly round in search of his wife, and observed her being hurried away by two indians. as the arrow leaps from the bow the esquimau sprang forward in pursuit. the indians saw him coming. in bitter anger they prepared to let her go and fly, for having dropped their guns in the scuffle they were unable to fire upon their approaching foe. but there were other indians in the bush whose weapons were levelled at the breast of maximus, and the next moment would have been his last, but for a stone thrown from the cliffs above, which struck him on the forehead and stretched him bleeding and insensible upon the ground. when maximus recovered from the effects of the blow, he found himself lying on the cold earth in total darkness, and firmly bound hand and foot. it is impossible to describe the agony of that bold spirit as he lay writhing on the ground, in the vain effort to burst the cords that bound him. he thought of aneetka and his own utter helplessness, while she was, no doubt, in urgent need of his strong arm to deliver her. the thought maddened him, and again he strove in vain to burst his fetters, and yelled aloud in despair. the echoing rocks gave back his cry, and then all was silence. the dreadful thought now flashed across him that the indians had buried him alive in some dark cavern, and brave though he was, he trembled in every limb with agony. thus maximus lay until the grey dawn shone in upon him, and showed that he was in a cave. scarcely had he noted this fact when the figure of a man darkened the cave's mouth and approached him. as the indian bent over his helpless foe he revealed the savage features of meestagoosh. for an instant he cast a look of mingled hatred and triumph on his enemy; then drawing a scalping-knife from his girdle, he stooped and cut the thong that bound his feet, at the same time signing to him to rise, for he knew that maximus did not understand indian. the esquimau obeyed, and was led by the indian through the woods towards the cliff where the struggle of the previous night had taken place. here they came suddenly into view of the indian camp. there were no tents: several green blankets that lay on the moss under the trees indicated where the party had lain during the night; and at a considerable distance apart from these sat old moggy, with her face buried in her skinny hands. beside her stood aneetka, with a calm but slightly anxious expression on her pale countenance. chimo was held in a leash by an indian. from the fact of the indians being without tents or women, and having their faces daubed with red paint, besides being armed with knives, guns, and tomahawks, maximus concluded that they composed a war party. on seeing her husband, aneetka uttered a suppressed cry and bounded towards him; but ere she had proceeded two paces an indian laid his hand on her arm, and led her back to where the old woman sat. meestagoosh led maximus to the same spot, and having confronted him with his wife, he said to the latter,--"now, she-bear of the north, translate between us. if i think you tell lies, the dogs shall have your bones to pick." aneetka replied meekly, "you cannot hurt one hair of our heads unless the great spirit permit you." "we shall see," retorted the indian with a scornful laugh. "tell the polar bear," continued meestagoosh, in a contemptuous tone, "that i did not expect to catch him so soon. i have been fortunate. it was kind of him to come in my way, and to bring his she-bear with him. tell him that i and my braves are going to pay a visit to his nation, to take a few scalps. i let him know this piece of good news because he will never know it from his friends, as he shall be food for dog very soon." on this being translated, the face of maximus assumed an expression of deep gravity mingled with sadness. his mind flew to the far north, and he thought of the midnight assault and the death-cry of women and children. the nature of the esquimau was too noble and generous to be easily ruffled by the contemptuous tone of such a man as meestagoosh; but his heart sank within him when he thought of the power as well as the will that the indian had to put his threat into execution. "tell him," said maximus quietly, "that i have no wish to talk with him, but remind him that indians are not gods; they are men." "yes, he says truly," retorted meestagoosh, "the indians are men, but esquimaux are dogs." while this conversation was going on, and the indians were intent upon the scene, old moggy, who was not deemed worthy of being noticed, contrived unobserved to possess herself of a knife, and springing suddenly towards maximus with an agility of which she seemed utterly incapable, she endeavoured to cut the thongs that bound his arms. her hand was caught, however, by meestagoosh, in time to frustrate her intention. without deigning a word of remark, the indian struck her a heavy blow on the cheek with the back of his open hand, which nearly stunned her. staggering backward, she fell upon the ground with a low wail. the bosom of maximus felt as if it would burst with rage. before any one could prevent him, he raised his foot and struck meestagoosh so violently on the chest that he fell as if he had been shot. in a moment he recovered, drew his knife, and springing like an infuriated tiger at his enemy, drove it with deadly force at his throat. fortunately the arms of maximus were tied in front of him, so that by raising them he was enabled to guard his chest and receive the stab on his wrist. the knife passed quite through the fleshy part of his left arm, but in doing so it severed one of the cords that bound him. thought is not quicker than the mighty wrench with which the esquimau burst the remaining cord and dashed his opponent to the ground. before the astonished indians could level their guns, maximus had seized aneetka in his arms and was bounding madly towards the cliff, which was not more than fifty yards distant. every gun poured forth its deadly contents before he gained it; but his very nearness to the indians seemed to contribute to his safety, and the suddenness of his flight rendered their hasty aim uncertain. in another moment he was round the point and behind the sheltering cliff, while the indians uttered a terrific yell and darted forward in pursuit. just about thirty paces beyond the point of the cliff that hid him for a few moments from view was the cave in which maximus had spent the night. quick as thought he sprang up the steep short ascent that led to its narrow entrance and darted in. scarcely had he placed aneetka behind a projection that formed an ample shelter at the mouth of the cave, when chimo, who had broken from his captors, also darted in and crouched at his master's feet. meanwhile the indians came sweeping round the point, and seeing by the entrance of the dog where the fugitives had taken shelter, they bounded up the ascent. the first who reached the cave's mouth rashly passed the entrance. ere he could fire his piece he received a blow from the fist of the esquimau that fractured his skull, hurled him down the steep ascent, and dashed him against his comrades in the rear. this sudden repulse effectually checked the indians, who are notoriously bad at storming. indeed they would never have ventured to enter the cave in this manner had they not known that maximus was totally unarmed. withdrawing to a distance of about forty yards, the indians now formed in a line, and loading their guns, fired volley after volley into the cave's mouth. but maximus and his wife crouched with the dog behind the ledge of rock at the entrance, and remained there in perfect safety. in a few minutes the indians ceased firing, and one of their number cautiously approached the cave, supposing, no doubt, that the fusillade must have wounded if it had not killed those within; but the instant he passed the entrance, knife in hand, he was caught in the powerful arms of maximus and hurled down the slope. a yell of indignation from the indians followed this feat, and another volley was fired into the cave, but without effect; and the savages, seeing that it was impossible in this way to dislodge their foe, assembled in a group to consult. meanwhile old moggy had made good use of the opportunity thus afforded her to effect her escape. she darted into the bushes and made for the rocky ground in the rear of the camp. in doing so she happened to pass the tree against which leaned the two guns belonging to her friends. they had escaped notice during the _melee_ of the previous day, and, with the shot-belts and powder-horns, remained where they had been placed when she and her companions landed. the old woman eagerly seized these, and clambered with them over the rocks at a rate that would have done credit to more youthful limbs. on reaching a ridge of rock that overlooked the cave where maximus was sheltered, old moggy became aware of how matters stood. she could also see, from her elevated position, that a track, or the bed of a dried-up watercourse, led through the bushes towards the cave. without a moment's delay she descended it; but, on drawing near to the cave, she found that there was a barren spot of about thirty yards in extent between the place of refuge and the edge of the bushes. this open space was completely exposed to the view of the natives, who at that time were firing across it into the cavern; for, after their consultation, they had changed their position and renewed the fusillade. moggy was now in despair. she knew that it would be impossible to pass the open ground without being shot, and she also felt certain that, when the indians found their present attempts were fruitless, they would resort to others, in prosecuting which they would in all probability discover her. while she meditated thus, she looked earnestly towards the cave, and observed the astonished gaze of maximus fixed upon her; for, from his position behind the ledge of rock, he could see the old woman without exposing himself to the indians. while they gazed at each other a thought occurred to old moggy. she made a series of complicated signs, which, after frequent repetition, were understood by maximus to mean that he was to expose himself to the view of the indians. instantly comprehending her meaning, the esquimau stepped boldly from his place of concealment and shook his fist contemptuously in the face of his enemies. a shower of bullets and a yell of rage followed the act. this was just what old moggy had expected and desired. not a gun remained undischarged, and before they could reload, she passed quickly over the open ground and bounded into the cave, where she turned and shook aloft the two guns with a hoarse laugh of triumph ere she sought the shelter of the ledge of rock. the indians were so filled with fury at being thus outwitted by an old woman, that they forgot for a moment their usual caution, and rushed in a body up the slope; but ere they had accomplished half the distance two of their number fell, to rise no more. this was sufficient to check their career. howling with baffled rage, and without waiting to pick up their fallen comrades, they darted right and left to seek the shelter of the bushes, for they could no longer remain in the open ground, now that their enemies were armed. for nearly an hour after this all was silence. maximus and his companions could only form conjectures as to the movements of the indians, for none of them were to be seen. however, as they had no resource but to remain in their retreat until night-fall, they endeavoured to make the place as comfortable as possible, and busied themselves in cleaning their arms. it happened that from the cave's mouth they could see their canoe, which still lay on the beach where they had originally left it; and, while they were looking at it, they perceived one of the indians stealing down towards it. fortunately maximus had a gun in his hand ready loaded, and the instant the indian appeared he fired and shot him. no second indian dared to venture towards the little craft, although it lay only a few yards distant from the edge of the forest; for they knew that the watchful eye of the esquimau was upon them, and that instant death would be the fate of him who should make the attempt. the little canoe now became an object of intense interest to both parties. the indians knew that if their foe should succeed in reaching it he could easily escape. this, of course, he could not hope to do as long as daylight lasted; nor even when night should arrive, unless it were a very dark one. but, on the other hand, they knew that they did not dare to venture near it so long as there was sufficient light to enable maximus to take aim at them with his deadly gun. both parties, therefore, remained silent and apparently inactive during the remainder of the day. but the busy brains both of indians and esquimaux were, during this weary interval, employed in planning how to circumvent each other. as the shades of night deepened, each became more watchful. once only did maximus move from his post, in order to go to the farther end of the cave, where the large powder-horn had been placed for safety. as he did so, chimo, who was tied to a rock, tried to follow him, and on finding that he was restrained, uttered a loud, mournful howl. this cry sent a thrill to the heart of maximus, for it immediately occurred to him that any attempt to leave the cave stealthily would instantly be intimated to the watchful foe by the dog, and to take chimo with them was impossible. "the dog must die," said old moggy, who divined at once what was passing in the man's mind. maximus shook his head sadly. "i cannot kill chimo," he said to aneetka; "he is edith's dog." aneetka made no reply, for she felt the power of her husband's objection to injure the dog of his little favourite; yet she could not but perceive that the cry--which was invariably repeated when any of the party moved away from the animal--would betray them in the moment of danger. nothing further was said for some time, but old moggy, who had no tender reminiscences or feelings in regard to the dog, proceeded quietly and significantly to construct a running-noose on the stout thong of leather that encircled her waist and served as a sash. while she was thus engaged the sun's last rays faded away and the night began to deepen around them. to the satisfaction of both parties the sky was draped with heavy clouds, which gave promise of a night of intense darkness. this was absolutely essential not only to the indians but to maximus, who had at length formed a plan by which he hoped to turn the dreaded cry of the dog to good account, although he had little hope of saving it from the indians, should he succeed in escaping with the women. as the night grew darker he began to put this plan in execution. taking his station at the entrance of the cave, he took a long and steady aim at the bow of the canoe, which could now be only seen dimly. having adjusted the gun to his satisfaction he marked its position exactly on the rock, so that, when the canoe should be entirely hid from sight, he could make certain of hitting any object directly in front of it. then he ordered moggy and his wife to keep moving about the cave, so that the howling of chimo should be kept up continually, and thus not appear unusual when they should really forsake the cave and attempt their escape. in order to show that he was still on the alert, he shortly after aimed at the canoe, which was now quite invisible, and fired. the effect was more startling than had been expected. a death-cry rent the air and mingled with the reverberations of the shot, proving that it had taken deadly effect on one of the indians, who, under cover of the darkness, had ventured to approach the coveted canoe. a volley was instantly fired in the direction of the cave from various parts of the bushes, but without effect. maximus now kept up a continued fire, sometimes discharging a succession of rapid shots, at other times firing at irregular intervals of from three to ten minutes. this he did purposely, with a view to his future plans. in the meantime the dog was made to keep up a continuous howling. "now, aneetka," said maximus, as the ring of his last shot died away, "go, and may the great spirit guide thee!" without a word of reply, the two women glided noiselessly like shadows into the thick darkness. about two minutes after they had disappeared, maximus again fired several shots, taking care, however, to point considerably to the right of the canoe. then he ceased for three minutes, and again fired several shots irregularly. at the last shot he passed from the cave so silently and quickly that even chimo was deceived, and snuffed the air for a moment ere it renewed its sad wailing. in less than two minutes the esquimau had glided, with the noiseless tread of a panther, to the spot where the canoe lay. here he found his wife and the old woman crouching beside it. the water's edge was about ten yards distant. a few seconds would suffice to lift the light bark in his powerful arms and launch it. aneetka and the old woman, who had already received minute instructions what to do, had glided quietly into the sea the instant maximus touched them; for, as we have said, it was intensely dark and they could not see a yard before them. the women now stood up to the knees in water, with their paddles in their hands ready to embark. stooping down, the esquimau seized the canoe; but, just as he was about to lift it, he observed a tall dark object close to his side. "wah!" whispered the indian, "you are before me. quick! the esquimau dog will fire again." the words of the indian were cut short by the iron gripe of maximus on his throat, and the next instant he was felled by a blow that would have stunned an ox. so decided and quick was the action that it was not accompanied by more noise than might have been caused by the indian endeavouring to lift the canoe, so that his comrades were not alarmed. next moment the canoe was in the water. but the long silence, which had now been unbroken for eight or ten minutes, except by the howling of chimo in the cave, began to arouse the suspicion of the red men; and no sooner was this the case than they glided from the bushes in all directions with noiseless tread. in a second or two the body of their fallen comrade was discovered, and a yell of fury rent the air (for concealment was now unnecessary), while they dashed into the water in pursuit. the darkness favoured the fugitives for a few seconds, and enabled the women to embark; but just as maximus was about to step into his place, meestagoosh seized him by the throat! maximus was possessed of that ready presence of mind and prompt energy of character which are so necessary to a warrior, especially to him who wars with the prowling and stealthy savage. almost in the same instant he gave the canoe a shove that sent it bounding out to sea, and raised his hand to catch the invisible arm which he knew must be descending with the deadly knife towards his heart. he succeeded so far that, although he did not arrest it, he turned the blow aside, receiving only a slight wound on the shoulder. ere it could be repeated, he dealt his adversary a blow on the forehead, and hurled him back insensible into the water. the esquimau immediately glided out into deep water; and now, for the first time in his life, he felt keenly the disadvantage of not being able to swim. this is an art which the inhabitants of the icy seas have never acquired, owing probably to the shortness of the season of open water, and the intense cold of the ice-laden seas, even in summer. the indians, on the contrary, who live beside the warm lakes and rivers of the interior, are many of them pretty expert swimmers. thus it happened that maximus was obliged to stand up to his neck in the water, not daring to move or utter a sound, while his friends and foes alike sought in vain for him in the darkness. while he stood thus, uncertain how to act, he heard the water rippling near to him, and distinguished the hard breathing of a swimmer. soon he observed a dark head making straight towards him. a sarcastic smile played for a moment on the face of the gigantic esquimau, as he thought of the ease with which he should crush his approaching foe; and his hand was already raised to strike when it was arrested by a low whine, and the next moment chimo was endeavouring to clamber upon his shoulder! it instantly occurred to maximus that he might turn the dog's swimming powers to good account. seizing chimo by the flanks with both hands, he turned its head out to sea, and keeping it in that position, was dragged into deep water. when he had been thus conveyed what appeared to be about fifty yards, he uttered a low cry. he was heard by the indians as well as by those in the canoe; but the latter happened to be nearer to the spot, and a few strokes of the paddles sent them alongside of their comrade, who quickly caught the stern of the bark. the women plied their paddles, the esquimau gave a shout of triumph, and half immersed in the water, was dragged away from shore. a yell of anger, and, soon after, a desultory discharge of firearms, told that the indians had given up the chase. but it was now a question how maximus was to be got into the canoe. the frail bark was so crank that a much lighter weight than that of the burly esquimau would have upset it easily; and as the stern was sharp, there was no possibility of climbing over it. this was a matter of considerable anxiety, for the water was excessively cold, being laden with ice out at sea. while in this dilemma, the canoe grated on a rock, and it was discovered that in the dark they had well-nigh run against a low cape that jutted far out from the land at this part of the coast. here maximus and the dog landed, and while the one shook its wet sides, the other wrung the moisture from his garments; after which necessary operation he leaped, with his canine friend, into the canoe, and they pushed well out to sea. when daylight returned, they were far beyond the reach of their indian enemies. chapter thirty six. happy meetings and joyous feastings--love, marriage, desertion, desolation, and conclusion. after the escape narrated in the last chapter, the stout esquimau and his companions travelled in safety; for they had passed the country of the indians, and were now near the lands of their own people. but if maximus had not now to fight with men, he was not exempted from doing fierce battle with the elements of these inhospitable climes. for hundreds of miles he travelled along the east coast of hudson's bay and the southern shores of the straits, now driven ashore by the storm, anon interrupted by drift-ice, and obliged to carry his canoe for miles and miles on his shoulders, while the faithful aneetka trudged by his side, happy as the day was long; for, although her load was necessarily a heavy one, her love for maximus made it rest lighter than the eider-down that floated from her fingers when she plucked the wild birds for their evening meal. moggy, too, waddled along after her own fashion, with a resolution and energy that said much for her strength and constitution. she only carried the light paddles and a few trifling articles that did not incommode her much. during the spring and summer and autumn they pursued their arduous journey, living from hand to mouth on the produce of their guns, nets, seal-spears, and fishing-lines, which generally supplied them with enough for their daily wants, sometimes with abundance, but not unfrequently with just sufficient to keep them alive. three or four times they met with esquimaux, and rendered essential service to them, and to the fur-traders, by telling them of the new fort at ungava, recounting the wonders of the store there, and assuring them that the chief desire of the traders, after getting their furs, was to do them good, and bring about friendly intercourse between them and the indians. late in the autumn the three voyageurs drew near to ungava bay, and in passing along the coast opposite to the island on which edith had spent the winter, they overtook annatock and his whole tribe, with a flotilla of oomiaks and kayaks, on their way to the same place. at the mouth of the bay they were joined by the esquimaux of false river, who were carrying supplies of seal-blubber to the fort for the use of the dogs in winter, and a few deerskins to trade. it was a bright and beautiful autumn afternoon (a rare blessing in that dreary clime) when they passed the narrows of the river, and came in sight of fort chimo. on that day an unusually successful deer-hunt had taken place, and the fiddle had, as bryan expressed it, been "sarved out" to the men, for the purpose of rejoicing their hearts with sweet sounds. on that day a small band of indians had arrived with a rich and unusually large stock of furs, among which there were one or two silver foxes and a choice lot of superb martens. this tended to gladden the heart of stanley; and truly he needed such encouragement. at one of the company's inland trading-posts such a bundle of furs would have been received as a matter of common occurrence; but it was otherwise with the poverty-stricken ungava, from which so much had been expected before its dreary, barren character was known. on that day, too, a picturesque iceberg had grounded near the fort at high water, and frank took edith in the small canoe to paddle her among its peaked and fantastic fragments. "you will be steersman and sit in the stern, eda," said frank, as they embarked. "i will stand in the bow and keep you clear of ice-tongues." "how beautiful!" exclaimed the delighted child, as their light craft glided in and out among the icy pinnacles which overhung them in some places as they passed. "don't you hear a strange noise, frank?" truly frank did hear a strange noise, and beheld a strange sight, for at that moment the esquimau flotilla passed the narrows and swept round the bay; while the natives, excited by their unusual numbers and the unexpected return of maximus, yelled and screamed and threw about their arms in a manner that defies description. "there must be strangers among them," said frank, as he paddled towards the shore; "they are too numerous for our friends of false river." "that seems to be an indian canoe coming on ahead," remarked stanley, who, along with his wife and most of the men, had hurried to the beach on hearing the shouts of the approaching multitude. "can it be possible?" exclaimed frank, as the canoe drew near; "does it not look like maximus--eh?" "oh! o-o-o-oh! there's chimo!" screamed edith, her eyes dancing with mingled amazement and delight. the dog in his anxiety to reach the shore had leaped into the water; but he had miscalculated his powers of swimming, for the canoe instantly darted ahead. however, he was close on the heels of maximus. "give him a chare, bays," cried bryan, as he ran down to the beach waving a large hammer round his head. "now thin, hooray!" the appeal was responded to with heartfelt energy by the whole party, as their old comrade sprang from the canoe, and leaving his wife to look after herself, ran toward stanley and frank and grasped them warmly by the hands, while his huge face beamed with emotion. "i hope that's your wife you've brought with you, maximus," said stanley. "i can answer for that," said frank; "i know her pretty face well." "ah! le poor chien," cried la roche; "it vill eat miss edith, i ver' much b'lieve, voila!" this seemed not unlikely, for the joy manifested by poor chimo at the sight of his young mistress was of a most outrageous character, insomuch that the child was nearly overturned by the dog's caresses. "musha! what have ye got there, maximus?" said bryan, who had been gazing for some time past in solemn wonder at the figure of old moggy, who, regardless of the noise and excitement around her, was quietly carrying the goods and chattels from the canoe to the beach. "shure ye've found yer ould grandmother. she's the mortial parsonification of my own mother. faix if it wasn't that her proboscis is a taste longer, i'd swear it was herself." at this point massan stepped forward and took maximus by the arm. "come along, lad; there's too much row here for a comfortable palaver; bring your wife wi' you. ye've run out o' baccy, now? of coorse ye have. come, then, to the house; i'll fill yer pipe and pouch, too, boy.--see after his canoe, la roche; and bring the old ooman, bryan." "mind yer own consarns an' let yer shupariors proceed ye," said bryan, as he shoved past, and tucking old moggy's arm within his own, marched off in triumph to the fort. meanwhile, the main body of esquimaux had landed, and the noise and confusion on the shore were so great that scarcely an intelligible sound could be heard. in the midst of all this, and while yet engaged in caressing chimo, edith felt some one pluck her by the sleeve, and on looking round she beheld the smiling faces of her old friends arnalooa and okatook. scarcely had she bestowed a hearty welcome on them, when she was startled by an ecstatic yell of treble laughter close to her ear; and turning quickly round, she beheld the oily visage of kaga with the baby--_the_ baby--in her hood, stark naked, and revelling in mirth as if that emotion of the mind were its native element--as indeed it was, if taken in connection with seal-fat. scarcely had she recovered from her delight at this meeting, when she was again startled by a terrific shout, and immediately after peetoot performed a violent dance around her, expressive of unutterable joy, and finished off by suddenly seizing her in his arms, after which he fled, horrified at his own presumption. to escape from this scene of confusion the traders returned to the fort, having directed the esquimaux to pitch their camp on the point below; after which they were to assemble in the yard, for the double purpose of palavering and receiving a present of tobacco. that night was spent by the inhabitants of fort chimo in rejoicing. in her own little room edith entertained a select tea-party, composed of arnalooa, okatook, peetoot, chimo, and the baby; and really it would be difficult to say which of them made most noise or which behaved most obstreperously. upon mature consideration we think that chimo behaved best; but that, all things considered, is not saying much for him. we rather think the baby behaved worst. its oily visage shone again like a lustrous blob of fat, and its dimples glided about the surface in an endless game of hide-and-seek! as for peetoot, he laughed and yelled until the tears ran over his cheeks, and more than once, in the excess of his glee, he rubbed noses with chimo--a piece of familiarity which that sagacious animal was at length induced to resent and put a stop to by a gentle and partial display of two tremendous rows of white ivory. in the hall stanley held a levee that lasted the greater part of the evening; and in the men's house a ball was got up in honour of the giant's return with his long-lost aneetka. ah, reader! although the countenances of the men assembled there were sunburnt and rough, and their garments weather-worn and coarse, and their language and tones unpolished, think not that their hearts were less tender or sympathetic than the hearts of those who are nurtured in softer scenes than the wilds of ungava. their laugh was loud and uproarious, it is true, but there was genuine, heartfelt reality in it. their sympathy was boisterously expressed, mayhap, if expressed at all, but it was truly and deeply felt, and many an unbidden tear glanced from the bronzed cheeks of these stalwart men of the north, as they shook their gigantic comrade by the hand and wished him joy, and kissed his blooming bride. aneetka had long since laid aside her native garb, and wore the more graceful and womanly costume of the indian women, and maximus wore the capote and leggings of the voyageur. but there were not wanting gentlemen from the camp at the point whose hairy garments and hoods, long hair and beards, did honour to the race of the esquimaux; and there were present ladies from the same place, each of whom could a _tail_ unfold that would have been the admiration and envy of tadpoles, had any such creatures been there to see them. they wore boots too, to which, in width at least, those worn by fishermen are nothing. some of them carried babies in their hoods--little naked imps, whose bodies and heads were dumplings (suet dumplings, we may add, for the information of the curious), and whose arms and legs were sausages. bryan was great that night--he was majestic! the fiddle all but spoke, and produced a sensation of dancing in the toes of even those who happened to be seated. bryan was great as a linguist, too, and exhibited his powers in this respect with singular felicity in the vocal entertainment that followed the dancing. the esquimau language seemed a mere trifle to him, and he conversed, while playing the violin, with several "purty craytures" in their native tongue, with an amount of volubility quite surprising. certainly it cannot be said that those whom he addressed expressed much intelligence; but esquimaux are not usually found to be quick in their perceptions. perchance bryan was metaphysical! mirth, hearty, _real_ mirth reigned at the fort, not only that day, but for many a day afterwards; for the dangers, and troubles, and anxieties of the first year were past. hope in the future was strong, despite the partial failures that had been experienced; and through the goodness of god, all those who composed the original band of the "forlorn hope" were reunited, after many weary months of travel, danger, and anxiety, during part of which a dark and dreary cloud (now happily dispelled) had settled down on fort chimo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ years have rolled away since the song and shout of the fur-trader first awakened the echoes of ungava. its general aspect is still the same, for there is no change in the everlasting hills. in summer the deer still wander down the dark ravines and lave their flanks in the river's swelling tide, and in winter the frost-smoke still darkens the air and broods above the open water of the sea; but fort chimo, the joy and wonder of the esquimaux and the hope of the fur-trader, is gone, and a green patch of herbage near the flat rock beside the spring alone remains to mark the spot where once it stood. in the course of time the changes that took place in the arrangements of the fur company required the presence of stanley at another station, and he left ungava with his wife and child. the gentleman who succeeded him was a bold, enterprising scottish highlander, whose experience in the fur trade and energy of character were a sufficient guarantee that the best and the utmost would be done for the interests of the company in that quarter. but however resolute a man may be, he cannot make furs of hard rocks, nor convert a scene of desolation into a source of wealth. vigorously he wrought and long he suffered, but at length he was compelled to advise the abandonment of the station. the governor of the company--a man of extraordinary energy and success in developing the resources of the sterile domains over which he ruled--was fain to admit at last that the trade of ungava would not pay. the order to retreat was as prompt and decisive as the command to advance. a vessel was sent out to remove the goods, and in a brief space of time fort chimo was dismantled and deserted. the esquimaux and indians soon tore down and appropriated to their own use the frames of the buildings, and such of the materials of the fort as had been left standing; and the few remnants that were deemed worthless were finally swept away and every trace of them obliterated by the howling storms that rage almost continually around these desolate mountains. and now, reader, it remains for me to dismiss the characters who have played their part in this brief tale. of most of them, however, i have but little to say, for they are still alive, scattered far and wide throughout the vast wilderness of rupert's land, each acting his busy part in a new scene; for it is frequently the fate of those who enter this wild and stirring service to be associated for a brief season under one roof, and then broken up and scattered over the land, never again to be reunited. george stanley, after a long sojourn in the backwoods, retired from the service, and, with his family, proceeded to canada, where he purchased a small farm. here edith waxed strong and beautiful, and committed appalling havoc among the hearts of the young men for thirty miles around her father's farm. but she favoured no one, and at the age of seventeen acquired the name of being the coldest as well as the most beautiful and modest girl in the far west. there was a thin young man, with weak limbs and a tendency to fall into a desponding state of mind, who lived about three miles from mr stanley's farm. this young man's feelings had been so often lacerated by hopes and fears in reference to the fair edith, that he mounted his pony one evening in desperation, and galloped away in hot haste to declare his passion, and realise or blast his hopes for ever. as he approached the villa, however, he experienced a sensation of emptiness about the region of the stomach, and regretted that he had not taken more food at dinner. having passed the garden gate, he dismounted, fastened his pony to a tree, and struck across the shrubbery towards the house with trembling steps. as he proceeded, he received a terrific shock by observing the flutter of a scarf, which he knew intuitively belonged to edith. the scarf disappeared within a bower which stood not more than twenty yards distant from him, close beside the avenue that led to the house. by taking two steps forward he could have seen edith, as she sat in the bower gazing with a pensive look at the distant prospect of hill and dale, river and lake, in the midst of which she dwelt; but the young man could as easily have leaped over stanley's villa, farm and all, as have taken these two steps. he essayed to do so; but he was rooted to the ground as firmly as the noble trees under which he stood. at length, by a great effort, he managed to crawl--if we may so express it--to within a few yards of the bower, from which he was now concealed only by a few bushes; but just as he had screwed up his soul to the sticking point, and had shut his eyes preparatory to making a rush and flinging himself on his knees at edith's feet, he was struck powerless by the sound of a deep sigh, and, a moment after, was all but annihilated by a cough! suddenly the sound of horse-hoofs was heard clattering up the avenue. on came the rider, as if in urgent haste. in a few seconds a curve in the avenue brought him into view. he was a man of handsome and massive proportions, and bestrode a black charger that might have carried a heavy dragoon like a feather. a wheel-barrow had been left across the track, over which the steed went with an easy yet heavy bound, betokening well-balanced strength and weight; and a bright smile lighted up the rider's bronzed face for an instant, as his straw-hat blew off in the leap and permitted his curling hair to stream out in the wind. as he passed the bower at a swinging gallop, an exclamation of surprise from edith attracted his attention. the charger's hoofs spurned the gravel while he was reined up so violently that he was thrown on his haunches, and almost before the thin young man could wink in order to clear his vision, this slashing cavalier sprang to the ground and entered the bower. there was a faint scream, which was instantly followed by a sound so peculiar that it sent a thrill of dismay to the cavity in which the heart of the weak young man had once lodged. stretching out his hand he turned aside the branches, and was brought to the climax of consternation by beholding edith in the arms of the tall stranger! bewildered in the intellect, and effectually crippled about the knees and ankles, he could only gaze and listen. "so you have come--at last!" whispered edith, while a brilliant blush overspread her fair cheek. "o edith!" murmured the stalwart cavalier, in a deep musical voice, "how my heart has yearned for this day! how i have longed to hear your sweet and well-remembered voice! in the desolate solitudes of the far north i have thought of you. amid the silent glades of the forest, when alone and asleep on my mossy couch or upon my bed of snow, i have dreamed of you--dreamed of you as you were, a fair, sweet, happy child, when we wandered together among the mountains of ungava--and dreamed of you as i fancied you must have become, and as i now find you to be. yes, beloved girl, my heart has owned but one image since we parted, years ago, on the banks of the caniapuscaw river. your letters have been my bosom friends in all my long, long wanderings through the wilderness; and the hope of seeing you has gladdened my heart and nerved my arm. i have heard your sighs in every gentle air that stirred the trees, and your merry laugh in the rippling waters. even in the tempest's roar and the thundering cataract i have fancied that i heard you calling for assistance; and many a time and oft i have leaped from my couch to find that i did but dream. but they were pleasant and very precious dreams to me. o edith! i have remembered you, and thought of you, and loved you, through months and years of banishment! and now--" again was heard the peculiar sound that had thrilled with dismay the bosom of the weak young man. "halo! whence came this charger?" shouted a hale, hearty voice, as stanley walked towards the bower. "eh! what have we here?" he exclaimed, rushing forward and seizing the stranger in his arms,--"frank--frank morton!" this was too much. the weak young man suddenly became strong as hercules. he turned and fled down the avenue like a deer. the pony, having managed to unfasten its bridle, stood in the centre of the way gazing down the avenue with its back towards its master. unwonted fire nerved the youth's limbs; with one bound he vaulted leap frog over the animal's back into the saddle, dashed his spurs into its sides, and fled like a whirlwind from the scene of his despair. frank morton and george stanley, being both men of promptitude and decision, resolved that one month was long enough to make preparations for the marriage; and edith, being the most dutiful daughter that ever lived, did what she was bid. that beautiful cottage which stands in the midst of most exquisite scenery, about two miles from stanley's villa, is inhabited by frank morton and his family. that crow which you have just heard proceed from the nursery was uttered by the youngest of five; and yonder little boy with broad shoulders, who thrusts his hands into his pockets in a decided manner, and whistles vociferously as he swaggers down the avenue, is master george f. morton, on his way to school. la roche and bryan were so fortunate as to be appointed to the same establishment after leaving ungava--somewhere near the mouth of the mackenzie river, and within the region of all but perpetual frost and snow. they are sometimes visited by esquimaux, which is fortunate; for, as bryan says, "it guves him an opportunity o' studyin' the peecoolier dialects o' their lingo." dick prince was the only one who lost his life in the "forlorn-hope." he was drowned while out shooting in the bay alone in his canoe. a sudden storm upset his frail bark and left him struggling in the water. prince was a strong swimmer, and he battled long for his life; but the ice-laden sea benumbed his hardy limbs, and he sank at last, without a cry, to rise no more. he was a noble specimen of his class--a brave, modest, unobtrusive son of the forest, beloved and respected by his companions; and when his warm heart ceased to beat, it was felt by all that a bright star of the wilderness had been quenched for ever. his body was found next day on the beach, and was interred by his mourning comrades in a little spot of ground behind the fort. it was many a long day after this melancholy event ere massan could smile; and when the fort was finally deserted, he put in practice his long-meditated intention of becoming a hunter and taking to the rocky mountains, where he wanders now, if he has escaped the claws of the dreaded grizzly bear and the scalping-knife of the red indian. moses, finding the life of a fur-trader not quite to his taste, rejoined his countrymen, and reverted to killing seals and eating raw blubber. the two indians also returned to a purely savage life, which, indeed, they had only forsaken for a time. augustus and oolibuck died; and the latter left a son, who has already rendered good service as interpreter to the arctic expeditions, as his worthy father did before him. francois and gaspard are still together at one of the posts of the interior. they are now fast friends, and have many a talk over the days when they quarrelled and messed together at fort chimo. as for the poor esquimaux, they were for a time quite inconsolable at the departure of the fur-traders, and with a species of childlike simplicity, hung about the bay, in the hope that they might, after all, return. then they went off in a body to the westward, and the region of ungava, to which they had never been partial, was left in its original dreary solitude. it may be that some good had been done to the souls of these poor natives during their brief intercourse with the traders. we cannot tell, and we refrain from guessing or speculating on a subject so serious. but of this we are assured--if one grain of the good seed has been sown, it may long lie dormant, but it _cannot_ die. maximus accompanied his countrymen, along with aneetka and old moggy, who soon assumed the native costume, and completely identified herself with the esquimaux. maximus was now a great man among his people, who regarded with deep respect the man who had travelled through the lands of the indians, had fought with the red men, single-handed, and had visited the fur-traders of the south. but the travelled esquimaux was in reality a greater man than his fellows supposed him to be. he fully appreciated the advantages to be derived from a trading-post near their ice-girt lands, and resolved, when opportunity should offer, to do all in his power to strengthen the friendship now subsisting between the indians and the esquimaux of ungava, and to induce his countrymen, if possible, to travel south towards the establishment on james's bay. he still retains, however, a lingering affection for the spot where he had spent so many happy days, and at least once a year he undertakes a solitary journey to the rugged mountains that encircled fort chimo. as in days of yore, with wallet on shoulder and seal-spear in hand, the giant strides from rock to rock along the now silent banks of the caniapuscaw river. once again he seats himself on the flat rock beside the spring, and gazes round in sadness on those wild, majestic hills, or bends his eye upon the bright green spot that indicates the ancient site of the trading-post, not a vestige of which is now visible, save the little wooden cross that marks the lonely grave of dick prince; and the broad chest of the giant heaves with emotion as he views these records of the past, and calls to mind the merry shouts and joyous songs that used to gladden that dreary spot, the warm hearth at which he was wont to find a hearty welcome, and the kind comrades who are now gone for ever. ungava spreads, in all its dark sterility, around him, as it did in the days before the traders landed there; and that bright interval of busy life, in which he had acted so prominent a part, seems now but the fleeting fancy of a bright and pleasant dream. the end. olof krarer the esquimaux lady a story of her native home by albert s. post, a. m. ottawa, ills. copyright by albert s. post a. d. * * * * * press of wm. osman & sons. introduction. in writing this little book, it has been our constant aim to make it, as nearly as possible, an autobiography, giving miss krarer's own thoughts and words, avoiding some of the little errors, caused by her imperfect knowledge of english, which are thought by some to add a certain charm to her conversation. if, near the conclusion, i may seem to have departed from this plan, it is only because she desired me to attempt the expression of her thought in more elaborate language than she can herself, at present, make use of. she is authority for the facts, from beginning to end. hoping that the story of her eventful life may be as interesting to those who read, as it has already been to thousands who have heard it from her own lips; and with the heartfelt wish that it may be the means of enabling her to accomplish her cherished purpose, i am glad to have this opportunity of assisting in her work. albert s. post. olof krarer. i was born in greenland, on the east coast. i am the youngest of eight children. my three sisters and four brothers are all living in iceland. my father is living in manitoba. my mother died in iceland when i was sixteen years old. we lived near the sea-shore in greenland. our house was built of snow. it was round, perhaps sixteen feet across, and coming to a point at the top. it was lined with fur on all sides, and was carpeted with a double thickness of fur. the way they lined the house was to take a skin of some animal, and hold it near a fire, which was in the centre of the room. when the skin was heated through, they took it and pressed it against the wall. in a short time, it stuck to the wall so tightly that it could not be pulled off without tearing the skin. the door was a thick curtain of fur, hung over the doorway, by heating the upper part, and letting it stick fast to the wall. outside of the door was a long, narrow passageway, just high enough for one of us little esquimaux people to stand up straight in. that would be about high enough for a child six years old, in this country; and it was only wide enough for one person to go through at a time. if one wanted to go out, and another wanted to go in, at the same time, one would have to back out and let the other go first. this passageway was not straight; but turned to one side, so as not to let the wind blow in. our fireplace was in the centre of the house. the bottom was a large, flat stone, with other stones and whalebone put about the edge to keep the fire from getting out into the room. when we wanted to build a fire, we would put some whalebone and lean meat on the stone; then a little dry moss was put in, and then my father would take a flint and a whale's tooth, or some other hard bone, and strike fire upon the moss. sometimes he could do it easily, but sometimes it took a long while. after the fire started he would put some blubber upon it. although it was so very cold, we would often be without a fire, for what we made the fire of was what we had to live on, and we could not always afford to burn it. our fire did not warm the room very much. it was mostly to give light, so that it might be a little more cheerful in the room. when we had no fire it was very dark. there was no chance to play round and romp inside the snow-house. we just had to sit with our arms folded and keep still. it was in this way that my arms came to have such a different shape from people's arms in this country. where their muscle is large and strong, i have but very little; and instead of that, i have a large bunch of muscle on the upper side of my arms, and they are crooked, so that i can never straighten them. a doctor in iceland once tried to straighten one arm by pulling, but he could not change it one bit; and it was very sore for a long time afterward and the muscles were much swollen. but it was not so with my father and brothers. they went out to hunt and had more exercise and more pulling to do, and so their arms were straight. it was a great thing when the men would come home from a hunt, for then we would have a great deal to talk about:--how far they went, how cold it was, how they found the bear, or walrus, or seal, and who was most active and brave in killing it. father would often say to mother, "oh, how i wish you had been along, for we had such a nice drink of warm blood." the warm blood of a dying animal was considered the greatest luxury we could get, because we had not any cooked food at all. we ate it all frozen and raw, except when fresh from the animal. it was a great thing to strike the animal first with a spear, for the one who drew first blood was owner of the skin and was the boss of the whole job. they just had to cut it to suit him. the flesh was divided equally between all the hunters. sometimes we used to get very tired in the dark snow-house, and then we would try a little amusement. two of us would sit down on the fur carpet and look into one another's faces and _guess who was the prettiest_. we had to guess, for we had no looking-glass in which to see our own faces. the one whose face shone slickest with the grease was called the prettiest. if at any time we grew too tired of it all and ventured to romp and play, we were in danger of being punished. as there were no trees from which to cut switches there, they took a different way. when any child was naughty, mother would take a bone and she would put it into the fire and leave it there until it was hot enough for the grease to boil out. then she would take it and slap that on her child and burn it. she was not particular where she burned her child, only she was careful not to touch the face. i can well remember what i got my last punishment for. i had been playing with my little brother inside the snow-house and i got mad at him, and so i threw him down and bit him on the back of the neck. then mother heated a bone and burned me on the same place where i bit him. i got tired of that and didn't do that kind of a trick afterwards. but it was not always so that we had to stay in the snow-house. once in a while father would come in and say it was not so cold as usual, and then we would have a chance to look round outside the snow-house. we never took a long walk. as nearly as i can remember, my father's house was on a low plain near the sea-shore. it sloped gently inland, and we could have seen a great way into the back country if it had not been for the great snowdrifts and masses of ice. there were some steep, jagged rocks in sight of our village, and during the long daytime enough of the snow would melt off to leave the rocks bare in a few places. on these bare spots we would find a kind of brown moss, which we gathered and dried to light our fires with. we never saw anything green in greenland, and i never could understand why they called it by that name. when we looked out toward the ocean, we could not see very far, for even in the warmest season there was only a small space of open water, and beyond that the ice was all piled up in rough, broken masses. the great event in our family life, however, was the dog-sleigh ride. when father told us we could go, we came as near dancing and clapping our hands for joy as esquimaux children ever did. but we did not have a fine cutter, with large horses and chiming bells. we did not even have an old-fashioned bobsled, in which young men and young women have such good times in your country. sometimes the sleigh would be made of a great wide piece of bone from the jaws of a whale, one end of which turned up like a runner. but more often it would be either a skin of some animal laid flat on the ground, or a great frozen fish cut in two at the back and then turned right over. i never saw such a fish in this country, or in iceland, so i cannot tell what kind of fish it was. our sleigh was drawn by dogs--sometimes six and sometimes ten or twelve. each dog had a collar round his neck and a strip of reindeer hide tied into the collar and to the sleigh. when the dogs were well broken, they did not need any lines to guide them; but if they were not well trained, they had to have lines to control them. while we were getting ready to start, the dogs would jump about and whine and be as anxious to go as fiery horses in this country. the trained dogs would run forward and put their noses right into their collars without any trouble. when all was ready, away we went! it was great fun! the dogs could carry the sleigh faster than horses do in this country. sometimes the sleigh was bumped and tumbled about a good deal on the rough ice, and once in a while it tipped over. the dogs are about the size of shepherd dogs and have sharp pointed ears. they are very strong, and have heavy coats of long hair, which often drags upon the snow. they are of a dirty gray color. when my father had as many as ten or twelve dogs, he had a separate snow-house for them and kept them in that; but when he had lost or lent his dogs, so that he had only two or three, he would let them come into the snow-house with us. our dogs had the same kind of food to live on that we had, and sometimes when food was scarce they had a hard time of it. they were never fed when we were going to start out for a sleigh ride, for then they would lie right down and refuse to move one step. but whenever we came back from a ride they were well fed. our dogs were very useful to us in other ways than drawing our sleighs, for they were very sharp and good to hunt. they helped to kill the polar bear, and to find the seal and walrus. now, in order that you may understand our way of living better, i will explain that we have six months' night in greenland, and during that time nothing is seen of the sun. the moon changes very much as it does here, and we have the light of the stars. then most of the time the beautiful northern lights may be seen dancing and leaping about, with many colored rainbow beauties. the white snow is always on the ground, so that even when the moon and northern lights did not show, we could see to hunt round. before and after the night time, there was about a month of twilight, and this was our finest time of the year. we had then the best chance to hunt. in the long day we had the hardest time, for then the sun shone out so brightly that we would be made snow blind if we ventured far from home. the day was four months long, and if we did not have food enough stored away in an ice cave to last us through, we would be in great danger of starving. the best time to hunt is when the ice breaks up. my people know when this is going to happen by the noise. there is a rumbling sound like distant thunder. whoever hears that sound first goes from house to house and gives warning, so that all may be ready to join in the hunt. then the hunters get their spears and let out their dogs, and hurry to the place where the sound is heard. the polar bear hears the sound also, and hastens to the place, for it is here that he, too, must make his living. this is the only time that esquimaux ever dare to tackle a polar bear, for when he is going about alone and hungry he is very fierce and dangerous; but when the ice breaks up the bear goes straight for the sound. this grows louder and longer, until there is a mighty crash, louder than thunder, and great walls of ice are thrown high in air, and a space of open water is to be seen. when the commotion has ceased, my people crowd along the edge of the water. they first look out for the bear, for they don't want him to catch any of their seals. they have some of their dogs loose in front of the sleigh, and some of them harnessed to it. when they come to the bear, he is busy watching for seal and pays very little attention to the hunters or their dogs. the loose dogs run up to him and begin to worry him. he chases some of them, and the others bite him behind. if he makes a rush at the hunters in their sleighs, the dog teams draw them swiftly away. the loose dogs keep on worrying the bear until he becomes furious with rage. every little while a sweep of his huge paw lays one of his enemies on the snow, silent in death. a few minutes later, perhaps, another will be caught up in the powerful embrace of the great brute. the dogs crowd in and take hold wherever they can. the bear grows frantic in his struggles to punish his adversaries. at last he lies at full length panting upon the snow. then it is that some hunter ventures to leave his dog-sled and try to kill him with a walrus tusk. no sooner is he sure that the animal is dying than he hastens to get a drink of warm blood. then a long cut is made down the belly of the animal with the points of the walrus tusks and the skin is pulled and pushed off with their hands. all hands feast upon the warm grease that is inside the animal, and after that they divide the meat and take it home. i will now explain that the breaking up of the ice i have told about is not from thawing. in the warmest time we ever saw in that part of greenland where i came from, it never thawed enough to make the water run in streams. a few bare spots were melted off on the rocks and high points of land. once in a while the snow would melt enough to drip a little, and form icicles, but not often. it was cold, cold, bitter cold, all the year round, and the people in this country can hardly have an idea of it, even in the coldest weather here. from this we see that there could be no chance for heat enough to make the thick ice break up by thawing. have you ever seen a tub which was full of water frozen nearly solid? then, perhaps you remember that the middle was heaved up and cracked to pieces by the frost. this, i think, is what takes place in the northern seas, only on a far grander scale. a rumbling sound can be heard for some time before it really breaks up; but when it does come, there is an awful roar like loudest thunder, and great blocks of ice are lifted and piled one above another, until they are higher than the tops of the highest buildings in this country. as it breaks up a good many times in the same place, these ice mountains are piled higher and higher, until they get so large we cannot see over them or round them at all. each time the ice breaks up, there is an open space where the water is free from ice, and the walruses and seals come up to breathe. sometimes a walrus will crawl away from this opening far enough for the hunters to head him off and kill him. the walrus is hard to kill, for he is so watchful, and there is no way to call him as they do the seal. but when killed he is quite a prize. in hunting the seal, they take a different plan. the seal is very fond of its young. the hunters will take advantage of this by lying flat on the ice and making a sound like the cry of a young seal. in this way they manage to call the old seal out on the ice. but even then it is not always easy to catch the seal, for it has a strong, flexible tail, by means of which it is able to throw itself a good many feet at a time, so that even when on the ice it sometimes gets away with its awkward rolls and flops and jumps. a seal is very active and almost always in motion. our greatest prize was the whale. once in a while one would get entangled in the breaking ice so that it could not get away, and then everybody would be out to help or see the fun. a great many ropes of reindeer hide would be brought out and a great many spears stuck into the animal. then the men would join together and try to pull the huge creature out of the water. even with the help of all the dogs that could be used it was hard work, but they would manage it after a while. then all would give a great shout and have great joy over the whale. one reason for their rejoicing was that the whale had so much blubber. blubber is the inside fat of the whale. there is a fine skin over it and it looks like tallow or leaf lard. it is quite hard in my country, but would melt down into what you would call whale oil in this country. after the whale is cut up we would have a great feast and eat all we could. then, after taking the meat home, we would spend a long time eating and sleeping. it was only when the ice broke up and the people came together to hunt that they met one another. all the rest of the time the families stay in their own homes, and do not visit back and forth as your people do. the only exceptions are, when a man needs meat, or blubber, or a flint, and goes to borrow, or when a young man goes to steal his girl. there is no buying and selling, and no trading. any one can get what he needs by asking for it, if it is in the village. the people try to treat each other as brothers and sisters. i will now explain a strange custom among our people. when a young man gets to be about years old he is full grown and is considered to be of age. he then begins to think of beginning life for himself. it is a risky thing in my country to get a wife. a young man has to steal his girl out of her parents' snow-house and get her away into another. if he is caught trying to do this the girl's parents turn right on him and kill him. if he has not pluck enough to steal a girl for himself, he has to live alone, and when he goes to sleep he crawls head first into a fur sack. when he wants to get up he must crawl out backwards. i suppose he is what you would call an old bachelor. a young man, who sees a girl he thinks he would like to have for a wife, makes a great many excuses to come to her father's snow-house. sometimes he wants to borrow a flint, or blubber, or something else. if he comes without any excuse, the girl's parents tell him, "i know very well what you do want; you want my girl, but you never shall get her." then he gets kind of scared and runs off. but he sneaks round again pretty often. he thinks may be her parents will go out for a dog-sleigh ride, or may be they would lay them down to sleep some time. if he does get her out of the snow-house without being caught, the girl's parents send right back for him and think nobody is any smarter than he is, and do all they can for him. the reason a girl's parents want the young man to steal her is, that they want to find out whether he is willing to risk his life for his own girl or not. they think if he is not smart enough to steal a girl, he would not be smart enough to take care of her--kill a polar bear, so that she would have enough to live on. there are not many old bachelors in my country, for if a man has not spunk enough to steal a girl he is looked down upon as a sort of soft, good-for-nothing fellow. many people are disappointed when they see me, because i am not darker colored, with black hair. more of my people have light hair than dark, and we know that we are naturally a fair-skinned people, because when a baby is born in my country it is just as white as any american baby, and it has light hair and blue eyes. but the mother does not wash it with soft water and soap, as they do in this country, but she goes to work and greases it all over, and the child is never washed from the day he is born till he dies, if he remains in that country. the mother wraps her little one in the skin of a young seal, which has been made very soft by pounding and rubbing it on the ice. if baby cries, the mother will not take it up and care for it, but she puts it in a corner and leaves it there until it stops crying, and then she takes it up and pets it. she can only nurse it about a month. then the mother will warm some blubber for it; but in a little while it must live just like the rest. she carries the baby in her hood, and does not expect it to learn to walk until between two and three years old. then she makes a suit for it of young seal's fur. when the child becomes larger, say six or seven years old, a thicker suit is made of polar bear skin; and then little "auska" feels as proud of his new clothes as "our charlie" does of his new boots, and the chubby "roegnia" rejoices over her white suit as much as dainty flora in her arctics and muff and fur collar. but auska and roegnia are dressed more nearly alike than charlie and flora. men's clothes are just like women's clothes; only a woman's coat comes down to a point and man's coat is cut off square, and that is all the difference. they wear fur mittens and fur shoes. i think it would be very nice for some ladies in this country, if they were to go to greenland; for they would have no washing, no ironing, no scrubbing and no cooking to do. they don't even have to wash their faces or comb their hair. esquimaux people have only the salt ocean water, and if they had soft, fresh water they dare not use it, for it would be like poison to their flesh when the thermometer was ° or ° below zero. so, when they eat, my people take a chunk of raw meat in one hand and a chunk of blubber in the other, and take a bite of each until it is eaten. then they carefully rub the grease and fat all over their hands and face, and feel splendid afterwards. the women have long hair, made dark by the smoke and grease. the men have long hair, also, and a thin, scattering beard over the face, which they never shave or trim, because they have no razor or shears. we had no church or court house, no school or factory, no doctor, lawyer or merchant, no money, jewelry or timepiece, not an axe, spade or hammer, no knife, fork or spoon, no bread, no cloth, no wood! i never saw as much wood in my country as would make one little match. for a needle we use the tooth of a fish; for thread the sinews of a reindeer. rich people were those who had a flint. poor people had to go and borrow it when they wanted to light a fire. common folks would sit down flat on the fur carpet, but "tony" people would get blocks of ice or snow and put in the snow-house and cover them with fur for seats. but it was only the _most toniest_ people who did that kind of a trick. my people believe in good and bad spirits. they think there is a big good spirit and several small ones, and one big bad spirit and several small ones. they think if they tell a lie or do anything wrong, the bad spirit will come and hurt them some way. if a baby gets sick the mother does not do anything for it. she thinks a bad spirit has hold of her child, and will get her too if she helps it in any way. if baby dies she lays it away in the cold snow and leaves it without a tear. when a man is sick they carry him into a separate snow-house, and all they do to help him is to throw in a piece of poor meat which they do not care about themselves. if a woman is sick she is not taken from her snow-house, but is no better cared for. the only disease is something like consumption in this country. after an esquimaux dies they drag him out and bury him in the snow, piling blocks of ice as high as they can above the grave. if he has not specially given his spear and flint and skins to some of his friends before he dies, then everything is buried with him, and the friends go home to think no more about him. if the white bear comes along and digs up the body they do not care. they never speak of a departed friend, because they fancy it would annoy the spirit, which is supposed to be not far off. when a man is first taken sick they do one thing for him, if he is not very bad. they gather round him and sing to the good spirit, in hopes that he will drive away the bad spirit. if the sick man recovers they think a great deal of him. sometimes my father would tell us stories about his parents and grand parents, and then he would tell how they said that their parents told how long, long ago the first people had come from norway. but no one knew what norway was like. some said it was a great house somewhere; some said it was the moon, and some said it was where the good spirit lived. one thing had a great deal of interest for us all. when the sun shone out brightly at the beginning of the daytime it marked the first of the year, just as new year's day in this country. then mother and father would bring out the sacks. each one was made of a different kind of fur. father had his, mother had hers, and each of the children one. in each sack was a piece of bone for every first time that person had seen the sun. when ten bones were gathered they would tie them into a bundle, for they had not words to count more than ten. * * * * * in such a land was i born. in such a home was i brought up. in such pleasures i rejoiced, until there were about fourteen bones in my sack. then something happened which changed my whole life. six tall men came to our village. our men were much frightened at first and did not know what to make of the giants. some thought them bad spirits. but they were peaceable, and went hunting with our people and helped them, so that after a while they came to like one another. the strangers were iceland fishermen. after they lived with us for more than a year, they were able to explain how they were shipwrecked in a storm, and how they got on the ice and walked on the ice till they came to greenland. they told how much they wanted to get back to their families, and how much better country iceland was. at last, three esquimaux families told the icelanders they would lend them their dogs and sleds if they would do them any good. and because they wanted their dogs back again they said they would go with them. so they started out. my father's family was the largest in the party, there being ten of us in all. most esquimaux families had only three or four children in them--sometimes only one child, and often none at all. i was a young and giddy thing then, and was glad to go. we traveled a long way down the coast, hunting as we went. then we turned right out on to the ocean itself. on the way there were three polar bears killed and some seals and other animals, so that we had plenty to eat. i remember we would sometimes take something to eat when the sledges were flying over the ice with the dogs at full gallop. at intervals we fed the dogs, and they gathered closely round the sled and soon all were asleep. when we woke up we went on again. while on the ocean we often heard the sound of the ice breaking up, and would have to hurry away to escape being caught in the upheaval. we finally reached iceland after being two months and some days on the way, according to the icelanders' calculation, and having traveled about a thousand miles. the people in iceland were astonished to see us little people. they came to see us from a long distance. we were all weighed and measured. my father stood three feet five inches, and weighed pounds. my mother was the same height woman that i am, and weighed . none of my brothers was quite so tall as my father, but they came near his weight. one of my sisters was only three feet two inches, and weighed . i weighed pounds. now i am three feet four inches high, and weigh . the missionaries in iceland took great interest in us, for they knew we were all heathens, and they said they would like to take us into their schools and educate us. so each family was taken into a different school. our family was placed in the lutheran school, and there i studied for five years. my teacher was a good and kind man. his name was ion thorderson. he was patient with me and helped me to learn; but some of the scholars were jealous of "the little thing" and made fun of me. for this they had to carry notes home to their parents, and this secured to them a good whipping a-piece, so that they were heard to wish "that little thing" had never come into the school. at first we lived several miles from the school, but we did not know anything about walking, in fact could not walk any distance, so they sent us on horseback. they used to tie me on so that i would not fall off. it was a funny sight to behold us eight little tots going to school. i never shall forget the time when a kind friend gave me a pony. he was very gentle, and small enough so that by leading him along side a large stone i was able to climb upon his back. he would stand quietly and wait for me. i loved my pony and thought there was nothing in the world like him. but this long ride was very hard on us, and finally the teacher made arrangement so that we could live close to the school. the school system was very different in some respects from american schools. the teacher was always the minister, and the school was connected with the church. a scholar had first to learn to read, and must keep at it until he could read better than the teacher. then he was called upon to commit to memory large portions of history and of the bible; and when he had learned them so well that he could repeat from beginning to end without the book, he was allowed to begin to write. he could not take pen in hand before that. after learning to write, he was taught figures; and after that i do not know what was done. the teacher never laid a hand on the scholar in punishment. if he did anything wrong, a note was sent to his parents, and they flogged him soundly. i enjoyed the life in iceland, for i saw and learned so much that was new. some time in the spring there was a holiday, in which the young folks would cut up pranks, something like the tricks of april-fool day here. the girls would try to fasten a small sack of ashes upon the clothing of the boys, and they, in return, would seek to place a pebble in the pockets of the girls, endeavoring to do it so slyly that the sack or pebble would be carried about all day without the one who bore it knowing anything about it. on one of these days, a girl tied a small sack into the beard of one of the men, while he was asleep, and he wore it all day before anyone told him, and then they had a great laugh at his expense. i thought i would try my hand at this, so i made a little sack and tucked it into the corner of a patch, which a big fellow wore upon his pants, the corner being ripped just enough to let the sack slip inside. i had great fun watching him all day, and when night came, he boasted that none of the girls had fooled him that day. "oh, yes," said one of his companions, "the smallest girl in the house has fooled you badly." he felt pretty cheap when i pointed to the patch, and he found the sack sticking out so that he might have seen it easily. picking up fuel was hard work, and took a great deal of time. they had but little wood, and no coal, so that it was necessary to gather the droppings of animals, and make great piles of this kind of stuff in the summer, so that it would be dry enough to burn in the winter. if mice came about the houses and buildings in the fall, the icelanders would fear a hard winter, and much damage to their sheep; for when the winter grew very severe, and the mice could get nothing else to eat, they would climb upon the sheep's backs, while they were lying close together in the sheds, and would burrow into the wool, back of the shoulder-blades, and eat the flesh, very often causing the death of the poor animals. the icelanders used sheep's milk a great deal, and i liked it. sheep's milk is richer and sweeter than cow's milk. they used to put up a lot of milk in barrels, and put in some rennet, which would make it curdle into something like cottage cheese. this they would set aside for winter use, and all were very fond of it. the family would be considered very poor who could not put up from eight to ten barrels of this food. they sometimes, also, would churn mutton tallow, or whale oil, in the sheep's milk, and make a kind of butter. whale oil makes a better butter than the tallow, and i think i like would it even yet. while most people had dishes and knives and forks, it was not customary to set the table, unless there was company present. each one had a cup for himself, made of wood with staves like a barrel, and curiously bound with whale-bone hoops. they had handles upon them, but i do not know how fastened. a child's cup would hold about a quart, and a man's cup sometimes as much as three quarts. when each one had gotten his cup filled, he would take his place at any convenient spot in the room, on the bed, or anywhere, and proceed to empty the cup with great haste. we all had ravenous appetites, but did not always have enough to eat. in the spring we had a great treat, when the eggs and flesh of wild fowl were to be had. we fared well when fish were plenty, but at other times a porridge made of iceland moss and the curdled milk made up our fare. some seasons they can raise a few vegetables in iceland, but this is not often. of late years they cannot raise grain, although they used to raise good oats. one of the books that we had there was a history of america, and in that it said that money could be picked up off the streets, almost. i have since found it quite a difficulty. but that book put me into the notion to come out here. so when a colony of five hundred icelanders were about to start for manitoba, i got my father to come with them. he had just money enough to bring himself and one of his children, so he naturally chose his youngest and the one that was most anxious to come. my mother died with consumption when we had been in iceland about a year. i shall never forget the circumstances of her illness. i hated her, and turned from her just as we did in greenland. she thought it was all right, and told me to keep away and to hate her, for fear the bad spirit would get me. i said to my teacher one day: "i hate my mother." "why, my dear child, you should not do that." "but i do hate her; she has a bad spirit in her, and esquimaux people always hate their friends when they get bad spirits in them." tears ran down the good man's cheeks as he exclaimed, "why, the dear child, she doesn't know anything!" then he took me upon his knee and began to explain that my mother did not have a bad spirit, but was sick. he dropped his school work entirely, and for three days devoted himself to explaining the christian belief. then he made me go to my mother and tell her all about it. my mother was glad--oh, so glad; and she died happy. my four brothers and three sisters are in iceland, yet. i promised when i left that i would send for them, and i still hope to have them all with me. we sailed in a ship from iceland to scotland. i cannot remember at what city we landed. from there i had my first railway ride, into england, and was much frightened by the noise and motion of the cars. then we sailed to quebec, and then came to winnipeg. it took us five months and five days to come from iceland to manitoba. when i came to manitoba, i was sick for nearly two years. the iceland ministers were very kind to me, and took care of me while i was sick. when i got well, i started out to work for my living. i could not speak one word of english, and i was afraid to try. the first person i worked for was a half-breed woman, who had a rough, quarrelsome lot of children that i had to wait upon. once in a while i was called into the front room, and would find some strangers there. one day the mistress was called away, when i was sent into the room, and the gentleman and lady who were there gave me a quarter, each. she had been making money out of me in this way all the while, but all the money i received for some months of hard labor was what these people gave me. then i was taken sick with the measles. the woman turned me out of doors. i did not know where to go. i just ran round and round the house. a young lady, from one of the best families in winnipeg, found me in this plight, took me by the hand and led me home. she nursed me till i was well, and then gave me good clothes and found me a place to work. she told me to come back to her if i was in trouble again. after working for some time in this place, i came to work for mrs. c., the lady who is with me now. when she first saw me she thought i was a little child, and did not see how i could be of any use to her. but she pitied me because she thought i was cold, and gave me something to do. i lived with her three months. when i first came to her i could not speak enough english to tell her i liked coffee better than tea. my work was washing dishes. they would help me into a chair so that i could reach the table. when at last i was able to explain, with the help of an iceland girl who lived next door, that i desired to travel as a curiosity, hoping in this way to make money enough to bring my brothers and sisters from iceland, mr. and mrs. c. consented to come with me. my father agreed to let me go, if i would go with respectable people and remain with them. i had worn my seal skin suit about in manitoba until it was worn out, but my father had taken care of my polar bear suit, so i had that to bring with me. he let me bring his new flint and walrus tusk, also. but a few months afterwards he sent for his spear, because he thought he could not get along without it, so i returned it to him. he is still living in manitoba, and is years old. this is several years older than people live in greenland. oldest people we ever knew were years old. this i know from the icelanders, who went round to all the snow houses and counted the bones in the different sacks. when i reached minneapolis i was taken sick, and the doctors did not know what to do for me. they kept me in a warm room, and i grew worse every day. at last mr. c. heard of a doctor who had been in greenland, and sent for him. under his advice i was taken to minnetonka and kept in a cold room, and i got well. at first i traveled as a curiosity and charged ten cents. all i could do was to let the people see me, show my costume, flint and tusk, sing a few songs, etc. by degrees i learned to answer questions, and at last came to talk pretty well. while we were at a place in indiana, called cloverdale, some professors and a minister urged me to give a lecture. they secured a large hall, and when i peeked through a hole in the curtain i saw about people, and was nearly scared out of my wits. but mrs. c. got me mad over something about my dress, and the curtain went up while i was standing there, and i spoke to them right along. that was dec. th, . since then i have been lecturing right along, except in some short times of sickness, and the hottest weather. i have been in minnesota, wisconsin, iowa, ilinois, michigan, ohio, indiana, missouri, kansas, and nebraska, and i hope by next year, to have all my brothers and sisters with me, so that we can travel together and help the missionary teachers in iceland, where we got our education in the first place. a great many funny things have been said to me by visitors, and a great many curious questions asked. generally, people are kind and considerate, but sometimes they are rude and uncivil. i am always glad to satisfy reasonable curiosity to the best of my ability, but i do not like impertinence any better than any body else. i was somewhat surprised by one old lady, a year or so ago. after she had listened for some time, and become greatly interested, she came up and said, "where did yeou say yeou kum from?" "from the eastern coast of greenland." "greenland! why la, yes. i know that country. my husband's got a farm there." a farm in greenland! well, a good many other people have made mistakes fully equal to the old lady's. americans, i think you do not realize your blessings in this great land of plenty, where you have so many fine things. even here, i often see sad faces, and hear words of discontent. sometimes i am a little discontented myself, when i see something i want, and think i cannot, or ought not to, have it. but i soon get over that feeling when i remember my home in the frozen north, where we sat still through the weary hours, shivering with the cold, choked by the smoke, and often almost perishing with hunger. if i was to go back to my race of people, i would not be able to tell them about what i see and hear in this country. they have not the language to express the thought. they have seen nothing like a sewing machine, or a piano. they have no materials to enable them to make machines. they never saw a painting or a drawing. their wild, rude songs is all they have that is anything like music. they have no idea of a book. they eat when they're hungry, and sleep when they're sleepy. they are happy and contented _when they don't know any better_. the only relatives we knew about, were brothers and sisters, father and mother, and our grandparents. as for other relatives, such as uncles, aunts and cousins, we knew nothing about them. we lived in small settlements of thirty or forty families. no one seemed to take any interest in finding out how many settlements there were, or how many people lived in them. we had only one name each, just as you name animals in this country. my father's name was krauker. my name was olwar. before we left iceland, the whole family were baptized. they named my father salve krarer, and they baptized me olof krarer, making the iceland names as near like the esquimaux names as they could, but giving my father a new name, salve, which means something like "saved." the end. epitome. on iceland's damp and stormy shore, mid geyser's throe and ocean's roar, a sturdy race on sterile soil, pursue their unremitting toil; struggling against stern poverty, and denmark's hostile mastery. farther northward, bleak and cold, bound by winter's icy hold, where eternal snows abound,-- there the esquimaux is found. house of ice and suit of fur; food, the flesh of polar bear; tusks of walrus, the only arm, ferocious beasts alone alarm; a dog-sleigh ride his only pleasure; a piece of flint his choicest treasure; ambition's height to steal a wife, for her he dares to risk his life. he tells no lie nor ever swears; for neighbor, as for brother, cares. the golden rule he never heard, but tries to keep its every word. father to son the story told, how sailors hardy, brave and bold, far back in bygone centuries, sought to explore the northern seas; storm-bound, shipwrecked and cast-away, by horrid fate compelled to stay, they yielded not to grim despair, but bearded winter in his lair; bravely building their snow house domes, they settled into northern homes. lost to their ken is old norway, but cherished still in their memory. the rising sun began the year; four months his rays shone full and clear; a month he gave a milder light, 'twixt the long day and longer night. for half the year aurora's beams, the moon's soft ray, and starry gleams, guided the hunter to his home, whene'er he chose afar to roam. foremost among his tribe and clan, there lived a hardy little man; his wife, renowned for spirit high, rejoiced in her large family;-- four sturdy sons, four maidens brown, gathered in harmony around their fireplace, and together dwelt, and love for one another felt. one fateful day there came along six iceland fishers, stern and strong. the esquimaux in terror fled from spirits evil, so they said; but meeting them with friendly mien, the pigmies soon at ease were seen. the giants more contented grew, and eager searched for knowledge new; but erst they thought of native shore, and longed to view their home once more. at length, in venturous spirit bold, their purpose to their friends they told, to seek their lov'd land once again, by crossing on the frozen main. the trial made, the deed was done! a victory great, and nobly won! three families assistance lent. upon returning they were bent, till finding this a better land, they settled on the barren strand; in mission schools were kindly taught, and daily grew in word and thought. five years rolled by; consumption's claim was laid upon the mother's frame. the father loved his youngest child, and with her crossed the ocean wild; with many mishaps, much fatigue, they found a home in winnipeg. five years again had claimed their own; the daughter now to woman grown, though but a little child for size, assayed a wond'rous enterprise-- to win from gen'rous strangers' hand, by telling of her native land, her fortune, and to meet once more her sisters three and brothers four. pray tell me, friend, didst e'er thou find a braver spirit, nobler mind, a name more worthy to go down on hist'ry's page with bright renown? * * * * * captain holm recently returned to copenhagen, after having spent two years and a half exploring the almost unknown region of the east coast of greenland. although ten or twelve expeditions have set out for east greenland in the past two centuries, almost all of them in search of the lost norsemen, who were supposed to have settled there, only one ship ever reached the coast. the great ice masses, sometimes hundreds of miles wide, that are perpetually piled up against the shore, have kept explorers from east greenland long after all arctic lands were fairly well known. with three assistants, captain holm landed at cape farewell, and then went north some four hundred miles. he has returned with large collections, representing the flora, fauna, geology, and anthropology of this hitherto unknown portion of the earth's surface. he found in those cold and dismal regions, isolated from the world, a race of people who had never heard, or known, of the great civilized nations of the earth. they seemed to lead happy lives, and live in a communicative way in hamlets. they differ entirely in language, and physical character, from the esquimaux of west greenland.--_demorest's monthly_. version by al haines. the eskimo twins by lucy fitch perkins introduction--the eskimo twins i. the twins go coasting ii. koolee divides the meat iii. the twins go fishing iv. the snow house v. the feast vi. the reindeer hunt vii. what happened when menie and koko went hunting by themselves viii. the woman-boats ix. the voyage x. the summer day suggestions to teachers the eskimo twins this is the true story of menie and monnie and their two little dogs, nip and tup. menie and monnie are twins, and they live far away in the north, near the very edge. they are five years old. menie is the boy, and monnie is the girl. but you cannot tell which is menie and which is monnie,--not even if you look ever so hard at their pictures! that is because they dress alike. when they are a little way off even their own mother can't always tell. and if she can't, who can? sometimes the twins almost get mixed up about it themselves. and then it is very hard to know which is nip and which is tup, because the little dogs are twins too. nobody was surprised that the little dogs were twins, because dogs often are. but everybody in the whole village where menie and monnie live was simply astonished to see twin babies! they had never known of any before in their whole lives. old akla, the angakok, or medicine man of the village, shook his head when he heard about them. he said, "such a thing never happened here before. seals and human beings never have twins! there's magic in this." the name of the twins' father was kesshoo. if you say it fast it sounds just like a sneeze. their mother's name was koolee. kesshoo and koolee, and menie and monnie, and nip and tup, all live together in the cold arctic winter in a little stone hut, called an "igloo." in the summer they live in a tent, which they call a "tupik." the winters are very long and cold, and what do you think! they have one night there that is four whole months long! for four long months, while we are having thanksgiving, and christmas, and even lincoln's birthday, the twins never once see the sun! but at last one day in early spring the sun comes up again out of the sea, looks at the world for a little while, and then goes out of sight again. each day he stays for a longer time until after a while he doesn't go out of sight at all! then there are four long months of daylight when there is never any bedtime. menie and monnie just go to sleep whenever they feel sleepy. although many eskimos think twins bring bad luck, kesshoo and koolee were very glad to have two babies. they would have liked it better still if monnie had been a boy, too, because boys grow up to hunt and fish and help get food for the family. but kesshoo was the best hunter and the best kyak man in the whole village. so he said to koolee, "i suppose there must be girls in the world. it is no worse for us than for others." so because kesshoo was a brave fisherman and strong hunter, and because koolee was clever in making clothing and shoes out of the skins of the animals which he brought home, the twins had the very best time that little eskimo children can have. and that is quite a good time, as you will see if you read all about it in this book. i. the twins go coasting the twins go coasting i. one spring morning, very early, while the moon still shone and every one else in the village was asleep, menie and monnie crept out of the dark entrance of their little stone house by the sea. the entrance to their little stone house was long and low like a tunnel. the twins were short and fat. but even if they were short they could not stand up straight in the tunnel. so they crawled out on all fours. nip and tup came with them. nip and tup were on all fours, too, but they had run that way all their lives, so they could go much faster than the twins. they got out first. then they ran round in circles in the snow and barked at the moon. when menie and monnie came out of the hole, tup jumped up to lick monnie's face. he bumped her so hard that she fell right into the snowbank by the entrance. monnie didn't mind a bit. she just put her two fat arms around tup, and they rolled over together in the snow. monnie had on her fur suit, with fur hood and mittens, and it was hard to tell which was monnie and which was tup as they tumbled in the snow together. pretty soon monnie picked herself up and shook off the snow. then tup shook himself, too. menie was rolling over and over down the slope in front of the little stone house. his head was between his knees and his hands held his ankles, so he rolled just like a ball. nip was running round and round him and barking with all his might. they made strange shadows on the snow in the moonlight. monnie called to menie. menie straightened himself out at the bottom of the slope, picked himself up and ran back to her. "what shall we play?" said monnie. "let's get koko, and go to the big rock and slide downhill," said menie. "all right," said monnie. "you run and get your sled." menie had a little sled which his father had made for him out of driftwood. no other boy in the village had one. menie's father had searched the beach for many miles to find driftwood to make this sled. the eskimos have no wood but driftwood, and it is so precious that it is hardly ever used for anything but big dog sledges or spears, or other things which the men must have. most of the boys had sleds cut from blocks of ice. menie's sled was behind the igloo. he ran to get it, and then the twins and the pups--all four--started for koko's house. koko's house was clear at the other end of the village. but that was not far away, for there were only five igloos in the whole town. first there was the igloo where the twins lived. next was the home of akla, the angakok, and his two wives. then there were two igloos where several families lived together. last of all was the one where koko and his father and mother and baby brother lived. koko was six. he was the twins' best friend. ii. the air was very still. there was not a sound anywhere except the barking of the pups, the voices of menie and monnie, and the creaking sound of the snow under their feet as they ran. the round moon was sailing through the deep blue sky and shining so bright it seemed almost as light as day. there was one window in each igloo right over the tunnel entrance, and these windows shone with a dull yellow light. in front of the village lay the sea. it was covered with ice far out from shore. beyond the ice was the dark water out of which the sun would rise by and by. there was nothing else to be seen in all the twins' world. there were no trees, no bushes even; nothing but the white earth, the shadows of the rocks and the snow-covered igloos, the bright windows, and the moon shining over all. iii. menie and monnie soon reached koko's igloo. menie and nip got there first. monnie came puffing along with tup just a moment after. then the twins dropped on their hands and knees in front of koko's hut, and stuck their heads into the tunnel. nip and tup stuck their heads in, too. they all four listened. there was not a sound to be heard except loud snores! the snores came rattling through the tunnel with such a frightful noise that the twins were almost scared. "they sleep out loud, don't they?" whispered monnie. "let's wake them up," menie whispered back. then the twins began to bark. "ki-yi, ki-yi, ki-yi, ki-yi," just like little dogs! nip and tup began to yelp, too. the snores and the yelps met in the middle of the tunnel and the two together made such a dreadful sound that koko woke up at once. when he heard four barks he knew right away that it must be the twins and the little dogs. so he stuck his head into the other end of the tunnel and called, "keep still. you'll wake the baby! i'll be there in a minute." very soon koko popped out of the black hole. he was dressed in a fur suit and mittens just like the twins. iv. the three children went along together toward the big rock. monnie rode on the sled, and menie and koko pulled it. the big rock was very straight up and down on one side, and long and slanting on the other. the twins were going to coast down the slanting side. they climbed to the top, and menie had the first ride. he coasted down on his stomach with his little reindeer-skin kamiks (shoes) waving in the air. next koko had a turn. what do you think he did? he stood straight up on the sled with the leather cord in his hand, and slid down that way! but then, you see, he was six. when monnie's turn came she wanted to go down that way, too. but menie said, "no. you'd fall off and bump your nose! you have hardly any nose as it is, and you'd better save it!" "i have as much nose as you have, anyway," said monnie. "mine is bigger! i'm a boy!" said menie. koko measured their noses with his finger. "they are just exactly alike," he said. monnie turned hers up at menie and said, "what did i tell you?" menie never said another word about noses. he just changed the subject. he said, "let's all slide down at once." koko and menie sat down on the sled. monnie sat on menie. then they gave a few hitches to the sled and off they went. whiz! how they flew! the pups came running after them. in some places where it was very slippery the pups coasted, too! but they did not mean to. they did not like it. the sled was almost at the end of the slide when it struck a piece of ice. it flew around sideways and spilled all the children in the snow. just then nip and tup came sliding along behind them. they couldn't stop, so there they all were in a heap together, with the dogs on top! menie rolled over and sat up in the snow. he was holding on to the end of his nose. "iyi, iyi!" he howled, "i bumped my nose on a piece of ice!" monnie sat up in the snow, too. she pointed her fur mitten at menie's nose and laughed. "don't you know you haven't much nose?" she said. "you ought to be more careful of it!" koko kicked his feet in the air and laughed at menie, and the little dogs barked. menie thought he'd better laugh, too. he had just let go of his nose to begin when all of a sudden the little dogs stopped barking and stood very still! their hair stood up on their necks and they began to growl! "hark, the dogs see something," said menie. monnie and koko stopped laughing and listened. they could not hear anything. they could not see anything. still nip and tup growled. the twins and koko were children of brave hunters, so, although they were scared, they crept very quietly to the side of the big rock and peeped over. just that minute there was a dreadful growl! "woof!" it was very loud, and very near, and down on the beach a shadow was moving! it was the shadow of a great white bear! he was looking for fish and was cross because everything was frozen, and he could not find any on the beach. the moment they saw him, the twins and koko turned and ran for home as fast as ever their short legs could go! they did not even stop to get the precious sled. they just ran and ran. nip and tup ran, too, with their ears back and their little tails stuck straight out behind them! if they had looked back, they would have seen the bear stand up on his hind legs and look after them, then get down on all fours and start toward the big rock on a run. but neither the children nor the little dogs looked back! they just ran with all their might until they reached the twins' igloo. then they all dived into the tunnel like frightened rabbits. v. when they came up in the one little room of the igloo at the other end of the tunnel kesshoo and koolee were just crawling out of the warm fur covers of their bed. menie and monnie and koko and the little dogs all began to talk at once. the moment the twins' father and mother heard the word--bear--they jumped off the sleeping-bench and began to put on their clothes. they both wore fur trousers and long kamiks, with coats of fur, so they looked almost as much alike in their clothes as the twins did in theirs. the mother always wore her hair in a topknot on top of her head, tied with a leather thong. but now she wanted to make the bear think she was a man, too, so she pulled it down and let it hang about her face, just as her husband did. in two minutes they were ready. then the father reached for his lance, the mother took her knife, and they all crawled out of the tunnel. the father went first, then the mother, then the three children and the pups. at the opening of the tunnel the father stopped, and looked all around to see if the bear were near. the dogs in the village knew by this time that some strange animal was about, and the moment kesshoo came out into the moonlight and started for the big rock, all the dogs ran, too, howling like a pack of wolves. kesshoo shouted back to his wife, "there really is a bear! i see him by the big rock; call the others." so she sent monnie into the igloo of the angakok, and menie and koko into the next huts. she herself screamed, "a bear! a bear!" into the tunnel of koko's hut. the people in the houses had heard the dogs bark and were already awake. soon they came pouring out of their tunnels armed with knives and lances. the women had all let down their hair, just as the twins' mother did. each one carried her knife. they all ran toward the big rock, too. far ahead they could see the bear, and the dogs bounding along, and kesshoo running with his lance in his hand. then they saw the dogs spring upon the bear. the bear stood up on his hind legs and tried to catch the dogs and crush them in his arms. but the dogs were too nimble. the bear could not catch them. when kesshoo came near, the bear gave a great roar, and started for him. the brave kesshoo stood still with his lance in his hand, until the bear got quite near. then he ran at the bear and plunged the lance into his side. the lance pierced the bear's heart. he groaned, fell to the ground, rolled over, and was still. then how everybody ran! koko's mother had her baby in her hood, where eskimo mothers always carry their babies. she could not run so fast as the others. the angakok was fat, so he could not keep up, but he waddled along as fast as he could. "hurry, hurry," he called to his wives. "bespeak one of his hind legs for me." menie and monnie and koko had such short legs they could not go very fast either, so they ran along with the angakok, and koko's mother, and nip and tup. when they reached the bear they found all the other people crowded around it. each one stuck his fingers in the bear's blood and then sucked his fingers. this was because they wanted all bears to know how they longed to kill them. as each one tasted the blood he called out the part of the bear he would like to have. the wives of the angakok cried, "give a hind leg to the angakok." "the kidneys for koko," cried koko's mother when she stuck in her finger. "that will make him a great bear-hunter when he is big." "and i will have the skin for the twins' bed," said their mother. kesshoo promised each one the part he asked for. an eskimo never keeps the game he kills for himself alone. every one in the village has a share. the bear was very large. he was so large that though all the women pulled together they could not drag the body back to the village. the men laughed at them, but they did not help them. so koolee ran back for their sledge and harnesses for the dogs. koko and menie helped her catch the dogs and hitch them to the sledge. it took some time to catch them for the dogs did not want to work. they all ran away, and tooky, the leader of the team, pretended to be sick! tooky was the mother of nip and tup, and she was a very clever dog. while koolee and koko and menie were getting the sledge and dog-team ready, the rest of the women set to work with their queer crooked knives to take off the bear's skin. the moon set, and the sky was red with the colors of the dawn before this was done. at last the meat was cut in pieces and kesshoo and koko's father held the dogs while the women heaped it on the sledge. the dogs wanted the meat. they jumped and howled and tried to get away. when everything was ready, koolee cracked the whip at the dogs. tooky ran ahead to her place as leader, the other dogs began to pull, and the whole procession started back to the village, leaving a great red stain on the clean white snow where the bear had been killed. last of all came the twins and koko. they had loaded the bear's skin on menie's sled. "it's a woman's work to pull the meat home. we men just do the hunting and fishing," menie said to koko. they had heard the men say that. "yes, we found the bear," koko answered. "monnie can pull the skin home." and though monnie had found the bear just as much as they had, she didn't say a word. she just pulled away on the sled, and they all reached the igloo together just as the round red sun came up out of the sea, and threw long blue shadows far across the fields of snow. ii. koolee divides the meat koolee divides the meat i. the first thing that was done after they got the sledge back to the village was to feed the dogs. the dogs were very hungry; they had smelled the fresh meat for a long time without so much as a bite of it, and they had had nothing to eat for two whole days. they jumped about and howled again and got their harnesses dreadfully tangled. kesshoo unharnessed them and gave them some bones, and while they were crunching them and quarreling among themselves, koolee crawled into the igloo and brought out a bowl. the bowl was made of a hollowed-out stone, and it had water in it. "this is for a charm," said koolee. "if you each take a sip of water from this bowl my son will always have good luck in spying bears!" she passed the bowl around, and each person took a sip of the water. when menie's turn came he took a big, big mouthful, because he wanted to be very brave, indeed, and find a bear every week. but he was in too much of a hurry. the water went down his "sunday-throat" and choked him! he coughed and strangled and his face grew red. koolee thumped him on the back. "that's a poor beginning for a great bear-hunter," she said. everybody laughed at menie. menie hated to be laughed at. he went away and found nip and tup. they wouldn't laugh at him, he knew. he thought he liked dogs better than people anyway. nip and tup were trying to get their noses into the circle with the other dogs, but the big dogs snapped at them and drove them away, so menie got some scraps and fed them. meanwhile koolee stood by the sledge and divided the meat among her neighbors. first she gave one of the hind legs to the wives of the angakok, because he always had to have the best of everything. she gave the kidneys to koko's mother. to each one she gave just the part she had asked for. when each woman had been given her share, kesshoo took what was left and put it on the storehouse. the storehouse wasn't really a house at all. it was just a great stone platform standing up on legs, like a giant's table. the meat was placed on the top of it, so the dogs could not reach it, no matter how high they jumped. ii. when the rest of the meat was taken care of, koolee took the bear's head and carried it into the igloo. all the people followed her. then koolee did a queer thing. she placed the head on a bench, with the nose pointing toward the big rock, because the bear had come from that direction. then she stopped up the nostrils with moss and grease. she greased the bear's mouth, too. "bears like grease," she said. "and if i stop up his nose like that bears will never be able to smell anything. then the hunters can get near and kill them before they know it." you see koolee was a great believer in signs and in magic. all the other people were too. she called to the twins, "come here, menie and monnie." the twins had come in with the others, but they were so short they were out of sight in the crowd. they crawled under the elbows of the grown people and stood beside koolee. "look, children," she said to them, "your grandfather, who is dead, sent you this bear. he wants you to send him something. in five days the bear's spirit will go to the land where your grandfather's spirit lives. what would you like to have the bear's spirit take to your grandfather for a gift?" "i'll send him the little fish that father carved for me out of bone," said menie. he squirmed through the crowd and got it from a corner of his bed and brought it to his mother. she put it on the bear's head. monnie gave her a leather string with a lucky stone tied to it. koolee put that on the bear's head too. then she said, "there! in five days' time the bear's spirit will give the shadows of these things to your grandfather. then we can eat the head, but not until we are sure the bear's spirit has reached the home of the dead." "that is well," the angakok said to the twins, when koolee had finished. "your grandfather will be pleased with your presents, i know. your grandfather was a just man. i knew him well. he always paid great respect to me. whenever he brought a bear home he gave me not only a hind leg, but the liver as well! i should not be surprised if he sent the bear this way, knowing how fond i am of bear's liver." the angakok placed his hand on his stomach and rolled up his eyes. "but times are not what they once were," he went on. "people care now only for their own stomachs! they would rather have the liver themselves than give it to the angakok! they will be sorry when it is too late." he shook his head and heaved a great sigh. koolee looked at kesshoo. she was very anxious. kesshoo went out at once to the storehouse. he climbed to the top and got the liver. by this time all the people had crawled out of the igloo again, and were ready to carry home their meat. kesshoo ran to the angakok and gave him the bear's liver. the angakok handed it to one of his wives to carry. the other one already had the bear's leg. he said to kesshoo, "you are a just man, like your father. i know the secrets of the sun, moon, and stars. you know your duty! you shall have your reward." he looked very solemn and waddled away toward his igloo with the two wives behind him carrying the meat. all the rest of the people followed after him and went into their own igloos. iii. the twins go fishing the twins go fishing i. when the people had all gone away, menie and monnie sat down on the side of the sledge. nip and tup were busy burying bones in the snow. the other dogs had eaten all they wanted to and were now lying down asleep in the sun, with their noses on their paws. everything was still and cold. it was so still you could almost hear the silence, and so bright that the twins had to squint their eyes. in the air there was a faint smell of cooking meat. menie sniffed. "i'm so hungry i could eat my boots," he said. "there are better things to eat than boots," monnie answered. "what would you like best of everything in the world if you could have it?" "a nice piece of blubber from a walrus or some reindeer tallow," said menie. "oh, no," monnie cried. "that isn't half as good as reindeer's stomach, or fishes' eyes! um-m how i love fishes' eyes! i tell you, menie, let's get something to eat and then go fishing, before the sun goes down!" "all right," said menie. "let's see if mother won't give us a piece of bear's fat! that is almost as good as blubber or fishes' eyes." ii. they dived into the igloo. their mother was standing beside the oil lamp, putting strands of dried moss into the oil. this lamp was their only stove and their only light. it didn't look much like our stoves. it was just a piece of soapstone, shaped something like a clamshell. it was hollowed out so it would hold the oil. all along the shallow side of the pan there were little tendrils of dried moss, like threads. these were the wicks. over the fire pan there was a rack, and from the rack a stone pan hung down over the lamp flame. it was tied by leather thongs to the rack. in the pan a piece of bear's meat was simmering. the fire was not big enough to cook it very well, but there was a little steam rising from it, and it made a very good smell for hungry noses. "we're hungry enough to eat our boots," menie said to his mother. "you must never eat your boots; you have but one pair!" his mother answered. she pinched menie's cheek and laughed at him. then she cut two chunks of fat from a piece of bear's meat which lay on the bench. she gave one to each of the twins. "eat this, and soon you can have some cooked meat," she said. "it isn't quite done yet." "we don't want to wait for the cooked meat," cried monnie. "we want to go fishing before the sun is gone. give us more fat and we'll eat it outside." "you may go fishing if your father will go with you and cut holes for you in the ice," said her mother. koolee cut off two more pieces of fat. the twins took a piece in each hand. then their mother reached down their own little fishing rods, which were stuck in the walls of the igloo. the twins had bear's meat in both hands. they didn't see how they could manage the fishing rods too. but menie thought of a way. "i'll show you how," he said to monnie. he held one chunk of meat in his teeth! in his left hand he held the fishing rod, in his right he carried the other piece of meat! monnie did exactly what menie did, and then they crawled down into the tunnel. iii. the twins had some trouble getting out of the tunnel because both their hands were full. and besides the fishing rods kept getting between their legs. when they got outside they both took great bites of the bear's fat. kesshoo was hanging the dogs' harnesses up on a tall pole, where the dogs could not get them. the pole was eight feet long, and it was made of the tusk of a narwhal. the harnesses were made of walrus thongs and the dogs would eat them if they had a chance. that was the reason kesshoo hung them out of reach. the twins ran to their father at once. they began to tell him that they wanted to go fishing right away before the sun went down but their mouths were so full they couldn't get the words out! "mm-m-m-m," menie began, chewing with all his might! then monnie did a shocking thing! she swallowed her meat whole, she was in such hurry! it made a great lump going down her throat! it almost choked her. but she shut her eyes, jerked her head forward, and got it down! "will you make two holes in the ice for us to fish through?" she said. she got the words out first! then she took another bite of meat. "have you got your lines ready, and anything for bait?" asked their father. by this time menie had swallowed his mouthful too. he said, "we can take a piece of bear's meat for bait. the lines and hooks are ready." kesshoo looked at the lines. the rods were very short. they were made of driftwood with a piece of bone bound to the end by tough thongs. there was a hole in the end of the bone, and through this hole the line was threaded. the line was made of braided reindeer thongs. on the end of the line was a hook carved out of bone. "your lines are all right," said kesshoo. "come along." he led the way down to the beach. the twins came tumbling after him, and i am sorry to tell you they gobbled their meat all the way! after the twins came nip and tup. the ice was very thick. kesshoo and the twins and the pups walked out on it quite a distance from the shore. kesshoo cut two round holes in the ice. one was for menie and one for monnie. the holes were not big enough for them to fall into. by this time the twins had eaten all their meat except some small pieces which they saved for bait. they each put a piece of meat on the hook. then they squatted down on their heels and dropped the hooks into the holes. kesshoo went back to the village, and left them there. "don't stay out too long," he called back to them. iv. the twins sat perfectly still for a long time. nip sat beside menie, and tup sat beside monnie. it grew colder and colder. the sun began to drop down toward the sea again. at last it rested like a great round red wheel right on the edge of the world! slowly, slowly it sank until only a little bit of the red rim showed; then that too was gone. great splashes of red color came up in the sky over the place where it had been. still the twins sat patiently by their holes. it grew darker and darker. the colors faded. the stars began to twinkle, but the twins did not move. nip and tup ran races on the ice, and rolled over each other and barked. at last--all of a sudden--there was a fearful jerk on monnie's line! it took her by surprise. the little rod flew right out of her hands! monnie flung herself on her stomach on the ice and caught the rod just as it was going down the hole! she held on hard and pulled like everything. "i believe i've caught a whale," she panted. but she never let go! she got herself right side up on the ice, somehow, and pulled and pulled on her line. "let me pull him in!" cried menie. he tried to take her rod. "get away," screamed monnie. "i'll pull in my own fish." menie danced up and down with excitement, still holding his own rod. the pups danced and barked too. monnie never looked at any of them. she kept her eyes fixed on the hole and pulled. at last she shrieked, "i've got him, i've got him!" and up through the hole came a great big codfish! my! how he did flop around on the ice! nip and tup were scared. they ran for home at the first flop. "let's go home now," said monnie. "i want to show my fine big fish to mother." but menie said, "wait a little longer till i catch one! i'll give you one eye out of my fish if you will." monnie waited. she put another piece of meat on her hook and dropped it again into the hole. after a while she said, "you can keep your old eye if you get it. it's so dark the fish can't see to get themselves caught anyway. i'm cold. i'm going home." menie got up very slowly and pulled up his line. as they turned toward the shore, monnie cried out, "look, look! the sky is on fire!" it looked like it, truly! great white streamers were flashing from the edge of the world, clear up into the sky! they danced like flames. sometimes they shot long banners of blue or green fire up to the very stars. overhead the sky shone red as blood. the stars seemed blotted out. the twins had seen many wonderful things in the sky, but never such color as this. their eyes grew as round and big and popping as those of monnie's codfish, while they watched the long banners join themselves into a great waving curtain of color that hung clear across the heavens. "what is it? oh, what is it?" they gasped. they were too astonished to move, and they were a good deal frightened, too. they never knew the sky could act like that. monnie felt her black hair rise under her little fur hood. she seized menie's coat. "do you suppose the world is going to be burned up?" she said. just then they heard a voice calling, "menie, monnie, where are you?" "here we are," they answered. their teeth were chattering with cold and fright, and they ran up the slope and flung themselves into their mother's arms. "oh, mother, what is the matter with the sky?" they gasped. then koolee looked up too. the long streamers were still flinging themselves up toward the red dome overhead. we call this the "aurora," or "northern lights," and know that electricity causes it, but the twins' mother couldn't know that. she told them just what had been told her when she was a little girl. she said, "that is the dance of the spirits of the dead! haven't you ever seen it before?" "not like this," said the twins. "this is so big, and so red!" "the sky is not often so bright," said koolee. "some say it is the spirits of little children dancing and playing together in the sky! they will not hurt you. you need not be afraid. see how they dance in a ring all around the edge of the world! they look as if they were having fun." "it goes around the edge of the world just like the flames around our lamp," said menie. "maybe it's the giants' lamp!" menie and monnie believed in giants. so did their mother. they thought the giants lived in the middle of the great white world, where the snow never melts. the thought of the giants scared them all. the twins gave the fish to their mother, and then they all three scuttled up the snowy slope toward the bright window of their igloo just as fast as they could go. when they got inside they found some hot bear's meat waiting for them, and monnie had both the eyes from her fish to eat. but she gave one to menie. when they were warmed and fed, they pulled off their little fur suits, crawled into the piles of warm skins on the sleeping bench, and in two minutes were sound asleep. iv. the snow house the snow house i. it is very hard to tell what day it is, or what hour in the day, in a place where the days and nights are all mixed up, and where there are no clocks. menie and monnie had never seen a clock in their whole lives. if they had they would have thought it was alive, and perhaps would have been afraid of it. but people everywhere in the world get sleepy, so the eskimos sometimes count their time by "sleeps." instead of saying five days ago, they say "five sleeps" ago. the night after the bear was killed it began to snow. the wind howled around the igloo and piled the snow over it in huge drifts. the dogs were buried under it and had to be dug out, all but nip and tup. they stayed inside with the twins and slept in their bed. the twins and their father and mother were glad to stay in the warm hut. at last the snow stopped, the air cleared, and the twins and kesshoo went out. koolee stayed in the igloo. she sat on her sleeping bench upon a pile of soft furs. a bear's skin was stretched up on the wall behind her. she had a cozy nest to work in. the lamp stood on the bench beside her. she was making a beautiful new suit for menie. it was made of fawn-skin as soft as velvet, and the hood and sleeves were trimmed with white rabbit's fur. her thimble was made of ivory, and her needle too. her thread was a fine strip of hide. there was a bunch of such thread beside her. soon kesshoo came in, bringing with him a dried fish and a piece of bear's meat, from the storehouse. koolee looked up from her sewing. "isn't it five sleeps since you killed the bear?" she said. kesshoo counted on his fingers. "yes," he said, "it is five sleeps." "then it is time to eat the bear's head," said koolee. "his spirit is now with our fathers." "why not have a feast?" said kesshoo. "there hasn't been any fresh meat in the village since the bear was killed, and i don't believe the rest have had anything to eat but dried fish. we have plenty of bear's meat still." koolee hopped down off the bench and put some more moss into the lamp. "you bring in the meat," she said, "and tell the twins to go to all the igloos and invite the people to come at sunset." "all right," kesshoo answered, and he went out at once to the storehouse to get the meat. ii. when he came out of the tunnel, kesshoo found the twins trying to make a snow house for the dogs. they weren't getting on very well. kesshoo could make wonderful snow houses. he had made a beautiful one when the first heavy snows of winter had come, and the family had lived in it while koolee finished building the stone igloo. the twins had watched him make it. it seemed so easy they were sure they could do it too. kesshoo said, "if you will run to all the igloos and tell the people to come at sunset to eat the bear's head, i will help you build the snow house for the dogs." menie and monnie couldn't run. nobody could. the snow was too deep. they went in every step above their knees. but they ploughed along and gave their message at each igloo. everybody was very glad to come, and koko said, "i'll come right now and stay if you want me to." "come along," said the twins. they went back to their own house, kicking the snow to make a path. koko went with them. the snow was just the right kind for a snow house. it packed well and made good blocks. while the twins were away giving the invitations, kesshoo carried great pieces of bear's meat into the house. koolee put in the cooking pan all the meat it would hold, and kept the blaze bright in the lamp underneath to cook it. then kesshoo took his long ivory knife and went out to help the twins with the snow house, as he had promised. "see, this is the way," he said to them. he took an unbroken patch of snow where no one had stepped. he made a wide sweep of his arm and marked a circle in the snow with his knife. the circle was just as big as he meant the house to be. then he cut out blocks of snow from the space inside the circle. he placed these big blocks of snow around the circle on the line he had marked with his knife. when he got the first row done menie said, "i can do that! let me try." he took the knife and cut out a block. it wasn't nice and even like his father's blocks. "that will never do," his father said. "your house will tumble down unless your blocks are true." he made the sides of the block straight by cutting off some of the snow. "now all the other blocks in this row must be just like this one," he said. koko tried next. his block was almost right the first time. but then, as i have told you before, koko was six. monnie tried the next one. i am sorry to say hers wouldn't do at all. it was dreadfully crooked. they took turns. menie cut a new block while koko placed the last one on the snow wall. kesshoo had to put on the top blocks to make the roof. neither koko nor menie could do it right, though they tried and tried. it is a very hard thing to do. when the blocks were all laid up and the dome finished, kesshoo said, "now, monnie can help pack it with snow." monnie got the snow shovel. the snow shovel was made of three flat pieces of wood sewed together with leather thongs. it had an edge of horn sewed on with thongs, too. monnie threw loose snow on the snow house and spatted it down with the back of the shovel. while she was doing this, menie and koko built a tunnel entrance for the dogs just like the big one on the stone house. they worked so hard they were warm as toast, though it was as cold as our coldest winter weather; and when it was all finished menie ran clear over it just to show how strong and well built it was. iii. when the snow house was all ready, menie called the three big dogs. tooky was the leader, and the three dogs together were kesshoo's sledge team. tooky was a hunting dog too. when menie called the dogs, the dogs thought they were going to be harnessed, so they hid behind the igloo and pretended they didn't hear. koko and menie followed them, but the moment they got near, the dogs bounded away. they went round to the front of the igloo and ran into the tunnel. koolee was just turning the meat in the pan with a pointed stick. there was a piece of bear's meat lying on the bench. the dogs smelled the meat. they stuck their heads into the room, and when koolee's back was turned, tooky stole the meat! just then koolee turned around. she saw tooky. she shrieked, "oh, my meat, my meat!" and whacked tooky across the nose with the snow stick! but tooky was bound to have the meat. she ran out of the tunnel with it in her mouth, just as menie and koko got round to the front of the igloo once more. "i-yi! i-yi!" they screamed, "tooky's got the meat!" kesshoo caught up his dog-whip and came running from the storehouse. the other two dogs wanted the meat too. they flew at tooky and snarled and fought with her to get it. then koolee's head appeared in the tunnel hole! tooky was crouching in the snow in front of the tunnel, trying to fight off the other two dogs and guard the meat at the same time. she wasn't doing a thing with her tail, but she was very busy with all the rest of her. her tail was pointed right toward the tunnel. the moment she saw it koolee seized the tail with both hands and jerked it like everything! tooky was so surprised she yelped. and when she opened her mouth to yelp, of course she dropped the meat. just at that instant kesshoo's whip lash came singing about the ears of all three dogs. "snap, snap," it went. they jumped to get out of the way of the lash. then koolee leaped forward and snatched the meat from under their noses, and scuttled back with it into the tunnel before you could say jack robinson. it is dangerous to snatch meat away from hungry dogs. if kesshoo hadn't been slashing at them with his whip, and if menie and koko hadn't been screaming at them with all their might, so the dogs were nearly distracted, koolee might have been badly bitten. just then monnie came up with some dried fish. she threw one of the fish over in front of the snow house. the dogs saw it and leaped for it. then she threw another into the snow hut itself. they went after that. she fed them all with dried fish until they were so full they curled up in the snow house and went to sleep. v. the feast the feast i the moment the sun had gone out of sight all the people in the village came pouring out of their tunnels on their way to the feast at kesshoo's house. kesshoo's house was so small that it seemed as if all the people could not possibly get into it. but the eskimos are used to crowding into very small spaces, indeed. sometimes a man and his wife and all his children will live in a space about the size of a big double bed. first the angakok came out of his igloo, looking fatter than ever. the angakok always found plenty to eat somehow. both his wives were thin. their faces looked like baked apples all brown and wrinkled. when they reached kesshoo's house, the angakok went into the tunnel first. now i can't tell you whether he had grown fatter during the five days, or whether the entrance had grown smaller, but this much i know: the angakok got stuck! he couldn't get himself into the room no matter how much he tried! he squirmed and wriggled and twisted, until his face was very red and he looked as if he would burst, but there he stayed. other people had crawled into the tunnel after him. his two wives were just behind. everybody got stuck, of course, because no one could move until the angakok did. he was just like a cork in the neck of a bottle. kesshoo and koolee and the twins and nip and tup were all in the igloo. when they saw the angakok's face come through the hole they thought, of course, the rest of him would come too. but it didn't, and the angakok was mad about it. "why don't they build igloos the way they used to?" he growled. "every year the tunnels get smaller and smaller! am i to remain here forever?" he went on. "why doesn't somebody help me?" kesshoo and koolee seized him under his arms. they pulled and pulled. the two wives pushed him from behind. "i-yi! i-yi!" screamed the angakok. "you will scrape my skin off!" he kicked out behind with his feet. his wives backed hastily, to get out of the way. that made them bump into koko's mother who was just behind them. her baby was in her hood, and when she backed, the baby's head was bumped on the roof of the tunnel. the baby began to roar. in the tunnel it sounded like a clap of thunder. the wives of the angakok and koko's mother all began to talk at once, and with that and the baby's crying i suppose there never was a tunnel that held so much noise. it all came into the igloo, and it sounded quite frightful. the twins crept into the farthest corner of the sleeping bench and watched their father and mother and the angakok, with their eyes almost popping out of their heads. nip and tup thought they would help a little, so they jumped off the bench; and barked at the angakok. you see, they didn't know he was a great medicine man. they thought maybe he ought not to be there at all. nip even snapped at the angakok's ear! that made the angakok more angry than ever. he reached into the room, seized nip with one hand and flung him up on to the sleeping bench. nip lit on top of menie. nip was very much surprised, and so was menie. now, whether the jerk he gave in throwing nip did it or not, i cannot say, but at that instant kesshoo and koolee both gave a great pull in front. at the same moment the two wives gave a great push behind, and the next moment after that, there was the angakok, still red, and still angry, sitting on the edge of the sleeping bench in the best place near the fire! then his two wives came crawling through. the angakok looked at them as if he thought they had made him stick in the tunnel, and had done it on purpose, too. the wives scuttled up on to the sleeping bench, and got into the farthest corner of it as fast as they could. the women and children always sat back on the bench at a feast. when koko's mother came in, the baby was still crying. she climbed up on to the bed with him, and menie and monnie showed him the pups and that made the baby laugh again. as fast as they came in, the women and children packed themselves away on the sleeping bench. the men sat along the edge of it with their feet on the floor. ii. the smell of food soon made everybody cheerful. when at last they were all crowded into the room, koolee placed the bear's head and other pans of meat on the floor. then she crawled back on to the bench with the other women. the angakok was the first one to help himself. he reached down and took a large chunk of meat. he held it up to his mouth and took hold of the end with his teeth. then he sawed off a huge mouthful with his knife. it looked as if he would surely cut off the end of his nose too, but he didn't. when the men had all helped themselves, pieces of meat were handed out to the women and children. soon they were all eating as if their lives depended on it. and now i think of it, their lives did depend on it, to be sure! i will not speak about their table manners. in fact, they hadn't any to speak of! they had nothing to eat with the meat--not even salt--but it was a great feast to them for all that, and they ate and ate until every scrap was gone. the angakok grew better natured every minute. by the time he had eaten all he could hold he was really quite happy and benevolent! he clasped his hands over his stomach and smiled on everybody. the women chattered in their corner of the sleeping-bench, and koolee showed koko's mother the new fur suit trimmed with white rabbit's skin that she was making for menie. and koko's mother said she really must make one for koko just like it. the twins and koko talked about a trap to catch hares which they meant to made as soon as the long days began again, and the baby went to sleep on a pile of furs in the corner. menie fed the pups with some of his own meat, and gave them each a bone. nip and tup buried their bones under the baby and then went to sleep too. iii. after a while the angakok turned his face to the wall, as he always did when he meant to tell a story or sing a song. then he said, "listen, my children!" he called everybody--even the grown up people--his children! everybody listened. they always listened when the angakok spoke. the angakok knew the secrets of the sun, moon, and stars. he had told them so many times! the people believed it, and it may be that the angakok really believed it himself, though i have some doubt about that. "listen, my children," said the angakok, "and i will tell you wonderful things. "there is a world beneath the sea! you catch glimpses of that world yourselves in calm summer weather, when the water is still, and you know that i speak the truth! "then you can see the shadows of rocks and islands and glaciers in the smooth water. far below you see blue sky and white clouds. that is the calm world in which the spirits of the dead live. i have visited that underworld, many times, i have talked there with the spirits of your ancestors." the angakok paused and looked around to see if every one was paying attention. then he went on with his story. "do you remember how two springs ago there were so few walruses and seals along the coast that you nearly died for lack of food and oil?" he said. "my children, it was i who brought the seals and walruses back to you! without my efforts you might all have starved! "i will tell you of the perils of a fearful journey which i undertook for your sakes. then you will see what you owe to the skill and faithfulness of your angakok!" all the people looked very solemn, and nodded their heads. the angakok went on. "you must know that in the depths of the underworld, far beyond the beautiful abode of the spirits of the dead, lives the old woman of the sea! "there she sits forever and forever beside a monstrous lamp. underneath the lamp is a great saucer to catch the oil which drips from it. "in that saucer there are whole flocks of sea-birds swimming about! all the animals that live in the sea--the whales and walruses, the codfish and the seals--swarm in the saucer of the old woman of the sea. that is where they all come from. sometimes the old woman of the sea keeps all the creatures in the saucer. then there are no seal or fish or walrus along our coasts, and there is hunger among the innuit (human beings). "at the time of my journey she had kept all the creatures for so long a time in her saucer that you and many others were nearly dead for lack of food." "it was then that i prepared myself for the perils of this journey to the underworld. i called my tornak, or guiding spirit, to lead my steps. without his tornak an angakok can do nothing. the tornak came at once in answer to my call. he took me by the hand, and we plunged down into the water. first we passed through the beautiful world of spirits, where it is always summer. this part of the way was quite pleasant, but on the farther side of that world we came to a fearful abyss. it could be crossed only on a large slippery wheel, as slippery as ice." "i mounted this wheel and was whirled across the chasm. no sooner had i reached the other side than new terrors came upon me. i had to pass by great cauldrons of boiling oil, in which seals were swimming about." "a misstep would have sent me plunging into the boiling oil, and you would have lost your angakok forever!" the thought of this was so dreadful that the angakok paused and wiped his eyes. then he went on again with his story. "however, with great courage i kept upon my way until at last i saw the old woman's house! a deep gulf lay between us and her dwelling, and outside it stood a great dog with bloody jaws. this dog guards the entrance, and he sleeps only for a single moment, once in a very great while." "for six days i and my tornak waited there for the dog to sleep. at last on the seventh day he closed his eyes! instantly the tornak seized my hand and drew me across the bridge which spanned the chasm. this bridge was as narrow as a single thread." "when we were safely across the bridge we passed the sleeping dog and boldly entered the old woman's house. the old woman is terrible to look upon! her hand is the size of a large walrus, and her teeth like the rocks along the coast!" the angakok dropped his voice to a whisper. "however, when she looked upon me she trembled!" he said. "she saw at once that i possessed great power, and was a great angakok. i spoke to her flattering words. then i told her of the hunger of my children!" "i begged that she would send the seal and walrus and sea-birds to our coast at once. but she had no mind to yield to my requests. then i stormed and threatened." the angakok's voice grew louder. "the walls shook with the thunder of my voice! at last i seized her by the hair! i tipped over the saucer with my foot! my great power prevailed against the mighty sorceress!" "the seal and walrus swam away. the birds flew into the air and were gone. i had conquered the old woman of the sea! my children were saved!" the angakok was silent for a moment. then he spoke again in a natural voice. "when i opened my eyes in my own igloo again," he said, "the famine was already over. flocks of sea-birds were flying overhead. the sea swarmed with fish, and with walrus and seal. every one along the whole coast was happy. ask yourselves--is it not so?" the angakok seemed very much pleased with himself, and he looked about, as if he expected every one else to be pleased with him too. all the people were filled with wonder at his great power. they began to talk among themselves. "yes, i remember the famine well," said koko's father. "i was away up the coast that season. several died in our village for lack of food." other men remembered things about other times when food had been scarce. "it is lucky," they said to each other, "that here we have a great angakok who understands all the secrets of the world and who can save us from such dreadful things." iv. at last kesshoo said, "will you tell us, great angakok, how you make these wonderful journeys?" "do you really wish to know?" asked the angakok. "if you do, i will summon my guiding spirits to tell you, but they will speak only in the darkness." kesshoo took the lamp at once and put it out in the tunnel. then he placed a thick musk-ox hide over the entrance, so that not a single ray of light came into the room. the darkness could almost be felt. everybody sat very still and listened. soon a heavy body was heard to strike the floor with a dull thud, and a strange voice said, "who calls me?" another voice said, "you are called, mighty spirits, to tell these children of the labors of their angakok." then began all sorts of strange noises, as of different persons speaking. all the voices sounded much like the angakok's, and they all said what a great medicine man the angakok was, and how every one in the village must be sure to do what he told them to! at last the angakok himself spoke, in his own voice. "i will tell you how i make these strange journeys," he said. "my body is now lying on the floor at your feet. now i begin to rise. you cannot see me. you cannot touch me. now i am floating about your heads, now i am touching the roof! i can go wherever i please! nothing can stop me! i know the secret places of the sun, moon, and stars. i can fly through the roof and go at once to the moon, if i wish to." then the voice was still. nobody moved or spoke. monnie had gone to sleep in the corner of the bed, but koko and menie were still awake. they had listened to every word about the old woman of the sea, and how the angakok traveled to the moon. you know i told you before that koko was six. he wanted to know all about things. so he spoke right out in the dark, when every one else was still. he said, "mother, if the angakok can go anywhere he wants to, why couldn't he get out of the tunnel?" koko's mother tried to hush him up. "sh, sh," she said, and put her hand over his mouth. at least she thought she did, but she made a mistake in the dark and put her hand over menie's mouth instead! menie tried to say, "i never said a word," but he could only make queer sounds, because koko's mother's hand was tight on his mouth. of course koko didn't know his mother was trying to keep him still, so he said again, "why is it, mother?" koko's mother heard koko's voice speaking just as plainly as ever though she was sure she had her hand over his mouth! she was frightened. "magic! magic!" she screamed. "bring the light! koko is bewitched! i have my hand over his mouth, yet you hear that he talks as plainly as ever!" koko tried to say, "your hand isn't over my mouth," and menie tried to say, "it's over mine!" but he could only say, "m-m-m," because she held on so tight! koko's mother was making so much noise herself that she wouldn't have heard what either one said anyway. the baby woke up and whimpered. nip and tup woke up and barked like everything. kesshoo got the light from the tunnel as quickly as he could, and set it on the bench. then every one saw what was the matter! they all laughed--all but menie and the angakok. the angakok said to koko's father, "you'd better look after that boy. he is disrespectful to me. that is a bad beginning!" koko's father was ashamed of him. he said, "koko is so small!" but the angakok said, "koko is six. he is old enough to know better." v. everybody was so glad to see the light again that they all began to talk at once. some one said to kesshoo, "tell us about the long journey to the south you took once long ago." then everybody else listened, while kesshoo told about how once he had taken his dog sledge with a load of musk-ox and seal skins on it far down the coast and how at last he had come to a little settlement where the houses were all made of wood, if they would believe it! he told them that in the bay before the village there was a boat as big as the big rock itself. it had queer white wings, and the wind blew on these wings and made the boat go! kesshoo had been out in a kyak to see it. he had even paddled all round it. the men on the great boat had fair hair, and one of them, the chief man of all, had bought some of kesshoo's skins and one of his dogs. the man was a great chief. his name was nansen. this great chief had told kesshoo that he was going to take a sledge and go straight into the inland country where the giants live! he said he was going to cross the great ice! no man had ever done that since the world began. kesshoo thought probably the great chief had been eaten by the giants, but he did not know surely, because he had never been back there since to find out. and to be sure, if he had been eaten by giants, no one ever would know about it anyway. then kesshoo showed them all a great knife that the white chief had given him, in exchange for a sealskin, and two steel needles that he had sent to koolee. koolee kept the needles in a little ivory case all by themselves. she always carried the case in her kamik, so it would not be lost. she could do wonderful sewing with the needles. koolee was very proud of her sewing. no one else in the whole village could sew so well, because they had not such good needles to do it with. koolee used them only for her very finest work. at last the angakok said, "it is time to go home." he called to his wives. they climbed down off the bench. that started the others. one after another they put on their upper garments, which they had taken off in the warm igloo, said good bye, and popped down into the tunnel. last of all came the angakok's turn. then kesshoo and koolee and the angakok's wives all began to look very anxious. the angakok looked a little worried himself. if he had stuck coming in, what would happen now after he had eaten so much! he got down on his hands and knees, and looked at the hole. he had taken off his thick fur coat when he came in. now he took off his undercoat, and his thick fur trousers! he gave them to his wives. then he stretched himself out just as long as he possibly could and slowly hitched himself down into the tunnel, groaning all the way. kesshoo and koolee and the wives waited until his feet disappeared, and they heard him scraping along through the tunnel. then they breathed a great sigh of relief, and the two wives popped down after him. the last kesshoo and koolee heard of the angakok, was a kind of muffled roar when a piece of ice fell from the top of the tunnel on to his bare back. menie and monnie and the pups were already sound asleep in their corner of the bench when their father and mother fixed the lamp for the night and crawled in among the fur robes beside them. vi. the reindeer hunt the reindeer hunt i. the day after the feast it was still very cold, but there were signs of spring in the air. when menie went out to feed the dogs, he saw a flock of ravens flying north, and koko saw some sea-birds on the same day. two days after that, when the twins and koko were all three playing together on the big rock, they saw a huge iceberg float lazily by. it had broken away from a glacier, farther north, and was drifting slowly toward the southern sea. it gleamed in the sun like a great ice palace. one morning the air was thick with fog. when kesshoo saw the fog he said, "this would be a great day to hunt reindeer." "oh, let me go with you!" cried menie. monnie knew better than to ask. she knew very well she would never be allowed to go. kesshoo thought a little before he answered. then he said, "if koko's father will go, too, you and koko may both go with us. you are pretty small to go hunting, but boys cannot begin too early to learn." menie was wild with joy. he rushed to koko's house and told him and his father what kesshoo had said. when he had finished, koko's father said at once, "tell kesshoo we will go." it was not long before they were ready to start. kesshoo had his great bow, and arrows, and a spear. he also had his bird dart. koko's father had his bow and spear and dart, too. menie had his little bow and arrows. kesshoo put a harness on tooky and tied the end of tooky's harness trace around menie's waist. koko's father had brought his best dog, too, and koko was fastened to the end of that dog's harness in the same way. then the four hunters started on their journey--menie and koko driving the dogs in front of them. monnie stood on the big rock and watched them until they were out of sight in the fog. nip and tup were with her. they wanted to go as much as monnie did and she had hard work to keep them from following after the hunters. ii. kesshoo knew very well where to look for the reindeer. he led the way up a steep gorge where the first green moss appeared in the spring. they all four walked quietly along for several miles. when they got nearly to the head of the gorge, kesshoo stopped. he said to the boys, "you must not make any noise yourselves, and you must not let the dogs bark. if you do there will be no reindeer today." the boys kept very still, indeed. the dogs were good hunting dogs. they knew better than to bark. they walked on a little farther. then kesshoo came very near the others and spoke in a low voice. he said, "we are coming to a spot where there are likely to be reindeer. the wind is from the south. if we keep on in this direction, the reindeer will smell us. we must go round in such a way that the wind will carry the scent from them to us, not from us to them." they turned to the right and went round to the north. they had gone only a short distance in this direction, when they found fresh reindeer tracks in the snow. the dogs began to sniff and strain at their harnesses. "they smell the game," whispered kesshoo. "hold on tight! don't let them run." menie and koko held the dogs back as hard as they could. kesshoo and koko's father crept forward with their bows in their hands. the fog was so thick they could not see very far before them. they had gone only a short distance, when out of the fog loomed two great gray shadows. instantly the two men dropped on their knees and took careful aim. the reindeer did not see them. they did not know that anything was near until they felt the sting of the hunters' arrows. one reindeer dropped to the earth. the other was not killed. he flung his head in the air and galloped away, and they could hear the thud, thud, of his hoofs long after he had disappeared in the fog. the moment the dogs heard the singing sound of the arrows, they bounded forward. koko and menie were not strong enough to hold them back, and they could not run fast enough to keep up with them. so they just bumped along behind the dogs! some of the time they slid through the snow. the snow was rough and hard, and it hurt a good deal to be dragged through it as if they were sledges, but eskimo boys are used to bumps, and they knew if they cried they might scare the game, so they never even whimpered. it was lucky for them that they had not far to go. when they came bumping along, kesshoo and koko's father laughed at them. "don't be in such a hurry," they called. "there's plenty of time!" they unbound the traces from menie and koko and hitched the dogs to the body of the reindeer. then they all started back to the village with koko's father driving the dogs. soon the fog lifted and the sky grew clear. monnie was playing with her doll in the igloo, when she heard tooky bark. she knew it was tooky at once. she and koolee both plunged into the tunnel like mice down a mouse hole. nip and tup were ahead of them. outside they found koko's mother and the baby. koolee called to her, and she called to the wives of the angakok, who were scraping a bear's skin in the snow. the angakok's wives, and koko's mother and her baby, and koolee, and monnie, and nip and tup all ran to meet the hunters, and you never saw two prouder boys than koko and menie when they showed the reindeer to their mothers. the mothers were proud of their young hunters, too. koolee said, "soon we shall have another man in our family." when they were quite near the village again, they met the angakok. he had been trying to catch up with them and he was out of breath from running. he looked at them sternly. "why didn't you call me?" he panted. his wives looked frightened and didn't say a word. nobody else said anything. the angakok glared at them all for a moment. then he poked the reindeer with his fingers to see if it was fat and said to the men, "which portion am i to have?" "would you like the liver?" asked kesshoo. he remembered about the bear's liver, you see. but the angakok looked offended. "who will have the stomach?" he said. "you know very well that the stomach is the best part of a reindeer." "take the stomach, by all means, then," said kesshoo, politely. koolee and monnie looked very much disappointed. they wanted the stomach dreadfully. but the angakok answered, "since you urge me, i will take the stomach. i had a dream last night, and in the dream i was told by my tornak that today i should feed upon a reindeer's stomach, given me by one of my grateful children. when you think how i suffered to bring food to you, i am sure you will wish to provide me with whatever it seems best that i should have." he stood by while kesshoo and koko's father skinned the reindeer and cut it in pieces. then he took the stomach and disappeared into his igloo--with his face all wreathed in smiles. vii. what happened when menie and koko went hunting by themselves what happened when menie and koko went hunting by themselves i. it was very lucky for the twins that their father was such a brave and skillful kyak man. you will see the reason why, when i tell you the story of the day menie and koko went hunting alone on the ice. one april morning kesshoo was working on his kyak to make sure that it was in perfect order for the spring walrus hunting. koko and menie watched him for a long time. monnie was with koolee in the hut. by and by koko said to menie, "let's go out on the ice and hunt for seal-holes." "all right," said menie. "you take your bow and arrows and i'll take my spear. maybe we shall see some little auks." koko had a little bow made of deer's horns, and some bone arrows, and menie had a small spear which his father had made for him out of driftwood. "i'll tell you!" said menie. "let's go hunting just the way father does! you do the shooting and i'll do the spearing! won't everybody be surprised to see us bring home a great load of game? i shall give everything i get to my mother." "i'm going to hunt birds and seal-holes too," koko answered. kesshoo was very busy fixing the fastening of his harpoon, and he did not hear what they said. the two boys went to their homes for their weapons, and then ran out on the ice. nobody knew where they were. of course, nip and tup went along. ii. all the way over the ice they looked for seal-holes. it takes sharp eyes to find them, for seal-holes are very small. you see, the mother seals try to find the safest place they can to hide their babies, and this is the way they do it: as soon as the ice begins to freeze in the autumn, the seals gnaw holes in it to reach the air, and they keep these holes open all winter. it freezes so fast in that cold country that they have to be busy almost every minute all through the winter breaking away the ice there. they get their sleep in snatches of a minute or so at a time, and between their naps they clear the ice from their breathing holes. there is usually a deep layer of snow over the ice. each mother seal hollows out a little igloo under the snow, around her breathing hole, and leaves a tiny hole in the top of it, so her baby can have plenty of fresh air and be hidden from sight at the same time. the mother seal leaves the baby in the snow house, and she herself dives through the hole and swims away. every few minutes she comes back to breathe, and to see that her baby is safe. it was the tiny hole in the top of the seal's snow house that menie and koko hoped to find. the days had grown quite long by this time and there was fog in the air. once in a while there would be a loud crackling noise. "the ice is beginning to break," koko said. "don't you hear it pop? my father says he thinks the warm weather will begin early this year." they had gone some distance out on the ice, when suddenly menie said, "look! look there!" he pointed toward the north. there not far from shore was a flock of sea-birds, resting on the ice. "just let me get a shot at them!" cried koko. "you stay here and hold on to the dogs! nip and tup haven't any sense at all about game! they'll only scare them." iii. koko ran swiftly and quietly towards the birds. menie sat on the ice and watched him and held nip and tup, one under each arm. when koko got quite near the birds, he took careful aim and let fly an arrow at them. it didn't hit any of the birds, but it frightened them. they flew up into the air and away to the north and alighted farther on. koko followed them. all at once menie heard a queer little sound. it went "plop-plop-plop," and it sounded very near. nip and tup sniffed, and began to growl and nose around on the ice. menie knew what the queer noise meant, for his father had told him all about seal hunting. it meant that a seal-hole was near, and that a seal had come up to breathe. it was the seal that made the "plopping" noise. menie tried to keep the dogs still, but they wouldn't be kept still. they ran round with their noses on the snow, giving little anxious whines, and short, sharp barks. the "plop-plop" stopped. the seal had gone down under the ice, but menie meant to find the hole. he went out quite near the open water in his search. at last, just beyond a hummock of ice, he saw it! he crept carefully up to it. he lay down on his stomach and peeped into the hole to see what it was like. he could not see a thing! then he stuck his lance down. his lance touched something soft that wiggled! menie stood up. he was so excited that he trembled. he knew he had found a seal-hole with a live seal in the snow house! with all his strength he struck his lance down through the snow. the snow house fell in and menie fell with it, but he kept hold of his lance. the end of the lance was buried in the snow, but it was moving. menie knew by this that he had stuck it into the seal! he lay still and kept fast hold of his lance, and pressed down on it with all his might. nip and tup were crazy with excitement. they jumped round and barked and tried to dig a hole in the snow with their forefeet. at last the spear stopped wiggling. then menie carefully dug the snow away. there lay a little white seal! it was too young to swim away with its mother. that was why such a small boy as menie had been able to kill it. he dragged it out on the ice. he was so excited and so busy he did not notice how near he was to the open water. iv. all of a sudden there was a loud cracking noise, and menie felt the ice moving under him! he looked back. there was a tiny strip of blue water between him and the shore! the strip grew wider while he looked at it! menie knew that he was adrift on an ice raft, and he was terribly frightened. nip and tup cuddled close to him and whined with fear. menie understood perfectly well that he might be carried far out to sea and never come back any more. he put his hands to his mouth and yelled with all his might! koko was still following the birds, and did not hear menie's cries. menie could see him running up the beach after the birds, and he could see his father working over his kyak near his home. he even saw monnie come out of the tunnel and go to watch her father at his work. they seemed very far away, and every moment the distance between them and the raft grew greater. menie screamed again and again. at the third scream he saw his father straighten up, shade his eyes with his hand, and look out to sea. "oh," menie thought. "what if he shouldn't see me!" he shouted louder than ever! he waved his arms! he even pinched the tails of nip and tup and made them bark. then he saw his father wave his hand and dive into the tunnel. in another instant he was out again and pulling on his skin coat. then he took the kyak on his shoulders and ran with it to the beach. monnie and koolee came running after him. they were doing the screaming now! every one in the village heard the screams and came running down to the beach, too. when menie saw his father coming with the kyak, he wasn't afraid any more, for he was sure his father would save him. he wasn't even afraid about the cakes of ice that were floating in the water, though there is nothing more dangerous than to go out in a kyak among ice floes. one bump from a floating cake of ice is enough to upset any boat, and i don't like to think of what might happen if a kyak should get between two big cakes of ice. kesshoo ran with his kyak as far as he could on the ice. then he got in and fitted the bottom of his skin jacket over the kyak hole and carefully slid himself into the open water. once in the water, how his paddle flew! it seemed to menie as if his father would never reach him! he sat very still on the ice pan with the dead seal beside him, and nip and tup huddled up against him. at last kesshoo came near enough so he could make menie hear everything he said. "menie," he cried, "if you do exactly what i tell you to, i can save you. "i will throw you my harpoon. you must drive it way down into the ice. then by the harpoon line i will tow your ice pan back toward shore. when we get to the big ice i will find a place for you to land. "you must be ready, and when i give the word jump from your ice raft on to the solid ice." then kesshoo threw his harpoon, and menie drove it into the ice with all his might. slowly kesshoo drew the line taut, turned his kyak round, and started for the shore. the journey out had been dangerous, but the journey back was much more so, for kesshoo could not dodge the floating ice nearly so well. he had to pick his way carefully through the clearest water he could find. very cautiously they moved toward shore. v. they were getting quite near the place where the ice had broken with menie, when suddenly, right near them, they saw the head and great, round eyes of a seal! it was the seal mother. she had come back to find her breathing hole and her baby. the moment kesshoo saw her he seized his dart, which lay in its place on top of his kyak, and threw it with all his might at the seal. the seal dived down into the sea, but a bladder full of air was attached to the line on the dart, and this bladder floated on the water, so kesshoo could tell by watching it just where the seal was. kesshoo knew he had struck the seal, and although he was already towing the ice raft, he was determined to bring home the big seal, too! he called to menie. "sit still and wait until i come for you." then he quickly cut the harpoon line by which he was towing the ice raft, and set it adrift again. as soon as he was free he paddled away after the bladder, which was now bobbing along over the water at some little distance from the boat. menie sat perfectly still and watched his father. kesshoo reached the bladder and began to pull on the line, but just at that moment the big seal turned round and swam right under the kyak! in a second the kyak turned bottom side up in the water! menie screamed. the people watching on the shore gave a great howl, and koko's father started up the beach after his own kyak. he thought perhaps kesshoo could not manage both the ice raft and the seal, and he meant to go to help him. but in one second kesshoo was right side up again. no water could get into the kyak because kesshoo's skin coat was drawn tight over the hole in the deck, and kesshoo was in the coat! kesshoo often turned somersaults in the water in that way. sometimes he even did it for fun! he said afterward that he could have turned the boat right side up again with just his nose, without using either his paddle or his arms, if only his nose had been a little bigger, and though he meant this for a joke, the twins believed that he really could do it. the moment he was right side up again, kesshoo gave chase once more to the bladder. the seal was very weak now, and kesshoo knew that it would soon come to the surface and float and that then he could tow it in. he had not long to wait. the bladder bobbed about for a while and then was still. kesshoo drew up the line, and paddled back to the ice raft, towing the big seal after him. "catch this," he said to menie. he threw him the end of the line. "wind the line six times round the harpoon," he said, "and hold tight to the end of it." menie did as he was told. then kesshoo tied together the two ends of the harpoon line, which he had cut, and began to tow the ice raft back to share again. menie kept tight hold of the other line and towed the seal! kesshoo paddled slowly and carefully along, until at last there was only a little strip of water between the kyak and the solid ice. but how in the world could menie get across that strip of water to safety? the kyak was between him and the solid ice, and menie could not possibly get into the kyak. neither could he swim. but kesshoo knew a way. he came up closer to the solid ice. then he gave a great sweep with his paddle and lifted his kyak right up on to it. he sprang out, and, seizing the harpoon line, pulled menie's raft close up to the edge of the firm ice. menie was still holding tight to the line that held the big seal. kesshoo threw him another line. menie caught the end of it. "now tie the big seal's line fast to that," kesshoo said. menie was a very small boy, but he knew how to tie knots. he did just what his father told him to. "now," said his father, "pull up the harpoon." menie did so. "tie the harpoon line to the little seal." menie did that. "now throw the harpoon to me," commanded kesshoo. menie threw it with all his might. his father caught it, and stood on the firm ice, holding in his hands the line that the big seal was tied to, and the harpoon, with its line fastened to the little seal. "now hold on to the little seal, and i will pull you right up against the solid ice, and when i say 'jump,' you jump," said kesshoo. slowly and very, carefully he pulled, until the raft grated against the solid ice. "jump!" shouted kesshoo. menie jumped. the ice raft gave a lurch that nearly sent him into the water, but kesshoo caught him and pulled him to safety. a great shout of joy went up from the shore, and menie was glad enough to shout too when he felt solid ice under his feet once more! while he helped his father pull in the little seal, all the people came running out on to the ice to meet them, but kesshoo sent back every one except koko's father. he was afraid the ice might break again with so many people on it. koko's father helped pull the big seal out of the water and over the ice to the beach. menie dragged his own little seal after him by the harpoon line, and when he came near the beach, the people all cried out, "see the great hunter with his game!" and koolee was so glad to see menie and so proud of her boy that she nearly burst with joy! "i knew the charm would work," she cried. "not only does he spy bears--he kills seals! and he only five years old!" she put her arms around him and pressed her flat nose to his. that's the eskimo way of kissing. menie tried to look as if he killed seals and got carried away on an ice pan every day in the week, but inside he felt very proud, too. when kesshoo and koko's father came up with the big seal, koolee and the other women dragged it to the village, where it was skinned and cut up. every one had a piece of raw blubber to eat at once, and the very first piece went to menie. while they were eating it, koko came back. he had gone so far up the shore hunting little auks that he hadn't seen a thing that had happened. and he hadn't killed any little auks either. koko felt that things were very unequally divided in this world. he wanted to kill a seal and get lost on a raft and be a hero too. but koolee gave him a large piece of blubber, and that made him feel much more cheerful again. he just said to monnie, "if i had been with menie, this never would have happened! i should not have let him get so near the edge of the ice! but then, you know, i am six, and he is only five, so, of course, he didn't know any better." everybody in the village had seal meat that night, and the angakok had the head, which they all thought was the best part. he said he didn't feel very well, and his tornak had told him nothing would cure him so quickly as a seal's head. so koolee gave it to him. the skin of the little white seal koolee saved and dressed very carefully. she chewed it, all over, on the wrong side, and sucked out all the blubber, and made it soft and fine as velvet; and when that was done, she made out of it two beautiful pairs of white mittens for the twins. viii. the woman-boats the woman-boats i. during the long, dark hours of the winter kesshoo found many pleasant things to do at home. he was always busy. he carved a doll for monnie out of the ivory tusk of a walrus. monnie named the doll annadore, and she loved it dearly. koolee dressed annadore in fur, with tiny kamiks of sealskin, and monnie carried her doll in her hood, just the way koko's mother carried her baby. for menie, his father made dog harnesses out of walrus hide. he made them just the right size for nip and tup. menie harnessed the little dogs to his sled. then he and monnie would play sledge journeys. annadore would sit on the sled all wrapped in furs, while menie drove the dogs, and monnie followed after. nip and tup did not like this play very well, and they didn't always go where they were told to. once they dashed right over the igloo and spilled annadore off. annadore rolled down one side of the igloo, while nip and tup galloped down the other. annadore was buried in the snow and had to be dug out, so it was quite a serious accident, you see, but nip and tup did not seem to feel at all responsible about it. kesshoo made knives and queer spoons out of bone or ivory for koolee, and for himself he made new barbs for his bladder-dart, new bone hooks for fishlines, and all sorts of things for hunting. he made salmon spears, and bird darts, and fishlines, and he ornamented his weapons with little pictures or patterns. he carved two frogs on the handle of his snow knife, and scratched the picture of a walrus on the blade. sometimes koolee carved things, too, but most of the time she was busy making coats or kamiks, or chewing skins to make them soft and fine for use in the igloo; or to cover the kyaks, or to make their summer tent. once during the winter the whole family went thirty miles up the coast by moonlight to visit koolee's brother in another village. they went with the dog sledge, and it took them two days. they had meat and blubber with them and plenty of warm skins, and when they got tired, kesshoo made a snow house for them to rest in. the twins thought this was the best fun of all. ii. when spring came on, there were other things to do. as the days grew longer, the ice in the bay cracked and broke into small pieces and floated away. the water turned deep blue, and danced in the sunlight, and ice floated about in it. often there were walrus on these ice-pans. the twins sometimes saw their huge black bodies on the white ice, and heard their hoarse barks. then all the men in the village would rush for their kyaks and set out after the walrus. the men were brave and enjoyed the dangerous sport, but the women used to watch anxiously until they saw the kyaks coming home towing the walrus behind them. then they would rush down to the shore, help pull the kyaks up on the beach, where they cut the walrus in pieces and divided it among the families of the hunters. when the snow had melted on the big rock, hundreds of sea-birds made their nests there and filled the air with their cries. sometimes kesshoo went egg hunting on the cliff, and sometimes he set traps there for foxes, and he helped menie and koko make a little trap to catch hares. there was plenty to do in every season of the year. at last the nights shortened to nothing at all. the long day had begun. the stone but, which they had found so comfortable in winter, seemed dark and damp now. menie and monnie remembered the summer days when they did not have to dive down through a hole to get into their house, so menie said to monnie one day, "let's go and ask father if it isn't time to put up the tents." they ran out to find him. he was down on the beach talking with koko's father and the other men of the village. on the beach were two very long boats. the men were looking them over carefully to see if they were water tight. koko was with the men. when he saw the twins coming, he tore up the slope to meet them, waving his arms and shouting, "they're getting out the woman-boats! they're getting out the woman-boats!" this was glorious news to the twins. they ran down to the beach with koko as fast as their legs could carry them. they got there just in time to hear koko's father say to kesshoo, "i think it's safe to start. the ice is pretty well out of the bay, and the reindeer will be coming down to the fiords after fresh moss." all the men listened to hear what kesshoo would say, and the twins listened, too, with all their ears. "if it's clear, i think we could start after one more sleep," said kesshoo. iii. the twins didn't wait to hear any more. they flew for home, and dashed down the tunnel and up into the room. koolee was gathering all the knives and spoons and fishing-things and sewing things, and dumping them into a large musk-ox hide which was spread on the floor. the musk-ox hide covered the entrance hole. the first thing koolee knew something thumped the musk-ox skin on the under side, and the knives and thimbles and needle cases and other things flew in all directions. up through the hole popped the faces of menie and monnie! "oh, mother," they shouted. "we're going off on the woman-boats! after only one more sleep, if it's pleasant! father said so!" koolee laughed. "i know it!" she said. "i was just packing. you can help me. there's a lot to do to get ready." the twins were delighted to help. they got together all their own treasures--the sled, and the fishing rods, the dog harnesses, and annadore, and bound them up with walrus thongs. all but annadore. annadore rode in monnie's hood as usual. koolee gathered all her things together again and wrapped them in the musk-ox hide. she took down the long narwhal tusks that the dog harnesses were hung on. these were the tent poles. she and the twins carried all these things to the beach. the men stayed on the beach and packed the things away in the boats. the other women brought down their bundles from their igloos. there was room for everything in the two big boats. only the skins were left on the sleeping bench in the hut. when everything else was ready, koolee and the twins went up on top of the igloo. they pulled the moss and dirt out of the chinks between the stones that made the roof, and then koolee pulled up the stones themselves and let them fall over to one side. this left the roof open to the sky. "what makes you do that?" menie asked. "so the sun and rain can clean house for us," said koolee. everybody else in the village got ready in the same way. at last kesshoo came up from the beach and said to koolee, "let us have some meat and a sleep and then we will start. everything is ready. the boats are packed and it looks as if the weather would be clear." koolee brought out some walrus meat and blubber for supper, though it might just as well be called breakfast, for there was no night coming, and the twins ate theirs sitting on the roof of the igloo with their feet hanging down inside. once menie's feet kicked his father's head. it was an accident, but kesshoo reached up and took hold of menie's foot and pulled him down on to the sleeping bench and rolled him over among the skins. "crawl in there and go to sleep," he said. monnie let herself down through the roof by her hands and crept in beside menie. then kesshoo and koolee wrapped themselves in the warm skins and lay down, too. it took menie and monnie some time to go to sleep, for they could look straight up through the roof at the sky, and the sky was bright and blue with little white clouds sailing over it. besides, they were thinking about the wonderful things that would happen when they should wake up. ix. the voyage the voyage i. when the twins awoke, the sun was shining as brightly as ever, and nip and tup were barking at them through the hole in the roof. kesshoo and koolee were gone! menie and monnie were frightened. they were afraid they were left behind. they sat up in bed and howled! in a moment koolee's face looked down at them through the roof. "what's the matter?" she said. "we thought we were left," wailed monnie! "as if i could leave you behind!" cried koolee. she laughed at them. "hand up the skins to me," she said. she reached her arm down the hole and pulled out all the skins from the bed as fast as the twins gave them to her. then she put her head down into the opening and looked all around. "we haven't left a thing," she said; "come along." the twins couldn't climb out through the roof, though they wanted to, so they went out by the tunnel, and helped their mother carry the skins to the beach. all the people in the village and all the dogs were there before them. the great woman-boats were packed, the kyaks of the men waited beside them in a row on the beach, with their noses in the water. the dogs barked and raced up and down the beach, the babies crowed, and the children shouted for joy. even the grown people were gay. they talked in loud tones and laughed and made jokes. ii. at last kesshoo shouted, "all ready! in you go!" he told each person where to sit. he put the angakok in one boat to steer. he put koko's father in the other. in koko's father's boat he placed koko and his mother and the baby, koolee and the twins, the pups, all three dogs, and four of the women who lived in the other igloos. so you see it was quite a large boat. in the angakok's boat he placed his two wives, and all the rest of the women and children and dogs. the women took up the paddles. one end of the boat was partly in the water when they got in. the men gently pushed it farther out until it floated. then the men got into their kyaks at the water's edge, fastened their skin coats over the rims, and paddled out into deep water. at last, when all the boats, big and little, were afloat, kesshoo called out, "we are going north. follow me." the women obeyed the signal of koko's father and the angakok. the paddles dipped together into the water. the great boats moved! they were off! the children all sat together in the bottom of the boat, but the twins and koko were big enough to see over the sides. while the babies played with the dogs, they were busy watching the things that passed on the shores. soon they passed the big rock with little auks and puffins flying about it. they could see the red feet of the puffins, and a blue fox sitting on the top of the rock, waiting for a chance to catch a bird. then the big rock hid the village from sight. iii. beyond the big rock the country was all new to the twins and koko. they looked into narrow bays and inlets as the boat moved along, and saw green moss carpeting the sunny slopes in sheltered places. they could even see bright flowers growing in the warm spots which faced the sun. the sky was blue overhead. the water was blue below. beyond the green slopes they could see the bare hillsides crowned with the white ice cap which never melts, and streams of water dashing down the hillsides and pouring themselves into the waters of the bay. when they had gone a good many miles up the coast, kesshoo waved his hand and pointed to a strange sight on the shore. there was a great river of ice! they could see where it came out of a hollow place between two hills. it looked just like a river, only it was frozen solid, and the end of it, where it came into the sea, was broken off like a great wall of ice, and there were cakes of ice floating about in the water. suddenly there was a cracking sound. menie had heard that sound before. it was the same sound that he had heard when he went seal-hole hunting and got carried away on the ice raft. menie didn't like the sound anymore. it scared him! right after the cracking noise kesshoo's voice shouted, "row farther out! follow me!" he turned his kyak straight out to sea. all the other boats followed. they had gone only about half a mile when suddenly there was a loud crick-crick-crack as if a piece of the world had broken off, and then there was a splash that could be heard for miles, if there had been any one to hear it. the end of the glacier, or ice river, had broken off and fallen down into the water! it had made an iceberg! the splash was so great that in a moment the waves it made reached the boats. the boats rocked up and down on the water and bounced about like corks. the twins and koko thought this was great fun, but the angakok didn't like it a bit. one wave splashed over him, and some of the water went down his neck. all the grown people knew that if they hadn't rowed quickly away from shore when kesshoo called they might have been upset and drowned. iv. when the waves made by the iceberg had calmed down again, kesshoo paddled round among the boats. he said, "i think we'd better land about a mile above here. there's a stream there, and perhaps we can get some salmon for our dinner." he led the way in his kyak, and all the other boats followed. they kept out of the path of the iceberg, which had already floated some distance from the shore, and it was not long before they came to a little inlet. kesshoo paddled into it and up to the very end of it, where a beautiful stream of clear water came dashing down over the rocks into the sea. the hills sloped suddenly down to the shore. the sun shone brightly on the green slopes, and the high cliffs behind shut off the cold north winds. it was a little piece of summer set right down in the valley. "oh, how beautiful!" everybody cried. the boats were soon drawn up on the beach, the women and children tumbled out, and then began preparations for dinner. the women got out their cooking pots, and koolee set to work to make a fireplace out of three stones. they had blubber and moss with them, but how could they get a fire? they had no matches. they had never even heard of a match. the angakok sat down on the beach. he had some little pieces of dry driftwood and some dried moss. he held one end of a piece of driftwood in a sort of handle which he pressed against his lips. the other end was in a hollow spot in another piece of wood. the angakok rolled one driftwood stick round and round in the hollow spot of the other. he did this by means of a bow which he pulled from one side to the other. this made the stick whirl first one way, then back again. soon a little smoke came curling up round the stick. koolee dropped some dried moss on the smoking spot. suddenly there was a little blaze! she fed the little flame with more moss, and then lighted the moss on the stones of the fireplace. she put a soapstone kettle filled with water over the fire, and soon the kettle was boiling. while all this was going on down on the beach, the men took their salmon spears and went up the river, and koko and the twins went with them. the wives of the angakok went to find moss to feed the fire. they brought back great armfuls of it, and put it beside the fireplace. koolee was the cook. she stayed on the beach and looked after the babies and the dogs, and the fire. everything was ready for dinner, except the food! meanwhile the men had found a good place where there were big stones in the river. they stood on these stones with their spears in their hands. there were hundreds of salmon in the little stream. the salmon were going up to the little lake from which the river flowed. when the fish leaped in the water, the men struck at them with their fish spears. there were so many fish, and the men were so skillful that they soon had plenty for dinner. they strung them all on a walrus line and went back to the beach. koolee popped as many as she could into her pot to cook, but the men were so hungry they ate theirs raw, and the twins and koko had as many fishes' eyes to eat as they wanted, for once in their lives. when everybody had eaten as much as he could possibly hold, the babies were rolled up in furs in the sand and went to sleep. the angakok lay down on the sand in the sunshine with his hands over his stomach and was soon asleep, too. the men sat in a little group near by, and menie and koko lay on their stomachs beside kesshoo. the women had gone a little farther up the beach. the air was still, except for the rippling sound of the water, the distant chatter of the women, the snores of the angakok, and the buzzing of mosquitoes! for quite a long time everybody rested. menie and koko didn't go to sleep. they were having too much fun. they played with shells and pebbles and watched the mosquitoes buzzing over the angakok's face. there were a great many mosquitoes, and they seemed to like the angakok. at last one settled on his nose, and bit and bit. menie and koko wanted to slap it, but, of course, they didn't dare. they just had to let it bite! all of a sudden the angakok woke up and slapped it himself. he slapped it harder than he intended to. he looked very much surprised and quite offended about it. he sat up and looked round for his wives, as if he thought perhaps they had something to do with it. but they were at the other end of the beach. the angakok yawned and rubbed his nose, which was a good deal swollen. just then kesshoo spoke, "i think we shall look a long time before we find a better spot than this to camp," he said. "here are plenty of salmon. we can catch all we need to dry for winter use, right here. there must be deer farther up the fiord. what do you say to setting up the tents right here?" when kesshoo said anything, the others were pretty sure to agree, because kesshoo was such a brave and skillful man that they trusted his judgment. all the men said, "yes, let us stay." then the angakok said, "yes, my children, let us stay! while you thought i was asleep here on the sand i was really in a trance. i thought it best to ask my tornak about this spot, and whether we should be threatened here by any hidden danger. my tornak says to stay!" this settled the matter. "tell the women," said kesshoo. koko's father went over to the place where the women and children were. "get out the tent poles," he called to them. "here's where we stay." v. the women jumped up and ran to the woman-boats. they got out the long narwhal tusks, and the skins, and set them down on the beach. "come with me," koolee called to the twins. she gave them each a long tent pole to carry. she herself carried the longest pole of all, and a pile of skins. koolee led the way up the green slope to a level spot overlooking the stream and the bay. it was beside some high rocks, and there were smaller stones all about. there was a flat stone that she used for the sleeping bench. when the poles were set up and securely fastened, she got the tent skins and covered the poles. she put on one layer of skin with the hair inside and over that another covering of skin with the fur side out. she sewed the skins together over the entrance with leather thongs and left a flap for a door. then she placed stones around the edge of the tent covering to keep the wind from blowing it away. she piled the bed skins on the rock, and their summer house was ready. the twins brought the musk-ox hides, with all their treasures in them, and the cooking pots and knives and household things from the beach, while koolee made the fireplace in the tent. she made the fireplace by driving four sticks into the ground and lashing them together to make a framework. she hung the cooking kettle by straps from the four corners. under the kettle on a flat stone she placed the lamp. then the stove was ready. "we shall cook out of doors most of the time," she said to the twins, "but in rainy weather we shall need the lamp." it was only a little while before there was a whole new village ready to live in, with plenty of fish and good fresh water right at hand. vi. menie and monnie were happy in their new home. they climbed about on the rock and found a beautiful cave to play in. they gathered flowers and shells and colored stones and brought them to their mother. then later they went for more fish with the men, and kesshoo let them stand on the stones and try to spear the fish just the way the men did. menie caught one, and koko caught one, but monnie had no luck at all. "anyway, i caught a codfish once," monnie said, to comfort herself. in two hours everything was as settled about the camp as if they had lived there a week, and every one was hungry again. hungriness and sleepiness came just as regularly as if they had had nights and clocks both, to measure time by. when the food was ready, kesshoo called "ujo, ujo," which meant "boiled meat," and everybody came running to the beach. the men sat in one circle, the women and children in another. pots of boiled fish were set in the middle of the circles, and they all dipped in with their fingers and took what they wanted. when everybody had eaten, the children played on the beach. they skipped stones and danced and played ball, and their mothers played with them. the men had their fun, too. they sat in their circle, told stories, and played games which weren't children's games, and the angakok sang a song, beating time on a little drum. all the men sang the chorus. by and by, koolee saw monnie's head nodding. so she said to the twins, "come, children, let's go up to the tent." she took their hands and led them up the slope. "we're not sleepy," the twins declared. "i am," said koolee, "and i want you with me." they went into the tent, which was not so light as it was out of doors in the bright sunlight. then they undressed, crawled in among the deerskins, and were soon sound asleep, all three of them. after a while kesshoo came up from the beach and went to sleep too. x. the summer day the summer day i. the summer days flew by, only one really shouldn't say days at all, but summer day. for three whole bright months it was just one daylight picnic all the time! the people ate when they were hungry and slept when they were sleepy. the men caught hundreds of salmon, and the women split them open and dried them on the rocks for winter use. the children played all day long. the men hunted deer and musk-ox and bears up in the hills and brought them back to camp. they hunted game both by land and by sea. there was so much to eat that everybody grew fatter, and as for the angakok, he got so very fat that koko said to menie, "i don't believe we can ever get the angakok home in the woman-boat! he's so heavy he'll sink it! i think it would be a good plan to tie a string to him and tow him back like a walrus!" "yes," said menie. "maybe he would shrink some if we soaked him well. don't you know how water shrinks the walrus hide cords that we tie around things when we want them to hold tight together?" it was lucky for menie and koko that nobody heard them say that about the angakok. it would have been thought very disrespectful. when the game grew scarce, or they got tired of camping in one spot everything was piled into their boats again, and away they went up the coast until they found another place they liked better. then they would set up their tents again. sometimes they came to other camps and had a good time meeting new people and making new friends. at last, late in august, the sun slipped down below the edge of the world again. it stayed just long enough to fill the sky with wonderful red and gold sunset clouds, then it came up again. the next night there was a little time between the sunset sky and the lovely colors of the sunrise. the next night was longer still. each day grew colder and colder. still the people lingered in their tents. they did not like to think the pleasant summer was over, and the long night near. but at last kesshoo said, "i think it is time to go back to winter quarters. the nights are fast growing longer. the snow may be upon us any day now. i don't know of a better place to settle than the village where we spent last winter. the igloos are all built there ready to use again. what do you say? shall we go back there?" "yes, let us go back," they all said. ii. the very next day they started. the boats were heavily loaded with dried fish, there were great piles of new skins heaped in the woman-boats, and every kyak towed a seal. for days they traveled along the coast, stopping only for rest and food. the twins and koko sat in the bottom of the boat with the dogs, and listened to the regular dip of the paddles, to the cries of the sea-birds as they flew away toward the south, and to the chatter of the women. these were almost the only sounds they heard, for the silence of the great white world was all about them. they talked together in low voices and planned all the things they would do when the long night was really upon them once more. when at last they came in sight of the big rock, they felt as if they had reached home after a very long journey. koko stood up in the boat and pointed to it. "see," he cried, "there's the big rock where we found the bear!" "yes," monnie said, "and where we slid downhill." "and i see where i got caught on the ice raft," menie shouted. "sit down," said koko's mother. "you'll tip the boat and spill us all into the water." koko sat down; the boat glided along through the water, nearer and nearer, until at last they came round the big rock, and there, just as if they had not been away at all, lay the whole village of five igloos, looking as if it had gone to sleep in the sunshine. the big boats waited until the men had all paddled to the shore and beached their kyaks, then they were drawn carefully up on to the sand, and every one got out. the beach at once became a very busy place. the men pulled the walruses and seals out of the water and took care of the boats, while the women set up the tents, cut the meat into big pieces for storage, and carried all their belongings to the tents. although the village looked just the same, other things looked quite different. nip and tup were big dogs by this time. they ran away up the beach with tooky and the other dogs the moment they were out of the boats. they did not stay with the twins all the time now, as they used to do. the twins were much bigger, too. koolee looked at them as they helped her carry the tent-skins up from the beach, and said to them, "my goodness, i must make my needles fly! winter is upon us and your clothes are getting too small for you! you must have new things right away." the twins thought this was a very good idea. they liked new clothes as well as any one in the world. koolee set up the tent beside their old igloo, and there they lived while the men of the village went out every day in their kyaks for seal and walrus, or back into the hills after other game to store away for food during the long winter. the women scraped and cured the skins and cut up the meat and packed it away as fast as the men could kill the game and bring it home. each day it grew colder, and each night was longer than the last, until one short september day there came a great snow storm! it snowed all day long, and that night the wind blew so hard that koolee and the twins nearly froze even among the fur covers of their bed, and when morning came they found themselves nearly buried under a great drift. that very day koolee put the stones over the roof of the igloo once more, and the twins helped her fill in the chinks with moss and earth, and cover it with a heavy layer of snow, patted down with the snow shovel, until everything was snug and tight again. then they moved in. by the next day all the igloos in the village were in use, and when night came their windows shone with the light of the lamps, just as they had so many months before. nip and tup slept outside with tooky now, in a snow house which kesshoo had built for them. menie and monnie missed them, but koolee said, "you are getting so big now you must begin to do something besides play with puppies. monnie must learn to sew, and menie must help father with feeding the dogs and looking after their harnesses, and driving the sledge." "maybe father will teach you both to carve fine things out of ivory this winter! monnie will soon need her own thimble and needles. they must be made. and she can help me clean the skins and suck out the blubber, and prepare them for being made into clothes!" "dear me! what a lot there is to do to keep clothes on our backs and food in our mouths! the giants are always waiting before the igloo and we must work very hard to keep them outside!" she did not mean real giants. she meant that hunger and want are always waiting to seize the eskimo who does not work all the time to supply food for himself and his family. she meant that menie must learn to be a brave strong hunter, afraid of nothing on sea or land, and that monnie must learn to do a woman's work well, or else the time would come when they would be without food or shelter or clothing, and the fierce cold would soon make an end of them. it was lucky they got into the warm igloo just when they did, for the winter had come to stay. the bay froze over far out from shore, and the white snow covered the igloos so completely that if it had not been for the windows, and for people moving about out of doors, no one could have told that there was any village there. the last day of all was so short that menie and monnie and koko saw the whole of it from the top of the big rock! they had gone up there in the gray twilight that comes before the sunrise to build a snow house to play in. they had been there only a little while when the sky grew all rosy just over the edge of the world. the color grew stronger and stronger until the little stars were all drowned in it and then up came the great round red face of the sun itself! the children watched it as it peered over the horizon, threw long blue shadows behind them across the snow, and then sank slowly, slowly down again, leaving only the flaming colors in the sky to mark the place where it had been. they waved their hands as it slipped out of sight. "good bye, old sun," they shouted, "and good bye, shadow, too! we shall be glad to see you both when you come back again." then, because the wind blew very cold and they could see a snow cloud coming toward them from the great white world where the giants lived, the children ran together down the snowy slope toward the bright windows of their homes. the end suggestions to teachers to arouse the children's interest and thus to make the reading of this story most valuable as a school exercise, it is suggested that at the outset the children be allowed to look at the pictures in the book in order to get acquainted with "menie" and "monnie" and with the scenes illustrating their home life and surroundings. during the reading, point out the north pole, greenland, etc., on a map of the world or on a globe, and tell the children something about the many years of effort before peary succeeded in reaching his goal; also about the work of subsequent explorers in this part of the world, and around the south pole as well. thus this supplementary reading material may be connected with the work in geography. the text is so simply written that the second grade child can read it without much or any preparation. it may be well to have the children read it first in a study period in order to work out the pronunciation of the more difficult words. but many classes will be able to read it at sight, without the preparatory study. the possibilities in the story for dramatization and for language and constructive work will be immediately apparent. in connection with the reading of the book, teachers should tell to the children stories describing eskimo life, and the experiences of explorers and pioneers in the north. grenfell's adrift on an ice-pan is suitable, for example. holbrook's northland heroes and schultz's sinopah, the indian boy, while not belonging to the land of the eskimos, contain stories of allied interest. let the children bring to class pictures of scenes in the north, clipped from magazines and newspapers. the unique illustrations in the eskimo twins should be much used, both in the reading of the story and in other ways. children will enjoy sketching some of them; their simple treatment makes them especially useful for this purpose. the book is printed on paper which will take watercolor well, and where the books are individually owned some of the sketches could be used for coloring in flat washes. they also afford suggestions for action sketching by the children. an excellent oral language exercise would be for the children, after they have read the story, to take turns telling the story from the illustrations; and a good composition exercise would be for each child to select the illustration that he would like to write upon, make a sketch of it, and write the story in his own words. these are only a few of the many ways that will occur to resourceful teachers for making the book a valuable as well as an enjoyable exercise in reading. [transcriber's note: bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.] our little eskimo cousin the little cousin series _illustrated_ [illustration] by mary hazelton wade =our little japanese cousin= =our little brown cousin= =our little indian cousin= =our little russian cousin= =our little african cousin= =our little cuban cousin= =our little hawaiian cousin= =our little eskimo cousin= =our little philippine cousin= =our little porto rican cousin= =our little swiss cousin= =our little norwegian cousin= =our little siamese cousin= =our little italian cousin= =our little irish cousin= =our little turkish cousin= =our little german cousin= =our little jewish cousin= by isaac taylor headland =our little chinese cousin= by elizabeth roberts macdonald =our little canadian cousin= [illustration] each volume illustrated with six full-page plates in tint, from drawings by l. j. bridgman. cloth, mo, with decorative cover, per volume, cents. [illustration] l. c. page & company new england building, boston, mass. [illustration: etu] our little eskimo cousin by mary hazelton wade _illustrated by_ l. j. bridgman [illustration] boston l. c. page & company _mdccccii_ _copyright, _ by l. c. page & company (incorporated) _all rights reserved_ published, june colonial press electrotyped and printed by c. h. simonds & co. boston, mass., u. s. a. preface it is a very wonderful thing, when we stop to think of it, that no matter where we are placed in this great round world of ours, it seems just right to us. far away in the frozen north, where the lovely aurora borealis dances in the sky, where the long sunless winter night stretches halfway across the year, live a people who cannot keep themselves alive without working very hard. yet they are happy and fun-loving. they _make_ pleasures for themselves. they are patient and joyous in the midst of darkness and storm. they do not think of complaining at their hard lot, or that they do not live where nature is kinder and more generous. we call them eskimos. they belong to another race than ours,--a different branch of the great human family. they are yellow and we are white, to be sure. but we know that, no matter how far away any race of people lives, and no matter how different these people may be from us in looks and habits, they and we belong to the same great family. it includes every race and every colour, for we are the children of one father. what a pleasure it is, therefore, to travel from place to place and see more of the life of others! but suppose we cannot journey with our bodies; we need not stay at home on that account. let us use the wings of the mind, and without trouble or expense visit the hot lands and the cold, the yellow children and the red. let us know them and learn what they can teach us. contents chapter page i. baby days ii. mother and child iii. play-days iv. dog team and sledge v. kayak and harpoon vi. the seal hunt vii. feast and fun viii. hard times ix. an eskimo christmas x. summer travels list of illustrations page etu _frontispiece_ "he who hits the greatest number wins the game" "etu had become quite skilful" "whizz! sounds the harpoon as it speeds from etu's shoulder" "etu stopped moving and lay quite still" "the blocks of snow were handed to them" our little eskimo cousin chapter i. baby days. a pair of very bright black eyes peered out from the mother's hood that winter morning. the thermometer, if there had been one, would have shown the temperature to be seventy degrees below the freezing point. yet baby etu did not seem to care. he was nestled so warmly in the heavy furs, and felt so safe on his mother's broad back, that he laughed and crowed in pure delight. it was his first ride since he was born, and there was so much to look at! at least he thought so, though great sheets of snow stretched outward to the frozen ocean, and covered the land in every direction. the twinkling stars gave the only light for etu to see by, yet it was daytime. it was that part of the twenty-four hours when the baby's people did their work; and that must be called day in etu's far northern country, even though darkness covers all the land. for etu lives in the frozen zone, on the shores of northern alaska, and during the long winter of eight months the sun shows his face very little above the horizon. here and there the snow looked as if it had been raised into low mounds. near these mounds holes could be seen in the ground, and pathways dug out between them. there were no trees, no fences, no roads. where was the village, and where was the baby's home? those holes marked the entrances to the winter houses built by etu's father and his neighbours. the mounds were the coverings of the houses. great pits had been dug in the earth, and lined with driftwood which had floated on to the shore. jaws of whales made the framework of the roofs, these being covered with sods cut out of the marshy plains in summer. mother nature did the rest by protecting all with a warm close blanket of snow. at first it makes one shudder to think of living in such homes during the long arctic winter. but the eskimos are satisfied, and feel so comfortable that they remove a great part of their clothing while they are indoors. the houses are made so snug that the sharpest winds cannot enter, and they cost nothing but the labour of making them. etu's mother allowed him to stay out only a few minutes this first time. she soon turned toward home, and coming to her own doorway crawled down through a long slanting tunnel in the ground, eight or ten feet long. when she reached the end, she was obliged to stoop even lower, for now she must pass upwards through another passage. lifting a trap-door, she stepped at once into the middle of her own home. why was there such a queer entrance? because the wind must be kept out at all hazards. after all, it seemed easy and natural enough to this woman who had never known other and pleasanter hallways. how close it seemed after the fresh cold air outdoors! there was a strong odour of smoking oil. it was noisy, too, as other women and children were moving around inside, for the house was shared in common by several families who were friendly to each other, and enjoyed living together. etu's mother quickly took off her outer coat of sealskin, and, lifting her baby out of his warm nest, placed him on a platform which stretched along one side of the room. what a round, smiling dumpling he was! his face was broad and flat, while his little nose looked as though it had been punched inwards. his bright eyes were quite narrow. he wore a curious skin cap drawn tightly over the top of his head. he must keep this on night and day for a year, at least. it would make his forehead taper upward, and that is a mark of beauty among his people. as soon as he was born, the top of his head was pressed between his nurse's hands, and the cap fitted on at once so that his head might grow in the proper shape. after that operation he was taken outdoors, and rolled in the snow. i suppose that was to get him used to the cold climate of his birthplace. don't you? baby etu's skin was much whiter than his mother's,--very nearly as white, in fact, as your own little brother's. why has he changed so much since he has grown to be a big boy? listen to the strange reason. when our eskimo cousin was born, there was a small dark spot on his back. day by day it grew larger; the change came very slowly, so slowly it could scarcely be noticed. but at last the darker colour had spread over the boy's whole body, till his skin was nearly like that of his father and mother. in course of time it would grow darker still, because he did not wash himself. please don't be shocked. it is _so_ hard to get water in that frozen land. snow must first be melted, and to do this heat is required. heating requires the burning of oil, and oil is very precious. it is scarcely any wonder, therefore, that etu has not been taught to be cleanly in all ways. the smoky air of the home during the long winter months also made the boy's skin grow darker. sometimes during his babyhood his mother would wash him as a mother cat washes her kittens, but that was all he has ever known of the delights of a bath. the mother-love made that pleasant, perhaps, but we cannot envy him. it was quite surprising to an arctic explorer some years ago, when he discovered the difference soap and warm water would make in an eskimo's appearance. "why, you are almost a white man," he exclaimed, "your friends will think you have been changed into another being by some magical spell." and he laughed heartily when he thought of the only magic being soap and water. etu tumbled about on the sealskins which covered the platform, watching his mother while she trimmed the wick of the lamp. what an odd-looking lamp it was! it was made of a crescent-shaped stone hollowed out. think of the labour of making it! it must have taken days, and even weeks, before the cavity was hollowed enough to hold the oil. but etu's people are such patient workers they do not worry over the time they spend. moss was built up around the sides of the lamp; it served for the wick which spluttered away as the oil burned and warmed the room. a lump of seal fat, or blubber as it is called, hung over the lamp. as it melted slowly in the heat, it dripped down into the cavity and furnished a steady supply of oil. there were two other lamps burning in etu's home, for you must remember there was a very large family living here. and these queer lamps not only gave light and warmth to all these people, but the cooking must also be done over them. etu watched the light with blinking eyes for a few moments, and then fell fast asleep. only think of it, he was nearly naked! there was no covering on his tiny body except a short skirt of fur,--his arms and legs were quite bare, yet his loving mother did not hurry to cover him over. he must get used to cold while he was still small, so that when he grew older he could bear exposure better. chapter ii. mother and child. the mother was proud that this first baby was a boy. she liked to dream of what a great hunter he would become. in a few years he would do his part to keep the wolf from the door, in more senses than one. he would bring home the seal, the walrus, now growing so scarce, the grim white bear, and make many a feast for his people. oh, no, girls could never do such things as these! she was a happy woman, indeed. this eskimo mother had a pleasant, sunny face, even though the chin was tattooed with three long lines from the mouth downwards. she firmly believed that it would be looked upon as a sign of goodness, when she reached the next world. it might help in bringing her to heaven. the work was done by her own hands and must have been quite painful. the sinew of a reindeer furnished the thread which she blackened with soot. fastening it in her bone needle, she drew it under and through the skin till the lines were plainly marked. they would stay that way as long as she lived. she bustled about at her work without fuss or hurry. more than once the children playing in the room got in her way, but she did not scold nor even look cross. now and then a hungry-looking dog poked his head up through the doorway, only to be chased out of sight again when discovered. as she worked she joined in the laughter and talk of the women. hark! the sound of many feet could be heard, and the women and children stopped their chatter to welcome the men of the household, who had been away on a bear hunt for many hours. "what luck? what luck?" all said at once, but there was no story of brave fighting to tell this night; the long march over the icy plains had met with no reward. but there was no danger of starving at present, for great dishes of smoking seal soup stood ready for the hunters. in a few minutes all the household were squatting on the floor around the bowls. they ate the delicious supper to their hearts' content; and how they did eat! it seemed as though their stomachs must be made of elastic, for otherwise how were they able to stow away such immense quantities of the rich, fatty food? with etu's people it is either a feast or a famine all the time. they have no regular time to eat, no such thing as breakfast, dinner, and supper. if there is a good supply of food on hand, they will keep on eating hour after hour in a way to fill other people with wonder. but if there is nothing in the larder they are able to go several days without eating; yet they seem to keep well and strong. all were satisfied at last, and baby etu waked up in time to be held and petted for a while before bedtime. his mother did not have any dishes to wash, but before she could settle herself for the night she had to arrange a net over the seal-oil lamp, and spread her husband's wet clothing in it to dry. she must rouse herself during the night to watch and turn it from time to time, for that is a woman's work, she has been taught. but where were all these people going to stow themselves for sleeping? there was no sign of a bed in the whole house. that question was easily settled, for a portion of the platform was set aside for each family. they arranged their fur rugs upon it, and crept in side by side. then, taking off all their clothing, they buried themselves under the warm covers. first in order lay the father of a family, next came the mother, and close to her the youngest child was always nestled. baby etu slept, warm and safe, that night and many afterward. not once during the long winter did he cry from colic. as soon as he was able to sit up alone his mother gave him lessons in what he needed most,--strength of body, and ease in moving every muscle. she would sit on the floor or platform and stretch out her legs in front of her. then she would brace etu against her feet, and, holding his hands, would bend his arms in every possible direction. now they must be stretched upwards, now to the right, the left, behind him, and so on. this would make him agile in hunting. as soon as the baby could walk he began to have other exercises for his legs, for he must make a good runner and dancer, also. as soon as etu began to take more notice of those around him, he received many presents of toys. there were animals carved out of ivory,--tiny whales and walruses, baby seals and reindeer. he could not break them easily. they were fine things to press against his aching gums when the first teeth pushed themselves into sight. if he had been a girl he would have had an ivory doll, with a little dress of mouse skin, but, of course, a boy would not care for such a plaything. it was not to be thought of. soon the time came for his first suit of clothes, and, oh, how many days of patient work his mamma spent on those little garments! in the first place, there must be some long stockings of reindeer skin, so made that the hairy side lay next his body. after that came socks of the skin taken from eider-ducks. and outside of all he must wear stout boots of sealskin with soles of thick whale hide. he must draw these up to his hips over his two pairs of deerskin trousers, just as his father and mother themselves did. his jacket was made of reindeer skin, with a warm hood fastened to it to draw over his head while outdoors in the searching winds. it had no buttons either before or behind, but fitted quite loosely. some one asks: "how did he get into this garment, since there were no openings except for the neck and sleeves?" he slipped it down over his head, as american boys put on their jerseys. the skin had been tanned and stretched and softened so beautifully by his mother that it was quite easy to do this. the baby's jacket was shaped round exactly like his father's, while his mother's had a long pointed tail both in front and behind. besides this difference, her own jacket is always trimmed with a fringe of coloured beads bought of the traders. this fringe reaches around the neck, and also around both of the tails. it is very beautiful, her neighbours all declare. it seems quite wonderful to us that etu's boots could be perfectly water-tight, although they were home-made. this eskimo mother is such a fine seamstress with her coarse needle and thread, that a drop of water cannot enter the skin boots after her work is done. when his first suit was entirely finished, and etu was dressed, he was ready for the coldest weather. as soon as he could walk easily, he had no more need to ride in the warm hood on his mother's back. there were times before this, however, when he cried with the cold even in that snug place, and his mother had been obliged to stop in her walk, loosen her jacket, and slip the baby inside of all her clothing next to her own warm body. after that the crying would stop, and etu would coo softly as the two went on their way. how many things had to be done before the baby's suit was finished! in the first place, his papa must kill the animals which furnished the warm skins. but when that was done, _his_ work was over. it was his wife's turn now. she removed the skins from the dead reindeer and seal, and stretched them out to dry, with the hairy side toward the earth. after a few days they were ready for her to begin the hardest part of the task. they must be scraped with a sharp knife until every atom of flesh should be removed, as well as the inner tough skin. now they were flexible enough for all the clothing except the stockings, and these must be very soft indeed for the tender baby feet. a piece of the skin of a baby deer was chosen by the careful mother, who next proceeded to chew it, inch by inch. her teeth were beautifully white and sharp, but the work was done so carefully that no hole, nor even mark, could be seen in the skin when it was finished. she was ready now to cut out the various garments with her odd scissors,--but, after all, it is wrong to call the queer knife she uses by the name of scissors. she speaks of it as an "oodlo," and it is useful in so many ways, she really could not keep house without it. it is shaped much like your mother's meat-chopper. it is made of bone edged with iron, and when etu's mother cuts with it, she moves it away from her in a way which looks very awkward to us. it not only takes the place of scissors, but is the hatchet, the knife, and also scraper with which the flesh is removed from the skins. chapter iii. play-days. month after month passed by with baby etu. the little round ball grew into a sturdy boy, who delighted in rough plays outdoors, as well as many indoor games, when the storms raged too greatly for him to leave the house. his mother never refused him anything possible to get. he was never scolded or punished, so it is no wonder he grew up kind and honest and truthful. and laugh? why, you can't imagine how many things there are for eskimo children to laugh about. in that cold and dreary land one would expect to see long faces, and hear people constantly groaning and complaining; but, instead of that, these people of the far north may be said to be ever "on the grin," as travellers there have often expressed it. and etu was like the rest of his people. he was always finding some new source of fun and pleasure. when he was still a tiny baby, left to amuse himself on the platform inside the house, he would watch for the dogs to appear in the passageway, and throw his ivory toys at them. then he would laugh and shake his sides as they dodged the play-things and scampered away. sometimes one of the older children would bring him a ball of snow or ice and teach him to kick it into the air again and again, without touching it with his hands, yet keeping it in motion all the time. when he grew older and braver he allowed himself to be tossed up in the air in a blanket of walrus hide. he must keep on his feet all the time, and not tumble about in the blanket. after awhile he could go almost to the roof and back again, holding himself as straight as a little soldier. [illustration: "he who hits the greatest number wins the game"] of course he slid down-hill and had any amount of sport, but the sled was generally the seat of his own deerskin trousers. he and his playmates liked to start from the top of an icy hill, and vie with each other in reaching the foot. sometimes the little fellows would double themselves up so they looked like balls of fur, then down the hill they would roll, over and over, one after another. and when they reached the bottom and jumped upon their feet, what a shouting there would be as they shook themselves and brushed off the snow! now that etu is a big boy, he plays still another game on the snowy hillsides. his father has killed a great number of reindeer, and the boy is allowed to have all the antlers he wishes. when the boys want to play the reindeer game, as we may call it, they set up the antlers in the snow, a short distance apart from each other. then they climb the hill again, and, seating themselves on their sleds, slide down past the antlers. they must steer clear of them and reach the foot without running into a single one. at least, that is the game, and the ones who do so successfully are the winners. but what kind of a sled do you think etu uses? it is simply a cake of ice; if you stop to think a moment, you can imagine how swiftly and smoothly it travels along. there is a still different game of reindeer-hunting which requires more skill. this time etu and his playfellows arm themselves with bows and arrows. as they coast rapidly past the reindeer antlers, they shoot at them and try to leave their arrows fixed in as many as possible. of course, he who hits the greatest number wins the game. this is exciting sport indeed, and etu will go home afterward ready to eat such a quantity of frozen seal blubber as to make the eyes of any one but an eskimo open wide with wonder. eskimo, i just said; but etu does not call himself by that name. he will tell you that he is one of the innuits, as his father has taught him. the word "innuit" means "people." etu's mother has told him of an old, old legend of her race, about the creation of the world. at first human beings were made white, but they were not worthy of their maker. then others were created who were the true people, or the innuits. the word eskimo means "eater of raw fish." it was given to these natives of the far north by the travellers who came among them and observed their queer ways of living and eating. "raw meat! raw fish!" they exclaimed among themselves. "these are indeed queer people who enjoy such food in a freezing climate." so it came about that they spoke of them as eskimos, and the name has clung to etu's people ever since. the boy remembers well his first candy. he had been ill, but was getting strong once more. his good patient mother wished to bring a smile to his pale face, so while he was sleeping she prepared a surprise. she took the red feet of a bird called the dovekie, and, drawing out the bones, blew into the skin until it was puffed out as full as possible. then she poured melted reindeer fat into these bright-colored pouches, and the candy-bags were finished. etu's eyes grew suddenly bright when they opened upon the surprise prepared for him. it did not take many minutes, you may well believe, for every bit of this odd candy to disappear. you may like chocolate creams and cocoanut cakes, and think them the greatest treat in the world, but in etu's opinion there is nothing better than a big lump of seal blubber or the marrow from the inside of a deer's bones. when he had his first bow and arrow, it was a very tiny one. he learned to shoot at a target inside his winter home. his mother would hang up pieces of fat meat across the room where he sat, and he would try very hard to pierce them. if he succeeded, he could have the meat to eat, so of course he tried very hard. at other times he would sit watching for a dog to push his head up through the doorway, and let fly the arrow at him. at first this seems like a very cruel sport, but the arrow was blunted and very small; it could not do much harm, even if it struck the dog, who would bound away out of sight only to appear again in a few moments. of course, etu has played ball all his life, but his ball is of a different kind from yours. it is made of sealskin. sometimes he will try with other boys to knock it about so continually that it is kept in the air for a long, long time without falling. at other times all engage in a grand game of football, but, according to their ideas, the children must on no account touch the ball with their hands. that would be a "foul play," as you boys would say. by their rules it can only be kicked. in the long winter evenings there is still more fun. in etu's big household old and young gather around the dim, smoky lamp and tell stories. there are such wonderful adventures to relate of daring deeds on sea and land. etu listens breathless to tales of the white bear surprised in his den, of long tramps after prey, when life depended on fresh supplies, and king frost was striving to seize the weakened bodies of the hunters. then there are quaint legends and fairy tales, besides stories of wondrous beings in the unseen world around. some of these beings are good, and some bad. etu does not like to hear about these last, and tries to put them out of his mind when he is travelling alone. but the evenings are not wholly given to story-telling, for the people are fond of music. they like dancing, also, for it makes them feel jolly and gay. they pass many an hour singing monotonous songs which they think very sweet, but which we would think tiresome. sometimes when etu's mother has finished her work for the day, she gathers the children of the house around her, and shows them how to make wonderful figures with strings of deer's sinews. you all know the game of cat's cradle; well, it is something like that, only very much harder. the woman fastens the string back and forth on her son's hands, then weaves it quickly in and out; before one knows it, she has shaped it into the body of a musk ox. a few more changes are made, when, behold! it is no longer a musk ox, but has become a reindeer or a seal. it requires a great deal of skill to do this, but etu can make nearly as many figures as his mother, although she has had so many years of practice. chapter iv. dog team and sledge. when he was three years old, our little northern cousin had his first and only pets. they were two little puppies left without any mother. they looked like baby wolves with their sharp, pointed noses, erect ears, and furry backs; but they were very cunning, and amused their little master all day long. when night came they crept under the heavy covers, and lay close to etu's feet while he slept, keeping him as warm and comfortable as he could possibly desire to be. but, like all other pets, these puppies _would_ grow up, and then their work in life began as well as etu's. they must be trained to draw a sledge, for they must be able to carry their young master on long journeys over the snowy plains. etu's mother made him some reins to be fastened to the dogs' necks. she placed the ends in the hands of her little boy, who sat on the platform, holding a whip. he must learn to manage the team, he must teach the dogs to obey his voice, to move to the right or the left, as he directed; in short, to understand that he was truly their master. every new birthday two more dogs were given to etu, and it became his duty to feed and train them to be in readiness when he was old enough to hunt with his father. do not imagine for a moment that this was an easy matter. no white man has ever yet, i believe, found himself able to manage a pack of eskimo dogs. each one is fastened to the sledge by a single cord, and, as they hurry onward at the sound of their master's voice, it seems as though there were the most dreadful confusion. one dog, wiser and cleverer than the rest, is always chosen as the leader; his rein is a little longer than the others. he is always the one that listens most closely to the directions given, turning his head backward from time to time to look at his master, and make sure that he is right. then onward he dashes, the other dogs following close at his heels. [illustration: "etu had become quite skilful"] etu spent some time in deciding which dog was the best out of his own pack, but when he was quite sure of vanya's strength and brightness he gave him the greatest care and attention of all. but the whip! it was far harder to learn its use than to master all his other lessons. the handle was only six inches long, while the lash was at least sixteen feet. to throw it out and then bring it back without letting it become entangled among the legs of two or three dogs was a difficult task. but to be sure of striking only the one for whom it was intended, was a far harder thing to learn. even when etu had become quite skilful, it seemed as though every time he rode away he must come home with at least one broken bone. for as the dogs gradually gained in speed, and one or another received a stroke of the whip to remind him of his duty, he would jump wildly around. perhaps he would upset two or three others in an instant. then there would be such a yelping, and such a breaking of reins would follow, it seemed impossible for etu to straighten them out again, and harder still it must have been for him to keep his seat, and not be thrown off. but the boy loves the work, and nothing pleases him more than to be sent twenty miles to a neighbouring village on an errand for his father. in the winter season, when the dogs are not working, they are sometimes allowed to stay in the passageway leading to the house. and you already know that they try again and again to make their way inside. the burning lamp gives such pleasant warmth, and the smell of the seal or reindeer meat is so tempting that they are willing to run the chance of the blows they are almost sure to get for being so daring. they are warmly clothed, however, and can bear the most terrible weather without harm coming to them. beneath the long hair a heavy soft wool grows in the winter time, and protects their bodies from the icy cold. it is etu's duty to feed all the dogs of the household. it does not take a great amount of his time, for the poor hard-working creatures have only one meal in two days! if there is danger of a famine, and provisions are scarce, they are fed but once in three days. this is during the winter, moreover, for in summer they are expected to provide for themselves, getting fish from the shallow beds of the rivers, killing birds as they alight on the shore, catching baby seals, and getting reindeer moss or lichens from the rocks. it is fun to watch etu on feeding day. he gathers the dogs around him in a wide circle, and tosses first to one, then to another, his strip of sealskin. if a dog moves from his place or jumps out of turn to receive his food, he is only rewarded by a lash of the whip, instead of the longed-for meat. so by long experience they have learned to wait patiently. these eskimo dogs must have wonderful stomachs to digest the tough food on which they live. it is simply impossible to chew the strips of skin, so they are swallowed whole. sometimes a young dog chokes over his hard work, and coughs up his precious bit, only to have it snatched away from him by one of his neighbours. we feel like pitying these dogs of the cold lands. they are deeply devoted to their masters, yet a word of kindness is rarely spoken to them. their work is hard, and their food is scant. in winter they must draw the sledges, and in summer, as their masters travel from place to place, they are laden with heavy packs which they carry cheerfully. this reminds me that when etu played "horse" in his early days, it wasn't _horse_, after all; it was _dog_, instead, for the eskimo dog is the only horse of the far north. when etu was old enough to drive a team of a dozen dogs, he had reached his tenth birthday. his father said to him then: "now, etu, you are old enough to make your own sledge. you have often helped me, but now you are able to do the work alone." our little cousin set manfully to work at once. it was so nice to think of having a sledge for his very own, and one that he had made himself, too. it was not a very hard task, once he had gathered his materials together. the jawbones of a whale were used for the framework and runners. sealskin was fitted over this framework, and a little seat made from which etu's legs hung over in front when he was driving. "but will the bone runners travel swiftly enough over the snow?" some one asks. "not unless they are properly iced," etu would answer. every time the boy starts out on a journey, he must prepare the runners afresh by squirting water upon them from his mouth. a coating of smooth ice is formed almost instantly, which will last for a short distance. then it must be renewed. soon after etu's sledge was completed, he was sent by his father to look for seal-holes along the coast. it was a bright, clear day, and, although it was fifty degrees below zero, the boy enjoyed his ride; he had no thought of cold, as there was only a slight wind blowing. he journeyed on and on, his bright eyes watching for signs of seals beneath the snow-covered ice. he did not realise how far he was from home. he was many miles away, when a strong wind suddenly arose. how it cut his cheeks and bit his nose! he knew he must turn back at once or he might be overcome. brave boy as he was, there would keep entering his mind the thought of a neighbour who was frozen while travelling in just such weather. when his sledge arrived at his own doorway, there sat the man in his seat, straight and stiff; but the reins were tightly held in dead hands. the dogs had kept on their way unharmed, while the driver gradually lost all knowledge of them, and of this world. etu put his gloved hand to his nose again and again, to make sure it was all right; it was such an easy thing for it to freeze without his knowledge. and now his hands began to grow numb, and then his feet, although he often sprang from his sledge to run with the dogs and jump in the snow. ah, that icy wind! would it never stop? the boy's eyes became blinded, and at last he thought: "it is of no use. i don't care very much, anyway. i begin to feel so queer and stupid. what does it mean?" that was the last he knew till he awoke in his own home to find his mother bending over him; she was rubbing him with balls of snow, and looking very, very anxious. how the blood tingled through his body, as it began to move freely once more! but he was safe now, and could no longer feel the terrible wind blowing against him. it was a narrow escape for etu. it was well for him that he was within a mile of the village when he lost the power to think. the dogs kept on their way, and brought him quickly to his own home. chapter v. kayak and harpoon. when etu was only nine years old he began to go out upon the ocean, fishing and shooting with his father. of course he was allowed to go on calm days only. years of practice would be needed before he could be trusted to manage his boat in winter storms, or risk his life in seal hunting. when he was eleven years old, however, he had learned to paddle very well, and, besides, he had grown to be such a big boy that his father said: "you must have a new kayak, etu; your mother will help you make it. you have outgrown the other, and it is not safe." it was one of etu's duties to watch for all the driftwood floating in toward shore. every piece is more precious to these people of the north than we can imagine. they have no money, but if they could express the value of the bits of driftwood in dollars and cents, we would be amazed. some of us, i fear, would feel like carrying a shipload of lumber to etu's people and making a fortune very easily. when our little eskimo wished to begin the making of his boat, he went first to the family treasure house. of course you can guess what was stored there. not diamonds and pearls, nor gold and silver; but simply--driftwood. etu chose with much care the pieces from which to make a stout framework for his boat. it was important that he should take light wood that had not lost its strength by drifting about in the water too long. he cut the strips with a bone knife and bound them into shape with strong cords of seal sinew. the ends of the boat were sharply pointed. his mother's work began now. she took the skins of seals which her husband had just killed and scraped away all the scraps of blubber and flesh left on the hides. then, rolling them tightly together, she left them for some days. when they were again unrolled, it was quite easy to scrape off the hairs with a mussel shell. after this, the skins were well washed in sea water. a very important step must be taken next. the skins must be stretched. etu's first boat must be a fine one and there must be no wrinkles in the covering. the safest way was to stretch them over the framework of the boat itself. then they would be sure to fit well. an eskimo woman feels very much ashamed if any part of the boat's covering is loose or wrinkled. people will think she is a poor worker, and that would be a sad disgrace. how did etu's mother manage to make the boat water-tight? it was done through her careful sewing. she worked with her coarse bone needle, and the sinews of seal and deer were the only thread; yet when the kayak was finished, not a single drop of water could enter. it was a clever piece of work. where was etu to sit in this wonderful boat? the deck was entirely covered excepting the small hole in the centre. the boy had measured this hole with great care when he made the framework of the kayak. it was just large enough for him to squeeze through. his feet and legs must be underneath the deck, and his thighs should fill up the hole exactly. now you understand why the boy's father spoke of his outgrowing the old boat. do you also see why there was no larger hole? think for a moment of the waters through which he must ride. our rough seas would seem calm to etu. if the deck were not covered, the dashing waves would swamp his boat almost instantly. his people had found this out for themselves; so they cleverly planned a boat different from that of any other in the world. etu made a stout paddle with two blades. it is a pleasure for his mother and her friends to watch him use it. he is very skilful, and now, at twelve years of age, he can make the kayak skim over the water like the wind. how straight he always sits! he balances the boat exactly and first bends the right blade into the water, then the left, without seeming to work hard, either. and in some wonderful way, one can hardly understand how, he speeds onward. no wonder it is such a pleasure to watch him. etu is very proud of his paddle; not because he made it, but because of the time his mother spent in decorating it. it is inlaid with bits of stone and ivory set in a pretty pattern. surely, his mother is a fine worker. she has just made him a present of a new pair of gloves. they are to be worn while he is out in his boat, and reach above his elbows. they will protect his arms and keep them dry, even if the waves sweep clear over him. but they are not like common gloves, for they are embroidered in a fine pattern. she cut out bits of hide and dyed them different colours. then she sewed them together in a neat design on the arm pieces of the gloves. shouldn't you call that embroidery? while etu's boat was being made, his mother had a party. perhaps it would be better to call it a "sewing-bee." etu was sent around to the different women in the village. he told them his mother was ready to sew the covering on his boat. would they like to help her? now there is nothing eskimo women like better than to come together for a friendly chat. so the invitation was accepted, and one morning, bright and early, a party of women could be seen gathered around the sealskins. their fingers worked swiftly, but i fear their tongues moved still faster. there was a great deal of laughter, for they seemed to have many funny stories to tell. and i don't believe there was a bit of unkind gossip; at least, their faces didn't show it. it was amusing to see how much their teeth were used. they were like another hand to these eskimo women, for, as they sewed, they held the piece of skin in its place with their teeth. when the covering must be stretched over this hard place or that edge, it was the teeth again that gave the needed help. etu knows one old woman whose teeth are worn almost down to the gums. she must have worked very hard all the years of her life. she must have sewed on many boat-coverings and made many suits of clothes before this could have been done. when etu's kayak was finished, his mother invited the workers up to the house, where they were treated to a dish of seal-blood soup and a pipe of tobacco. it was a grand surprise. in the first place, the heated blood of the seal is always a dainty; and then, they seldom had the privilege of smoking tobacco. it was a great rarity, for it could only be obtained through trade with the white people. when night came, all were in great good humour as they left for their own homes. but, as they stepped outdoors, what a beautiful sight met their eyes! the northern lights were shooting across the heavens in glorious colours. have you never noticed on cold winter nights lines of light shooting upward into the sky? it is always in the north that we see them, and we wonder and exclaim as we look. your mother tells you, "it is the _aurora borealis_." it is not fully known what causes the strange light. it is thought, however, to be electricity. in etu's land the aurora is far more wonderful and beautiful than with us. the visitors were used to such sights, yet they called to the boy and his mother to come outdoors and look. "the lights are brighter than i ever saw them in my life," exclaimed one of the women. at first it seemed as though there were a great cloud of light just above the horizon, but it suddenly changed till the heavens appeared to be alive. the very air around the people quivered, as long, bright lines shot upward across the sky. they changed so quickly, it seemed as though a mighty power was directing them about, now here, now there. it made one dizzy to watch them. now there would be streamers of green and red and blue darting from the sky-line way to the very zenith. there they would meet in a purplish crown of glory. again the sky would change in its appearance, and a red light would spread over all. it was so bright that the snow in every direction was tinted a rosy colour. "what makes it, mother?" whispered etu. "is it the work of good spirits, or are evil ones trying to show us their power?" "i do not know, my child," was the answer. "we are not wise, and cannot understand these things. come, let us go back into the house. the sight makes me fearful." etu had many finishing touches to put on his boat after it was covered. a wooden hoop must be fitted around the hole in which he was to sit. several thongs of seal hide must be fastened on the deck, under which his spear and harpoon should rest while he paddled. still other straps were bound to the sides of the deck, for, unless the birds or seals could be fastened to the boat in some way after they had been killed, how could they be towed home? then etu began to work on his harpoon. his father had to help him now, for it needed skill and care to fit it exactly to the throwing-stick. the eskimos long ago found that the bow and arrow were not useful in their narrow, dangerous boats. only a one-handed weapon can be used in such a place, so they invented the harpoon and the bird dart. the harpoon is a long piece of wood pointed with bone or iron. it is fastened into a handle of wood called a throwing-stick. a cord of seal hide is attached to it at the other end. you should see our stout little etu riding the waves in his kayak, and balancing the throwing-stick on his shoulder to send the harpoon flying straight to the mark. but suppose the harpoon lodges fast in the seal's body; if the hunter still holds the other end of the cord attached to it, the creature in his fury may make such plunges as to drag the boat and all down under the water and destroy them. something else must be invented. this was the buoy or float. so it was that etu had to make a buoy to complete his hunting outfit. he took the skin of a young seal, from which his mother had scraped off all the hairs, and tied up the holes made by the head and legs. through a small tube fastened in the skin he could blow up his queerly shaped buoy to its fullest size. now the float was completed. do you understand what help it would give? if the float is attached to the other end of the line when the harpoon is thrown, the hunter can let everything go. he does not need to have any part fastened to the boat. for the float cannot sink, and will show him where to follow the game, and where to throw next; yet he is himself in no danger of being pulled after the animal. even now etu would not be safe to go hunting in rough waters. he must have a special coat prepared. this, again, was his mother's work. the skin of the seal was used after all the hair was removed. the jacket was made to fit closely over his other garments. it had a hood to be drawn tightly over his head, long sleeves, and drawing-strings around the neck and lower edge. when etu gets into his boat he must fit his jacket around the hoop of the sitting-hole, and draw the cord tightly. and now he seems a part of the boat itself. no water can enter, and although the waves may dash completely over him he will keep dry, and the boat will not sink. no boy could be happier than etu was when his outfit was complete. he ran to meet his father to tell him the joyful news. now he could be looked upon as a man, no longer a child. he would hereafter be allowed to take part in the dangers of his father's life. he was very glad. this happy, good-natured boy, who disliked to say a cross word to any one, who would not fight with other boys, was certainly no coward. for his heart was set upon war,--not war with his fellows, but war with the winds and waves, and the powerful creatures of sea and land. he was ready for battle. time would show that courage was not wanting when he came face to face with danger. chapter vi. the seal hunt. it was about this time that etu's father bored holes in his son's lips. these holes were made at each end of the mouth. ivory buttons were fitted into them, and now etu felt that he was more of a man than ever before. it was a proud moment when he looked in the bit of mirror his father had bought for ten seal hides, and gazed on his queer ornaments. he thought they were very beautiful, and then they fitted so well! the pain of having the holes bored, and the unpleasant feeling before the flesh healed, were of little matter to him. it was not worth thinking about. it was a terrible winter, and food was scarce. there was a very small supply of meat on hand in the village. the first pleasant morning after etu's fishing outfit was finished, he started off for a day's hunt on the ocean. very early in the morning he and his father went out on the rocks to look for the weather signs. yes, it would be a clear day; it would be safe to venture on the waves. the other men of the village were already out, and soon all were busy launching their boats. no breakfast was eaten; they could work better and shoot straighter if they waited to eat until they came back. each one of the party carefully arranged his harpoon, spear, and float on the deck of his boat; then, shoving it into the icy water, sprang in after it and quickly fitted himself into the small seat. the sea jacket must be drawn carefully around the hoop, for, if water should enter, the boat would soon sink. as the hunters paddled merrily along, the waves kept dashing over the decks. but the men sang and shouted gaily to each other as though it were the finest sport in the world. yet it was a lonely scene about them; we should even call it fearful. cakes of ice jostled against the boats here and there, and far out in the dim light a floating field of ice could be seen by the watchful eskimos. sometimes they hunted for the seals on such fields, for these creatures often gather in herds on the ice to bask in the sun and to sport together. but to-day they would search for them in the ocean itself. the boats skimmed onward over the waves till the land lay far behind. three hours passed before the seal ground was reached. etu paddled steadily and kept up with the men who had so much more experience than himself. as his father watched him from time to time, he thought, "my boy will be a leader for his people when i grow old and weak. i have never before seen one so young show such strength." [illustration: "whizz! sounds the harpoon as it speeds from etu's shoulder"] etu's father was held to be the best huntsman of the village, and for this very reason was looked upon as the chief. the eskimos share everything in common, but one man in a settlement is chosen as the leader. he settles the disputes and gives advice when it is needed. he directs the hunt and judges the wrong-doer. when he fails in strength it is but right that another should be chosen in his place. when the seal ground was reached at last, the men moved away from each other in different directions; the singing and shouting stopped as they rested on their paddles and watched for seals' heads to appear above the water. etu's father kept quite near him; he might be needed to help his son in case he was successful. ten minutes passed, then twenty, thirty, but the boy did not grow impatient. his bright eyes watched closely, scanning the water in all directions. at last he was rewarded, for look! there is a brown head rising into view. the seal is easily frightened, and darts out of sight when he sees the boy in the boat. but etu does not move a muscle till the seal has disappeared. then he paddles rapidly toward the spot where the creature sank out of sight and once more quietly waits, but this time with harpoon in hand. seals are able to stay under water for twenty minutes at a time. they can close their nostrils whenever they choose, and they breathe very slowly at all times. but they must come to the surface after a time for fresh air. etu knows this and watches. ah! the water moves again. the prey is to be seen and is but a short distance away. whizz! sounds the harpoon as it speeds from etu's shoulder and goes straight to the mark. quick as a flash the float is thrown from the boat, and the coil of rope fastened to it runs out as the seal drags it along. he throws himself about in agony, but cannot free himself from the cruel harpoon lodged in his side. the water is stained with blood. now the float can be seen on the surface of the waves, now it is dragged below as the seal dives out of sight; but etu does not worry. he must paddle far enough away from the seal, however, to keep out of danger. for although it is usually a timid and gentle creature, yet, when it is attacked, it grows daring and dangerous. etu knows of several hunters whose boats have been ripped open by seals; they would have been killed by their angry foes if their comrades had not come to their rescue. the boy has listened to stories of such narrow escapes ever since he was old enough to understand these things. so he is very quick and watchful. he does not notice that his father has drawn quite close, and sits, spear in hand, ready to end the seal's life if his son should fail. and now the wounded animal appears again directly in front of the boat. a good chance must not be lost, and etu, seizing his spear, drives it straight through one of the flippers. it pierces the seal's lungs, and after a few gasps the beautiful soft eyes close in death. "well done, my boy," shouted his father. "you have won the first prize of the day. you shall treat our friends." now it is a custom among these people of the cold lands that when a seal is killed the successful hunter at once cuts away a portion of blubber, and divides it among the rest of the party. etu, therefore, pulled the dead seal close to his boat, drew out the spear and harpoon, and coiled the cord attached to it. after putting these in their proper places on the deck of the kayak, he cut away the blubber, and proudly distributed the treat among the men, who by this time had drawn near. it was at least noontime, and was the first food tasted that day. every one praised the boy's skill, and then all drew off once more to their different stations. before the afternoon was over, etu's father had secured two seals, and two more were killed by others of the party. it had been a most successful hunt, although several accidents had occurred. one of the seals captured by etu's father had succeeded in tearing the float into shreds before he was finally killed. another of the hunters was overturned and almost drowned. this was because the cord attached to the harpoon had caught in a strap on the deck as it was running out. the wounded seal dragged him along as it plunged, before he had a chance to free his boat. over they went, man and boat, and only the keel of the kayak could be seen. the seal, too, was out of sight. did it see the man? was it attacking him below the surface of the water? three of the man's companions paddled rapidly toward the overturned boat. one of them reached his arm down under the water and, giving a skilful jerk to the man's arm, brought him up suddenly on even keel. another of the party cut the cord with his spear. still a third found the paddle, of which he had lost hold, and gave it into his hands. then all started off in pursuit of the seal as though nothing had happened. you must ask etu to tell you more of the wonderful doings of that first ocean hunt. he will never forget even the smallest thing which happened on that day. it was near night when the party started homeward, and three good hours of paddling were before them. at length, however, the shore came into view. nearer and nearer it looked to the tired workers. and yes! there were the women waiting and watching, ready for the good news. etu was not the first to land, for you remember he had a seal in tow, and those who are so burdened cannot travel as quickly over the water as others who have no extra weight. he travelled homeward beside his father's still more heavily laden boat; while both the man and his son pictured the mother's delight at etu's success. as the boats landed, one by one, the men jumped out, and started for home with their weapons. the women would draw up the boats into safe places. they would also dispose of the seals. the men's work was done, and nothing was left for them now except to sit around the oil lamp, eat, and tell stories of the day's adventures. this very night there would be a seal feast at etu's home, and hours would be given up to eating and making merry. chapter vii. feast and fun. it did not take long for the hunters to exchange their wet clothing for dry garments. then with their wives and children they gathered in the home of their chief. "how could the feast be prepared so quickly?" we ask in surprise. if we could have been there we should not have wondered very long. the people squatted on the floor in a circle. etu and his father stood in their midst with big knives, ready to cut up the seals lying before them. hungry as they were, they must not eat yet. something important must be done first. the eskimos have many strange beliefs. they think there is a spirit in everything,--the rock, the snow, the wind, the very air has its spirit. the seal, therefore, has its spirit, too, and must be treated respectfully. etu's father solemnly sprinkled water on the body, while every one watched him in silence. it was an offering to the animal's spirit. he next carefully cut away the skin and showed the thick layer of blubber beneath. the eyes of the company sparkled with delight. many funny faces were made as each in turn received a huge chunk of raw blubber. please don't shudder at the thought of eating it. white travellers among the eskimos tell us it is really very good, and tastes much like fresh cream. it is only after it has been kept for a long time that it begins to taste rancid and fishy. after the blubber had been divided among the company, the bodies of the two seals were opened, and the blood scooped out. it seemed truly delicious to the hungry visitors. the last course of the feast consisted of the seal's ribs, which were picked until nothing was left save the bones. how the people did eat! how they enjoyed the dainties served to them! there were many stories told by those who could stop long enough to talk. etu was asked, over and over again, to describe how he killed his first seal. and each time the movements of his face, as well as his arms and hands, seemed to express as much as the words themselves. at this strange feast, for which no cooking was needed, the women were not served first, as in our own land. it was the men who were first thought of, and who received the choicest pieces. but etu did not forget his mother, and looked out to see that she was well served. when the feast was over at last, all joined in a song. there were only a few notes, and these were repeated over and over again; but the party must have enjoyed it, or they would not have sung it so many times. at last the moon shone down upon them, and etu's mother hastened to draw the sealskin curtain. for her people dread the power of the moon, and do not willingly sit in its light. it is a wonderful being, and etu has been taught that it brings the cold weather to his people. how is this possible? why, as it dwells afar off in the sky, it whittles the tusk of a walrus. in some wonderful way the shavings are changed into the snow which falls in great sheets over the earth. by this time the party began to think of going home. they must prepare for another "sleep," they said, and the people of the house were soon left to themselves. etu does not count time as we do. he speaks of a "moon" ago, instead of a month. yesterday is the period before the last "sleep," and the years are counted by the winters. a fresh notch is cut in the wall of his winter home when the family leave it for their summer's travels. that is the only way his people have to keep account of the passing time. they do not write or read, except as they are taught by their white visitors, and etu has never seen a book in his life. the boy's father has shown him how to make good maps of the coast. they are very neat, and are measured so exactly that every island and point of land are correctly marked for many miles. they are drawn with the burnt ends of sticks on smooth pieces of driftwood, but if you ever visit etu, you can trust to them in exploring the country. on the day after the feast the other seals were divided evenly among all the people in the village. the successful hunters did not once dream of keeping them for their own families. what! have a fine dinner yourself, while others around you go hungry! it was not to be thought of. all must share alike. chapter viii. hard times. time passed by. the weather was terribly cold, even for these people. the hunters went out on the ocean whenever it was safe to venture, but the seals and walruses were very scarce. they had probably gone in search of warmer waters. at this very time their winter stores were all stolen. whenever there is an extra supply on hand, it is hidden in a deep hole underground, so that neither wild animals nor dogs can reach it. such a place for stores is called a _caché_ by our western hunters and trappers. one night etu was wakened by a great noise outside. in a moment the whole household was aroused. they heard the dogs howling and rushing around. there was certainly a fight of some kind. etu and his father were dressed in a moment, as well as two other men who shared the home. "wolves! it is a pack of wolves," cried the women. "don't go out and leave us; it is not safe." but the men only seized their spears and moved as quickly as possible down the passageway. they must go to the aid of the dogs, who had been left outdoors for the night. they also thought of their precious stores. the wolves had probably scented the place and were then attacked by the dogs. in a short time the men returned to the frightened household. they were all safe. the wolves had fled, but the harm had already been done. not a scrap of the precious stores remained. the dogs had finished what the wolves left behind them. it was the quarreling of the dogs themselves over the food that had wakened the people. it was plain, however, that the wolves had been there, because the dead body of one of them lay close by the storehouse. the dogs had been more than a match for them. there was nothing for etu and his people to eat that day. there was scarcely any oil in the lamps. the women and children tried to keep warm beneath the piles of furs; the men went out to search along the shore for seal holes. our brave little etu looked upon himself as a man now. so, leading his brightest dog by a cord, he started out in search of prey. the dog had a wonderfully keen scent. he would help in finding the hiding-place of a seal, if there were one to be found. you may not know what a queer home the mother seal makes for her baby. she chooses a place on the solid ice that is covered with a deep layer of snow. she scrapes away the snow and carries it down through a hole in the ice into the water below. when her work is done, she has a dome-shaped house. the floor is the icy shelf, from which there is a passageway to the water beneath. there is a tiny breathing-place in the snowy roof to which she turns when needing air. the baby seal is born in this strange home. he lies here and sleeps most of the time till he is old enough to take care of himself. his mother often visits him. she hopes his enemies will not find him. but the bear, the fox, and the eskimo dog, are watching for signs of just such hiding-places as these. their scent is keen and they discover the tiny breathing-holes when men and boys would pass them by. this is why etu took his dog along with him. perhaps you wonder why etu did not let vanya run free. he only wished him to find a seal hole; the boy would do the hunting himself. the dog, if left alone, might succeed in scaring away the old seal; and etu wished to get both the baby and its mother. the boy tramped for many hours. remember, he had no breakfast this morning, yet he went with a bright face and a stout heart. when night came, etu was still brave and cheerful, although he had met with no success. he went home and found the men just returning. they also had failed. they could expect no supper, nor fire to warm them, after the long day's tramp in the bitter cold, but they must not show sadness; they must keep up stout hearts for the sake of the women and children. after all, there was a surprise waiting for etu. his mother had used the last bit of oil in thawing a little snow to give the household some water to drink. and, besides this, there was a scrap of seal hide for each one to chew. tough as it was, it was received as though it were the greatest dainty in the world. after this meal, if it could be called one, etu crept into bed, and was soon sound asleep. morning came, and our little cousin started out once more in search of food. but he had no better success than the day before. when he got home at night there was good news awaiting him, although it did not bring any supper. his father had found a seal-hole, and had said to the other men, "i will not leave my place till i can bring food for my hungry people." they left him, and went back to the village to tell his waiting household. his good wife at once got a heavy fur robe, and sent it back to her patient husband. he could wrap it about his feet, as he sat watching in the cold. perhaps it would be only a short time before he would hear the mother seal blowing at the hole below. but, again, hours might pass before she would come back to nurse her baby. yet the man must watch and be ready to pierce the breathing-hole with his long spear at any moment,--it was his only chance of killing the mother. the long hours of the night passed; the morning, too, was gone, when, suddenly, the quick ears of the hunter heard the welcome sound. and now, a second blow! the seal's head must be close to the hole. like a flash, down went the waiting spear, and fastened itself through the nose of the seal. if it had turned a half-inch in its course, it would have failed in its work. there was a violent pull at the spear, as the seal darted down through the passage from her icy home to the water below. but the hunter had a long rope fastened to the spear, and he let it run out quickly. then, brushing away the snowy roof, he jumped down on the floor of the "igloo." with two or three strong pulls he brought up the struggling seal, and quickly ended her life. it was an easy matter to dispose of the frightened baby. what a prize he had gained! he did not think of his frost-bitten nose, nor of his empty stomach. he only pictured the joy of the waiting people when he should reach home. when the hard-earned supper was set before them, you cannot guess what was the greatest dainty of all. it was the milk inside the baby seal's stomach! it was sweet and delicate in its taste, and was much like the milk from a green cocoanut. there were many other hard times before that winter was over, but etu did his part bravely, and no one died of want. one day the boy hunted a seal bear-fashion, and was successful, too. he had learned many lessons from this wise creature, and he did not forget them. the polar bear, so strong and fierce, is also very cunning. if he discovers a dark spot far away on the ice, he seems to say to himself, "ah! there is a seal asleep. i will deceive him, and catch him for my dinner." so he creeps, or, rather, hitches along, with his fore feet curled beneath him. nearer and nearer he draws to his prey. and now the sleeping seal awakes. is there danger? but the bear at once stops moving, and makes a low, strange sound. it is different from his usual voice. the seal listens, and is charmed. he turns his head from side to side, and then is quite still once more. the bear creeps nearer now; once more the seal starts, but is again charmed by the strange sound. suddenly he is caught in those powerful claws, and the long, sharp teeth fasten themselves in his body. in a moment it is all over with the poor seal. [illustration: "etu stopped moving and lay quite still"] this is one of the lessons etu learned from ninoo, the bear. he followed his teacher well when one day he, too, saw a dark spot on the shore, quite a distance away. holding his spear beneath him, he crouched down on the snow, and jerked himself along. for some time the seal was not aroused. then, opening his eyes, he must have thought: "is that a brother seal over there? his coat is like mine." still he watched, for a seal is easily frightened. etu stopped moving and lay quite still. "no, there is no danger," thought the seal; and he closed his eyes again. once more etu began to move, and drew quite near before the seal stirred again. but now the creature seemed to question himself once more. "is it a friend, or is it one of my terrible enemies?" he was about to dart away when etu began to make a low, strange sound. you would have thought it was the bear himself, he was imitated so well. the seal seemed pleased, and did not stir again. before another five minutes the young hunter had killed his victim. he hurried homeward with the heavy burden flung over his broad shoulders. you can imagine how proud his mother felt when he appeared in the doorway of the house and showed his prize of the morning. chapter ix. an eskimo christmas. not long after this etu's people celebrated a festival. it was about christmas time, but the boy had never heard of our own great holiday. yet his own christmas always means very much to him. all the people of the village met together on a certain evening in etu's home. the medicine-man was there, and made a sort of prayer. he prayed that all might go well with the people during the coming year. this medicine-man is the priest as well as the doctor among the eskimos. after the prayer there was a feast. the hunters had done their best, and had managed to get a good supply of seal meat on hand. the next day after the feast, men, women, and children gathered together in a circle in the open air. a vessel of water had been placed in their midst. each one brought a piece of meat with him. no one spoke while it was being eaten, but each thought of his good spirit, and wished for good things. then each in turn took a drink of water from the vessel. as he did so he spoke, telling when and where he was born. when this ceremony was over, all threw presents to each other. they believed they would receive good things from the good spirits if they were generous at this time. soon after this festival came new year's. this, too, was a strange celebration. two men, one of them dressed as a woman, went from hut to hut blowing out the flame in each lamp. it must be lighted from a fresh fire. the people believe there is a new sun in the heavens at the beginning of each new year. they think they ought to picture this great change in their own homes. the year was a moon old, as etu would say, when one day he was out hunting for seal-holes with his father. they brought a pack of dogs along with them. these had just been loosened for a run when they darted off as though they had found a fresh scent. they rushed toward a great bank of snow on the side of a high rock. surely it was no seal-hole they had discovered. the small opening on the surface of the snow showed that it was the breathing-place of a polar bear. the mother bear eats vast quantities of food at the beginning of winter; then she seeks a sheltered spot at the foot of some rock, and begins her long rest. the snow falls in great drifts over her. this makes a warm, close house. does it seem as though she must die for want of air? there is no danger of this, for the breath from her great body thaws enough snow around her to form a small room. it also makes a sort of chimney through the snow, to the air above. the baby bear is born in this house of snow, and there he stays with his mother till old enough to hunt for himself. it was the home of a mother bear, then, that the dogs had discovered. they were wildly excited, for eskimo dogs are no cowards. they love a bear hunt hugely. they rushed upon the opening and quickly pushed away the snow. etu and his father stood on the watch for the mother bear and her cub to appear. they were as much excited as the dogs, but stood with spears in hand, perfectly still. look out now! for here they come. what a tiny little thing the baby bear is! it is like a little puppy. it would be easy to end its life, but etu knows that would not be safe. it would make the mother a hundred times more dangerous. the great creature looks now in one direction, now in another. it would not be hard for her to escape; but she will not leave her cub. so she rushes madly toward etu's father. the dogs jump around her, biting at her heels. she does not seem even to notice them. look at the long sharp teeth as she opens her mouth for a spring upon the man. one blow of her paws would knock him senseless. but he does not fear. he jumps to one side and dodges the blow. at the same time, he strikes at her throat with his long spear. the blood gushes forth and she staggers. however, she shakes herself together with a great effort and rises on her hind legs to strike again. the pack of dogs surround her and keep biting at her legs, but the man would not be able to escape if etu did not suddenly come up behind. he plunges his own spear far into her side. she gives one fearful groan and falls to the ground. no hunter will ever be troubled by her again. the poor little cub runs to its mother's side, giving piteous cries. but no one is left now to pity and love it, so its life is mercifully and quickly ended. the men and dogs are soon on their homeward way. they must get sledges and go back quickly for the bodies of the two bears. suppose that while they were gone another party of eskimos should come along, need they fear their prey would be stolen? the thought does not enter their heads, for such a thing has never been known to happen among their people. they are honest in all ways, and would not touch that which they believe to be another's. chapter x. summer travels. the long winter was over at last, and etu's people got ready to leave their underground homes. they would spend the first spring days farther up the coast, and closer still to the water's side; for there they could watch the seal-holes more easily. the household goods were packed on the sledges, and etu said good-bye to his winter home for four months. the men walked along, guiding the dogs, while the women and children rode in the sledges. they travelled nearly all day before they came to a place where they wished to settle. but the weather was even now bitterly cold. the snow still covered the earth, and the water along the shore was a mass of broken ice. [illustration: "the blocks of snow were handed to them"] where were these people to be sheltered when night came on? the question could be easily answered. they would build homes for themselves in an hour or two. the sheets of snow around them were quite solid, and the boys and men began to saw the snow into thick blocks. the walls and roofs of the houses should be built of these. two men stood in the centre of each cleared space: the blocks of snow were handed to them. these were laid on the ground, side by side, in a circle as large as they wished the house to be. the foundation was quickly made. then another row of snow blocks was laid above the first, but drawn in toward the centre a very little. then came a third row, and so on, till at last there was just space enough at the top for one block of snow to fill it in completely. the new house looked like a great snow beehive. but the two builders were shut up inside! one of the men on the outside cut a block of snow out of the wall of the house. this made a doorway through which people could go and come. it could be closed afterward, when the inmates desired, by filling it again with a snow door. the builders now took loose snow and sifted it into the cracks and crevices to make the house quite close and tight. after this, the floor must be trodden down smooth, and then the women could enter to set up housekeeping. a bed of snow was quickly made, over which the fur rugs were thrown. next, a stand of snow was shaped, and the lamp set up in its place. the oil was soon burning brightly, and snow was melted to furnish drinking-water. in half an hour more our cousin etu was eating supper as comfortably as he could wish. not long after, he was sound asleep on his snow bedstead, without a single dream of cold or trouble. after a few weeks of seal hunting, etu noticed that the birds were returning. there were great numbers of them,--wild ducks, geese, and sea-birds of many kinds. the ice began to disappear, and it was great sport to paddle his boat over to the islands near the shore, and shoot a bagful of birds for dinner. but sometimes he stayed in his boat, and, moving slowly along the shore, would throw his bird-dart at ducks as they flew by. his aim was straight and true, and he was almost sure to be successful. spring changed suddenly into summer, and now the snow house must be left, for etu and his people were ready to move again. besides, the walls of the house grew soft, and would soon melt away. where would etu travel next? you ask. he would answer: "not far from here there is a broad river where great numbers of salmon live during the warm weather. it is great sport catching the fish. now we can have so much rich food that we can all grow fat." once more the dogs were harnessed, and the spring camping-ground was left behind, as the eskimo party journeyed southward. when the river was reached, new homes must be made ready. but what material would be used now? there were no trees to furnish wood, for the forests were still hundreds of miles south of them, and snow at this time of the year was out of the question. but etu's people were well prepared, for they took their supply of skins, and quickly made tents out of them. it was still so cold that a double row of skins must be used to keep out the sharp winds. and now they were ready for the happiest part of the whole year. they need not fear hunger for a long time to come. plenty of fish in the river, plenty of birds in the air, birds' eggs, which the bright eyes of the boys and girls would discover; and, besides all these dainties, they would get stores of reindeer meat. "how could any one be any happier than i?" thought etu, and he smiled a broad smile, making a funny face to express his joy. in another country of the world as far north as etu lives, the laplander has herds of tame reindeer. they are driven as etu drives his dogs. they give sweet milk, too. etu has never heard of these people, but he has been told that there is a place in his own country where his kind american friends have brought some of these tame reindeer from lapland. great care is taken of them, so they will grow and get used to their new home. it will be a fine thing for etu's people to have these tame reindeer and be able to get fresh milk during the long winter, as well as tame animals that will supply them with food when they are in danger of starving. but etu busies himself now with setting traps for the wild reindeer which begin to appear in the country as summer opens. they have spent the winter in the forests far away, but as the heat of the sun begins to melt the snow, they travel toward the shores of the ocean. here the baby reindeer are born. they are tiny, weak little creatures at first; but they grow fast, and in a few days are able to take care of themselves, and get their own food. the reindeer have a wonderfully keen sense of smell. even when the ground is covered with a deep layer of snow, they seem able to tell where the lichens and mosses are living beneath it. no one has ever seen a reindeer make a mistake in this matter. when he begins to paw away the snow with his broad, stout hoofs, you may be sure he has discovered a good dinner for himself. the lichens are tender and white, and taste somewhat like wheat bran. it is no wonder the reindeer grows fat on this plentiful food. etu hunts the reindeer in several different ways. sometimes when he is out on the watch for them he hears a great clattering. it may be a long way off, and he cannot see a living thing, yet he knows what that sound means. it is the hoofs of the reindeer as they come pounding along. he lies down and keeps very still. he watches closely, however, to see if the reindeer are coming in his direction. if he finds this to be so, he keeps in the same position and waits till they have passed by him and are headed for the shore. then he jumps up suddenly, and chases them with fury. they get confused, and rush onward in disorder. on he follows till they reach the water's side, where they plunge madly in. they are good swimmers, but are so frightened that etu is easily able to secure at least one of them. sometimes our eskimo cousin goes a long way over the plains, and with his father's help digs a deep pit in the earth. they cover it over with brushwood. if a herd of reindeer should travel in this direction, some of them would fall into the pit and break their slender legs. it would be an easy matter then to come and get them. but there is another way that etu likes best of all. soon after he came to his summer home he hunted about over the country till he had chosen a spot where the reindeer were likely to come. here he built a sort of fort, or wall, out of stones. he could hide behind this wall, and watch for his game without their being able to see him. he spent many days of the summer in this place with one of his boy friends. they would sit there talking, or playing some quiet game, but their bows and arrows were always ready; and their eyes ever on the lookout for the reindeer who might come that way at any moment. many times, of course, they met with no success; but many times, too, they took a herd by surprise, and were able to carry home a goodly feast to their friends and relatives. reindeer meat is tender and sweet, the marrow and tongue being the parts best liked by etu's people. but the most delicious food etu ever puts into his mouth is the contents of a reindeer's stomach! we must not be shocked at this, though it does seem a queer thing to eat, doesn't it? the reason etu likes it so well is probably this: the food of the reindeer is moss; when it has entered his stomach it has a slightly acid taste, so it gives a relish the people cannot often get. besides, it belongs to the vegetable kingdom, and etu's people, we know, do not have the pleasure of eating corn, potatoes, and other delicious fruits of the earth, so commonly used by us that we hardly appreciate them. it was after one of these long days on the plains that etu came home feeling quite ill. his head ached; his eyes were bloodshot; his hands and face burned like fire. his loving mother was quite worried. she put her son to bed at once, and sent for the medicine-man. she got a present of deer skins ready to give him as soon as the great person should appear. after he had accepted the deer skins the doctor put on a horrible black mask; then he began to move about the tent, waving his arms from side to side, and repeating a charm. do you understand what he was trying to do? he thought a bad spirit had got hold of etu; he believed the hideous mask and the charm of certain words would drive it out. after awhile he went away, and etu was alone again with his own people. his fever lasted for several days, but at length it left him, and he grew well and strong once more. he believed the great medicine-man had healed him; but we think mother nature worked her own cure through rest in his own warm bed. the poor boy was tired out, and had caught a hard cold watching on the plains. as soon as he was strong his father said: "the trading season has come, for it is already two moons since we made our camp. we must journey southward to the great river. we shall see our friends from the western coast; they must have already started to meet us. let us get our furs, seal oil, and walrus tusks together to sell to them, for, no doubt, they will have many things to give us in exchange. we greatly need some copper kettles and tobacco. oh, yes, let us get ready as soon as possible." etu was delighted to hear these words. now would come the merriest time. he would have a long journey, and he dearly liked a change. but that was not all. he would see new people, and hear of new things; he would have a chance to trade, and that would be great sport in itself. besides all these things, he knew his people would spend at least ten days with their friends from the west; and there would be much dancing and singing and story-telling, both day and night. hurrah, then, for this summer journey! you may be sure etu did his best in packing and making ready. in another twenty-four hours there was no sign left of this eskimo village. the dogs, the sledges, and the people were all gone. nothing was left except a few articles used in housekeeping, and these were buried in an underground storehouse. if you wish to hear more about etu, and of his yearly visit south; if you care to hear about the big whale he helped to kill last winter, and of his adventure with a walrus, you must write and ask him about these things. and yet, after all, i fear he could not read the letter. you would better go and visit him. it is well worth the journey, for then you can see for yourself how a boy can be cheerful and happy and loving, even though he lives in the dreariest part of the whole world. the end. the little cousin series the most delightful and interesting accounts possible of child-life in other lands, filled with quaint sayings, doings, and adventures. each vol., mo, decorative cover, cloth, with six full-page illustrations in color by l. j. bridgman. price per volume $ . "juveniles will get a whole world of pleasure and instruction out of the little cousin series.... pleasing narratives give pictures of the little folk in the far-away lands in their duties and pleasures, showing their odd ways of playing, studying, their queer homes, clothes, and play-things...."--_detroit news-tribune._ _by mary hazelton wade_ =our little swiss cousin.= =our little norwegian cousin.= =our little italian cousin.= =our little siamese cousin.= =our little cuban cousin.= =our little hawaiian cousin.= =our little eskimo cousin.= =our little philippine cousin.= =our little porto rican cousin.= =our little african cousin.= =our little japanese cousin.= =our little brown cousin.= =our little indian cousin.= =our little russian cousin.= =our little german cousin.= =our little irish cousin.= =our little turkish cousin.= =our little jewish cousin.= _by isaac headland taylor_ =our little chinese cousin.= _by elizabeth roberts macdonald_ =our little canadian cousin.= animal tales by charles g. d. roberts illustrated by charles livingston bull as follows: =the lord of the air= (the eagle) =the king of the mamozekel= (the moose) =the watchers of the camp-fire= (the panther) =the haunter of the pine gloom= (the lynx) each vol., small mo, cloth decorative, per volume $ . realizing the great demand for the animal stories of professor roberts, one of the masters of nature writers, the publishers have selected four representative stories, to be issued separately, at a popular price. each story is illustrated by charles livingston bull, and is bound in a handsome decorative cover. the little colonel books (trade mark.) _by annie fellows johnston_ each, vol., large mo, cloth decorative, fully illustrated, per vol. $ . =the little colonel stories.= (trade mark.) illustrated. being three "little colonel" stories in the cosy corner series, "the little colonel," "two little knights of kentucky," and "the giant scissors," put into a single volume. =the little colonel's house party.= (trade mark.) illustrated by louis meynell. =the little colonel's holidays.= (trade mark.) illustrated by l. j. bridgman. =the little colonel's hero.= (trade mark.) illustrated by e. b. barry. =the little colonel at boarding school.= (trade mark.) illustrated by e. b. barry. =the little colonel in arizona.= (_in preparation._) (trade mark.) illustrated by l. j. bridgman. since the time of "little women," no juvenile heroine has been better beloved of her child readers than mrs. johnston's "little colonel." each succeeding book has been more popular than its predecessor. =joel: a boy of galilee.= by annie fellows johnston. illustrated by l. j. bridgman. new illustrated edition, uniform with the little colonel books, vol., large mo, cloth decorative $ . a story of the time of christ, which is one of the author's best-known books, and which has been translated into many languages, the last being italian. =flip's "islands of providence."= by annie fellows johnston. mo, cloth, with illustrations $ . in this book the author of "the little colonel" and her girl friends and companions shows that she is equally at home in telling a tale in which the leading character is a boy, and in describing his troubles and triumphs in a way that will enhance her reputation as a skilled and sympathetic writer of stories for children. =asa holmes=; or, at the cross-roads. a sketch of country life and country humor. by annie fellows johnston. with a frontispiece by ernest fosbery. large mo, cloth, gilt top $ . "'asa holmes; or, at the cross-roads' is the most delightful, most sympathetic and wholesome book that has been published in a long while. the lovable, cheerful, touching incidents, the descriptions of persons and things are wonderfully true to nature."--_boston times._ =the great scoop.= by molly elliot seawell, author of "little jarvis," "laurie vane," etc. mo, cloth, with illustrations $ . a capital tale of newspaper life in a big city, and of a bright, enterprising, likable youngster employed therein. every boy with an ounce of true boyish blood in him will have the time of his life in reading how dick henshaw entered the newspaper business, and how he secured "the great scoop." =little lady marjorie.= by francis margaret fox, author of "farmer brown and the birds," etc. mo, cloth, illustrated $ . a charming story for children between the ages of ten and fifteen years, with both heart and nature interest. =the sandman=: his farm stories. by william j. hopkins. with fifty illustrations by ada clendenin williamson. one vol., large mo, decorative cover $ . "an amusing, original book, written for the benefit of children not more than six years old, is, 'the sandman: his farm stories.' it should be one of the most popular of the year's books for reading to small children."--_buffalo express._ "mothers and fathers and kind elder sisters who take the little ones to bed and rack their brains for stories will find this book a treasure."--_cleveland leader._ =the sandman=: more farm stories. by william j. hopkins, author of "the sandman: his farm stories." library mo, cloth decorative, fully illustrated, $ . mr. hopkins's first essay at bedtime stories has met with such approval that this second book of "sandman" tales has been issued for scores of eager children. life on the farm, and out-of-doors, will be portrayed in his inimitable manner, and many a little one will hail the bedtime season as one of delight. =a puritan knight errant.= by edith robinson, author of "a little puritan pioneer," "a little puritan's first christmas," "a little puritan rebel," etc. library mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $ . the charm of style and historical value of miss robinson's previous stories of child life in puritan days have brought them wide popularity. her latest and most important book appeals to a large juvenile public. the "knight errant" of this story is a little don quixote, whose trials and their ultimate outcome will prove deeply interesting to their reader. =beautiful joe's paradise=; or, the island of brotherly love. a sequel to "beautiful joe." by marshall saunders, author of "beautiful joe," "for his country," etc. with fifteen full-page plates and many decorations from drawings by charles livingston bull. one vol., library mo, cloth decorative $ . "will be immensely enjoyed by the boys and girls who read it."--_pittsburg gazette._ "miss saunders has put life, humor, action, and tenderness into her story. the book deserves to be a favorite."--_chicago record-herald._ "this book revives the spirit of 'beautiful joe' capitally. it is fairly riotous with fun, and as a whole is about as unusual as anything in the animal book line that has seen the light. it is a book for juveniles--old and young."--_philadelphia item._ ='tilda jane.= by marshall saunders, author of "beautiful joe," etc. one vol., mo, fully illustrated, cloth, decorative cover $ . "no more amusing and attractive child's story has appeared for a long time than this quaint and curious recital of the adventures of that pitiful and charming little runaway. "it is one of those exquisitely simple and truthful books that win and charm the reader, and i did not put it down until i had finished it--honest! and i am sure that every one, young or old, who reads will be proud and happy to make the acquaintance of the delicious waif. "i cannot think of any better book for children than this. i commend it unreservedly."--_cyrus townsend brady._ =the story of the graveleys.= by marshall saunders, author of "beautiful joe's paradise," "'tilda jane," etc. library mo, cloth decorative, illustrated by e. b. barry $ . here we have the haps and mishaps, the trials and triumphs, of a delightful new england family, of whose devotion and sturdiness it will do the reader good to hear. from the kindly, serene-souled grandmother to the buoyant madcap, berty, these graveleys are folk of fibre and blood--genuine human beings. phyllis' field friends series _by lenore e. mulets_ six vols., cloth decorative, illustrated by sophie schneider. sold separately, or as a set. per volume $ . per set $ . =insect stories.= =stories of little animals.= =flower stories.= =bird stories.= =tree stories.= =stories of little fishes.= in this series of six little nature books, it is the author's intention so to present to the child reader the facts about each particular flower, insect, bird, or animal, in story form, as to make delightful reading. classical legends, myths, poems, and songs are so introduced as to correlate fully with these lessons, to which the excellent illustrations are no little help. the woodranger tales _by g. waldo browne_ =the woodranger.= =the young gunbearer.= =the hero of the hills.= each, vol., large mo, cloth, decorative cover, illustrated, per volume $ . three vols., boxed, per set $ . "the woodranger tales," like the "pathfinder tales" of j. fenimore cooper, combine historical information relating to early pioneer days in america with interesting adventures in the backwoods. although the same characters are continued throughout the series, each book is complete in itself, and, while based strictly on historical facts, is an interesting and exciting tale of adventure. * * * * * =the rosamond tales.= by cuyler reynolds. with full-page illustrations from original photographs, and with a frontispiece from a drawing by maud humphreys. one vol., large mo, cloth decorative $ . these are just the bedtime stories that children always ask for, but do not always get. rosamond and rosalind are the hero and heroine of many happy adventures in town and on their grandfather's farm; and the happy listeners to their story will unconsciously absorb a vast amount of interesting knowledge of birds, animals, and flowers. the book will be a boon to tired mothers, and a delight to wide-awake children. =larry hudson's ambition.= by james otis, author of "toby tyler," etc. illustrated by eliot keen. one vol., library mo, cloth, decorative cover, $ . james otis, who has delighted the juvenile public with so many popular stories, has written the story of the rise of the bootblack larry. larry is not only capable of holding his own and coming out with flying colors in the amusing adventures wherein he befriends the family of good deacon doak; he also has the signal ability to know what he wants and to understand that hard work is necessary to win. =black beauty=: the autobiography of a horse. by anna sewell. _new illustrated edition._ with nineteen full-page drawings by winifred austin. one vol., large mo, cloth decorative, gilt top, $ . there have been many editions of this classic, but we confidently offer this one as the most appropriate and handsome yet produced. the illustrations are of special value and beauty. miss austin is a lover of horses, and has delighted in tracing with her pen the beauty and grace of the noble animal. "=yours with all my heart=:" the autobiography of a real dog. by esther m. baxendale. very fully illustrated with upwards of a hundred drawings by etheldred b. barry. large mo, cloth decorative $ . mrs. baxendale's charming story, though written primarily for children, will find a warm welcome from all those who love animals. it is a true story of a deeply loved pet and companion of the author's for thirteen years; and it cannot fail to inspire in the hearts of all the young people fortunate enough to hear it that affection and sympathy for domestic animals so essential in the moulding of character. it is delightfully human in its interest, and contains, besides the main theme of a rarely beautiful dog life, character sketches which show keen observation and that high order of talent requisite in writing for children, and exemplified in "black beauty" and "beautiful joe," of a place beside which, the publishers believe, "yours with all my heart" will be found worthy. =songs and rhymes for the little ones.= compiled by mary whitney morrison (jenny wallis). new edition, with an introduction by mrs. a. d. t. whitney, with eight illustrations. one vol., large mo, cloth decorative $ . no better description of this admirable book can be given than mrs. whitney's happy introduction: "one might almost as well offer june roses with the assurance of their sweetness, as to present this lovely little gathering of verse, which announces itself, like them, by its deliciousness. yet as mrs. morrison's charming volume has long been a delight to me, i am only too happy to link my name with its new and enriched form in this slight way, and simply declare that it is to me the most bewitching book of songs for little people that i have ever known." cosy corner series it is the intention of the publishers that this shall contain only the very highest and purest literature,--stories that shall not only appeal to the children themselves, but be appreciated by all those who feel with them in their joys and sorrows. the numerous illustrations in each book are by well-known artists, and each volume has a separate attractive cover design. each, vol., mo, cloth $ . _by annie fellows johnston_ =the little colonel.= (trade mark.) the scene of this story is laid in kentucky. its heroine is a small girl, who is known as the little colonel, on account of her fancied resemblance to an old-school southern gentleman, whose fine estate and old family are famous in the region. this old colonel proves to be the grandfather of the child. =the giant scissors.= this is the story of joyce and of her adventures in france,--the wonderful house with the gate of the giant scissors, jules, her little playmate, sister denisa, the cruel brossard, and her dear aunt kate. joyce is a great friend of the little colonel, and in later volumes shares with her the delightful experiences of the "house party" and the "holidays." =two little knights of kentucky,= who were the little colonel's neighbors. in this volume the little colonel returns to us like an old friend, but with added grace and charm. she is not, however, the central figure of the story, that place being taken by the "two little knights." =cicely and other stories for girls.= the readers of mrs. johnston's charming juveniles will be glad to learn of the issue of this volume for young people, written in the author's sympathetic and entertaining manner. =aunt 'liza's hero and other stories.= a collection of six bright little stories, which will appeal to all boys and most girls. =big brother.= a story of two boys. the devotion and care of steven, himself a small boy, for his baby brother, is the theme of the simple tale, the pathos and beauty of which has appealed to so many thousands. =ole mammy's torment.= "ole mammy's torment" has been fitly called "a classic of southern life." it relates the haps and mishaps of a small negro lad, and tells how he was led by love and kindness to a knowledge of the right. =the story of dago.= in this story mrs. johnston relates the story of dago, a pet monkey, owned jointly by two brothers. dago tells his own story, and the account of his haps and mishaps is both interesting and amusing. =the quilt that jack built.= a pleasant little story of a boy's labor of love, and how it changed the course of his life many years after it was accomplished. told in mrs. johnston's usual vein of quaint charm and genuine sincerity. _by edith robinson_ =a little puritan's first christmas.= a story of colonial times in boston, telling how christmas was invented by betty sewall, a typical child of the puritans, aided by her brother sam. =a little daughter of liberty.= the author's motive for this story is well indicated by a quotation from her introduction, as follows: "one ride is memorable in the early history of the american revolution, the well-known ride of paul revere. equally deserving of commendation is another ride,--untold in verse or story, its records preserved only in family papers or shadowy legend, the ride of anthony severn was no less historic in its action or memorable in its consequences." =a loyal little maid.= a delightful and interesting story of revolutionary days, in which the child heroine, betsey schuyler, renders important services to george washington. =a little puritan rebel.= like miss robinson's successful story of "a loyal little maid," this is another historical tale of a real girl, during the time when the gallant sir harry vane was governor of massachusetts. =a little puritan pioneer.= the scene of this story is laid in the puritan settlement at charlestown. the little girl heroine adds another to the list of favorites so well known to the young people. =a little puritan bound girl.= a story of boston in puritan days, which is of great interest to youthful readers. _by ouida_ (_louise de la ramée_) =a dog of flanders=: a christmas story. too well and favorably known to require description. =the nürnberg stove.= this beautiful story has never before been published at a popular price. =a provence rose.= a story perfect in sweetness and in grace. =findelkind.= a charming story about a little swiss herdsman. _by miss mulock_ =the little lame prince.= a delightful story of a little boy who has many adventures by means of the magic gifts of his fairy godmother. =adventures of a brownie.= the story of a household elf who torments the cook and gardener, but is a constant joy and delight to the children who love and trust him. =his little mother.= miss mulock's short stories for children are a constant source of delight to them, and "his little mother," in this new and attractive dress, will be welcomed by hosts of youthful readers. =little sunshine's holiday.= an attractive story of a summer outing. "little sunshine" is another of those beautiful child-characters for which miss mulock is so justly famous. _by juliana horatia ewing_ =jackanapes.= a new edition, with new illustrations, of this exquisite and touching story, dear alike to young and old. =story of a short life.= this beautiful and pathetic story will never grow old. it is a part of the world's literature, and will never die. =a great emergency.= how a family of children prepared for a great emergency, and how they acted when the emergency came. =the trinity flower.= in this little volume are collected three of mrs. ewing's best short stories for the young people. =madam liberality.= from her cradle up madam liberality found her chief delight in giving. _by frances margaret fox_ =the little giant's neighbours.= a charming nature story of a "little giant" whose neighbours were the creatures of the field and garden. =farmer brown and the birds.= a little story which teaches children that the birds are man's best friends. =betty of old mackinaw.= a charming story of child-life, appealing especially to the little readers who like stories of "real people." =mother nature's little ones.= curious little sketches describing the early lifetime, or "childhood," of the little creatures out-of-doors. _by will allen dromgoole_ =the farrier's dog and his fellow.= this story, written by the gifted young southern woman, will appeal to all that is best in the natures of the many admirers of her graceful and piquant style. =the fortunes of the fellow.= those who read and enjoyed the pathos and charm of "the farrier's dog and his fellow" will welcome the further account of the "adventures of baydaw and the fellow" at the home of the kindly smith. =the best of friends.= this continues the experiences of the farrier's dog and his fellow, written in miss dromgoole's well-known charming style. _by frances hodges white_ =helena's wonderworld.= a delightful tale of the adventures of a little girl in the mysterious regions beneath the sea. =aunt nabby's children.= this pretty little story, touched with the simple humor of country life, tells of two children who were adopted by aunt nabby. _by marshall saunders_ =for his country.= a sweet and graceful story of a little boy who loved his country; written with that charm which has endeared miss saunders to hosts of readers. =nita, the story of an irish setter.= in this touching little book, miss saunders shows how dear to her heart are all of god's dumb creatures. * * * * * transcriber's note: obvious punctuation errors repaired. transcriber's notes: ) there are a number of words in the native language that appear to mean the same thing, but have different accents. it is unknown if this is intentional or a printing error - these have been left as printed. eg: nuleága / núleaga ... takináka / takínaka / takinaka ... wáhok / wahok ) characters with diacritical marks are noted as follows: acute ['x] macron [=x] combined ['=x] macron (below) [x=] dot above [.x] breve [)x] * * * * * university of pennsylvania the university museum anthropological publications vol. vi no. ____________________________ the dance festivals of the alaskan eskimo by e. w. hawkes philadelphia published by the university museum contents page introduction phonetic key the dance in general the chorus participation of the sexes the kÁsgi or dance house paraphernalia the dance festivals the asking festival the bladder feast the feasts to the dead the annual feast, ail['=i]gi the great feast, aÍthuk['=a]tukhtuk the feast givers the ritual the clothing of the namesakes the inviting-in festival introduction this account of the dance festivals of the alaskan eskimo was written from material gathered in the bering strait district during three years' residence: two on the diomede islands, and one at st. michael at the mouth of the yukon river. this paper is based on my observations of the ceremonial dances of the eskimo of these two localities. phonetic key [=a], [=e], [=i], [=o], [=u], long vowels. a, e, i, o, u, short vowels. ä, as in hat. â, as in law. ai, as in aisle. au, as ow in how. h, w, y, semivowels. c, as sh in should. f, a bilabial surd. g, as in get. ['g], a post-palatal sonant. k, as in pick. l, as in lull. m, as in mum. n, as in nun. ng, as ng in sing. p, as in pipe. q, a post-palatal surd. [.r], a uvular sonant spirant. s, as in sauce. t, an alveolar stop. tc, as ch in chapter. v, a bilabial sonant. z, as in zone. * * * * * the dance festivals of the alaskan eskimo the dance in general the ceremonial dance of the alaskan eskimo is a rhythmic pantomime--the story in gesture and song of the lives of the various arctic animals on which they subsist and from whom they believe their ancient clans are sprung. the dances vary in complexity from the ordinary social dance, in which all share promiscuously and in which individual action is subordinated to rhythm, to the pantomime totem dances performed by especially trained actors who hold their positions from year to year according to artistic merit.[ ] yet even in the totem dances the pantomime is subordinate to the rhythm, or rather superimposed upon it, so that never a gesture or step of the characteristic native time is lost. this is a primitive - beat based on the double roll of the chorus of drums. time is kept, in the men's dances, by stamping the foot and jerking the arm in unison, twice on the right, then twice on the left side, and so on, alternately. vigorous dancers vary the program by leaping and jumping at intervals, and the shamans are noted for the dizzy circles which they run round the púgyarok, the entrance hole of the dance hall. the women's dance has the same measure and can be performed separately or in conjunction with the men's dance, but has a different and distinctly feminine movement. the feet are kept on the ground, while the body sways back and forth in graceful undulations to the music and the hands with outspread palms part the air with the graceful stroke of a flying gull. some of their dances are performed seated. then they strip to the waist and form one long line of waving arms and swaying shoulders, all moving in perfect unison. [ ] this characterization applies to the alaskan eskimo only; so far as is now known the other eskimo branches do not have totemic dances. the chorus the chorus which furnishes the music, is composed of from six to ten men. they sit on the in['g]lak, a raised shelf extending around the dance hall about five feet from the floor, and sing their dance songs keeping time on their drums. they usually sit in the rear of the room, which is the post of honor. among the island tribes of bering strait this position is reversed and they occupy the front of the room. some old man, the keeper of tribal tradition and song, acts as the leader, calling out the words of the dance songs a line ahead. he begins the proceedings by striking up a low chant, an invitation to the people assembled to dance. the chorus accompany him lightly on their drums. then at the proper place, he strikes a crashing double beat; the drums boom out in answer; the song arises high and shrill; the dancers leap into their places, and the dance begins. the first dances are usually simple exercises calculated to warm the blood and stretch stiffened muscles. they begin with leaping around the pú['g]yarok, jumping into the air with both feet in the eskimo high kick, settling down into the conventional movements of the men's dance.[ ] [ ] while the northern and southern tribes have the same general movements for their ordinary dances, they give a very different presentation of the festival dance-songs. the northerners leap and stamp about the kásgi until overcome with exhaustion; while in the south the performers sit or kneel on the floor, adorned with an abundance of streaming furs and feathers, sweep their hands through the air in graceful unison. it is a difference between rude vigor and dramatic art. quite often a woman steps into the center of the circle, and goes through her own dance, while the men leap and dance around her. this act has been specialized in the reindeer and wolf pack dance of the aithúkaguk, the inviting-in festival, where the woman wearing a reindeer crest and belt is surrounded by the men dancers, girt in armlets and fillets of wolf skin. they imitate the pack pulling down a deer, and the din caused by their jumping and howling around her shrinking form is terrific. participation of the sexes there appears to be no restriction against the women taking part in the men's dances. they also act as assistants to the chief actors in the totem dances, three particularly expert and richly dressed women dancers ranging themselves behind the mask dancer as a pleasing background of streaming furs and glistening feathers. the only time they are forbidden to enter the kásgi is when the shaman is performing certain secret rites. they also have secret meetings of their own when all men are banished.[ ] i happened to stumble on to one of these one time when they were performing certain rites over a pregnant woman, but being a white man, and therefore unaccountable, i was greeted with a good-natured laugh and sent about my business. [ ] this custom appears to be widespread. low writes of the hudson bay eskimo: "during the absence of the men on hunting expeditions, the women sometimes amuse themselves by a sort of female "angekoking." this amusement is accompanied by a number of very obscene rites...." low, the cruise of the neptune, p. . on the other hand, men are never allowed to take part in the strictly women's dances, although nothing pleases an eskimo crowd more than an exaggerated imitation by one of their clowns of the movements of the women's dance. the women's dances are practiced during the early winter and given at the aiyáguk, or asking festival, when the men are invited to attend as spectators. they result in offers of temporary marriage to the unmarried women, which is obviously the reason for this rite. such dances, confined to the women, have not been observed in alaska outside the islands of bering sea, and i have reason to believe are peculiar to this district, which, on account of its isolation, retains the old forms which have died out or been modified on the mainland. but throughout alaska the women are allowed the utmost freedom in participating in the festivals, either as naskuks[ ] or feast givers, as participants or as spectators. [ ] literally "heads" or directors of the feasts. in fact, the social position of the eskimo woman has been misrepresented and misunderstood. at first sight she appears to be the slave of her husband, but a better acquaintance will reveal the fact that she is the manager of the household and the children, the business partner in all his trades, and often the "oomíalik," or captain of the concern as well. her husband is forbidden by tribal custom to maltreat her, and if she owns the house, she can order him out at any time. i have never known a woman being head of a tribe, but sometimes a woman is the most influential member of a tribe. the kÁsgi or dance house with few exceptions, all dances take place in the village kásgi or dance hall. this is the public meeting place where the old men gather to sit and smoke while they discuss the village welfare, where the married men bring their work and take their sweat baths, and where the bachelors and young men, termed kásgimiut, have their sleeping quarters. the kásgi is built and maintained at public expense, each villager considering it an honor to contribute something. any tools or furnishings brought into the kásgi are considered public property, and used as such. when a kásgi is to be built, announcement is made through messengers to neighboring villages, and all gather to assist in the building and to help celebrate the event. first a trench several feet deep is dug in which to plant the timbers forming the sides. these are usually of driftwood, which is brought by the ocean currents from the yukon. the ice breaks up first at the head of that great stream, and the débris dams up the river, which overflows its banks, tearing down trees, buildings and whatever borders its course as it breaks its way out to the sea. the wreckage is scattered along the coast for over a hundred miles, and the islands of bering sea get a small share. the islanders are constantly on the lookout for the drifting timber, and put out to sea in the stormiest weather for a distant piece, be it large or small. they also patrol the coast after a high tide for stray bits of wood. when one considers the toil and pain with which material is gathered, the building of a kásgi becomes an important matter. after the timbers have been rough hewn with the adze (úlimon) they are set upright in the trench to a height of seven to eight feet and firmly bedded with rock. this is to prevent the fierce polar winds which prevail in midwinter from tearing the houses to pieces. in the older buildings a protecting stone wall was built on the sides. most of the houses are set in a side hill, or partly underground, for additional security, as well as for warmth. the roof is laid on top of the uprights, the logs being drawn in gradually in pyramid shape to a flat top. in the middle of the top is the [.r]álok or smoke hole, an opening about two feet square. in a kásgi thirty feet square the rálok is twenty feet above the floor. it is covered with a translucent curtain of walrus gut. the dead are always taken out through this opening, and never by the entrance. the most important feature of the room is the in['g]lak, a wide shelf supported by posts at intervals. it stands about five feet high extending around the room. this serves the double purpose of a seat and bed for the inmates of the kásgi. the rear, the káan, is the most desirable position, being the warmest, and is given to headmen and honored guests.[ ] the side portions, káaklim, are given to the lesser lights and the women and children; and the front, the óaklim, being nearest the entrance and therefore cold and uncomfortable is left for the orphans and worthless men. [ ] the order of the seating on the in['g]lak of invited guests is a matter of great concern to the eskimo, as it is an indication of worth. children purchase their right to a seat in the kásgi by making presents, through their parents, to all the inmates, kásgimiut. until they do so they have no right to enter. for the same reason strangers on entering the kásgi offer a small present to the headman, who divides it among the people. the floor of the kásgi is made of rough planking, and the boards in the center are left loose so that they may be easily removed. these cover the k[=e]néthluk or fireplace, an excavation four feet square, and four feet deep, used in the sweat baths. it is thought to be the place where the spirits sit, when they visit the kásgi, during festivals held in their honor. offerings are poured to them through the cracks in the planks. in the center of the floor is a round hole about two feet in diameter, called the entrance hole or púgyarok. this connects with a long tunnel, the a['g]veak, which leads outside. the tunnel is usually so low that it is necessary to enter in a stooping position, which the eskimo does by placing both hands on the sides of the púgyarok, and drawing himself through. some dance-houses have another entrance directly into the room on a level with the ground, the underground passage being used only in winter. the diagram (plate xi) gives an idea of this arrangement. paraphernalia the drum (saúyit)[ ] is the only instrument employed in the dances. it is made of a circular hoop about eighteen inches in width over which is stretched a resonant covering made from the bladder of the walrus or seal. it is held in place by a cord of rawhide (o['k]linok)[ ] which fits into a groove on the outer rim. the cover can therefore be tightened at will. it is customary during the intermissions between the dances for the drummers to rub a handful of snow over the skins to prevent them from cracking under the heavy blows. the drum is held aloft and struck with a thin stick (múmwa).[ ] it gives a deep boom in answer. the shaman uses a smaller baton with which he beats a continuous tattoo as an accompaniment to his songs. the northerners strike the back of the rim with their sticks, while the yukon people belabor the face of the drum. [ ] tcáuyak, yukon dialect. [ ] lóftak, yukon dialect. [ ] múmra, yukon dialect. the leader of the chorus frequently flourishes a baton, made from a fox tail or the skin of the ermine which is mounted on a stick. with this he marks the time of the dance. in plate xiv, the white blur is the ermine at the end of his stick. it is very difficult to obtain a good picture in the ill lighted kásgi, and not often that the natives will allow one taken there. one indispensable part of a male dancer's outfit is his gloves. i have never seen a man dancing without them. these are usually of wolverine, or of reindeer with elaborate trimmings, but on ordinary occasions any kind will do. the women do not share this peculiarity. in place of gloves they wear handlets of grass decorated with feathers of duck or of ptarmigan. the men in the totem dances also wear handlets which are carved and painted to represent the particular totem they seek to honor. these too are fantastically decorated with feathers, usually of the loon. the central feather is stripped, and crowned with a tuft of white down. both men and women wear armlets and fillets of skin or feathers according to the animal character they represent. when in the full swing of the dance with fur and feathers streaming they present a pleasing spectacle, a picture full of the same wild grace and poetic motion which characterizes the animal forbears from which they claim descent. the chief characters in the totem and comic dances wear masks and carry staves decorated with feathers. occasionally the women assistants carry feathered wands (kelízruk). of the masks there is a great variety ranging from the plain wooden masks to those of such great size that they are suspended from the ceiling of the kásgi by a cord while the dancer performs behind them. the cape prince of wales (kinígumiut) eskimo construct complete figures of their totems. these are worked by means of concealed strings by the performers, a climax of art which is supposed to be particularly pleasing to the spirits addressed. then the shaman (túngalik)[ ] has his own set of masks, hideous enough to strike terror to even the initiated. each one of these represents a familiar spirit (túnghat)[ ] which assists him in his operations. [ ] tungrálik, yukon dialect. [ ] tungrániyak, yukon dialect. ordinary dance masks may be made by anyone, but the masks for the ceremonial dances are made by some renowned shaman, engaged for the occasion. these masks are burned at the close of the festival, but may be sold by the actors if they supply an equal amount of wood for the sacrificial fire. many of the masks are very complicated, having appendages of wood, fur and feathers. they are all fashioned with an idea of representing some feature in the mythology of the spirit (inua) or animal shade (tunghat) which they represent. in the latter case they are nearly always made double, the mythical beings who inhabited the early world being regarded as able to change from animal to human shape, by merely pushing up or pulling down the upper part of the face as a mask. such masks are often hinged to complete the illusion, the actor changing the face at will. it might be mentioned here that when the actor puts on the mask he is supposed to become imbued with the spirit of the being represented. this accounts, to the native mind, for the very lifelike imitation which he gives. the masks are painted along conventional lines; the favorite colors for the inua masks are red (karékteoak),[ ] black (auktoak), green (cúngokyoak), white (katéktoak), and blue (taúkrektoak), in the order named. these colors[ ] may hold a sacred or symbolic significance. the inua masks are decorated with some regard to the natural colors of the human face, but in the masks of the túnghat the imagination of the artist runs riot. the same is true of the comic masks, which are rendered as grotesque and horrible as possible. a mask with distorted features, a pale green complexion, surrounded by a bristling mass of hair, amuses them greatly. the eskimo also caricature their neighbors, the dènè, in this same manner, representing them by masks with very large noses and sullen features. [ ] these are the northern names. in the southern or yukon dialect black is túnguli; white katughúli; red, kauigúli; green, tcunungúli. the endings and pronunciation of similar eskimo words are somewhat different in arctic alaska and on the yukon river; sufficiently so as to produce two distinct dialects. for this reason i have given the forms from both sections. [ ] red is obtained from red ochre; white from white clay; black from soot or ashes; green from oxide of copper. the dance festivals the dance festivals of the alaskan eskimo are held during that cold, stormy period of the winter when the work of the year is over and hunting is temporarily at an end. at this season the people gather in the kásgi to celebrate the local rites, and at certain intervals invite neighboring tribes to join in the great inter-tribal festivals. this season of mirth and song is termed "tcauyávik" the drum dance season, from "tcaúyak" meaning drum. it lasts from november to march, and is a continuous succession of feasts and dances, which makes glad the heart of the eskimo and serves to lighten the natural depression caused by day after day of interminable wind and darkness. a brisk exchange of presents at the local festivals promotes good feeling, and an interchange of commodities between the tribes at the great feasts stimulates trade and results in each being supplied with the necessities of life. for instance, northern tribes visiting the south bring presents of reindeer skins or múkluk to eke out the scanty supply of the south, while the latter in return give their visitors loads of dried salmon which the northerners feed to their dogs. the festivals also serve to keep alive the religious feeling of the people, as evidenced in the dance to the dead, which allows free play to the nobler sentiments of filial faith and paternal love. the recital of the deeds of ancient heroes preserves the best traditions of the race and inspires the younger generation. to my mind, there is nothing which civilization can supply which can take the place of the healthy exercise, social enjoyment, commercial advantages, and spiritual uplift of these dances. where missionary sentiment is overwhelming they are gradually being abandoned; where there is a mistaken opinion in regard to their use, they have been given up altogether; but the tenacity with which the eskimo clings to these ancient observances, even in places where they have been nominal christians for years, is an evidence of the vitality of these ancient rites and their adaptation to the native mind. the festivals vary considerably according to locality, but their essential features are the same. taken in order of celebration they are as follows local festivals. . the aiyáguk or asking festival. . the tcaúiyuk or bladder feast. . the ail['=i]gi or annual feast to the dead. inter-tribal festivals. . the aíthuk['=a]tukhtuk or great feast to the dead. . the aithúkaguk or inviting-in feast. the asking festival, which begins the round of feasting and dancing, takes place during the november moon. it is a local ceremony in which gifts are exchanged between the men and women of the village, which result in offers of temporary marriage. it takes its name from the aiyáguk or asking stick,[ ] which is the wand of office of the messenger or go-between. the annual feast to the dead is held during the december moon, and may be repeated again in spring after the bladder feast, if a large number of eskimos have died in the interim. it consists of songs and dances accompanied by offerings of food and drink to the dead. it is a temporary arrangement for keeping the dead supplied with sustenance (they are thought to imbibe the spiritual essence of the offerings) until the great feast to the dead takes place. [ ] the asking stick is also used in the inviting-in feast (aithúkaguk). this is held whenever the relatives of the deceased have accumulated sufficient food, skins and other goods to entertain the countryside and are able to properly honor the deceased. at the same time the namesakes of the dead are richly clothed from head to foot and showered with presents. as this prodigal generosity entails the savings of years on the part of the feast givers (náskut), the feast occurs only at irregular intervals of several years. it has been termed the ten year feast by the traders (kágruska), but so far as i have been able to inquire, it has no fixed date among the eskimo. it is by far the most important event in the life of the alaskan native. by it he discharges all debts of honor to the dead, past, present and future. he is not obliged to take part in another festival of the kind unless another near relative dies. he pays off all old scores of hospitality and lays his friends under future obligations by his presents. he is often beggared by this prodigality, but he can be sure of welcome and entertainment wherever he goes, for he is a man who has discharged all his debts to society and is therefore deserving of honor for the rest of his days. in the bladder feast which takes place in january, the bladders of the animals slain during the past season, in which the spirits of the animals are supposed to reside, are returned to the sea, after appropriate ceremonies in the kásgi. there they are thought to attract others of their kind and bring an increase to the village. this is essentially a coast festival. among the tribes of the islands of bering sea and the siberian coast this festival is repeated in march, in conjunction with a whaling ceremony performed at the taking down of the [=u]miaks. the dance contests in the inviting-in feast resemble the nith songs of greenland. they are comic and totem dances in which the best performers of several tribes contest singly or in groups for supremacy. the costumes worn are remarkably fine and the acting very realistic. this is essentially a southern festival for it gives an opportunity to the eskimo living near the rivers to display their ingenious talent for mimicry and for the arrangement of feathers. there are a few purely local ceremonies, the outgrowth of practices of local shamans. an example of this is the aitekátah or doll festival of the igomiut, which has also spread to the neighboring dènè. such local outgrowths, however, do not appear to spread among the conservative eskimo, who resent the least infringement of the ancient practices handed down from dim ancestors of the race. it is not often that they will allow a white man to witness the festival dances, but, owing to the friendliness of the chief of the diomede tribes, who always reserved a seat for me next to him in the kásgi, i had the opportunity of seeing the local rites and the great dance to the dead. the same favor continuing with the chief of the unalit, during my residence on the yukon, i witnessed the inviting-in feast as celebrated by the southern tribes. having described the dances in general, i will proceed to a detailed account of each. the asking festival the aiyáguk or asking festival is the first of the local feasts. it occurs about the middle of november when the eskimo have all returned from their summer travels and made their iglus secure against the storms of the coming winter. so, with caches full of fish, and houses packed with trade goods after a successful season at the southern camps, they must wait until the shifting ice pack settles and the winter hunting begins. such enforced inaction is irksome to the eskimo, who does not partake of the stolidity of the indian, but like a nervous child must be continually employed or amused. so this festival, which is of a purely social character, has grown up. my first intimation that there was a celebration taking place was being attracted by a tremendous uproar in the native village just as darkness had fallen. suspecting that the eskimo were making merry over a native brew, called "hoosch,"[ ] i slipped down to the village to see what was the matter. i was met by the queerest procession i have ever seen. a long line of men and boys, entirely naked and daubed over with dots and figures of mingled oil and charcoal,[ ] were proceeding from house to house with bowls in their hands. at each entrance they filed in, howling, stamping and grunting, holding out their dishes until they were filled by the women of the house. all this time they were careful to keep their faces averted so that they would not be recognized. this is termed the "tutúuk" or "going around." returning to the kásgi they washed off their marks with urine, and sat down to feast on their plunder. [ ] this is a liquor distilled from flour and molasses. in the operation an old cask and a gun barrel are used. the liquid is fermented with sour dough and allowed to distill through the barrel. the eskimo had no liquor prior to the advent of the whalers, who supplied them with the materials and probably taught them the art of distilling. the u. s. revenue cutter "bear" has been active in breaking up the practice. in , six illicit stills were seized on the diomede islands. [ ] the first night of the feast the men and older boys meet in the kásgi, and two boys named the raven (tulukaúguk) and the hawk (teibúriak) mix the paint and assist the men in ornamenting themselves. the next day the men gathered again in the kásgi and the aiyáguk or asking stick was constructed. it was made by a man especially chosen for the purpose. it was a slender wand about three feet long with three globes made of thin strips of wood hanging by a strip of o['k]linok from the smaller end. it was carried by the messenger between the men and women during the feast, and was the visible sign of his authority. it was treated with scrupulous respect by the eskimo and to disregard the wishes conveyed by means of it during the feast would have been considered a lasting disgrace. when not in use it was hung over the entrance to the kásgi. the wand maker, having finished the asking stick, took his stand in the center of the room, and swaying the globes, to and fro, asked the men to state their wishes. then any man present had the privilege of telling him of an article he wished and the name of the woman from whom he wished it. (among the southern tribes the men made small wooden models of the objects they wished which were hung on the end of the asking stick.) the messenger then proceeded to the house of the woman in question, swinging the globes in front of her, repeated the wish and stood waiting for her answer. she in turn recollected something that she desired and told it to the messenger. thereupon he returned to the kásgi, and standing in front of the first party, swung the globes, and told him what was desired in return. in this way he made the round of the village. the men then returned to their homes for the article desired, while the messenger blackened his face with charcoal and donned a costume betoking humility. this was considered the only proper attitude in presenting gifts. the costume consisted of wornout clothing, of which a disreputable raincoat (kamleíka) and a dogskin belt with the tail behind were indispensable parts. then the men and women gathered in the kásgi where the exchanges were made through the messenger. if anyone did not have the gift requested he was in honor bound to secure it as soon as possible and present it to his partner. those exchanging gifts entered a relationship termed o[=i]ló['g]uk, and among the northern tribes where the ancient forms persevere, they continued to exchange presents throughout succeeding festivals. after this exchange, a dance was performed by the women. they stripped to the waist, and taking their places on the i['n]glak, went through a series of motions in unison. these varied considerably in time and movement from the conventional women's dance. according to custom at the conclusion of the dance any man has the privilege of asking any unmarried woman through the messenger, if he might share her bed that night. if favorably inclined, she replies that he must bring a deerskin for bedding. he procures the deerskin, and presents it to her, and after the feast is over remains with her for the night. whether these temporary unions lead to permanent marriage i was unable to find out. the gift of reindeer skin is very like the suit of clothing given in betrothal and would furnish material for the parka which the husband presents to his bride. the fact that the privilege is limited to unmarried women might be also urged in turn. as the system of exchanging wives was formerly common among the alaskan eskimo, and as they distribute their favors at will, it is rather remarkable that the married women are not included, as in the licentious feasts recorded of the greenlanders.[ ] from talks with some of the older eskimo i am led to regard this as a relic of an ancient custom similar to those which have been observed among many nations of antiquity, in which a woman is open to violation at certain feasts. this privilege is taken advantage of, and may become a preliminary to marriage. [ ] see hans egede, det gamle grönlands nye perlustration, p. . the bladder feast the bladder feast (tcaúiyuk) is held in december at the full of the moon. the object of this feast is the propitiation of the inua of the animals slain during the season past. these are believed to reside in the bladders, which the eskimo carefully preserve. the ceremony consists in the purification of the bladders by the flame of the wild parsnip (aíkituk). the hunters are also required to pass through the flame. they return the bladders then to the sea, where entering the bodies of their kind, they are reborn and return again, bringing continued success to the hunter. the first three days are spent in preparation. they thoroughly clean the kásgi, particularly the kenéthluk or fireplace, the recognized abode of all spirits visiting the kásgi. then the men bring in their harvest of bladders.[ ] they tie them by the necks in bunches of eight to the end of their spears. these they thrust into the walls at the rear of the room leaving ample room for the dancers to pass under the swaying bladders in the rites of purification. offerings of food and water are made to the inua, and they are constantly attended. one old man told me that they would be offended and take their departure if left alone for a moment. dogs, being unclean, are not allowed to enter the kásgi. neither is anyone permitted to do any work during the ceremony. [ ] the mothers also preserve with greatest care the bladders of the mice, ground squirrels, and other small animals killed by the children. these are purified at the same time. meanwhile four men,[ ] especially chosen for the purpose, scour the adjoining country for parsnip stalks. they bind these into small bundles, and place them on top of the látorak, the outer vestibule to the entrance of the kásgi. in the evening they take these into the kásgi, open the bundles and spread out the stalks on the floor. then each hunter takes a stalk, and they unite in a song to the parsnip, the burden of which is a request that the stalks may become dry and useful for purification. the heat of the seal oil lamps soon dries them, and they are tied into one large bundle. the third day the sheaf is opened, and two bundles made. the larger one is for the use of the dancers; the smaller is placed on a spear and stuck in front of the bladders. the fourth day the bladders are taken down and painted. a grayish mixture is used which is obtained by burning a few parsnip stalks and mixing the ashes with oil. the designs are the series of bands and dots grouped to represent the totems of the hunters. when the paint is dry the bladders are returned to their places. in the evening the men gather again in the kásgi, and the dancers proceed to strip off every vestige of clothing. snatching a handful of stalks at the common pile they light them at the lamps, and join in a wild dance about the room. the resinous stalks shoot into flame with a frightful glare, lighting up the naked bodies of the dancers, and dusky interior of the kásgi. waving the flaming torches over their heads, leaping, jumping, and screaming like madmen they rush around the room, thrusting the flame among the bladders and then into the faces of the hunters. when the mad scene is at its height, they seize one another, and struggle toward the púgyarok (entrance hole). here each is thrust down in succession until all the dancers have passed through. i am informed that this is a pantomime enactment, an indication to the inua it is time for them to depart. [ ] the number four appears to have a sacred significance among the alaskan eskimo. the raven father (tulukaúguk) waves his wings four times over the objects of his creation; the heroes of ancient legends take four steps and are transported great distances; and important events occur on the fourth night. i understand that the four men who gather the wild parsnips represent the four clans of the tribe. the next day a hole is made in the ice near the kásgi, and each hunter dips his spear in the water, and, running back to the kásgi, stirs up the bladders with it. the presence of the sea water reminds the inua of their former home, and they make ready to depart. the bladders are then tied into one large bundle, and the people await the full moon. at sunrise the morning after the full moon each hunter takes his load of bladders, and filing out of the kásgi starts for the hole in the ice on a dead run. arriving there, he tears off the bladders one by one, and thrusts them under the water. this signifies the return of the inua to the sea. as the bladders float or sink success is prophesied for the hunter by the shaman in attendance. in the meantime the old men build a fire of driftwood on the ice in front of the kásgi. the small bundle of parsnip stalks which stood in front of the bladders is brought out and thrown on the fire, and as the stalks kindle to the flame, each hunter utters a shout, takes a short run, and leaps through in turn. this performance purifies the hunter of any matter offensive to the inua, and concludes the ceremony. during the bladder feast all intercourse between the married men and their wives is tabooed. they are required to sleep in the kásgi with the bachelors. neither is any girl who has attained puberty (wingiktóak) allowed near the bladders. she is unclean (wáhok). the feasts to the dead the eskimo idea of the life after death and the rationale for their most important ritual, the feast to the dead, is nowhere better illustrated than in a quaint tale current along the yukon, in which the heroine, prematurely buried during a trancelike sleep, visited the land of the dead. she was rudely awakened from her deathlike slumber by the spirit of her grandmother shaking her and exclaiming, "wake up. do not sleep the hours away. you are dead!" arising from her grave box, the maiden was conducted by her guide to the world beneath, where the dead had their dwellings in large villages grouped according to the localities from which they came. even the animal shades were not forgotten, but inhabited separate communities in human shape.[ ] after some travel the girl found the village allotted to her tribe, and was reclaimed by her departed relatives. she was recognized by the totem marks on her clothing, which in ancient times the eskimo always wore. she found the inmates of this region leading a pleasant but somewhat monotonous life, free from hardships and from the sleet and cold of their earthly existence. they returned to the upper world during the feasts to the dead, when they received the spiritual essence of the food and clothing offered to their namesakes[ ] by relatives. according to the generosity or stinginess of the feast givers there was a feast or a famine in spirit land, and those who were so unfortunate as to have no namesake, either through their own carelessness[ ] or the neglect of the community,[ ] went hungry and naked. this was the worst calamity that could befall an eskimo, hence the necessity of providing a namesake and of regularly feeding and clothing the same, in the interest of the beloved dead. [ ] the shapes of animals are thought by the alaskan eskimo to be like those of men, and in ancient times animals possessed the power of changing their forms at will. this was effected by pulling the muzzle up over the head to become people or of pulling it down again to regain their original form. [ ] the first child born in the village after his death becomes the deceased's namesake. however, if born in camp, its mother gives it the name of the first natural object to catch her eye. [ ] childless people provide for this contingency by adoption. [ ] one who has made himself odious to his fellow villagers is purposely neglected in the feasts to the dead. the annual feast, ail['=i]gi the annual feast to the dead is a temporary arrangement, whereby the shades of those recently departed are sustained until the advent of the great feast to the dead. the essence of the offerings of food and drink are supposed to satisfy the wants of the dead until they can be properly honored in the great festival. in the latter event the relative discharges all his social obligations to the dead, and the ghost is furnished with such an abundance that it can never want in the world below. the makers of the feast (n['ä]skut) are the nearest relatives of those who have died during the past year, together with those villagers who have not yet given the greater festival. the day before the festival the male mourners go to the village burial ground and plant a newly made stake before the grave of their relative. the stake is surmounted by a wooden model of a spear, if the deceased be a man; or a wooden dish, if it be a woman. the totem mark of the deceased is carved upon it. in the north simple models of kayak paddles suffice. the sticks are a notification to the spirits in the land of the dead that the time for the festival is at hand. accordingly they journey to the grave boxes, where they wait, ready to enter the kásgi at the song of invocation. to light their way from the other world lamps are brought into the kásgi and set before their accustomed places. when the invitation song arises they leave their graves and take their places in the fireplace (kenéthluk), where they enjoy the songs and dances, and receive the offerings of their relatives. the annual feast is celebrated after the bladder feast during the december moon. by the yukon tribes it is repeated just before the opening of spring. during the day of the festival a taboo is placed on all work in the village, particularly that done with any sharp pointed tool which might wound some wandering ghost and bring retribution on the people. at midday the whole village gathers in the kásgi, and the ceremony begins. soon the mourners enter bearing great bowls of food and drink which they deposit in the doorway. then the chorus leader arises and begins the song of invitation accompanied by the relatives of the dead. it is a long minor chant, a constant reiteration of a few well worn phrases. "tukomalra-[=a]-, tung lík-a, tis-ká-a a-a-yung-a-a-yung-a, etc. dead ones, next of kin, come hither, túntum komúga thetámtatuk, móqkapik thetámtatuk moqsúlthka. reindeer meat we bring you, water we bring you for your thirst." when the song is completed the mourners arise, and going to the food in the doorway set it on the planks over the fireplace, after which they take a ladleful from each dish pouring it through the cracks in the floor, and the essence of this offering supplies the shades below with food until the next festival. the remainder of the food is distributed among those present. when the feast is over, the balance of the day is given over to songs and dances. then the spirits are sent back to their homes by the simple expedient of stamping on the floor. the great feast, aÍthuk['=a]tukhtuk after making offerings to his relative at the annual feast the chief mourner begins saving up his skins, frozen meat, and other delicacies prized by the eskimo, until, in the course of years, he has accumulated an enormous amount of food and clothing. then he is prepared to give the great feast in honor of his kinsman. others in the village, who are bereaved, have been doing the same thing. they meet and agree on a certain time to celebrate the feast together during the ensuing year. the time chosen is usually in january after the local feasts are over, and visitors from neighboring tribes are free to attend. there are no set intervals between these feasts as has been generally supposed. they are celebrated at irregular intervals according to the convenience of the givers. at the minor festival preceding the great feast, the usual invitation stakes planted before the dead are supplemented by others placed before the graves of those in whose honor the festival is to be given. on these is a painted model of the totemic animals of the deceased. the feast giver sings an especial song of invitation, requesting the dead kinsman to be present at the approaching feast. on the first day of the great feast the villagers welcome the guests. early in the morning they begin to arrive. the messenger goes out on the ice and leads them into the village, showing each where to tie his team. during the first day the guests are fed in the kásgi. they have the privilege of demanding any delicacy they wish. after this they are quartered on various homes in the village. salmon or meat must also be provided for their dogs. this is no small item, and often taxes the resources of a village to the utmost. i have known of a village so poor after a period of prolonged hospitality that it was reduced to starvation rations for the rest of the winter. immediately on tying up their dogs, the guests go to the kásgi. on entering each one cries in set phraseology, "ah-ka-ká- píatin, pikeyútum." "oh, ho! look here! a trifling present." he throws his present on a common pile in front of the headman, who distributes them among the villagers. it is customary to make the presents appear as large as possible. one fellow has a bolt of calico which he unwinds through the entrance hole, making a great display. it may be thirty yards long. sometimes they accompany the gift with a short dance. it is considered bad form for one coming from a distance[ ] not to make the usual present, as in this way he purchases the right to join in the festival dances. [ ] during the inter-tribal festivals, guests are given seats of honor next to the headman of the village according to the distance from which they have come. the back of the room (káan), the place of honor, is reserved for this purpose. as soon as all are gathered in the kásgi, a feast is brought in for the tired travelers. kantags of sealmeat, the blackskin of the bowhead, salmon berries swimming in oil, greens from the hillsides, and pot after pot of tea take off the edge of hunger. after gorging themselves, the guests seem incapable of further exertion, and the remainder of the day is spent in visiting. the feast givers the feast givers or n['ä]skut assemble in the kásgi the second day, and the ceremony proper begins. they range themselves around the púgyarok or entrance, the chorus and guests occupying the back of the room and the spectators packing themselves against the walls. each feast giver is garbed according to the sex of his dead relative, not his own, so that some men wear women's clothes and vice versa. each bears in his right hand a wand about two feet long (kelézruk).[ ] this is a small stick of wood surmounted with tufts of down from ptarmigan (okozregéwik). all are dressed to represent the totem to which the deceased belongs. one wears a fillet and armlet of wolfskin (egóalik); others wear armlets of ermine (táreak); still others are crowned with feathers of the raven (tulúa) or the hawk (tciakaúret).[ ] after a short dance they withdraw and the day's ceremony is finished. [ ] the same arrangement characterizes the finger masks of the inviting-in dance. (kiggilúnok), meaning wand, in southern dialect. [ ] southern dialect. akkizhzhígik, ptarmigan. teibúviak, hawk; tulukaúguk, meaning raven. the following day the n['ä]skut assemble again, but they have doffed their fine feathers, and are dressed in their oldest clothes. the suits of the day before they carry in a grass sack. they wear raincoats of sealgut tied about the waist with a belt of dogskin, and enter the kásgi with eyes cast on the floor. even in the dances they keep their faces from the audience. this attitude of humility is in accord with eskimo ethics. they say that if they adopt a boastful air and fail to give as many presents as the other n['ä]skut they will be ashamed. so they safeguard themselves in advance. the ritual advancing with downcast eyes, the n['ä]skut creep softly across the kásgi and take their places before the funeral lamps. then taking out their festival garments, they slip them on. immediately the drummers start tapping lightly on their drums, and at a signal from their leader the song of invitation begins. each n['ä]skuk advances in turn, invoking the presence of his dead in a sad minor strain. toakóra ílyuga takína dead brother, come hither a-yunga-ayunga-a-yunga. or: nuleága awúnga toakóra sister mine, dead one, takína, núleaga, takína, come hither, sister, come hither. or: akága awúnga takína mother mine, come hither. nanáktuk, takína, we wait for you, come hither. to which the chorus answer: ilyúga awúnga takína, our brother, come hither, takináka, ilyúga, takínaka, return, dead brother, return. the women advance in line, holding their wands in the right hand, and singing in unison; then the men advance in their turn, then both n['ä]skut and chorus sing together: takinaka, awúnga, tungalika, return to us, our dead kinsmen, nanakátuk, kineáktuk tungal[í=]ka we wait your home coming, our dead kinsmen. suddenly the drummers cease and rap sharply on the in['g]lak with their drumsticks. the dancers stop in the midst of their movements and stamp on the floor, first with one foot then with the other, placing their hands on their shoulders, bringing them down over their bodies as though wiping off some unseen thing. then they slap their thighs and sit down. i am informed that this is to "wipe off" any uncleanness (wahok) that might offend the shades of the dead. then the namesakes of the dead troop into the kásgi, and take their places in the center of the room between the two lines. to each, the n['ä]skuk hands a bowl of water and a kantag of frozen reindeer meat cut into small pieces. the namesakes drop a small portion of the meat on the floor. the essence is evidently thought to pass below to the waiting inua. then they finish the remainder. at the same time a large amount of frozen meat and fish is brought in and distributed among the guests. this is done at the end of each day. the fourth day the chorus leader mounts the top of the kásgi and begins again the invitation song. the people scatter to the burying ground or to the ice along the shore according to the spot where they have lain their dead. they dance among the grave boxes so that the shades who have returned to them, when not in the kásgi, may see that they are doing them honor. during the dancing the children of the village gather in the kásgi, carrying little kantags and sealskin sacks. the women on returning bring great bags of frozen blueberries and reindeer fat, commonly called "eskimo ice cream," with which they fill the bowls of the children, but the young rogues immediately slip their portions into their sacks (póksrut) and hold out their dishes for more, crying in a deafening chorus, "wunga-t['=u]k" (me too). this part of the festival is thoroughly enjoyed by the eskimo, who idolize their children. at the conclusion of the day's feast many presents are given away by the n['ä]skut, the husbands of the female feast givers distributing them for the ladies, who assume a bashful air. during the distribution the n['ä]skut maintain their deprecatory attitude and pass disparaging remarks on their gifts. sometimes the presents are attached to a long line of óklinok (seal thong) which the n['ä]skut haul down through the smokehole, making the line appear as long as possible. at the same time they sing in a mournful key bewailing their relative: ah-ka- ilyúga toakóra, tákin, oh! oh! dead brother, return, utiktutátuk, ilyúga awúnga, return to us, our brother, illearúqtutuk, ilyúga, we miss you, dear brother, pikeyútum, kokítutuk, a trifling present we bring you. the clothing of the namesakes the following day occurs the clothing of the namesakes. this is symbolical of clothing the dead, who ascend into the bodies of their namesakes during the ceremony and take on the spiritual counterpart of the clothing. after a grand distribution of presents by the n['ä]skut, bags of fine clothing are lowered to the feast givers and the namesakes take the center of the floor, in front of their relatives, the feast givers. then each n['ä]skuk calls out to the particular namesake of his dead kinsman: "[=i]takín, illorahug-náka," "come hither, my beloved," and proceeds to remove the clothing of the namesake and put on an entirely new suit of mukluks, trousers, and parka, made of the finest furs. then the feast giver gathers up the discarded clothing, and stamps vigorously on the floor, bidding the ghost begone to its resting place. it goes, well satisfied, and the dancers disperse until another great festival. until the feast is concluded no one can leave the village. the inviting-in festival the inviting-in festival (aithúkaguk) is a great inter-tribal feast, second in importance to the great feast to the dead. it is a celebration on invitation from one tribe to her neighbors when sufficient provisions have been collected. it takes place late in the season, after the other festivals are over. neighboring tribes act as hosts in rotation, each striving to outdo the other in the quality and quantity of entertainment offered. during this festival the dramatic pantomime dances for which the alaskan eskimo are justly famous, are performed by especially trained actors. for several days the dances continue, each side paying the forfeit as they lose in the dancing contests. in this respect the representations are somewhat similar to the nith contests of the greenlanders. as i have noticed the dances at length elsewhere,[ ] i shall only give a brief survey here, sufficient to show their place in the eskimo festival dances. [ ] canadian geological survey. memoir . the "inviting-in" feast of the alaskan eskimo. the main dances of the inviting-in festival are totemic in character, performed by trained actors to appease the totems of the hunters, and insure success for the coming season. these are danced in pantomime and depict the life of arctic animals, the walrus, raven, bear, ptarmigan, and others. then there are group dances which illustrate hunting scenes, like the reindeer and wolf pack dance already described, also dances of a purely comic character, designed for the entertainment of the guests. during the latter performances the side which laughs has to pay a forfeit. elaborate masks are worn in all of the dances. the full paraphernalia, masks, handmasks, fillets, and armlets, are worn by the chief actors. they are supported by richly garbed assistants. an old shaman acts as master of ceremonies. there is an interchange of presents between the tribes during the intervals but not between individuals, as in the asking festival. at the close of the festival the masks are burned. key to plate xi a--outer vestibule. (l[=a]´tor[)a]k.) b--summer entrance. (am[=e]k´.) c--front platform. (['=o]aklim.) seat of orphans and worthless. d--plank floor. (n[=a]´t[=u]k.) e--rear platform. (k[=a]´an.) seat of honored guests. f--smoke hole. ([.r]a´l[)o]k.) entrance for gift-lines. g--entrance hole. (pug´y[)a]r[)a]k.) h--fireplace. (k[=e]ne´thluk.) seat of spirit-guests. i--underground tunnel. (ag´v[=e]ak.) j--side platforms. (k['=a]aklim.) seats for spectators. k--chorus of drummers. l--feast givers. (nä´skut.) m--namesakes of dead. [illustration: anthr. pub. univ. museum vol. vi plate xi arrangement of kásgi during the great feast to the dead. the kÁsgi or dance house.] key to plate xii a--first movement. the chief's son, okvaíok is dancing. b--second movement. [illustration: anthr. pub. univ. museum vol. vi plate xii a b men's dance] key to plate xiii c--third movement. d--fourth movement. [illustration: anthr. pub. univ. museum vol. vi plate xiii c d men's dance] key to plate xiv children's dance. the chorus. leader in center beating time with an ermine stick. [illustration: anthr. pub. univ. museum vol. vi plate xiv children's dance the chorus] key to plate xv women's dance. [illustration: anthr. pub. univ. museum vol. vi plate xv women's dance] none none transcriber's note: minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed. words printed in italics are marked with underscores: _italics_. words printed in bold are marked with tildes: ~bold~. [illustration: "no use, lads! the boat has been swept away" (see page )] among the esquimaux or adventures under the arctic circle by edward s. ellis, a.m. author of "the campers out," etc., etc. philadelphia the penn publishing company copyright by the penn publishing company contents chap. page i two passengers on the "nautilus" ii a colossal somersault iii an alarming situation iv adrift v an icy couch vi missing vii a point of light viii hope deferred ix a startling occurrence x an ugly customer xi lively times xii fred's experience xiii the fog xiv a collision xv the sound of a voice xvi land ho! xvii docak and his home xviii a new expedition xix a wonderful exhibition xx the herd of musk oxen xxi close quarters xxii fred's turn xxiii in the cavern xxiv unwelcome callers xxv the coming shadow xxvi walled in xxvii "come on!" xxviii a hopeless task xxix ten miles xxx the last pause xxxi another sound xxxii the wild men of greenland xxxiii conclusion among the esquimaux chapter i two passengers on the "nautilus" the good ship "nautilus" had completed the greater part of her voyage from london to her far-off destination, deep in the recesses of british america. this was york factory, one of the chief posts of the hudson bay company. among the numerous streams flowing into hudson bay, from the frozen regions of the north, is the nelson river. near the mouth of this and of the hayes river was erected, many years ago, fort york, or york factory. the post is not a factory in the ordinary meaning of the word, being simply the headquarters of the factors or dealers in furs for that vast monopoly whose agents have scoured the dismal regions to the north of the saskatchewan, in the land of assiniboine, along the mighty yukon and beyond the arctic circle, in quest of the fur-bearing animals, that are found only in their perfection in the coldest portions of the globe. the buildings which form the fort are not attractive, but they are comfortable. they are not specially strong, for, though the structure has stood for a long time in a country which the aborigines make their home, and, though it is far removed from any human assistance, its wooden walls have never been pierced by a hostile bullet, and it is safe to say they never will be. somehow or other, our brethren across the northern border have learned the art of getting along with the indians without fighting them. the voyageurs and trappers, returning from their journeys in canoes or on snow-shoes to the very heart of frozen america, first catch sight of the flag floating from the staff of york factory, and they know that a warm welcome awaits them, because the peltries gathered amid the recesses of the frigid mountains and in the heart of the land of desolation are sure to find ready purchasers at the post, for the precious furs are eagerly sought for in the marts of the old and of the new world. it is a lonely life for the inhabitants of the fort, for it is only once a year that the ship of the company, after breasting the fierce storms and powerful currents of the atlantic, sails up the great mouth of baffin bay, glides through hudson strait, and thence steals across the icy expanse of hudson bay to the little fort near the mouth of the nelson. you can understand how welcome the ship is, for it brings the only letters, papers, and news from home that can be received until another twelvemonth shall roll around. such, as i have said, is the rule, though now and then what may be termed an extra ship makes that long, tempestuous voyage. being unexpected, its coming is all the more joyful, for it is like the added week's holiday to the boy who has just made ready for the hard work and study of the school-room. you know there has been considerable said and written about a railway to hudson bay, with the view of connection thence by ship to europe. impracticable as is the scheme, because of the ice which locks up navigation for months every year, it has had strong and ingenious advocates, and considerable money has been spent in the way of investigation. the plan has been abandoned, for the reasons i have named, and there is no likelihood that it will ever be attempted. the "nautilus" had what may be called a roving commission. it is easy to understand that so long as the ships of the hudson bay company have specific duties to perform, and that the single vessel is simply ordered to take supplies to york factory and bring back her cargo of peltries, little else can be expected from her. so the staunch "nautilus" was fitted out, placed under the charge of the veteran navigator, captain mcalpine, who had commanded more than one arctic whaler, and sent on her westward voyage. the ultimate destination of the "nautilus" was york factory, though she was to touch at several points, after calling at st. john, newfoundland, one of which was the southern coast of greenland, where are located the most famous cryolite mines in the world, belonging, like greenland itself, to the danish government. there is little to be told the reader about the "nautilus" itself or the crew composing it, but it so happened that she had on board three parties, in whose experience and adventures i am sure you will come to feel an interest. these three were jack cosgrove, a bluff, hearty sailor, about forty years of age; rob carrol, seventeen, and fred warburton, one year younger. rob was a lusty, vigorous young man, honest, courageous, often to rashness, the picture of athletic strength and activity, and one whom you could not help liking at the first glance. his father was a director in the honorable hudson bay company, possessed considerable wealth, and rob was the eldest of three sons. fred warburton, while displaying many of the mental characteristics of his friend, was quite different physically. he was of much slighter build, not nearly so strong, was more quiet, inclined to study, but as warmly devoted to the splendid rob as the latter was to him. fred was an orphan, without brother or sister, and in such straitened circumstances that it had become necessary for him to find some means of earning his daily bread. the warm-hearted rob stated the case to his father, and said that if he didn't make a good opening for his chum he himself would die of a broken heart right on the spot. "not so bad as that, rob," replied the genial gentleman, who was proud of his big, manly son; "i have heard so much from you of young mr. warburton that i have kept an eye on him for a year past." "i may have told you a good deal about him," continued rob, earnestly, "but not half as much as he deserves." "he must be a paragon, indeed, but, from what i can learn, my son, he has applied himself so hard to his studies while at school that he ought to have a vacation before settling down to real hard work; what do you think about it, robert?" "a good idea, provided i take it with him," added the son, slyly. "i see you are growing quite pale and are losing your appetite," continued the parent, with a grave face, which caused the youth to laugh outright at the pleasant irony. "yes," said the big boy, with the same gravity; "i suffer a great loss of appetite three or four times every day; in fact, i feel as though i couldn't eat another mouthful." "i have observed that phenomenon, my son, but it never seems to attack you until the table has been well cleared of everything on it. ah, my boy!" he added, tenderly, laying his hand on his head; "i am thankful that you are blessed with such fine health. be assured there is nothing in this world that can take its place. with a conscience void of offense toward god and man, and a body that knows no ache nor pain, you can laugh at the so-called miseries of life; they will roll from you like water from a duck's back." "but, father, have you thought of any way of giving fred a vacation before he goes to work? you know he is as poor as he can be, and can't afford to do nothing and pay his expenses." "the plan i have in mind," replied the father, leaning back in his chair and twirling his eyeglasses, "is this: next week the 'nautilus,' one of the company's ships, will leave london for york factory, which is a station deep in the heart of british america. she will touch at st. john, greenland, and several other points on her way, and may stop several weeks or months at york factory, according to circumstances. if it will suit your young friend to go with her, i will have him registered as one of our clerks, which will entitle him to a salary from the day the 'nautilus' leaves the dock. the sea voyage will do him good, and when he returns, at the end of a year or less, he can settle down to hard work in our office in london. of course, if fred goes, you will have to stay at home." rob turned in dismay to his parent, but he observed a twitching at the corners of his mouth, and a sparkle of the fine blue eyes, which showed he was only teasing him. "ah, father, i understand you!" exclaimed the big boy, springing forward, throwing an arm about his neck and kissing him. "you wouldn't think of separating us." "i suppose not. there! get along with you, and tell your friend to make ready to sail next week, his business being to look after you while away from home." and that is how rob carrol and fred warburton came to be fellow-passengers on the ship "nautilus" on the voyage to the far north. chapter ii a colossal somersault the voyage of the "nautilus" was uneventful until she was far to the northward in baffin bay. it was long after leaving st. john that our friends saw their first iceberg. they should have seen them before, as captain mcalpine explained, for, as you well know, those mountains of ice often cross the path of the atlantic steamers, and more than once have endangered our great ocean greyhounds. no doubt numbers of them were drifting southward, gradually dissolving as they neared the equator, but it so happened that the "nautilus" steered clear of them until many degrees to the north. the captain, who was scanning the icy ocean with his glass, apprised the boys that the longed-for curiosity was in sight at last. as he spoke, he pointed with his hand to the north-west, but though they followed the direction with their eyes, they were disappointed. "i see nothing," said rob, "that looks like an iceberg." "and how is it with you, mr. warburton?" asked the skipper, lowering his instrument, and turning toward the younger of the boys, who had approached, and now stood at his side. "we can make out a small white cloud in the horizon, that's all," said fred. "it's the cloud i'm referring to, boys; now take a squint at that same thing through the glass." fred leveled the instrument and had hardly taken a glance, when he cried: "oh! it's an iceberg sure enough! isn't it beautiful?" while he was studying it, the captain added: "turn the glass a little to the left." "there's another!" added the delighted youth. "i guess we've struck a school of 'em," remarked rob, who was using his eyes as best he could; "i thought we'd bring up the average before reaching greenland." "it's a sight worth seeing," commented fred, handing the glass to his friend, whose pleasure was fully as great as his own. the instrument was passed back and forth, and, in the course of a half-hour, the vast masses of ice could be plainly discerned with the unaided eye. "that proves they are coming toward us, or we are going toward them," said rob. "both," replied captain mcalpine; "we shall pass within a mile of the larger one." "suppose we run into it?" the old sea-dog smiled grimly, as he replied: "i tried it once, when whaling with the 'mary jane.' i don't mean to say i did it on purpose, but there was no moon that night, and when the iceberg, half as big as a whole town, loomed up in the darkness, we hadn't time to get out of its path. well, i guess i've said enough," he remarked, abruptly. "why, you've broken off in the most interesting part of the story," said the deeply interested fred. "well, that was the last of the 'mary jane.' the mate, jack cosgrove, and myself were all that escaped out of a crew of eleven. we managed to climb upon a small shelf of ice, just above the water, where we would have perished with cold had not an esquimau fisherman, named docak, seen us. we were nearer the mainland than we dared hope, and he came out in his kayak and took us off. he helped us to make our way to ivignut, where the cryolite mines are, and thence we got back to england by way of denmark. no," added captain mcalpine, "a prudent navigator won't try to butt an iceberg out of his path; it don't pay." "it must be dangerous in these waters, especially at night." "there is danger everywhere and at all times in this life," was the truthful remark of the commander; "and you know that the most constant watchfulness on the part of the great steamers cannot always avert disaster, but i have little fear of anything from icebergs." you need to be told little about those mountains of ice which sometimes form a procession, vast, towering, and awful, that stream down from the far north and sail in all their sublime grandeur steadily southward until they "go out of commission" forever in the tepid waters of the tropic regions. it is a strange spectacle to see one of them moving resistlessly against the current, which is sometimes dashed from the corrugated front, as is seen at the bow of a steamboat, but the reason is simple. nearly seven-eighths of an iceberg is under water, extending so far down that most of the bulk is often within the embrace of the counter current below. this, of course, carries it against the weaker flow, and causes many people to wonder how it can be thus. while the little group stood forward talking of icebergs, they were gradually drawing near the couple that had first caught their attention. by this time a third had risen to sight, more to the westward, but it was much smaller than the other two, though more unique and beautiful. it looked for all the world like a grand cathedral, whose tapering spire towered fully two hundred feet in air. it was easy to imagine that some gigantic structure had been submerged by a flood, while the steeple still reared its head above the surrounding waters as though defying them to do their worst. the other two bergs were much more enormous and of irregular contour. the imaginative spectator could fancy all kinds of resemblances, but the "cold fact" remained that they were simply mountains of ice, with no more symmetry of outline than a mass of rock blasted from a quarry. "i have read," said fred, "that in the iceberg factories of the north, as they are called, they are sometimes two or three years in forming, before they break loose and sweep off into the ocean." "that is true," added captain mcalpine; "an iceberg is simply a chunk off a frozen river, and a pretty good-sized one, it must be admitted. where the cold is so intense, a river becomes frozen from the surface to the ground. snow falls, there may be a little rain during the moderate season, then snow comes again, and all the time the water beneath is freezing more and more solid. gravity and the pressure of the inconceivable weight beyond keeps forcing the bulk of ice and snow nearer the ocean, until it projects into the clear sea. by and by it breaks loose, and off it goes." "but why does it take so long?" "it is like the glaciers of the alps. being solid as a rock while the pressure is gradual as well as resistless, it may move only a few feet in a month or a year; but all the same the end must come." the captain had grown fond of the boys, and the fact that the father of one of them was a director of the company which employed him naturally led him to seek to please them so far as he could do so consistent with his duty. he caused the course of the "nautilus" to be shifted, so that they approached within a third of a mile of the nearest iceberg, which then was due east. sail had been slackened and the progress of the mass was so slow as to be almost imperceptible. this gave full time for its appalling grandeur to grow upon the senses of the youths, who stood minute after minute admiring the overwhelming spectacle, speechless and awed as is one who first pauses at the base of niagara. naturally the officers and crew of the "nautilus" gave the sight some attention, but it could not impress them as it did those who looked upon it for the first time. the second iceberg was more to the northward, and the ship was heading directly toward it. it was probably two-thirds the size of the first, and, instead of possessing its rugged regularity of outline, had a curious, one-sided look. "it seems to me," remarked rob, who had been studying it for some moments, "that the centre of gravity in that fellow must be rather ticklish." "it may be more stable than the big one," said fred, "for you don't know what shape they have under water; a good deal must depend on that." jack cosgrove, the sailor, who had joined the little party at the invitation of the captain, ventured to say: "sometimes them craft get top-heavy and take a flop; i shouldn't be s'prised if that one done the same." "it must be a curious sight; i've often wondered how jumbo, the great elephant, would have looked turning a somersault. an iceberg performing a handspring would be something of the same order, but a hundred thousand times more extensive. i would give a good deal if one of those bergs should take it into his head to fling a handspring, but i don't suppose--" "look!" broke in fred, in sudden excitement. to the unbounded amazement of captain, crew, and all the spectators, the very thing spoken of by rob carrol took place. the vast bulk of towering ice was seen to plunge downward with a motion, slow at first, but rapidly increasing until it dived beneath the waves like some enormous mass of matter cast off by a planet in its flight through space. as it disappeared, two-fold as much bulk came to view, there was a swirl of water, which was flung high in fountains, and the waves formed by the commotion, as they swept across the intervening space, caused the "nautilus" to rock like a cradle. the splash could have been heard miles away, and the iceberg seemed to shiver and shake itself, as though it were some flurried monster of the deep, before it could regain its full equilibrium. then, as the spectators looked, behold! where was one of those mountains of ice they saw what seemed to be another, for its shape, contour, projections, and depressions were so different that no resemblance could be traced. "she's all right now," remarked jack cosgrove, whose emotions were less stirred than those of any one else; "she's good for two or three thousand miles' voyage, onless she should happen to run aground in shoal water." "what then would take place, jack?" asked fred. "wal, there would be the mischief to pay gener'ly. things would go ripping, tearing, and smashing, and the way that berg would behave would be shameful. if anybody was within reach he'd get hurt." rob stepped up to the sailor as if a sudden thought had come to him. laying his hand on his arm, he said, in an undertone: "i wonder if the captain won't let us visit that iceberg?" chapter iii an alarming situation the boldness of the proposition fairly took away the breath of the honest sailor. he stared at rob as though doubting whether he had heard aright. he looked at the smiling youth from head to foot, and stared a full minute before he spoke. "by the horned spoon, you're crazy, younker!" "what is there so crazy about such an idea?" asked fred, as eager to go on the excursion as his friend. jack removed his tarpaulin and scratched his head in perplexity. he voided a mouthful of tobacco spittle over the taffrail, heaved a prodigious sigh, and then muttered, as if to himself: "it's crazy clean through, from top to bottom, sideways, cat-a-cornered, and every way; but if the captain says 'yes' i'll take you." rob stepped to where the skipper stood, some paces away, and said: "captain mcalpine, being as this is the first time fred and i ever had a good look at an iceberg, we would be much obliged if you will allow jack to row us out to it. we want to get a better view of it than we can from the deck of the ship. jack is willing, and we will be much obliged for your permission." fred was listening breathlessly for the reply, which, like rob, he expected would be a curt refusal. great, therefore, was the surprise of the two when the good-natured commander said: "the request doesn't strike me as very sensible, but, if your hearts are set on it, i don't see any objection. yes, jack has my permission to take you to that mass of ice, provided you don't stay too long." "he's crazy, too!" was the whispered exclamation of the sailor, who, nevertheless, was pleased to gratify his young friends. the preparations were quickly made. fred had heard that polar bears are occasionally found on the icebergs which float southward from the arctic regions, and he insisted that they ought to take their rifles and ammunition along. rob laughed, but fortunately he followed his advice, and thus it happened that the couple were as well supplied in that respect as if starting out on a week's hunt in the interior of the country. when jack was urged to do the same he resolutely shook his head, and then turned about and accepted a weapon from the captain, who seemed in the mood for humoring every whim of the youths that afternoon. "take it along, jack," he said; "there may be some tigers, leopards, boa-constrictors, and hyenas prowling about on the ice. they may be on skates, and there is nothing like being prepared for whatever comes. good luck to you!" rob placed himself in the bow of the small boat, and fred in the stern, while the sailor, sitting down near the middle, grasped the oars and rowed with that long, steady stroke which showed his mastery of the art. there was little wind stirring, and the waves were so slight that they were easily ridden. the sea was of a deep green color, and when the spray occasionally dashed over the lads it was as cold as ice itself. by this time the iceberg had drifted somewhat to the southward, but its progress was so slow as to suggest that the two currents which swept against it were nearly of the same strength. had it been earlier in the day it would probably have remained visible to the "nautilus" until sunset. meanwhile, a fourth mass rose to sight in the rim of the eastern horizon, so that there seemed some truth in rob's suggestion that they had run into a school of them. they felt no interest, however, in any except the particular specimen before them. how it grew upon them as they neared it! it seemed to spread right and left, and to tower upward toward the sky, until even the reckless rob was hushed into awed silence and sat staring aloft, with feelings beyond expression. it was much the same with fred, who, sitting at the stern, almost held his breath, while the overwhelming grandeur hushed the words trembling on his lip. the mass of ice was hundreds of feet in width and length, while the highest portion must have been, at the least, three hundred feet above the surface of the sea. what, therefore, was the bulk below. its colossal proportions were beyond imagination. the part within their field of vision was too irregular and shapeless to admit of clear description. if the reader can picture a mass of rock and _débris_ blown from the side of a mountain, multiplied a million times, he may form some idea of it. the highest portion was on the opposite side. about half-way from the sea, facing the little party, was a plateau broad enough to allow a company of soldiers to camp upon it. to the left of this the ice showed considerable snow in its composition, while, in other places, it was as clear as crystal itself. in still other portions it was dark or almost steel blue, probably due to some peculiar refraction of light. there were no rippling streams of water along and over its side, for the weather was too cold for the thawing which would be plentiful when it struck a warmer latitude. but there were caverns, projections, some sharp, but most of them blunt and misshapen, steps, long stretches of vertical wall as smooth as glass, up which the most agile climber could never make his way. courageous as rob carrol unquestionably was, a feeling akin to terror took possession of him when they were quite near the iceberg. he turned to suggest to jack that they had come far enough, when he observed that the sailor had turned the bow of the boat to the right, though he was still rowing moderately. he was the only one that was not impressed by the majesty of the scene. squinting one eye up the side of the towering mass, he remarked: "there's enough ice there to make a chap's etarnal fortune, if he could only hitch on and tow it into london or new york harbor; but being as we've sot out to take a view of it, why we'll sarcumnavigate the thing, as me cousin remarked when he run around the barn to dodge the dog that was nipping at his heels." the voice of the sailor served to break the spell that had held the tongues of the boys mute until then, and they spoke more cheerily, but unconsciously modulated their voices, as a person will do when walking through some great gallery of paintings or the aisles of a vast cathedral. they were so interested, however, in themselves and their novel experience that neither looked toward the "nautilus," which was rapidly passing from sight, as they were rowed around the iceberg. had they done so, they would have seen captain mcalpine making eager signals to them to return, and, perhaps, had they listened, they might have heard his stentorian voice, though the moderate wind, blowing at right angles, was quite unfavorable for hearing. unfortunately not one of the three saw or heard the movement or words of the skipper, and the little boat glided around the eastern end of the mountainous mass and began slowly creeping along the further side. "hello!" called out rob, "there's a good place to land, jack; let's go ashore." "go ashore!" repeated the sailor, with a scornful laugh; "what kind of a going ashore do you call that?" while there was nothing especially desirable in placing foot upon an iceberg, yet, boy-like, the two friends felt that it would be worth something to be able to say on their return home that they had actually stood upon one of them. inasmuch as the whole thing was a fool's errand in the eyes of jack cosgrove, he thought it was well to neglect nothing, so he shied the boat toward the gently sloping shelf, which came down to the water, and, with a couple of powerful sweeps of the oars, sent the bow far up the glassy surface, the stoppage being so gradual as to cause hardly a perceptible shock. "out with you, younkers, for the day will soon be gone," he called, waiting for the two to climb out before following them. they lost no time in obeying, and he drew the boat so far up that he felt there was no fear of its being washed away during their absence. all took their guns, and, leaving it to the sailor to act as guide, they began picking their way up the incline, which continued for fully a dozen yards from the edge of the water. "this is easy enough," remarked rob; "if we only had our skates, we might--confound it!" his feet shot up in the air, and down he came with a bump that shook off his hat, and would have sent him sliding to the boat had he not done some lively skirmishing to save himself. fred laughed, as every boy does under similar circumstances, and he took particular heed to his own footsteps. jack had no purpose of venturing farther than to the top of the gentle incline, since there was no cause to do so; but, on reaching the point, he observed that it was easy to climb along a rougher portion to the right, and he led the way, the boys being more than willing to follow him. they continued in this manner until they had gone a considerable distance, and, for the first time, the guide stopped and looked around. as he did so, he uttered an exclamation of amazement: "where have been my eyes?" he called out, as if unable to comprehend his oversight. "what's the matter?" asked the boys, startled at his emotion, for which they saw no cause. "there's one of the biggest storms ever heard of in these latitudes, bearing right down on us; it'll soon be night, and we shall be catched afore we reach the ship, lads! there isn't a minute to lose; it's all my fault." he led the way at a reckless pace, the youths following as best they could, stumbling at times, but heeding it not as they scrambled to their feet and hurried after their friend, more frightened, if possible, than he. he could out-travel them, and was at the bottom of the incline first. before he reached it, he stopped short and uttered a despairing cry: "no use, lads! the boat has been swept away!" such was the fact. chapter iv adrift jack cosgrove, of the "nautilus," was not often agitated by anything in which he became involved. few of his perilous calling had gone through more thrilling experiences than he, and in them all he had acquired a reputation for coolness that could not be surpassed. but one of the few occasions that stirred him to the heart was when hurrying to disembark from the iceberg, in the desperate hope of reaching the ship before the bursting of the gale and the closing of night, he found that the little boat had been swept from its fastenings, and the only means of escape was cut off. there was more in the incident than occurred to rob carrol and fred warburton, who hastened after him. he had been in those latitudes before, and the reader will recall the story captain mcalpine told to the boys of the time jack was one of three who escaped from the collision of the whaling ship with an iceberg in the gloom of a dark night. had it been earlier in the day, and had no storm been impending, he could have afforded to laugh at this mishap, for at the most, it would have resulted in a temporary inconvenience only. the skipper would have discovered their plight sooner or later, and sent another boat to bring them off, but the present case was a hundred-fold more serious in every aspect. in the first place, the fierce disturbance of the elements would compel captain mcalpine to give all attention to the care of his ship. that was of more importance than the little party on the iceberg, who must be left to themselves for the time, since any effort to reach them would endanger the vessel, the loss of which meant the loss of everything, including the little company that found itself in sudden and dire peril. what might take place during the storm and darkness his imagination shuddered to picture. had the boat been found where he left it a short time before, desperate rowing would have carried them to the "nautilus" in time to escape the full force of the storm. that was impossible now, and as to the future who could say? the rowboat, as will be remembered, was simply drawn a short distance up the icy incline, where it ought to have remained until the return of the party. such would have been the fact under ordinary circumstances, for the mighty bulk of the iceberg prevented it feeling the shock of any disturbance that could take place in its majestic sweep through the arctic ocean, except from its base striking the bottom of the sea, or a readjustment of its equilibrium, as they had observed in the case of the smaller berg. it might crush the "great eastern" if it lay in its path, but that would have been like a wagon passing over an egg-shell. in leaving the boat as related, the stern lay in the water. even then it would have been secure, but for the agitation caused by the coming gale. that began swaying the rear of the craft, whose support was so smooth that it speedily worked down the incline and floating into the open water instantly worked off beyond reach. the boys knowing so little what all this meant and what was before them, were disposed to make light of their misfortune. "by the great horned spoon, but that is bad!" exclaimed jack, pointing out on the water, where the boat was seen bobbing on the rising waves, fully a hundred yards away, with the distance rapidly increasing. it seems as if in the few minutes intervening, night had fully descended. the wind had risen to a gale, and, even at that short distance the little craft was fast growing indistinct in the gathering gloom. "it isn't very pleasant," replied rob, "but it might be worse." "i should like to know how it could be worse," said the sailor, turning reprovingly toward him; "i wonder if i can do it." the last words were uttered to himself, and he hastily laid down his gun on the ice by his side. then he began taking off his outer coat. "what do you mean to do?" asked the amazed fred. "i believe i can swim out to the boat and bring it back," was the reply, as he continued preparations. "you musn't think of such a thing," protested rob; "the water is cold enough to freeze you to death. if you can't reach it, you will have to come back to us, with your clothing frozen stiff, and nothing will save you from perishing." "i'll chance that," said jack, who, however, continued his preparations more deliberately, and with his eye still on the receding boat. he was about to take the icy plunge, in the last effort to save himself and friends, when he stopped, and, straightening up, watched the craft for a few seconds. "no," said he, "it can't be done; the thing is drifting faster than i can swim." such was the evident fact. while the vast mass of ice, as has been explained elsewhere, was under the impulse of a mighty under-current, the small craft was swept away by the surface current which flowed in the opposite direction. even while the party looked, the boat faded from sight in the gloom. "i can't see it," said rob, who, like the others, was peering intently into the darkness. "nor i either," added fred. "and what's more, you'll never see it again," commented jack, who began slowly donning his outer garments; "younkers, i've been in a good many bad scraps in my life, and more than once would have sworn i was booked for davy jones' locker, but this is a little the worst of 'em all." his young friends looked wonderingly at him, unable to understand the cause of such extreme depression on the part of one whom they knew to be among the bravest of men, and in a situation that did not strike them as specially threatening. "don't you think this iceberg will hold together until morning?" asked rob. "it'll hold together for months," was the answer, "and like enough will travel hundreds of miles through the gulf stream before it goes to nothing." "then we are sure of a ship to keep us from drowning." "i aint meaning that," said jack, who was rapidly recovering his equanimity, though it was plain he was strongly affected by the woful turn the adventure had taken. "and," added fred, "captain mcalpine knows where we are; he will remain in the neighborhood until morning--" "how do you know he will?" broke in jack, impatiently. "what's to hinder him?" asked fred, in turn, startled by the abrupt question; "he knows how to sail the 'nautilus,' and has taken it through many gales worse than this." "how do you know he has?" "gracious, jack, i don't know anything about it; i am only saying what appears to me to be the truth." "i don't want to hurt your feelings, lads, but i can't help saying you don't know what you're talking about. a couple of young land lubbers like you don't see things as they show themselves to one who was born and has lived all his life on the ocean, as you may say. i don't mean to scare you more than i oughter, but you can just make up your minds, my hearties, that you never was in such a fix as this, and if you live to be a hundred years old you'll never be in another half as bad." these were alarming words, but, inasmuch as jack did not accompany them with any explanation, neither rob nor fred were as much impressed as they would have been had he explained the grounds for his extreme fear. what they saw was an enforced stay on the iceberg until the following day. although in a high latitude, the night was not unusually long, and, though it was certain to be as uncomfortable as can well be imagined, they had no doubt they would survive it and live to laugh at their mishap. chapter v an icy couch by this time the sailor felt that he had forgotten himself in the agitation caused by the loss of the boat. although he might see the dark future with clearer vision than his young friends, it was his duty to keep their sight veiled as long as he could. time enough to face the terrors and their direful consequences when the possibility of avoiding them no longer existed. it will be recalled that when the little party stepped out from the small boat upon the iceberg they did so on the side farthest from the "nautilus," so that all view of the ship was shut off, and neither captain mcalpine nor any of his crew could observe the action of jack and the boys. the skipper had warrant for supposing that such an experienced sailor as the one in charge of the lads would be quick to notice the threatening change in the weather, and would make all haste to return. inasmuch as he had failed to do so, the party must be left to themselves for the time, while the commander gave his full attention to the care of the ship--a responsibility that required his utmost skill, with no slight chance of his failure. the storm or squall, or whatever it might be termed, was one of those sudden changes, sometimes seen in the high latitudes, whose coming is so sudden that there is but the briefest warning ere it bursts in all its fury. by the time our friends reached the spot where they expected to find their boat it was almost as dark as night. this darkness deepened so rapidly, after losing sight of the craft, that they were unable to see more than fifty feet in any direction. fortunately, before leaving the "nautilus," they had donned their heaviest clothing, so that they were quite well protected under the circumstances. had they neglected this precaution they must have perished of the extreme cold that followed. accompanying the oppressive gloom was a marked falling of the temperature, and a fierceness of blast which, so long as they were exposed to it, cut them to the bone. the gale, instead of blowing in their faces, swept along the side of the iceberg. they had but to withdraw, therefore, only a short distance when they were able to take shelter behind some of the numerous projections, and save themselves from its full force. all at once the air was full of millions of particles of snow, which eddied and whirled in such fantastic fashion that when they crouched down they were so blinded that they could not see each other's forms, although near enough to clasp hands. this lasted but a few minutes, when it ceased as suddenly as it began. the air was clear, but the gloom was profound. they could see nothing of the raging ocean, nor of a tall spire-like mass of ice, which towered a hundred feet above their heads, within a few yards of them, and which had attracted their admiration on their first visit. it was blowing great guns. the sound of the waves, as they broke against the solid abutment of ice, and were dashed into spray and spume, was like that of the breakers in a hurricane. inconceivable as was the bulk of the berg, they plainly felt it yield to the resistless power of the ocean. it acquired a slow sea-saw motion, more alarming than the most violent disturbance they had ever known on the "nautilus" in a storm. the movement was slight, but too distinct to be mistaken. for some time the three huddled together, under the protection of the friendly projection, and no one spoke a word. they had laid down their guns, for there was no need of keeping them in their hands. the metal was so intensely cold that it could be noted through the protection of their thick mittens, and they needed every atom of vitality in their shivering bodies. they pressed closer together and found comfort in the mutual warmth thus secured. the sky was blackness itself. there was no glimpse of moon or friendly star. they were adrift on an iceberg in darkness and gloom in the midst of a trackless ocean. whither they were going, when the terrifying voyage should end, what was to be the issue, only one knew. they could but pray and trust and hope and await the end. it is a curious feature of this curious human nature of ours that the most hopeless depression of spirits is frequently followed by a rebound, as the highest spirits are quickly succeeded by the deepest dejection. our make-up is such that nature reacts, and neither state can continue long without change, unless the conditions are exceptional. were it otherwise, many a strong mind would break down under its weight of trouble. the three had remained crouching together silent and motionless for some minutes, no one venturing to express a hope or opinion, when rob carrol suddenly spoke, in the cheeriest tones. "i'll tell you what we'll do, fellows." "what's that?" asked fred, quick to seize the relief of hearing each other's voices. "let's start a fire." "a good idee," assented jack cosgrove, falling into the odd mood that had taken possession of his companions; "you gather the fuel and i'll kindle it. it happens i haven't such a thing as a match about me, but i'll find a way to start it." "rob and i have plenty, but, if we hadn't, we could rub some pieces of ice together till the friction started a flame." "the esquimaux have another plan," added rob. "they will trim a piece of ice in the form of a convex lens and concentrate the sun's rays on the object they want to set on fire. why not try that?" "i am afraid there isn't enough sunlight to amount to anything," replied fred, craning his head forward and peering through the gloom, as if searching for the orb of day. "that isn't the only way of getting up steam," remarked jack, who, just like his honest self, was striving to dispose of his body so as to give each of the boys the greatest possible amount of warmth; "i know a better one." "let's hear it." "race back and forth along the side of the berg till we start the blood circulating; nothing like that." "suppose we should slip, jack?" "then you'd flop into the sea; it's a good thing to take a bath when your blood is heated too much." "if there was only a footpath where we could do that, it would be a good plan," observed rob, "but, as it is, we shall have to huddle together till morning, when i hope captain mcalpine will send a boat after us." the boys noticed that jack made no reply to this. they expected an encouraging response, but he remained silent, as though he was considering difficulties, dangers, complications, and perils of which they could form no idea. meanwhile the gale raged with resistless fury. there was no more fall of snow, but the wind was like a hurricane. the most vivid idea of its awful power was gained when the friends, far removed from the water's edge, and at no small elevation above it, felt drops of spray flung in their faces. the thunder of the surges, shattered into mist and foam against the adamantine side of the iceberg, was so overpowering that, had not the heads of the three been close, they would not have heard each other's voices. the see-sawing of the colossal mass was more perceptible than ever, and caused them to think, with unspeakable dread, of the possibility of the berg breaking apart, or overturning like the other, in the effort to preserve its equilibrium. the gale whistled around and among the projections of the ice with a weird, uncanny sound, alike and yet different from that heard when it moans through the network of ropes and rigging of a great ship. the question was whether such a vast volume of wind, impinging against the thousands of square feet of ice, would not affect the course and speed of the mass. if the hurricane drove in the same direction as the controlling current, it ought to be of much help. if opposed, it might check it; if quartering, it might make a radical change in its course. all these speculations were in vain, however, and, as has been said, there was nothing to be done, but to wait and trust in the only one who could help them, and who had been so merciful in the past that their faith in his goodness and protecting care could not be shaken. "my lads," said jack, when the silence which followed their brief conversation had lasted some minutes, "there's only one thing to do, and that's to make ourselves as comfortable as we can where we are." "isn't that what we are doing?" asked rob. "of course it is, but i didn't know but what you was trying to conjure up some other plan. if so, give it up, say your prayers, and go to bed." chapter vi missing it is at such times that a person realizes his helplessness and utter dependence on the great father of all. too much are we prone to forget such dependence, when all goes well, and too often the prayer for help and guidance is put off until too late. it was a commendable trait in all three of the parties whose experience i have set out to tell that they never forgot their duty in this all-important matter. rob and fred were full of animal life and spirits, and the elder especially was inclined, from this very excess of health and strength, to overstep at times the bounds of propriety, but both remembered the lessons learned in infancy at the mother's knee, and never failed to commend themselves to their heavenly parent, not only on waking in the glad morning, but on closing their eyes at night. jack cosgrove had one of those impressionable natures, tinged with innocent superstition, which is often seen in those of his calling. his faith possessed the simplicity of a child, and, though many of his doings might not square with those of a christian, yet at heart he devoutly believed in the all-protecting care of his maker, and was never ashamed, no matter what his surroundings, to call upon him for help and guidance. and so, as the three pressed closer together, adjusting themselves as best they could to pass the long, dismal hours ere the sun would shine upon them again, they were silent, and all, at the same time, communed with god, as fervently and trustfully as ever a dying christian did when stretched upon his bed of mortal illness. had they possessed a blanket among them they could have spread it upon the ice, lain down upon it, and, wrapping it as best they could, passed the night with a fair degree of comfort. that, however, was out of the question. they, therefore, seated themselves under the lee, as may be said of the mass of ice, which protected them against the gale, their bodies pressed as closely together as well could be, and in this sitting posture prepared to go to sleep, if it should so prove that the blessing could be won. one can become accustomed to almost anything. an abrupt change from the comfortable cabin of the "nautilus" to the bleak situation on the iceberg would have filled them with a dread hardly less trying than death itself; but they had already been in the situation long enough to grow used to it. the ponderous swaying of the frozen structure, the thunderous dash and roar of the waves against its base, the screaming of the gale and the darkness of the arctic night; all these were sounds and sensations which in a certain sense grew familiar to them and did not disturb them as the hours passed. it cannot be said that an icy seat or rest forms the most comfortable support for the body, whose warmth is likely to melt the frozen surface, but the thick clothing of the party did much to avert unpleasant consequences. had jack or rob or fred been alone, the penetrating cold most likely would have overcome him, but as has been shown, the mutual warmth rendered their situation less trying than would be supposed. when an hour had passed, with only an occasional word spoken, jack addressed each of the boys in turn by name. there was no response, and he spoke in a louder tone with the same result. "they're asleep," he said to himself, "and i'm glad of it, though the sleep that sometimes comes to a chap in these parts at such times is the kind that doesn't know any waking in this world. i've no doubt, howsumever, that they're all right." with a vague uneasiness, natural under the circumstances, he passed his hands over their faces and pinched their arms, as if to assure himself there was no mistake. the boys were so muffled up in their thick coats and sealskin caps that were drawn about their ears, behind which the collars of their coats were raised, that only the ends of their noses and a slight portion of their cheeks could be felt. he removed his heavy mitten from one hand, and, reaching under the protecting covering about the cheeks and neck, found a healthy glow which told him all was well, and, for the time at least, he need feel no further anxiety, so far as they were concerned. "which being the case," he added, drawing on his mitten again, and making sure their coverings were adjusted, "i'll take a little trip myself into the land of nod." but this trip was easier thought of than made. his rugged body, with its powerful vitality, would have soon succumbed to drowsiness, could his mind have been free of its distressing fear for the two young friends under his charge. but, though he had said little, he knew far more than he dare tell them. he had shown his alarm on discovering the loss of the boat, but though some impatient expressions escaped him, he did not explain what was in his mind. his belief was that before morning should come the "nautilus" would be driven so far from her course that she would be nowhere in sight, and, towering as was the iceberg in its height and proportions, it would be invisible from the deck of the ship, or, if visible, could not be identified among the others drifting through the icy ocean. well aware, too, he was of the terrific strength of the gale sweeping across the deep, he trembled for the safety of the "nautilus" and those on board, hardly less than he did for himself and friends. the hurricane was resistless in its power, and would drive the ship whither it chose like a cockle-shell. icebergs were moving hither and thither through the darkness, less affected by the wind and waves than the vessel, and a collision was among the possibilities, if not the probabilities. inasmuch as the "nautilus" was likely to go down under the fury of the elements, or, if she rode through it, was certain to be too far removed to be of help to the three, the question to consider was what hope of escape remained to the latter. although vessels penetrate baffin bay and far into the arctic ocean, they are so few in number that days and weeks may pass without any two of them gaining sight of each other. a shipwrecked sailor afloat in the south sea, on a spar, was as likely to be picked up by some trading ship as were jack and his companions, by any of the whalers or ships in that high latitude. and then, supposing they did catch sight of some stray vessel, who of the captain and crew would be looking for living persons on board an iceberg? why would they give the latter any more attention than the scores of the mountainous masses afloat in their path and which it was their first care to avoid? if a ship should pass so near to them that they could make their signals seen there would be hope; but the chances of anything of that kind were too remote to be regarded. such being the outlook, where was there ground for hope? they were beyond sight of the greenland coast, and were doubtless drifting farther away every hour. nothing in the nature of succor was to be hoped for from land, and the brave-hearted jack was obliged to say to himself that, so far as human eye could see, there was none from any source. cold, starvation, and death seemed among the certainties near at hand. and having reached this disheartening belief, he closed his eyes and joined his young friends in the land of dreams. having sunk into slumber, the sailor was likely to remain so until morning, unless some unexpected circumstance should break in upon his rest, and it did. it was rob carrol, who, probably because of his cramped position, first regained consciousness. as his senses gradually came back to him, and the thunder of the surges and the shrieking of the gale broke in upon his brain, he stretched his benumbed limbs and yawned in an effort to make his situation more comfortable. it struck him that there had been a change in their relative positions while asleep. not wishing to awake his companions, he carefully shifted his limbs and body, so as not to disturb them. while doing so, he extended his hand to touch them. he groped along one figure, which he knew at once was jack, but he felt no other. with a vague fear he straightened up, leaned over, and hastily extended his arms about him, as far as he could reach. the next moment he roughly shook the shoulder of the sailor, and called out in a husky voice: "jack! jack! wake up! fred is gone!" chapter vii a point of light jack cosgrove was awake on the instant. not until he had groped around in the darkness and repeated the name of fred several times in a loud voice would he believe he was not with them. "well, by the great horned spoon!" he exclaimed, "that beats everything. how that chap got away, and why he done it, and where he's gone to gets me." "i wonder if he took his gun," added rob, stooping over and examining the depression in the ice, where the three laid their weapons before composing themselves for sleep; "yes," he added directly after, "he took his rifle with him." as may be supposed, the two were in a frenzied state of mind, and for several minutes were at a loss what to do, if, indeed, they could do anything. they knew not where to look for their missing friend, nor could they decide as to what had become of him. one fearful thought was in the minds of both, but neither gave expression to it; each recoiled with a shudder from doing so. it was that he had wandered off in his sleep and fallen into the sea. despite their distress and dismay, they noticed several significant facts. the wind that blew like a hurricane when they closed their eyes, had subsided. when they stood up, so that their heads arose above the projections that had protected them, the breeze was so gentle that it was hard to tell from which direction it came. it would be truth to say there was no wind at all. further, there was a marked rise in the temperature. in fact, the weather was milder than any experienced after leaving st. john, and was remarked by rob. "you don't often see anything of the kind," replied the sailor; "though i call something of the kind to mind on that voyage in these parts in the 'mary jane,' which was smashed by the iceberg." but their thoughts instantly reverted to the missing boy. rob had shouted to him again and again in his loudest tones, had whistled until the echo rang in his own ears, and had listened in vain for the response. the tumultuous waves did not subside as rapidly as they arose. they broke against the walls of the iceberg with decreasing power, but with a boom and crash that it would seem threatened to shatter the vast structure into fragments. there were occasional lulls in the overpowering turmoil, which were used both by rob and jack in calling to the missing one, but with no result. "it's no use," remarked the sailor, after they had tired themselves pretty well out; "wherever he is, he can't hear us." "i wonder if he will ever be able to hear us," said rob, in a choking voice, peering around in the gloom, his eyes and ears strained to the highest tension. "i wish i knew," replied jack, who, though he was as much distressed as his companion, was too thoughtful to add to the grief by any words of his own. "i hope the lad is asleep somewhere in these parts, but i don't know nothing more about him than you." "and i know nothing at all." "can you find out what time it is?" that was easily done. stooping down so as to protect the flame from any chance eddy of wind, rob ignited a match on his clothing and looked at his watch. "we slept longer than i imagined, jack; day-break isn't more than three or four hours off." "that's good, but them hours will seem the longest that you ever passed, my hearty." there could be no doubt on that point, as affected both. "why, jack," called out rob, "the stars are shining." "hadn't you observed that before? yes; there's lots of the twinklers out, and the storm is gone for good." every portion of the sky except the northern showed the glittering orbs, and, for the moment, rob forgot his grief in the surprise over the marked change in the weather. "this mildness will bring another change afore long," remarked jack. "what's that?" "fogs. we'll catch it inside of twenty-four hours, and some of them articles in this part of the world will beat them in london town; thick enough for you to lean against without falling." as the minutes passed, with the couple speculating as to what could have happened to fred warburton, their uneasiness became so great that they could not remain idle. they must do something or they would lose command of themselves. rob was on the point of proposing a move, with little hope of its amounting to anything, when the sailor caught his arm. "do you see that?" the darkness had so lifted that the friends could distinguish each other's forms quite plainly, and the lad saw that jack had extended his arm, and was pointing out to sea. the fellow was startled, as he had good cause to be. apparently not far off was something resembling a star, low down in the horizon and gliding over the surface of the deep. now and then it disappeared, but only for a moment. at such times it was evidently shut from sight by the crests of the intervening waves. it was moving steadily from the right to the left, the friends, of course, being unable to decide what points of the compass these were. its motion in rising and sinking, vanishing and then coming to view again, advancing steadily all the while, left no doubt as to its nature. "it's the 'nautilus'!" exclaimed rob; "captain mcalpine is looking for us." "that's not the 'nautilus'," said jack; "for she doesn't show her lights in that fashion. howsumever, it's a craft of some kind, and if we can only make 'em know we're here they'll lay by and take us off in the morning." as the only means of reaching the ears of the strangers the two began shouting lustily, varying the cries as fancy suggested. in addition, jack fired his gun several times. while thus busied they kept their gaze upon the star-like point of light on which their hopes were fixed. it maintained the same dancing motion, all the while pushing forward, for several minutes after the emission of the signals. "she has stopped!" was the joyful exclamation of rob, who postponed a shout that was trembling on his lips; "they have heard us and will soon be here." jack was less hopeful, but thought his friend might be right. the motion of the star from left to right had almost ceased, as if the boat was coming to a halt. still the sailor knew that the same effect on their vision would be produced if the vessel headed either away from or toward the iceberg; it was one of these changes of direction that he feared had taken place. up and down the light bobbed out of sight for a second, then gleaming brightly as if the obscuring clouds had been brushed aside from the face of the star, which shone through the intervening gloom like a beacon to the wanderer. "yes, they are coming to us," added rob, forgetting his lost friend in his excitement; "they will soon be here. i wonder they don't hail us." "don't be too sartin, lad," was the answer of the sailor; "if the boat was going straight from us it would seem for a time as though she was coming this way; i b'lieve she has changed her course without a thought of us." they were cruel words, but, sad to say, they proved true. the time was not long in coming when all doubt was removed. the star dwindled to a smaller point than ever, seemed longer lost to view, until finally it was seen no more. "do you suppose they heard us?" asked rob, when it was no longer possible to hope for relief from that source. "of course not; if they had they would have behaved like a christian, and stood by and done what they could." "ships are not numerous in this latitude, and it may be a long time before we see another." "the chances p'int that way, and yet you know there's a good many settlements along the greenland coast. it isn't exactly the place i'd choose for a winter residence--especially back in the country--but there are plenty who like it." "in what way can that affect us?" "there are ships passing back and forth between denmark and greenland, and a number v'yage to the united states, and i'm hoping we may be run across by some of them--hark!" chapter viii hope deferred a hoarse, tremulous sound came across the ocean. there was no mistaking its character; it was from the whistle of a steamer, the one whose light led them to hope for a time that their rescue was at hand. it sounded three times, and evidently the blasts were intended as a signal, though, of course, they bore no reference to the two persons listening so intently on the iceberg. "that was the last thing i expected to hear in this latitude," remarked rob, turning to his companion. "i don't know why," replied jack; "they have such craft plying along the greenland coast. what's more, i've heard that same whistle before and know the boat; it's the 'fox'." "not the 'fox' i have read about as having to do with the franklin expedition?" said the youth, in astonishment. "the identical craft." "you amaze me." those of my readers who are familiar with the history of arctic exploration will recall this familiar name. it was the steam tug in which sailed the party that succeeded in finding traces of the ill-fated franklin expedition of near a half century ago. it afterward came into the possession of the company that owns the cryolite mine at ivigtut, and is now used to carry laborers and supplies from copenhagen to that place. while at ivigtut, it is occasionally employed to tow the greenland ships in and out of the fiord. ah, if its crew had only heard the shouts and signals of the couple on the iceberg, how blessed it would have been! but its lights had vanished long ago, and, if its whistle sounded again, it was so far away that it could not reach the listening ears. the restlessness of the friends, to which i have referred, now led them to attempt a search, if it may so be called, for the missing fred. this of necessity was vague and blind, and was accompanied with but a grain of hope. neither had yet referred to the awful dread that was in their thoughts, but weakly trusted they might find the poor fellow somewhere near asleep or senseless from a fall. morning was still several hours distant, but the clearing of the air enabled them to pick their way with safety, so long as they took heed to their footsteps. "i will go down toward the spot where the boat gave us the slip," said jack, "and i don't know what you can do, unless you go with me." "there's no need of that; of course i can't make my way far, while the night lasts, but i remember that we penetrated some way beyond this place before camping for the night; i'll try it." "keep a sharp lookout, my hearty, or there'll be another lad lost, and then what will become of jack cosgrove?" "have no fear of me," replied rob, setting out on the self-imposed expedition. he paused a few steps away and turned to watch the sailor, who was carefully descending the incline, at the base of which they had landed. "i hope he won't find fred, or rather that he won't find any signs of his having gone that way," said rob to himself with a shudder. as the figure of the man slowly receded, it grew more indistinct until it faded from sight in the gloom. still the youth looked and listened for the words which he dreaded to hear above everything else in the world. jack cosgrove received a good scare while engaged on his perilous task. he was half-way down the incline, making his way with the caution of a timid skater, when, like a flash, his feet flew from under him, and, falling upon his back, he slid rapidly toward the waves at the base of the berg. but the brave fellow did not lose his coolness or presence of mind. his left hand grasped his rifle, and, throwing out his right, he seized a projection of ice, checking himself within a few feet of the water and near enough for the spray from the fierce waves to be flung over him. "this isn't the time for a bath," he muttered, carefully climbing to his feet and retreating a few paces; "it would have been a pretty hard swim out there with my heavy clothing, though i think i could manage it." after all, what could he hope to accomplish by this hunt for fred warburton? if he had wandered in that direction and fallen into the sea, he had left no traces that could be discovered in the gloom of the night. he could not have gone thither and stayed there that was certain. the sailor having withdrawn beyond the reach of the waves, sat down in as disconsolate a mood as can be imagined. a suspicion that rob might follow caused him to turn his head and look over his shoulder. "i don't see anything of him, and i guess he'll stay up there; i hope so, for jack cosgrove isn't in the mood to see or talk with any one 'cepting that lad which he won't never see nor talk to agin." convincing himself that he was safe against a visit from the elder youth, the sailor bowed his head, and, for several minutes, wept like one with an uncontrollable grief. when his sorrow had partially subsided, he spent a brief while with his head still bowed in communion with his maker. "i don't know but what the lad is luckier than me or rob," he added, reviewing the situation in his mind; "for we've got to foller him sooner or later. it isn't likely that any ship will come as nigh to this thing as the 'fox' did awhile ago, and i can't see one chance in ten thousand of our being took off. we haven't a mouthful of food, and there's no way of our getting any. after a time we will have to lay down and starve or freeze to death, or both. poor fred has been saved all that--" he checked his musings, for at that moment a peculiar sound broke upon his ear. it resembled that caused by the exhaust of a steamer at low pressure. one less experienced than he would have been deceived into the belief that such was its source, but jack did not hold any such false hope for a minute even. he understood it too well. it was made by a whale "blowing." one of those monster animals was disporting himself in the vicinity of the iceberg, and the sailor had heard the same sound too often to mistake it. shifting his position so as to bring him nearer the sea, he stooped and peered out in the gloom, in the direction whence came the noise. there was enough starlight for him to trace the outline of the mountainous waves, as they arose against the sky, though they were dimly defined and might have misled another. while gazing thus, a huge mass took vague form. it was the head of a gigantic leviathan of the deep, which for a moment was projected against the sky and then sank out of sight with the same noise that had attracted jack's notice in the first place. the blowing was heard at intervals, for several minutes, until the distance shut it from further notice. "i wonder if rob noticed it," the sailor asked himself; "for if he did, he will make the mistake of believing the 'fox' has come to take us off, and we're done with this old berg." but nothing was heard from the youth, and the sailor remained seated on the shelf of ice, a prey to his gloomy reflections. he had made up his mind to stay where he was until the coming of day, when the question of what was to be done would be speedily settled. meanwhile, he wanted no company but his own thoughts. he had kept up with the elder youth, and carefully withheld his fears and beliefs from him. he felt that he could do so no longer. the farce had been played out, and the truth must be spoken. it was impossible to note the passage of time. jack carried no watch, but each of the boys owned an excellent timepiece. he probably fell into a doze, for, when he roused himself once more, he saw that the night was nearly over. "i wonder what rob is doing," he said, rising to his feet, stretching his arms, and looking in the direction where he expected to see his friend; "i hope nothing hain't happened to him." this affliction was spared the sailor, for while he was peering through the increasing light, he caught sight of the figure of rob making his way toward him. "hello, jack, have you found anything?" "no; have you?" "i think i have; come and see." chapter ix a startling occurrence as may be supposed, jack cosgrove was all excitement on the instant. he had not expected any such reply, and he was eager to learn the cause. as he started forward, he instinctively glanced down in quest of evidence that fred had passed there. there was none so far as he could see, and, if there had been, it is not likely he would have been able to identify it, since all the party had been over the same spot, and some of them more than once. "what is it?" he asked, as he reached his friend. "it may mean nothing, but a little distance beyond where we camped the ice is broken and scratched as though some one has been that way." "so there has, we were there yesterday afternoon." "i haven't forgotten that, but these marks are at a place where we haven't been, that is unless it was fred." "how did you manage to find them in the dark?" "i didn't; i groped over the ice as far as i could, and then sat down and waited for day. i must have slept awhile, but when it was growing light i happened to look around, and there, within a few feet of me, on my right hand, i noticed the ice scratched and broken, as though some one had found it hard work to get along. i was about to start right after him, when i thought it best to tarry for you. it is now so much lighter that we shall learn something worth knowing." even in their excitement they paused a few minutes to gaze out upon the ocean, as it was rapidly illumined by the rising sun. before long their vision extended for miles, but the looked-for sight was not there. on every hand, as far as the eye could penetrate, was nothing but the heaving expanse of icy water. whether they were within a comparatively short distance of greenland or not, they were not nigh enough to catch the first glimpse of the coast. several miles to the eastward towered an iceberg, apparently as large as the one upon which they were drifting. its pinnacles, domes, arches, plateaus, spires, and varied forms sparkled and scintillated in the growing sunlight, displaying at times all the colors of the spectrum, and making a picture beautiful beyond description. to the northward and well down in the horizon, was another berg, smaller than the first, and too far off to attract interest. a still smaller one was visible midway between the two, and a peculiar appearance of the sea in the same direction, jack said, was caused by a great ice field. not a ship was to be seen anywhere. their view to the southward was excluded by the bulk of the iceberg, on which they were floating. "there's nothing there for us," remarked rob with a sigh. "you're right; lead the way and let's see what you found." it took them but a few minutes to reach the place the lad had in mind, and they had no sooner done so than the sailor was certain an important discovery had been made. where there was so much irregularity of shape as on an iceberg, a clear description is impossible; but, doing the best we can, it may be said that the spot was a hundred feet back from where the three huddled together with an expectation of spending the night until morning. it was only a little higher, and was attained by carefully picking one's way over the jagged ice, which afforded secure footing, now that day had come. adjoining the place, from which the party diverged to the left, was a lift or shelf on the right, and distant only two or three paces. it was no more than waist high, and, therefore, was readily reached by any one who chose to clamber upon it. it is no easy matter to trace one over the ice, but the signs of which rob had spoken were too plain to be mistaken. there were scratches, such as would have been made by a pair of shoes, a piece of the edge was broken off, and marks beyond were visible similar to those which it would be supposed any one would make in clambering over the flinty surface. jack stood a minute or two studying these signs as eagerly as an american indian might scrutinize the faint trail of an enemy through the forest. "by the great horned spoon!" he finally exclaimed; "but that does look encouraging; i shouldn't wonder if the chap did make his way along there in the night, but why he done it only he can tell. howsumever, where has he gone?" that was the question which rob carrol had asked himself more than once, and was unable to answer. the ice, for a distance of another hundred feet, looked as if it might be scaled, but, just beyond that, towered a perpendicular wall, like the side of a glass mountain. there could be no progress any farther in that direction, nor, so far as could be judged, could any one advance by turning to the right or left. there must be numerous depressions and cavities, sufficient to hide a dozen men, and it was in one of these the couple believed they would find the dead or senseless body of their friend. "jack," said rob, "take my gun." "what for?" "i'll push on ahead as fast as i can; i can't wait, and the weapon will only hinder me." "i've an idee of doing something of the kind myself, so we'll leave 'em here. i don't think they'll wash away like the boat," he added, as he carefully placed them on the shelf, up which they proceeded to climb. but rob was in advance and maintained his place, gaining all the time upon his slower companion, who allowed him to draw away from him without protest. "there's no need of a chap tiring himself to death," concluded jack, as he fell back to a more moderate pace; "he's younger nor me, and it won't hurt him to get a bump or so." rob was climbing with considerable skill. in his eagerness he slipped several times, but managed to maintain his footing and to advance with a steadiness which caused considerable admiration on the part of his more sluggish companion. he used his eyes for all they were worth, and the signs that had roused his hope at first were still seen at intervals, and cheered him with the growing belief that he was on the right track. "but why don't we hear something of him?" he abruptly asked himself, stopping short with shuddering dread in his heart; "he could not have remained asleep all this time, and, if he has been hurt so as to make him senseless, more than likely he is dead." the youth was now nearing the ice wall, to which we have referred, and beyond which it looked impossible to go. the furtive glances into the depressions on his right and left showed nothing of his loved friend, and the evidences of his progress were still in front. the solution of the singular mystery must be at hand. unconsciously rob slowed his footsteps, and looked and listened with greater care than before. "what can it mean? where can he have gone? i see no way by which he could have pushed farther, and yet he is not in sight--" he paused, for he discovered his error. the path, if such it may be termed, which he had been following, turned so sharply to the right that it could not be seen until one was upon it. how far it penetrated in that direction remained to be learned. rob turned about and looked at jack, who was several rods to the rear, making his way upward with as much deliberation as though he felt no personal interest in the business. "i'm going a little farther, jack, but i think we're close upon him now. hurry after me!" "ay, ay," called the sailor, in return; "when you run afoul of the lad give him my love and tell him i'm coming." this remark proved that he shared the hope of rob, who was now acting the part of pioneer, and it did not a little to encourage the boy to push on with the utmost vigor at his command. the sailor was somewhat winded from his unusual exertions, and, believing there was no immediate need of his help, sat down for a few minutes to regain his breath. "he'll yell the moment he catches sight of anything, and he can do that so well that he don't need any help from me--by the great horned spoon! what's the meaning of that?" rob carrol, who had been out of sight but a few seconds, now burst to view again, the picture of terror. he was plunging toward the sailor with such desperate haste that he continually stumbled and bruised himself. but he instantly scrambled up again, glancing in mortal fright over his shoulder, and barely able to gasp as he dashed toward the sailor: "o jack! we're lost! we're lost! heaven help us!" chapter x an ugly customer rob carrol had good cause for his panic. full of high hope, he hurried along the ice between crags which shut him out of sight, for the time, from jack cosgrove, who was resting himself after his hard climb. the youth was thinking of no one and nothing else, except his friend fred warburton, who had vanished so mysteriously the night before. the signs in the icy track he was following convinced him that he was close upon the heels of his chum, who could not have wandered much farther in advance. his hope was tinged with the deepest anxiety, for it was impossible to account for fred's long absence and silence, except upon the theory that some grievous injury had befallen him. the searcher's nerves were strung to the highest point, and he was pushing forward with unabated vigor, when his heart almost stood still, as he caught a peculiar sound among the masses of ice. "that's fred," he concluded; "he's alive, thank god!" and then he called to his friend: "fred! fred, old fellow, where are you? speak, i beg of you." the words were trembling on his lips, when what seemed to be a huge pile of snow just in advance, arose from the ice and began swinging toward him. paralyzed for the moment by the amazing sight, and wondering whether his senses were not betraying him, rob stood motionless, as if rooted to the spot. but the next minute that same mass of snow assumed more definite shape, and an unmistakable growl issued from somewhere within the interior. that was enough. rob knew what it was that was sweeping down upon him like a young avalanche. he had almost stumbled over a huge polar bear, ravenous and fierce with hunger, and with a courage that made him afraid of neither man nor beast. he must have been half asleep when roused by the approach and the voice of the lad. opening his great eyes, he saw before him a fine breakfast in the shape of a plump lad, and he proceeded to go for him with a vim and eagerness that would not be denied. it was about this time that rob whirled on his heel and started on the back track, with all the desperate hurry at his command. it will be remembered that he had no gun with him, he and jack having left the weapons on the ice a considerable distance away. both were without any means of defense, unless the sheath knife which the sailor always carried may be considered a weapon, and the only possible hope for them was to secure their rifles before the monster secured them. when the lad's frenzied cry broke upon jack, he sprang from the seat where he had been resting, and stood staring and wondering what it all could mean. he saw the boy's cap fly from his head, and he noted his terrified glances behind him. the next moment the polar bear plunged into sight, and the sailor grasped the situation. even then he failed to do the wisest thing. instead of realizing that but one course could save them, and that was by dashing back to the guns, he hastily drew his knife and awaited the coming of the brute with a view of checking his attack upon the lad. it was more creditable to jack's chivalry than to his sagacity that he should do this thing. even rob, despite his extreme fright, saw the mistake his friend was making, and called to him: "quick, jack! get the guns and shoot him!" "i shouldn't wonder now if that was a good idea," reflected the sailor, shoving his knife back, and whirling about to do as urged. the situation was so critical that even his sluggish blood was stirred, and he never moved so fast as he did for the succeeding seconds. indeed, it was altogether too fast, for he fell headlong with such violence that he was partially stunned, and by the time he regained his feet rob was upon him. meanwhile the polar bear was making matters lively. he was hustling for his breakfast, and he kept things on the jump. he was at home amid the snow and ice, and, with little effort, got forward faster than the fugitives possibly could; he was overhauling rob hand over hand. to continue his flight, even for the brief remaining distance, was to insure his certain death. rob saw him, and, when the ponderous beast was almost upon him, he made a desperate leap from the icy path, landing on his hands and knees several feet to the left, and instantly scrambling up again. the manoeuvre was so unexpected by the pursuer that he passed several paces beyond before he could stop. turning his head, with his huge jaws so far apart that his red tongue and long white teeth showed, he prepared to continue his pursuit of the lad who had escaped him for the moment by such an exceedingly narrow chance. but it so happened that jack cosgrove just then was also climbing to his feet from his thumping fall, and, being but a short way from the brute, he drew his attention to himself. the bear's appetite was in that rugged state that he was not particular as to whether his meal was made from a boy or full-grown man, and, since the latter was within most convenient reach, he shifted his design to him. "by the great horned spoon!" muttered the sailor, quick to see how matters had turned; "but it's jack cosgrove that is to have all this fun to himself, and he's enjoying it." the single recourse still presented itself; nothing could be done to check the furious beast until one of the rifles was turned against him, but it did seem for a time as if fate itself was fighting in favor of the brute. jack's tumble and flurry had so mixed him up that the rifles were forgotten, until he took several steps on his flight, when he recalled the fatal oversight, and hastily turned to rectify it; but the precious moments wasted made it too late. the bear was actually between him and the weapons, and, to attempt to reach them, except by a roundabout course, was to fling himself into the embrace of those resistless claws. he was too wise to attempt it. the first thing to do was to get himself out of reach of the terror that was bearing down upon him with the certainty of death. "if there was only a tree that i could climb," he reflected, leaping, tumbling, and laboring forward as best he could; "he couldn't nab me, but i don't see any tree, and that chap's hungry enough to eat a stewed anchor." in the fearful hurry and panic some moments passed before rob carrol comprehended the abrupt change in the plan of campaign. at the moment he expected to feel the claw of the brute, he looked back and saw he was pressing jack hard. furthermore, the latter, instead of hurrying for the guns, was drawing away from them. that was a bad outlook, but it suggested to the youth that the chance had come for him to do something effective. he lost no time in seizing the chance. he turned again in his course, and moved around toward the spot where the weapons had been left near at hand. could he have been sure of a few minutes there would have been no trouble in managing it, but events were going with such a rush that there was not a spare second at command. the guns being near and lower in elevation than themselves, were in plain sight. rob saw the barrels and the iron work gleaming in the morning sunlight, so that he could make no mistake in locating them, but his attention was so riveted on the prizes that he paid no heed to his footsteps, or, rather, he paid less heed than was necessary. he was within fifty feet, and was counting upon the quickness with which he would end the sport of the brute when he discovered that he was on the brink of an irregular depression in the ice. he tried desperately to check himself or turn aside, but it was beyond his ability and over he went. chapter xi lively times rob's fall was not far, and his heavy clothing saved him from the bruises that otherwise might have disabled him. he stared about him and saw that he had fallen into a rough depression of the ice from six to eight feet in depth, and of about the same diameter. "here's a go," he reflected; "i wonder whether the bear will follow me here, but he's giving his full attention to poor jack, and won't hunt for me until he is through with him." it was characteristic of the lad that, knowing the imminent peril of his friend, he should feel more anxious about him than himself. all thought of the missing fred was shut out for the moment. the first thing for rob to do was to get out of the hole into which he had fallen. he did not wait, but, throwing off his outer coat, flung it upon the edge of the depression, and then, leaping upward, caught the margin with his mittened hands. as i stated at the beginning, he was a fine athlete, but the task was almost impossible. the purchase was so slight that when he put forth his strength and attempted to draw himself upward, his mittens slipped, as though they were oiled. then he snatched off the mittens, threw them upon his coat, and again made the attempt; he failed as before. "i've got to stay here while the bear kills poor jack," was his despairing thought; "i can do nothing, when, if i were up there, i could lay hold of one of the guns and save him." the reflection was so bitter that he could not rest. walking rapidly around the depression, he jumped upward at every step or two and repeated the effort. failure followed failure, and he was once more in despair. again he made the attempt, and his hand struck a knob-like projection, which afforded just the purchase wanted. grasping it with all his might, he quickly drew himself upward, and was once more on what might be considered the surface proper of the iceberg. at the moment of climbing into sight he heard the report of a gun. "ah, jack has managed to reach his rifle, and has given the brute a shot--no, he hasn't, either!" to his unbounded amazement, he saw the sailor fleeing and dodging for life, with the bear still at his heels. but he had no gun in his hand, and, casting his eye below him, rob observed both weapons lying where they were placed by the owners a short time before. who had fired that gun whose report he just heard? it was an absorbing question, indeed, but there was no time just then to give it a thought. rob was much nearer the rifles than either jack or the bear, and he now hastened thither, taking care that his last mishap was not repeated. from what has been told it will be understood that jack cosgrove found no time for the grass to grow under his feet. he had pulled himself through many a narrow peril, but he was sure he was never quite so hard pressed as now. he tried dodging and sudden turns in the line of his flight, and doubtless saved himself more than once by such means; but the discouraging fact was ever with him that his relentless enemy could travel tenfold faster and better than he over the ice, and sooner or later was certain to run him down unless turned aside by some one else. jack naturally wondered what had become of rob, who was so active only a short time before. his furtive glances showed him nothing of his friend, but he had no chance to speculate, nor did he call upon him for help, as the lad had appealed to him but a short time before. the sorely pressed fugitive drew his knife to be prepared for the final struggle that was at hand. he had met polar bears before, and he knew what such a conflict meant. he was wise enough, too, not to postpone the struggle until his own strength was exhausted by running. he whirled about, when the brute was no more than ten feet distant, and grasping his knife by the tip of the blade, drove it with all the vicious fury at his command straight at the head of the bear. the sailor was an adept at this species of throwing, and had often given exhibitions of his skill on shipboard. it was not to be expected that he could kill such a gigantic animal by flinging his sheath knife at him, but it sped so true and with such power, that, striking his neck, it inflicted a deep wound, sinking so deep, indeed, that it remained in the wound. at this juncture the rifle, whose report rob heard, was fired. the sailor supposed, as a matter of course, that rob discharged it, for there could be no doubt the bear was the target. the bullet struck him near the junction of the left leg, and there could be no mistake about his being hit hard. he uttered a peculiar whining moan, stopped for the moment, and then resumed his pursuit with such a marked limp that his progress was perceptibly decreased. seeing his own advantage, jack was wise enough to use it. in his desperation he had deprived himself of his only weapon, and he was defenseless. but with a limping bear lumbering after him, and with the short respite he had gained, he fancied he could hold his own in a foot-race. so he wheeled and went at it again. by this time, and, indeed, a minute before, rob had reached the spot where the two guns lay, and with both in his grasp he set off in hot haste to overtake the brute. he meant to get so near that when he fired there could be no miss. to his exasperation, he stumbled and came within a hair of going into the very hole from which he had extricated himself with so much difficulty. but he escaped, and finding neither weapon injured, he resumed his pursuit, cheered by the apparent fact that the bear was no longer able to gain upon the fugitive. jack had run as close to the edge of the iceberg as possible, and to venture nearer would be at the imminent risk of going into the icy sea. he perforce turned, and sped in the direction of the lad, who was hastening to his help. this suited rob, for there was no call for him to continue his pursuit, since the bear was approaching "head on." the youth stopped as soon as he saw the change, and prepared to close matters. the opening could not have been better, and, dropping one rifle at his feet, rob steadied himself and took careful aim at the beast. he pointed the gun not at his head, but at a point just below, hoping to reach his heart. he saw the snowy coat stained crimson from the wound made by jack's knife, and he limped heavily. "look out you don't hit me!" called the panting sailor, whose grim humor showed itself at the most inopportune times. "get out of the way, then!" called rob, in turn; "you're right in front of me." jack dodged to one side, being at the moment about midway between his friend and pursuer, and less than twenty feet from either. the next instant the lad pulled trigger. but the bear did not stop, and showed no evidence of having been so much as harmed. "you missed him, you lubber! let me have the other gun, and show you how to bring down game." there was no time for any such proceeding, and, dropping the discharged weapon, rob instantly stooped and caught up the second. [illustration: just then the report of another gun sounded (see page )] just then another gun sounded from a point higher up the berg, and the huge brute stopped. he seemed dazed, and, half-rearing on his haunches, picked at the wound, as though he fancied a splinter was there, which he could draw from his flesh. "he's going to attack us with the knife!" called jack, who saw that the danger was over; "and i shouldn't wonder if he knows how to do it better than you can manage your gun." "keep out of the way, jack, and i'll finish him." rob had brought the second weapon to a level, and the opening was, if possible, more favorable than before. again he pulled trigger, and this shot did the business. the monster, one of the largest and fiercest of his species, went down in a helpless mass, and expired before their eyes. "hello, you chaps would be in a pretty scrape if it wasn't for me!" jack and rob turned toward the point whence the voice came and saw fred warburton hastening toward them with his smoking rifle in hand. chapter xii fred's experience both jack cosgrove and rob carrol could have shouted with joy at the sight of the missing boy, and the sound of his voice. more than once, during the stirring minutes that they were trying to save themselves from the irrestrainable bear, they thought of the shot that was fired by neither of them, and which, therefore, they naturally attributed to their friend. the second shot left no doubt of its source, and here now was the youth hurrying down from some point near where the brute had come, laughing like his own natural self. it need not be said that his hand was shaken heartily by the sailor and his companion, and that he was overwhelmed with questions as to his singular action. the story of fred was curious, and yet it had been partially discounted by his chum. it was not to be supposed that he would leave the comparative comfort he enjoyed when huddled close to his friends without good cause, and in that case he would have notified them of his intention, to save them from alarm. the experience of the day disturbed him, and caused him to dream dreams of the most vivid nature. several times, during the preceding years, he had walked in his sleep, and his departure from the camp, as they called it, was as unknown to himself as to his friends. it was evident that he managed the business with great skill, since neither of the others was disturbed. he picked up his gun and went off in the direction followed by rob, clambering farther up the side of the iceberg than was supposed possible. "i think," said fred, "that i can read the cause for what i did while unconscious. you remember we had much to say about the 'nautilus' being driven out of sight by the gale, and i recall that, before going to sleep, i wondered whether we could not climb to a higher portion of the berg and signal to them. "i suppose that was what set my mind and muscles to work when unconscious, and impelled me to try what i never would have tried with my full senses about me. "when i came to myself i was in a cavity in the ice, where the protection against the gale was much better than our camp. it was a regular bowl or hollow, which would have been just the place for us three. but daylight had come, the weather was so moderate that i did not suffer from cold, and there was nothing, therefore, to be feared from that cause. "as you may suppose, it took me sometime before i could recall myself, but i was not long in suspecting the truth. i was so comfortable in the position involuntarily assumed that i lay still while pondering matters. when ready, i was on the point of rising, when i heard a slight noise on the ice above me. "'that's jack or rob,' i thought; 'they are looking for me, and i will give them a scare.' "i lay still, expecting one of you to pass so close that you would discover me, but though i could follow the movement by sound, and though the object passed close to me it was not quite close enough to be seen, i rose softly to my feet and peered over the edge of the cavity in which i was resting. "well, rob was startled when he stumbled over that polar bear, but he was no more frightened than i, when i discovered that instead of it being one of you, it was that frightful brute which had swung by within a few feet of where i lay. "you can see the curious shape of matters. the bear had come from some point beyond where i lay, and, making his way down the ice, had now placed himself between me and you. the only means of my reaching you was by passing close to him. that meant a fight to the death. "i noticed his tremendous size, and from what i have heard they are among the most dangerous beasts in the world--" "you're right there, my hearty," interrupted jack; "if there was ever any doubt in my mind, which there wasn't, it was settled by that little scrimmage awhile ago." "i had my gun, and, at first, was half-disposed to take a shot, but the chance was a poor one, for he was walking straight away, and it was impossible to do more than sound him. that would render him furious and cause him to attack me. our rifles were not repeating ones, and before i could get another charge ready, he would be upon me, and it might be that several well-aimed shots would be necessary to finish him." "you had good sense," said rob; "he would have made mince-meat of you in a fight." "you must remember that while i could see the bear from where i peered over the edge of the ice, i could not catch the first sight of you. the brute seemed to be following some sort of a path, while the masses of ice were so piled upon both sides and beyond him that all farther view was shut off. "while i was watching the enormous white body swinging along, it stopped, and then to my dismay, he turned about and started back. "'he's coming for me!' was my conclusion, 'and now there will be a row sure.' "i braced myself to receive him, but, inasmuch as he had not yet seen me, and, inasmuch as he had once passed my shelter, without discovering me, there was hope that he would do the same again. so 'brer rabbit, he lay low,' and i listened for him to go by. as soon as he was at a safe distance, i intended to climb out and hurry to you. we three ought to be enough for him, and i had no fear but that you might manage him between you without my help." "that was my opinion at that time," added fred, with a twinkle of his eye, "but it isn't now. while i was crouching there i heard you calling me. you can understand why i didn't answer. i preferred to remain mum so long as that bear was between me and you and coming toward me." "we did a lot of shouting last night," said rob. "that's the first i knew of it. but the minutes passed without the bear being heard. i listened as intently as i knew how, but no sound reached me. "'i wonder if he intends to promenade back and forth,' was my thought, as i ventured to peep out once more, with great caution; 'this is getting interesting.' "well, i was surprised when i saw him. he was less than a dozen yards off, and lying down, with his head still turned away from me. his action was just as if he had learned that his breakfast was going to come up that path, and he intended to wait until it walked into his arms." "and that is pretty nearly what i did," said rob, with a smiling glance at the carcass. "his head being still away i dared not fire, nor would it have done for me to call to you or answer your signals. it was plain to me that he had no suspicion that the choicest kind of meal was right near him, and it wouldn't have been wise for me to apprise him of the fact; it might have made things unpleasant all around. "you needn't be told what followed. i watched him a few minutes, during which he was as motionless as the iceberg itself, and then i settled down to await developments. "while seated, of course i saw nothing of him, and the first notice i received of what was going on was when i heard rob shouting. i sprang out of my shelter, and, as you will remember, saved you both from being devoured by the monster. isn't he, or, rather, wasn't he a big fellow?" added fred, stepping over to the enormous carcass and touching it with his foot. "he's the biggest i've ever seen," assented jack, "and i'm thankful that we got off as well as we did. it's no use of denying that your shots helped us through." "possibly, but it was rob after all who wound up the business," fred hastened to say, lest he might be thought of wishing to take undue credit to himself. "there's worse eating, too, than bear meat." it was jack who made this remark, and the others caught its significance. they were thus provided with the means of living for a long time on the iceberg, and might hope for some means of rescue in the course of a week or two. rob was about to make some characteristic reply, when the sailor pointed out to sea. "do you obsarve that?" he asked. "it's just what i was afeared of, and i don't like it at all." chapter xiii the fog it will be recalled that when jack and rob awoke, during the preceding night, they noticed a marked change in the temperature, and the sailor prophesied an unwelcome change in the weather. following the direction pointed by him, his friends saw what he meant. the rise had caused one of those fogs that have been fatal so often to ships off the banks of newfoundland, and which frequently wrap the southern coast of greenland in a mist as impenetrable as that which overshadows at times the british metropolis. "you see," added jack, "it might be that some whaler or other vessel is cruising in these latitudes, and will come close enough for us to observe 'em and they us, provided the sun was shining, but, the way matters are turning out, they might pass within a biscuit's toss 'out either of us knowing it." "well," was the philosophical comment of fred, "we have so much to be thankful for that i can't complain over a small matter like that." "it may be a bigger matter than you think, but i'm as thankful as you, all the same." "gracious!" exclaimed rob, with a sigh; "i'm hungry." "there's your supper." both boys, however, shook their heads, and rob replied: "i'm not hungry enough to eat raw bear's meat." "it's a thousand times better than starving to death." as the sailor spoke, he walked to the carcass and withdrew his knife from the wound. "you'll come to it bime-by; i've seed the time when i was ready to chaw up a pair of leather breeches, but that isn't half as bad as being in an open boat under the equator, with not a drop of water for three days." "we can never suffer from that cause so long as this iceberg holds out. how is it with you, fred? are you ready for bear steak?" "i would be too glad to dine on it, if there was some means of cooking it, but that is out of the question. i think i'll wait awhile." "i'll keep you company," remarked jack, who felt no such repugnance against the primitive meal, but was willing to defer the feast out of regard for them. the party watched the fog settling over the sea, until, as the sailor had told them it would do, it shut out all vision beyond a hundred feet or less. "i would give a good deal to know one thing," said fred, after several minutes' silence, as he seated himself, "and that is just where we are." "i can tell you," said rob. "where?" "on an iceberg in the greenland sea." "i am not so sure of that, my hearty," put in jack; "there's no doubt, of course, that we're on the berg, but i wouldn't bet that we're drifting through the greenland sea." "why, the 'nautilus' was so far north when we left it, and this iceberg was moving so slowly that we couldn't have gone as far as all that." jack saw that his meaning was not understood. "what i was getting at is this: of course, when them bergs slip off into the ocean, most of them start southward for a more congen'l clime, but all of 'em don't do it by any means. there is a current off the western coast of greenland which runs toward the north pole, and we may be in that." "but this extends so far down that it must strike the other current, which flows in the opposite direction." "that may and may not be, and it may be, too, that if it does, the upper current is the stronger. i've been calling to mind the bearing of the ship and berg, and i've an idee we're going northward. bime-by the berg may change its mind and flop about and start for new york or south america, but i don't believe it's doing so now." this was important information, provided it was true, and there was good reason to believe that jack cosgrove knew far better than they what he was talking about. "then if we keep on we'll strike the north pole," remarked rob, gravely. "yes, if we keep on, but we're pretty sure to stop or change our course before we get beyond davis strait or christianshaab or ivignut. anyway, this old berg will keep at it till she fetches up in southern waters." the words of jack had opened a new and interesting field for discussion. its ending had not been thought of by the boys in their calculations; and, despite their faith in their more experienced companion, they believed he was mistaken. they had never heard of anything of the kind he had mentioned, and it did not seem reasonable that such a vast mass, after heading southward, should change its direction. even though it was drifting north when first seen, it must have started still farther north in order to reach the latitude where first observed. by this time all hope of being rescued by the "nautilus" had been given up, unless some happy accident should lead it to come upon the iceberg. the party, therefore, began considering other means of escape from their unpleasant quarters. as is well known, there are a number of danish settlements scattered along the west coast of greenland, the bleak, desolate eastern shore being inhabited only by wandering esquimaux. it might be that the berg would sweep along within sight of land, and the friends would be able to attract the attention of some of the native fishing boats, or possibly larger craft. it was a remote hope, indeed, but it was all they saw before them. at any rate, the polar bear had provided them with the means of postponing starvation to an indefinite period, for there was enough meat in his carcass to afford nourishment for many days to come. "i wonder whether there are more polar bears on this craft?" remarked rob, rising to his feet and looking around as if he half expected to discover another of the monsters making for them. "little danger of that," replied jack, "and it's so mighty seldom that any of 'em are fools enough to allow themselves to be carried off like this one did that i never dreamed of anything of the kind. it does happen now and then, but not often, though you may read of such things." "i suppose he would have stayed here until he starved to death," was the inquiring remark of fred. "he might and he might not; when he had got it through his skull that there was nothing to eat on the berg he would have plunged into the sea and started for land, provided it was in sight, and he would have reached it, too. when he landed he would have been hungry enough to attack the first saw-mill he came to, and i wouldn't like to be the first chap he met." "i don't see how he could have been fiercer than he was." "he meant business from the first; and, if he had caught sight of you when you lay asleep in that cavity in the ice he would have swallowed you before you could wake." "well, he didn't do it," replied fred, with a half-shudder and laugh, "so what's the good of thinking about it? rob, it strikes me," he added, with a quizzical look at the boy, "that raw bear's meat might not be so bad after all." "of course it isn't!" jack was quick to say, springing to his feet and stepping forward, knife in hand. it was evident from the manner in which he conducted the business that he had done it before. he extracted a goodly-sized piece from near the shoulder, and dressed it as well as he could with the only means at command. rob had hit upon what might be called a compromise. when one of the three slices, into which the portion was divided, was handed to him, he struck match after match from the rubber safe he carried, and held the tiny flame against different portions of the meat. anything like cooking was out of the question, but he succeeded in scorching it slightly, and giving it a partial appearance of having seen the fire. "there!" he exclaimed, in triumph, holding it aloft; "it's done to a turn, that is the first turn. it's cooked, but it's a little rare, i'll admit." meanwhile, fred imitated him, using almost all the matches he possessed. chapter xiv a collision jack scorned everything of the kind, and he ate his piece with as much gusto as if it had passed through the hands of a professional cook. the boys managed to dispose of considerable, so that it may be said the little party made a fair meal from the supply so unexpectedly provided them. the primitive meal finished, the three friends remained seated and discussed the future, which was now the all-important question before them. "how long is this fog likely to last?" asked fred. "no one can answer that," replied jack; "a brisk wind may drive it away, a rain would soon finish it, or it may go before colder weather, or it may last several days." "meanwhile we can do nothing but drift." "that's about all we can do any way," was the truthful remark of the sailor; "we'll make the bear last as long as we can." "i think he will last a good while," observed rob, with a half-disgusted look at the carcass; "it will do when there's nothing else to be had, but i never can fancy it without cooking." at that moment they received a startling shock. a peculiar shiver or jar passed through the iceberg, as though from a prodigious blow that was felt through every part--an impossible occurrence. "what can that mean?" asked the lads, in consternation. "by the great horned spoon!" was the reply of the frightened jack; "i hope we won't feel it again." "but what is it?" "the berg scraped the bottom of the sea just then. there it goes again!" a shock, fully as violent as before, went through and through the vast mass of ice. it lasted only a second or two, but the sensations of the party were like those of the housekeeper who wakes in the night, to feel his dwelling swaying under the grasp of the earthquake. none needed to be told of the possible consequences of drifting into shallow water. if the base of the iceberg, extending far down into the depths of the ocean, should strike some projecting mountain peak of the deep, or a plateau, the berg was liable to overturn, with an appalling rush, beyond the power of mind to conceive. in such an event there was no more chance of the party saving themselves than there would be in the crater of a bursting volcano. well might they look blankly in each other's faces, for they were helpless within the grasp of a power that was absolutely resistless. they sat silent and waiting, but, as minute after minute passed, without the shock being repeated, hope returned, and they ventured to speak in undertones, as though fearful that the sound of their voices would precipitate the calamity. "that satisfies me i was right," said jack, compressing his lips and shaking his head. "in what respect?" asked fred. "we're drifting toward the north pole, and we are not far from the greenland coast." "but are there not shallow places in the ocean, hundreds of miles from land, where such a great iceberg as this might touch bottom?" "yes, but there are not many in this part of the world. the thing may swing out of this current, or get into another which will start it southward, but i don't believe it has done it yet." "sailing on an iceberg is worse than i imagined," was the comment of rob; "i'm more anxious than ever to leave this; it isn't often that a passenger feels like complaining of the bigness of the craft that bears him over the deep, but that's the trouble in this case." "if the capsize does come," said jack, "it will be the end of us; we would be buried hundreds of fathoms under the ice." "there can be no doubt of that, but i say, jack, isn't there something off yonder? i can't make it out, but it seems to me that it is more than the fog." while the three were talking, fred warburton was seated so as to face the open sea, the others being turned sideways and giving no heed to that point of the compass. it will be remembered that at this time they were inclosed in the all-pervading fog, which prevented them seeing as far as the length of the mountain of ice on which they were seated. turning toward the water and peering outward, they saw the cause of the boy's question. the vapor itself appeared to be assuming shape, vague, indistinct, undefined, and almost invisible, but nevertheless perceptible to all. the sailor was the first to see what it meant. leaping to his feet he emitted his favorite exclamation: "by the great horned spoon! it's another berg!" with awful slowness and certainty the mass of fog disclosed more and more distinctly the misty contour that had caught the eye of fred warburton. at first it was like a pile of denser fog, rolling along the surface of the sea, but the outlines became more distinct each moment, until the form of an iceberg was clearly marked in the wet atmosphere. the new one was much smaller than that upon which they were afloat, but it was of vast proportions for all that, enough to crush the largest ship that ever floated, as though it were but a toy in its path. but the fearful fact about its appearance was that the two bergs were approaching each other, under the influence of adverse currents! a collision was inevitable, and the boys contemplated it with hardly less dismay than they did the overturning of the larger one a short time before. "this is no place for us!" called out jack, the moment after his exclamation; "let's get out!" he started up the path from which the polar bear had come, with his young friends at his heels. they did not stop until they could go no farther, when they turned about and shudderingly awaited the catastrophe that was at hand. their withdrawal from the edge of the iceberg to a point some distance away dimmed their vision, but the smaller berg was easily distinguished through the obscurity. the two continued to approach with a slowness that could hardly have caused a shock in a couple of ships, but where the two masses were so enormous the momentum was beyond calculation. the frightful crisis was not without its grim humor. the boys braced themselves against the expected crash as if in a railway train with a collision at hand. they lost sight of the fact that no force in nature could produce any such sudden jarring and jolting as they apprehended. the two bergs seemed to be lying side by side, within a few inches really, but without actually touching. "why don't they strike?" asked rob, in an awed whisper. "there it comes!" exclaimed fred; "hold fast!" the smaller berg was seen to sway and bow, as if that, too, had swept against the bottom of the sea, and it was shaken through every part. but amazing fact to the lads! they felt only the slightest possible tremor pass through the support upon which they had steadied themselves against the expected shock. the smaller berg acted like some monster that has received a mortal hurt. it seemed to be striving to disentangle itself from the fatal embrace of its conqueror, but was unable to do so. nearly conical in shape, a peak rose more than a hundred feet in air, ending in a tapering point almost as delicate as a church spire. the crash of the immense bodies caused the breaking off of this icy monument a couple of rods from the top, and the mass, weighing many tons toppled over and fell upon the larger berg with a violence that shattered it into thousands of fragments, bits of which were carried to the feet of the awed party. then, as if the smaller one saw that it was idle to resist longer, it began moving with the larger, which forced it along its own course as a tug pushes a floating chip in front of it. the danger was over, if, indeed, there had been any danger. it was a minute or two before the boys comprehended it all, but when rob did, he sprang to his feet and swung his cap over his head. "hurrah for our side! we beat 'em hands down!" "i fancy it is quite safe to count on our keeping the right of way," added fred, whose mental relief at the outcome was as great as his companion's. "i thought we would be tumbled about when the two came together, as if we were in an overturned wagon, but i can understand now how that could never be." "but wait till we butt against an iceberg bigger than ours," said rob, with a shake of his head. chapter xv the sound of a voice for hours the fog showed no signs of lifting. the three remained seated near the carcass of the polar bear, discussing the one question that had already been discussed so long, until there really seemed nothing left to say. not long after the collision between the icebergs a singular thing took place. it was evident that the two were acted upon each by a diverse current, but the preponderating bulk of the greater was not disturbed by the smaller. the latter, however, as if anxious to break away from its master, began slowly grinding along the face, until, after awhile, it swung clear and gradually drifted out of sight in the misty vapor. "she will know better than to tackle one bigger than herself," was the remark of rob carrol, "which reminds me that if there should happen to be a bigger iceberg than this floating around loose we sha'n't be in any danger." "and why not?" "because being so big it will be under the influence of the same current as this and going in the same direction, so there won't be much chance of our coming together." "unless the big one should overtake us," suggested fred. "even then it would find it hard to run over us, so there isn't much to be feared from that; what i do dread is that we shall strike some shallow place in the sea that will make this thing turn a somersault." "it would be a terrible thing," said fred, unable to drive it from his thoughts. "is it possible for the berg to strike something like that and stick fast, without shifting its centre of gravity?" the question was addressed to jack cosgrove, but he did not attempt to answer until the last clause was explained to him. "oh! yes; that has been seen many times. a berg will ground itself just like a boat, and stay for days and weeks until a storm breaks it up, or it shakes itself loose. i don't believe if we do strike bottom again that there's much danger of capsizing." "why didn't you tell us that before?" asked rob, reprovingly; "we might have been saved all this worry." "it's only guesswork, any way, so you may as well keep on worrying, for, somehow or other, you seem to enjoy it." "i think there is a thinning of the fog," remarked fred, some time later. "a little, but not much; it's growing colder, too; we'll run into keen weather afore reaching the pole." "i shouldn't wonder if it came pretty soon. hello!" added rob, looking at his watch; "it is past noon." "do you want your dinner?" asked jack, with a grin. both lads gave an expression of disgust, the elder replying: "i can stand it for twenty-four hours before hankering for another slice of bear steak, and i shouldn't be surprised if fred feels the same way." "you are correct, my friend." "ah, you chaps can get used to anything!" was the self-complacent remark of the sailor, as he assumed a comfortable attitude on the ice. while the boys talked thus, jack was carefully noting the weather. he saw with pleasure that the fog was steadily clearing, and that, before night, the atmosphere was likely to be wholly clear again. that fact might avail them nothing, but it was a thousand-fold better than the mist, in which they might drift within a hundred feet of friends without either party suspecting it. from what has been told, it will be understood that no one of the three built any hope of a rescue by the "nautilus." the violent gale had driven her miles away, and a search on her part for this particular iceberg would be like the hunt of one exploring party for another that had been lost years before. but it was not to be supposed that captain mcalpine would quietly dismiss all care concerning the lads from his mind. one of them was a son of a leading director of the hudson bay company, and the other was a favorite of the son and his father. for the skipper to return to london at the end of several months with the report that he had left them on an iceberg in the greenland sea would be likely to subject him to unpleasant consequences. the most natural course of the captain, as it seemed to the sailor, after making the best search he could, was to put into some of the towns along the coast, and organize several parties to go out in search of them. "he is no fool," thought jack, as he turned the subject over in his mind without speaking, "and he must have took the bearings of the ship and the berg as i did. he won't be able to keep track of us, but he will know better than to sail exactly in the wrong direction, as most other folks would do. yes," he remarked to his friends, as he looked off over the sea, "the weather is clearing and the fog will be all gone before night." this was gratifying information, though neither youth could tell precisely why it should give them special ground for hope. you will understand one of the trials of the boys when adrift on the iceberg. the latter was moving slowly, and, though in a direction different from the surface current, yet it was barely perceptible. no other objects were in sight than the berg itself, which gave the impression to the passengers that it was motionless on the vasty deep. you know how much harder it is to wait in a train at a station than it is in one in motion. if they could have realized that the berg was actually moving, no matter in what direction, the relief would have been great. as it was, they felt as though they were simply waiting, waiting for they knew not what. the afternoon was more than two-thirds gone when the last vestige of the fog vanished. the sun shone out, and, looking off to sea, the power of the eye itself was the only limit to the vision. without explaining the meaning of his action, jack cosgrove made his way down the path to the place where they had spent most of the preceding night, and climbing upon a slight elevation, stood for a full minute looking fixedly off over the sea. he shaded his eyes carefully with his hand, and stood as motionless as a stone statue. "he either sees or expects to see something," said rob, who, like his companion, was watching him with much interest. "he is so accustomed to the ocean that his eyes are better than ours," said fred. "i can't make out anything." suddenly jack struck his thigh with his right hand and wheeled about, showing a face aglow with feeling. "by the great horned spoon, i knowed it." "what have you discovered, jack?" "you chaps just come this way," he said, crooking his stubby forefinger toward them, "and put yourself alongside of me and take the sharpest squint you can right over yonder." doing as directed, they finally agreed, after some hard looking, that they saw what seemed to be a long, low, white cloud in the horizon. "that's greenland," was the astonishing reply; "i don't know what part, but it's solid airth with snow on it." this was interesting, indeed, though it was still difficult to understand what special hope the fact held out to them. it seemed to grow slightly more distinct as the afternoon advanced. since it was hardly to be supposed that the iceberg was approaching land, this was undoubtedly caused by the contour of the coast. when night began closing in the party fired their guns repeatedly, thinking possibly the reports might attract notice from some of the natives fishing in the vicinity. the chance, however, was so exceedingly slight that they made preparations for spending the night as before--that is, huddled together against the projecting ice. there was hardly a breath of air stirring, though the temperature continued falling. "i hear it!" exclaimed fred, starting to his feet, within five minutes after seating themselves as described. "what's that?" asked the amazed rob; "are you crazy?" "listen!" they did so. there was no mistake about it. they caught the sound of a vigorously moved paddle, and, had any doubt remained, it was dissipated by the loud call in a peculiar voice, and with an odd accent: "holloa! holloa! holloa!" chapter xvi land ho! the boys could hardly credit their senses. just as they had settled themselves to spend another long, dismal night on the iceberg, the sound of a paddle broke upon their ears, followed, the next moment, by a hail in unmistakable english. "it's captain mcalpine or one of the men!" exclaimed rob, breaking into such a headlong rush down the incline that it threatened to precipitate him into the sea before he could check himself. fred was at his heels, and jack tumbled against him. he knew that that voice was no caucasian's. despite the english word, he recognized it as belonging to a native esquimau. "we're coming!" called back jack, in turn; "just hold on a few minutes and we'll be there--by the great horned spoon!" he bumped flat on his back, and shot down the incline so fast that he knocked the heels from under fred, and the two, impinging against rob, prostrated him also, the three shooting forward like so many sleighs going down a toboggan slide. "never mind, lads; we'll stop when we strike water," called the sailor, so pleased that he recked little of the consequences. all the same, however, each exerted himself desperately to stop, and, barely succeeded in doing so, on the very edge of the incline. then they perceived one of the long, narrow native boats, known as a kayak, drawn up alongside the wharf, as it may be called, with the esquimau in the act of stepping out. he contemplated the sight in silent wonderment, for, it is safe to say, he had never been approached in that fashion before. jack was the first to recover the perpendicular, and he impulsively reached out his mittened hand to the native, who was clad in furs, with a short jacket and a hood, which covered all his head, excepting the front of his face. "how do you do, my hearty? i never was so glad to see any one in my life as i am to see you." "glad to meet you," replied the esquimau, somewhat abashed by the effusive greeting; "where you come from?" "from the iceberg," and then reflecting that this good friend was entitled to a full explanation, the sailor added: "we visited this berg, yesterday, from the ship "nautilus;" our boat was carried away before we knew it, and the gale drove the ship so far out of her course that we haven't seen a thing of her since. how came you to know we were here?" "heard gun go off--didn't know where it be--hear it again--then know it here--then come to you." "were you ashore?" "started out to fish--you go ashore with me?" "you can just bet we will; your kayak is strong enough to take us all, isn't it?" "if sit still--make no jump," was the reply of the native, who was plainly pleased at the part of the good samaritan he was playing. "these are my friends, rob carrol and fred warburton," said jack, introducing the lads, each of whom shook the hand of the native, whom they felt like embracing in a transport of pleasure. since the native had come out for the purpose of taking them off, there was no delay in embarking. the long boat, which the esquimau handled with such skill, was taxed to carry the unusual load, and jack suggested that he should wait till the boys were taken ashore, when the native could return for him, but their friend said that was unnecessary, and, inasmuch as the land was fully three miles distant, the task would have been a severe one. the sea was not ugly, and the esquimau assured them there would be no trouble in landing them safely, if they "dressed" carefully and guarded against any sudden shifting of position. all understood the situation too well to make any mistake in this respect, and, in a few minutes, everything was in readiness. the native sat in the middle of the boat and swayed his long paddle with a dexterity that aroused the admiration of his passengers. it was not the kind of paddling to which jack cosgrove was accustomed, though he could have picked it up with readiness, and he was just the one to appreciate work of that kind. rob was nearest the prow, and, as the craft whirled about and headed toward land, he caught a shower of spray which was dashed over his clothing and in his face. that, however, meant nothing, and he gave no heed to it. immediately the craft was skimming over the waves at a speed of fully five knots. the occasion was hardly one for conversation, and rob cautiously moved sideways and turned his head, so as to watch the advance. the weather, as will be remembered, was perfectly clear; the stars were shining and he could see for a considerable way over the water. it was trying to the nerves of so brave a lad as he to observe a huge wave rushing like a courser straight toward them and looking as if nothing could save the boat from swamping; but, under the consummate handling of its owner, it arose to meet the wall of water and rode it easily. then, as it plunged into the trough on the other side, it seemed as if about to dive into the depths of the sea, but immediately arose again with inimitable grace and readiness. then, perhaps, would follow a short distance of comparatively smooth water, quickly succeeded by the plunging and rising as before. all at once the surface became smooth. before rob could guess its meaning something grated against the front of the kayak and slid along the side, followed by another and another. the native slowed his paddling and pushed on with extreme care. he had entered a field of floating ice, through which it was necessary to force his way with all caution. this was proven by the many turns he made, and it was then that his skill showed in a more striking light than before. he sat facing the prow and was obliged to look over the head of rob and along each side of him. his quick eye took in the size and contour of the drift ice, and, hardly checking his own progress, he shot to the right, then to the left, turning so quickly that the bodies of his passengers swayed under the sudden impulse, but all the time he continued his advance, apparently with undiminished speed. meanwhile jack cosgrove, from his seat at the rear, was looking still farther ahead in the effort to gain sight of the welcome land, which never was so dear to him as when on the iceberg. once he fancied he caught the twinkle of a light so low down that it was on shore, but it vanished quickly and he believed he was mistaken. it was not long, however, before his penetrating vision discovered that for which he was yearning. the unmistakable outline of the coast arose to view, rising gradually from the edge of the water until lost in the gloom beyond. it was white with snow, as a matter of course, the depth probably being several feet. the sight of any considerable portion of greenland free of its snowy mantle would be a sight, indeed. the floating ice continued all the way to land, and the closer the latter was approached the more difficult became the progress. but the native was equal to the task. he had been through it too often to hesitate more than a few seconds when some larger obstacle than usual interposed across his path. it was very near land that the greatest peril of all was encountered. the kayak glided over a cake of ice, the esquimau believing it would pass readily underneath the craft and out beyond the stern, but its buoyancy was greater than he supposed, and it swayed the boat with such force that it came within a hair of capsizing. "all right!" he called, cheerily, righting the craft with several quick, powerful strokes of his paddle. then he shot between two other enormous cakes, wedged his way through a narrow passage, and the prow crunched into the snow that came down to the water's edge. "here we are, and thank the lord!" called out rob, leaping with a single bound upon the solid earth; "i feel like giving three cheers, for if ever providence favored a lot of scamps, we are the ones." fred followed as the kayak turned sideways, so as to permit all to step out, but jack paused, opposite the native, and peered into his face. something in the esquimau's voice struck him as familiar. "what's your name?" he asked, still scrutinizing him as closely as he could in the gloom. "docak," was the reply. chapter xvii docak and his home "by the great horned spoon, i suspected it! docak, i'm mighty glad to see you; i'm jack cosgrove, and put it there!" the native was not so demonstrative as his english friend, but he certainly was as delighted and surprised to meet him in this extraordinary manner as was the sailor to meet him. they shook hands heartily, and docak indulged in his peculiar laugh, which was accompanied by little, if any noise, but was indicative of genuine pleasure. the reader will recall that this was the second time docak had rescued jack cosgrove, the other instance having occurred a number of years before, when captain mcalpine's ship was destroyed by collision with an iceberg. "you're my guardian angel!" was the exclamation of the happy sailor; "i might have known that if anybody was to save us you was the chap to do it. come up here, boys, and shake hands with docak ag'in, for he's one of the best fellows living." rob and fred were only too glad to do as invited, and cordial relations were at once established. "is your home where it was when i was here last?" jack asked. "yes, off dere," replied docak, turning about and pointing inland; "not far--soon get dere." jack gave a low whistle expressive of astonishment. "now, lads," he said, addressing the youths, "i rather think you'll own that jack cosgrove knows a thing or two about icebergs." "i think fred and i have also learned something, but what are you driving at?" "we're well up toward davis strait, and there's more than a hundred miles of greenland coast to the south of us. that old berg has struck a bee line for the north pole, but it won't reach there, eh, docak?" "no; soon turn around--go back." "now, isn't that one of the strangest things you ever heard of, lads? the place where the 'mary jane' went down, afore that berg, three years ago, was mighty nigh the very spot where docak found us. i remember he brought us ashore in his kayak--" "dis same boat," interrupted the native with a grin, perceptible in the twilight. "there you are, and, if he keeps on, i'll begin to think that one of you chaps is captain mcalpine himself, and the other bill hardin, who was saved with us." "it is a most remarkable coincidence," said fred, and rob added that he had never read or heard anything like it. but it occurred to docak that he was not acting the part of hospitable host, by keeping his friends standing on the edge of the sea, while the reminiscences went on. he stooped and drew his boat far up the bank. the tide was at its height, so there was no fear of its playing the trick our friends had suffered. then he turned about and started inland, the others following in indian file. he was treading a path, a foot or more deep in the snow, and worn as hard as a rock. the ascent was gentle, and a hundred yards from the shore he arrived at the entrance to his home, where a surprise awaited the boys. when seen for the first time the hut of the esquimaux suggest the sod houses common on the western plains of our country, except that the homes of the far north are entered by means of a burrow. where such frightful cold reigns for months every year the first consideration with the native is to secure protection against it; everything is sacrificed to that. the walls are of alternate layers of stone and sod, and are about three feet in thickness. the highest clear space within is from four to five feet. the building contains an entry-way, a kitchen, and a living room. the entry is four or five yards in length, two feet or less wide, and no more than a yard in height. it will thus be seen that even a small boy would have to stoop to pass through it, while the interior of the hut itself will not allow a full-grown esquimau to stand erect. to this fact may be attributed in some degree the stoop shoulders so common among the men. half-way between the beginning of the entry and the main rooms was an opening leading to the kitchen. this was small, shaped like a bee-hive, and with a hole at the apex for the escape of the smoke. the floor was bare ground, the hearth consisting of a number of stones placed close together, on which the iron kettles sat, while the fire of driftwood burned beneath. the height of the kitchen is less than that of the main room, so that only the women can stand erect in the highest portion. when the weather is very severe the cooking is done in the main room, by means of the big oil-lamp, while the thick walls and the heavy furs of the inmates enable them to laugh at the raging blizzard outside. it was along such a passage as the one described that docak led the way, followed by jack cosgrove, rob, and fred, each trailing his rifle, and happy beyond measure that everything with them had turned out so well. the main room into which the little party entered was about four yards square. it had a board floor and a ceiling--luxuries not generally found in the native homes except in the settlements. the walls were furred off and ceiled, and the spaces closely stuffed with moss. the wall on the right of the main room had a single window with twelve panes of glass. the main room was the most interesting part of the structure. along the front of the window ran a wooden bench, near the end of which, toward the entrance, stood a danish stove. in the corner beyond the other end of the bench was a table. to the left of that was the lamp-stand, directly opposite to which on the other side of the room was a second and shorter bench. the whole left-hand side of the room, as you entered, consisted of a platform, about six feet long. it was elevated a foot above the floor, the side next to the wall being a few inches higher. at night it was covered with feather beds, which are rolled back during the day, so that the front may be used for other purposes. the lamp used in the esquimau houses is simply a large, green stone, with a hollow scooped in the top. this contains seal oil, a piece of moss serving as a wick. it may be well to tell you something in this place about the dress of the esquimaux, referring now to those who live near the settlements, most of whom are of mixed blood. in the interior, and, along the east coast of greenland, are met the wild natives, who are muffled in the thickest furs, and bear little resemblance to the class to which docak and his acquaintances belonged. these men wore jackets, trousers, moccasins, and generally undershirts, drawers, and socks. the rule is for them to go bareheaded, though a hat or cap is frequently seen. the clothing, except the moccasins, is made from woolen or cotton stuff, bought off the danish governor. the jacket is of gingham, with sleeves and a hood that can be drawn over the head, and fitted in place by drawing and tying a string that passes under the chin. when venturing out in his kayak, or in severe weather, docak, like most of his friends, wore a jacket and hood combined. this was of sealskin, with the leather side out. the trousers are constructed of the same material with the hair out. sometimes they are lined with sealskin, with the hair in. the moccasins are well-shaped sealskin boots, reaching nearly to the knees. when the socks are not woolen, the hair is turned toward the skin. the mittens are of seal leather, with no hair on either side, and are much inferior to many of our own country, for purposes of warmth and comfort. the esquimau women are shorter of stature than the men, and walk with short, mincing steps, showing a stoop similar to their husbands. they have small hands and feet, with faces that any one would pronounce good looking. they comb their hair to an apex, which, if the woman is married, is tied with a blue ribbon; if a widow, with black; and if a maiden, with green. the females generally wear collars of beads, with lace-work patterns and vivid colors. the waist is generally of woolen stuff, and here the same fondness for bright colors displays itself. it has no buttons, and is donned and doffed by passing over the head, and is fastened at the waist with a belt. then come a pair of short trousers of sealskin, which are tastefully ornamented. below these are the long-legged moccasins, also ornamented by the deft handiwork of the native owners. the dress of the children is the same as the parents. chapter xviii a new expedition docak had no children, the single son born to him ten years before having died in infancy. his wife was about his age, and had noticeably lighter skin and bright brown eyes. it was evident that she had more white blood in her veins than her husband, who was of mixed breed. docak did not knock before entering. his wife was trimming the lamp at the moment, and looked around to see whom he had brought with him. she must have felt surprised, but, if so, she concealed all evidence of it. she smiled in her pleasant way, showing her fine white teeth, and said in a low, soft voice, "con-ji-meet," which is the native word for welcome. her first curiosity was concerning the boys, with whom she shook hands, but, when she turned to the grinning jack, she made no effort to hide her astonishment, for he had addressed her by name. "crestana, i guess you haven't forgot jack cosgrove?" "oh! oh! oh! dat you--much glad! much glad!" she said, laughing more heartily than her husband had done. she was very vivacious, and, though she could not speak the english tongue as well as he, she made it up by her earnestness. "so glad--much glad--whale kill vessel ag'in? docak bring no ice? where capen? how you be? crestana glad to see you--yes, heap much glad." "by the great horned spoon," said jack, holding the small hand of crestana in his hearty grasp, and looking around at the others with one of his broadest grins; "the women are the same the world over; they can talk faster than a greenland harrycane, and when they're glad they're glad all over, and clean through. docak, you're a purty good chap, but you aint half good enough for such a wife as crestana, and that reminds me we're as hungry as git out." the wife evidently thought the sailor was a funny fellow, for she broke into merry laughter again, and, disengaging her hand, hurried into the kitchen, where she had been busying herself with her husband's supper. the visitors, knowing how heartily welcome they were, seated themselves on the benches, doffed their heavy outer clothing, and made themselves as much at home as if in the cabin of the "nautilus." they leaned their rifles in the corner near the table, alongside of the long muzzle-loader and several spears belonging to docak. a large supply of dry driftwood was piled near the window, and from this the native kept such a glow in the stove that the whole interior was filled with grateful warmth. in the course of a few moments crestana bustled in, her pretty teeth showing between her lips as she chatted with jack and her husband. she drew the table out near the middle of the room, and quickly brought in some fish, "done to a turn." she furnished coffee, too, and the three guests who partook of her hospitality insist to this day that never in the wide world will they ever taste such fragrant coffee and such delicately-flavored fish as they feasted upon that night in docak's hut. but we must not forget that they had the best sauce ever known--hunger. the meal was enlivened by lively conversation, in which jack managed to tell the story of the mishap that had befallen himself and companions. she showed less interest in the boys than in the sailor, though, as may be supposed, rob and fred were charmed with her simplicity and good-nature. she placed spoons, knives and forks, cups, saucers, and plates before them, and there was a neatness about herself and the room which added doubly to its attractiveness, and did much to enlighten the youths about these people, whom they supposed to be barely half civilized. when the meal was finished, and the wife occupied herself in clearing away things, docak brought out a couple of pipes, filled with tobacco, and offered one each to rob and fred. they, declining with thanks, he did the same to jack, who accepted one, and a minute later the two were puffing away like a couple of veteran devotees of the weed. the boys felt some curiosity to learn how it was that docak, whose manner of living proved that he knew the ways of the more civilized people among the settlements, made his home in this lonely place, far removed from all neighbors. they could not learn everything that evening but they ascertained it afterward. docak had lived awhile in invernik, and then took up his residence at ivigtut, where he lived until four or five years before rob and fred met him. it was in the latter place he married crestana, and it was there that his only child died. the loss of the little one made him morose for awhile, and he got into a difficulty with one of his people, in which, in the eyes of the law, docak was wholly to blame. he was punished, and, in resentment, he withdrew to a place on the west coast, about sixty miles north of the famous cryolite mines. there he lived, alone with his wife, as serenely contented as he could be anywhere. he made occasional visits to ivigtut, to invernik, julianshaab, and other settlements, but it was only for the purpose of getting ammunition and other supplies which could be obtained in no other way. docak was not only a skilled fisherman, but, what is rare among his class of people, he was a great hunter. he was sometimes absent for days at a time in the interior, traveling many miles on snow-shoes, forcing his way over the icy mountains and braving the arctic blasts that had driven back many a hardy european from his search for the north pole. while he was absent his wife went about her duties with calm contentment, where a more sensitive person would have gone out of her mind from very loneliness and desolation. our friends having effected their escape from the iceberg, it was time to decide what next should be done. the most obvious course was to go to ivigtut, where they could obtain the means of returning to england, most likely by way of denmark, and possibly might hear something of the "nautilus," if she had survived the gale which caused her to part company with jack and the boys. the kayak was strong enough to carry them, and docak could make the voyage in a couple of days. this rob and fred supposed would be the plan adopted, but the native put another idea into their heads which caused in a twinkling a radical change of programme, and brought an experience to the two of which neither dreamed. while docak and jack sat beside each other on the longer bench, smoking and talking, the native frequently cast admiring glances at the rifles leaning against the wall in the corner. finally he rose, and, walking over, examined the three weapons, taking up each in turn and holding it so the light from the lamp fell upon it. he was most struck with rob's, which had more ornamentation than the others. it was a modern loader, but not a repeater. "he berry good," he remarked, setting it down again in the corner and resuming his place on the bench beside his friend; "why you not go hunting with me 'fore go to ivigtut?" jack saw the eyes of the boys sparkle at the suggestion. why not, indeed, go on a hunting excursion into the interior before they returned to the settlement? what was to prevent? it would take but a few days, and there is royal game to be found in greenland. docak explained that this was the time of the year when he was accustomed to indulge in a long hunt. twelve months before he had brought down some animals rarely ever encountered in that portion of the country, and he was hopeful of doing the same again, when he could have his friends to help. so the matter needed only to be broached to be settled. the whole party would go on a hunt, and they would start the following morning, returning whenever they deemed best, and then making their way to ivigtut at a leisurely rate, set about their return home, if that should be deemed the best course. the warmth and smoke in the room led the boys to decide to step outside a brief while, to inhale the crisp air, and, inviting fred to follow, rob sprang up and hurried in a stooping posture through the long entry-way. fred stopped a minute in the road to peep through the opening into the kitchen, where the thrifty housewife was busy. she smiled pleasantly at him, and he might have lingered had he not heard the voice of his friend. "hurry out, fred! here's the most wonderful sight you ever saw. quick, or you will lose it!" fred lost no time in rushing after rob, whose excitement was fully justified. chapter xix a wonderful exhibition unto no one, excepting him who journeys far into the northland, is given it to view such an amazing picture as was now spread out before the enraptured gaze of rob carrol and fred warburton. in northern siberia, the scandinavian peninsula, the upper portion of the american continent, and the arctic sea, the traveler learns in all its wonderful fullness of glory the meaning of the aurora borealis or northern lights. the boys had had partial glimpses of the scene on their voyage through the greenland sea, and there were flickerings of light which caught their eye on the trip from the iceberg to the mainland, and the short walk to docak's hut, but it was during their short stay in the rude dwelling that the mysterious scene-shifters of the skies unfolded their magnificent panorama in all its overwhelming grandeur. radiating from a huge nucleus, which seemed to be the north pole itself, shot the streamers of light, so vast in extent that their extremities struck the zenith, withdrawing with lightning-like quickness, and succeeded by others with the same celerity and displaying all the vivid hues of the rainbow. at times these dartings resembled immense spears, and then they changed to bands of light, turning again into ribbons which shivered and hovered in the sky, with bewildering variation, turning and doubling upon themselves, spreading apart like an immense fan, and then trembling on the very verge of the horizon, as if about to vanish in the darkness of night. at the moment the spectators held their breath, fearing that the celestial display was ended; the streamers, spears, bands of violet, indigo, blue, orange, red, green, and yellow, with the innumerable shades, combinations, and mingling of colors, shot out and spread over the sky like the myriad rays of the setting sun. this continued for several minutes, marked by irregular degrees of intensity, so impressive in its splendor that neither lad spoke, for he could make no comment upon the exhibition, the like of which is seen nowhere else in nature. but once both gave a sigh of amazed delight when a ribbon, combining several vivid colors, quivered, danced, and streamed far beyond the zenith, with a wary appearance that suggested that some giant, standing upon the extreme northern point of the earth, had suddenly unrolled this marvelous ribbon and was waving it in the eyes of an awestruck world. one of the most striking features of those mysterious electrical phenomena known as the northern lights is the absolute silence which accompanies them. the genius of man can never approach in the smallest degree the beauties of the picture without some noise, but here nature performs her most wonderful feat in utter stillness. the panorama may unfold, roll together, spread apart again with dazzling brilliancy and suddenness, but the strained ear catches no sound, unless dissociated altogether from the phenomenon itself, such as the soft sighing of the arctic wind over the wastes of snow, or through the grove of solemn pines. there were moments when the effulgence spread over the earth, like the rays of the midnight sun, and the lads, standing in front of the primitive dwelling of the esquimau, resembled a couple of figures stamped in ink in the radiant field. for nearly an hour the rapt spectators stood near the entrance to the native dwelling, insensible to the extreme cold, and too profoundly impressed to speak or stir; but the heavens had given too great a wealth of splendor, brilliancy, color, and celestial scene-shifting to continue it long. the subtle exchange of electrical conditions must have reached something like an equipoise, and the overwhelming beauty and grandeur exhausted itself. the ribbons and streamers that had been darting to and beyond the zenith, shortened their lightning excursions into space, leaping forth at longer intervals and to a decreasing distance, until they ceased altogether, displaying a few flickerings in the horizon, as though eager to bound forth again, but restrained by a superior hand with the command, "enough for this time." fred drew a deep sigh. "i never dreamed that anywhere in the world one could see such a sight as that." "it is worth a voyage from home a hundred times over, and i don't regret our stay on the iceberg, for we would have been denied it otherwise." "if there are any people living near the north pole, it must be like dwelling in another world. i don't see how they stand it." "i believe that the northern lights have their origin between here and the pole," said fred; "though i am not sure of that." "the magnetic pole, which must be the source of the display, is south of the earth's pole, and i suppose that's the reason for the belief you mention. but it is enough to fill one with awe, when he gazes on the scene and reflects that the world is one great reservoir of electricity, which, if left free for a moment by its author, would shiver the globe into nothingness, and leave only an empty void where the earth swung before." "i pity the man who says, 'there is no god,' or who can look unmoved to the very depths of his soul by such displays of infinite power." "there are no such persons," exclaimed rob, impatiently; "they may repeat the words, because they think it brave and smart before their companions, but they don't believe themselves. it is impossible." "why didn't we think to tell jack and docak, that they might have enjoyed the scene with us?" "the native esquimaux see it too often to care about it. it is hard to understand how any one can become accustomed to it, but we know it is so. as for jack, he must have looked upon it many times before, when he was in this latitude. gracious! but it has become cold," added rob, with a shiver. "it isn't any colder than it has been all the evening, but we forgot about it while the exhibition was going on." the boys turned about, and, ducking their heads, made their way along the long entry, quickly debouching into the warmth and glow of the living room, where docak and the sailor, having laid away their pipes, were talking like a couple of old friends who had not seen each other for years and were exchanging experiences. crestana had finished her work in the kitchen and joined them. she was sitting on the shorter bench, and, like a thrifty housewife, was engaged in repairing some of her husband's bulky garments, with big needles and coarse thread. she looked up with her pleasant smile, as the boys entered, their bodies shivering and their teeth chattering from the extreme cold. "you chaps must have found it mighty pleasant out-doors," remarked the sailor. "ah! jack, if you had been with us, you would have seen a sight worth a journey around the world." "what was it? another polar bear, or two of them?" "the northern lights, and o--" "the northern lights," interrupted their friend, with a sniff of disgust; "is that all?" the boys looked at him, too horrified to speak. "i'll own that they are rather purty, and the first two or three times a chap looks onto 'em he is apt to hold his breath, and rub his eyes, but, when you've seed 'em as often as me, it'll get to be an old story. besides docak and me had more important bus'ness to talk about." "what was that?" "this hunting trip; it's all fixed." "when do we start?" "to-morrow morning. there's no saying how long we'll be gone, and i've told him that it doesn't make any difference to us, so we get back some time this year." "can we travel without snow-shoes?" "luckily we can, for docak has only two pair. this fog and a little rain we've had have formed a crust on the snow hard enough to bear a reindeer, so that we can travel over it as easy as if it were solid ice. the only thing to be feared is another deep fall of snow afore we can get back. that would make hard traveling, but then a hunter must take some risk and who cares? we may see sights and meet fun that will last us a lifetime." chapter xx the herd of musk oxen one of the most interesting animals found in the frozen regions of the north is the musk ox, his favorite haunt being on the mainland of the continent in the neighborhood of the arctic circle, though he is occasionally met in greenland. the fact that the animal has no muzzle has led some naturalists to separate him from the ox species and give him the name of ovibos. he is smaller in size than his domestic brother, very low on his legs, and covered with a wealth of wool and dark brown hair, which, during the cold weather, almost touches the ground. a whitish spot on the back is called the saddle, though it is not to be supposed that it is ever intended for that purpose. one of the most striking features of the musk ox is his horns, which sometimes weigh fifty or sixty pounds. they are flattened at the base, the flat sides turned outward, and form a sort of shield or protection for the face. at certain seasons he is one of the most odoriferous animals in creation. during the spring the musky odor is so strong that it can be detected on the first knife thrust into his body. at other seasons it is hardly perceptible, and the eating is excellent. although his legs are so short he can travel swiftly, and shows a facility in climbing mountains that no one would suspect on looking at the animal the first time. it suggests the chamois in this respect. he feeds on lichens during a part of the year, and on grass and moss during the rest. some distance back of the native esquimau's hut, the land inclined upward, becoming quite rough and mountainous not far from the coast. it was among these wild hilly regions that a herd of musk oxen, numbering eleven, were browsing one afternoon, with no thought of disturbance from man or beast. perhaps the last should be excepted, for the oxen are accustomed to herd together for the purpose of mutual protection against the ravening wolves who would make short work of one or two of them, when detached from the main herd. but it is not to be supposed that the thought of bipedal foes entered their thick skulls, for the esquimau is not a hunter as a rule, and confines his operations to fishing in the waters near his home. the herd referred to had gradually worked their way upward among the mountains, until they reached a plateau, several acres in extent. there a peculiar swirling gale had, at some time or other, swept most of the space quite clear of snow, and left bare the stubby grass and moss, which, at certain seasons, formed the only sustenance of the animals. it was a lucky find for the oxen, for in the far north, with its ice and snow, it is an eternal battle between the wild animals and starvation, the victory not infrequently being with the latter. it was rare that the oxen found food so plentiful, and they were certain to remain there, if permitted, until hardly a spear was left for those who might come after them. the largest ox of the party was grazing along the upper edge of the plateau, some rods removed from the others. he had struck a spot where the grass and moss were more abundant, and he was putting in his best work. suddenly he caught a suspicious sound. throwing up his head, with the food dripping from the motionless jaws, he stared in the direction whence it came, possibly with the fear of wolves. instead of seeing one of the latter he descried an object fully as terrifying in the shape of a young man, clad in thick clothing from head to foot, and with a rifle in his hands. the name of this young man was fred warburton, and he had reached this advantageous spot after long and careful climbing from the plain below. he was studying the creatures closely, now that he had succeeded in gaining a nearer view, for, on the way thither, docak had told him much concerning them, and they had become objects of great interest. fred was alone, and had spent several minutes in surveying the brutes before he coughed with the purpose of attracting attention for a few seconds. then, slipping his mitten from his right hand, the lad brought his rifle to his shoulder and sighted at the animal. he had forgotten to inquire at what part to aim, but it seemed to him that the head was the most vulnerable, and he directed his weapon at a point midway between the eyes and near the centre of the forehead. at the very instant of pressing the trigger the ox slightly lowered his head, and, instead of boring its way through the skull, the bullet impinged against the horny mass above, and glanced off without causing injury. fred was startled when he observed the failure, for his friends were too far away to give him support, and it was necessary to place another cartridge in the chamber of his weapon before it could be used. he proceeded to do so, without stirring a foot, and with a coolness which no veteran hunter ever excelled. but if fred stood still the musk ox was very far from doing so. one glance only at the youth was enough, when, with a snort, he whirled about, galloped a few paces, and then wheeled with marked quickness, and faced the young hunter again. while engaged in this performance his snortings drew the attention of his companions, who, throwing up their heads, galloped to him, and the whole eleven speedily stood side by side, facing the point whence the attack had come. they were of formidable appearance, indeed, for, with lowered heads, they pawed up the earth and began cautiously advancing upon the boy, who had his cartridge in place and was ready for another shot. but instead of one musk ox he was confronted by eleven! "my gracious!" he said to himself; "this is a larger contract than i thought of. if they will only come at me one at a time i wouldn't mind. i wonder where the other folks are?" he glanced right and left, but nothing was to be seen of rob or jack or docak. it looked as if a line of retreat should be provided, and he ventured a glance to the rear. he saw a mass of rocks within a hundred yards, against which a good deal of snow had been driven, and he concluded that that was the only available refuge, with no certainty that it would prove a refuge at all. "being as i shall have to fetch up there to save myself, and being that those beasts can travel faster than i, it wouldn't be a bad idea to begin edging that way now." he would have been glad to whirl about and dash off, reserving his shot until he reached the rocks, but for his belief that such an attempt would be fatal to himself. nothing encourages man or animal so much as the sight of a flying foe, and he was sure that he would instantly have the whole herd at his heels, and they would overhaul him too before he could attain his shelter. it was a test of his nerves, indeed. there were eleven musk oxen, heads lowered, eyes staring, with low, muttering bellows, pawing and flinging the dirt behind them, while they continued advancing upon the motionless lad, who, having but one shot immediately at command, sought to decide where it could be sent so as to do the most good. the fellow at which he fired was the largest of the herd, and it was plain to see that he was commander-in-chief. upon receiving the shot on his horns he had summoned his followers about him, and no doubt told them of the outrage and whispered in their ears the single word "vengeance." it naturally struck fred that the single shot should be directed at the leader, for possibly, if he fell, the others would be thrown into a panic and scatter. at any rate, it was the only hope, and, without waiting a tenth part of the time it has taken us to tell it, he brought his rifle to a level and aimed at the big fellow. the distance was so short that there was no excuse for repeating his blunder, or, rather, accident. he sighted the best he knew how, and, while the fellow was still pawing and advancing, let fly, hitting him fairly between the eyes. the lad paused just long enough to learn that his shot was effective, when he whirled on his heel, without waiting for more, and ran as he never ran before. chapter xxi close quarters at this moment, when it would be thought that the incident was at its most thrilling crisis, it assumed a ludicrous phase, at which any spectator must have laughed heartily. fred, as i have said, made for the protecting rocks, with all the energy of which he was capable. on the way thither he dropped one mitten, then his gun flew from his grasp, and a chill passed through his frame, at the consciousness that he had lost his only means of defense; but he dared not check himself long enough to pick it up, for in fancy he heard the whole ten thundering after him and almost upon his heels. the distance to travel was short, but it seemed twice its real extent, and he feared he would never reach it. he was running for life, however, and he got over the ground faster than would be supposed. panting and half-exhausted, he arrived at last, and darted breathlessly behind the rugged mass of boulders. his heart almost gave way when he found it what he feared; a simple pile of stones, partly covered with snow, but presenting nothing that could be used for protection. the only portion was the top, but that was too high for him to climb the perpendicular sides. it was at this moment he cast a terrified glance behind him, and uttered the single exclamation: "well, if that doesn't beat all creation!" what did he see? the whole ten musk oxen scampering in the opposite direction, apparently in as great a panic as himself. the truth of it is the musk ox is one of the most cowardly animals in existence. all the pawing of dirt, the bellowing, and threatening advance upon an enemy is simply "bluff." at the first real danger he takes himself off like the veritable booby that he is. as soon as fred could recover his wind he broke into laughter at the thought of his causeless scare. he might as well have stood his ground and fired into them at his leisure. "i'm glad rob didn't see me," he reflected as he came from behind the rock and set out to regain his lost weapon and mitten; "he would have had it on me bad--" a shiver ran through him, for he surely heard something like a chuckle that had a familiar sound. he looked around, but could discover no cause for it. "no; it wouldn't have done for him or jack to have had a glimpse of me running away from the oxen that were going just as hard from me--" "hello, fred, where's your gun?" it was rob carrol and no one else, who stepped into sight from the other side of the rocks and came toward him, shaking so much with mirth that he could hardly walk. "what's the matter with you?" demanded fred, savagely; "you seem to find cause for laughter where no one else can." "o fred! if you only could have seen yourself tearing for the rocks, your gun flying one way, your mitten another, your eyes bulging out, and you too scared to look behind at the animals that were going still faster right from you, why you would have tumbled down and called it the funniest sight in the world." "if i had seen you with your life in danger i wouldn't have stopped to laugh, but would have gone to your help." "so would i have gone to yours, but the trouble was your neck wasn't in danger, though i guess you thought it was." "why didn't you fire into the herd?" "what for? they were too far off to take the chances of bringing them down, and you had killed the leader." "why, then, didn't you yell to me to stop my running?" "i tried to, but couldn't for laughing; then, too, fred, it wasn't long before you found it out yourself. if, when we get home, you want to enter the races as a sprinter, i will back you against the field. i tell you, old fellow, you surpassed yourself." by this time the younger lad had rallied, and saw that his exhibition of ill-temper only made him ridiculous. he turned toward his companion with a smile, and asked, in his quaint way: "what'll you take, rob, not to mention this to jack or any of the rest of our friends?" "i'll try not to do so, but, if it should happen to drop from me some time, don't get mad and tear your hair." "never mind," said fred, significantly; "this hunt isn't finished yet, and i may get a chance to turn the laugh on you." "if you do, then i'll make the bargain." "perhaps you will, but that will be as i feel about it. but, i say, did you ever know of any such cowardly animals as the musk ox? if they had gone for me, where would i have been?" "i doubt whether they could have caught you, but they are stupid cowards, who don't know their own strength." "i wonder whether they always act this way." "most of the time, but not always. i heard docak telling jack how he once put two bullets into a bull, which kept on for him like a steam engine. he flung himself behind a lot of rocks, just as you did, when the beast was right upon him. he struck the stones with such force that he shattered his horns and was thrown back on the ground like a ball. before he could rise his wounds overcame him, and he gave it up, but it was a narrow escape for the esquimau." "it might have been the same with me," added fred, who could not recall, without a shudder, those few seconds when he faced the leader with his herd ranged alongside of him; "but all's well that ends well. where are jack and docak?" as if in answer to the question the reports of the guns broke upon their ears at that moment, and they saw the two hunters standing on the lower edge of the plateau, firing into the terrified animals that were almost upon them. instead of turning to run, as fred had done, immediately after firing, they quietly held their places and began coolly reloading their pieces. there was good ground for their self-confidence. their shots were so well aimed that two of the oxen tumbled to the ground, while the others, whirling again, came thundering in the direction of the rocks, near which the lads were watching them. "that sight is enough to scare any one," remarked fred. "if you want to turn and run again," said rob, "i'll pick up your gun and both of your mittens, if you drop them." "don't fret yourself; if i can beat you when you had that polar bear at your heels no beast could overtake me." "the difference between that and this was that the brute was at my heels, while your pursuers were running the other way. however, we'll drop the matter, old fellow, since i have had all the fun i want out of it. it may be upon me next time." "i hope it will, and, if so, i won't forget it; but, rob, this begins to look serious." although the youths were in plain view, the musk oxen continued their flight straight toward them. unless they changed very quickly or the lads got out of the way a collision was certain. "you may stay here if you think it smart," said fred, a second later, "but i don't." despite the exhibition he had made of himself a few minutes before he moved briskly toward the rocks, behind which he whisked like one who had no time to waste. to show him how causeless was his alarm, rob raised his gun, and, taking a quick aim at the foremost, let fly. "that'll settle them!" he called out; "see how quickly they will turn tail." but they did not adopt this course as promptly as rob expected. he had struck one of them, but without inflicting much hurt. there is a latent courage in every beast, which, under certain stress, can be aroused to activity, and this shot had done it. rob stood his ground for an instant or two. then he awoke to the fact that his shot was not going to turn a single one of the eight musk oxen from his course. they thundered toward him like so many furies, and were almost upon him before he realized that he had already waited too long. chapter xxii fred's turn at the moment rob carrol wheeled to run the foremost of the musk oxen was upon him. this animal was the largest of the herd, after the fall of the leader, whose place he had undoubtedly taken by the unanimous wish of the survivors. perhaps he was eager to prove to his companions his worthiness to fill the shoes of the late lamented commander, for, although one of the most dreaded of enemies stood directly in his path, and had just emptied his gun at him, he charged upon him like a cyclone. meanwhile, fred warburton, having darted behind the rocks, lost no time in slipping another cartridge in his gun. he would have assumed any risk before permitting harm to come to his friend, but, somehow or other, he yearned for the chance of saving him from just such a disaster as was now upon him. [illustration: the ox bounded directly over his body (see page )] had rob started a moment sooner he would have escaped, but in his desperate haste he fell headlong, and the ox bounded directly over his body, fortunately, without touching him. the other animals were unequal to the draught upon their courage, and diverged sharply, some to the right and the rest to the left, circling back over the plateau on whose margin jack cosgrove and docak were waiting until they came within certain range. "fred, fire quick! my gun's unloaded!" called rob from where he lay on the ground; "don't wait a second or it'll be too late!" fred did fire, sending the bullet with such accuracy that it wound up the business. precisely the same catastrophe, described by the esquimau to the sailor took place. the ox, coming with such desperate speed, was carried forward by its own terrific momentum. it may be said that he was dead before he could fall; he certainly was unconscious of what he was doing, for he crashed against the rocks, as if driven from an enormous catapult and then collapsed, in a senseless heap, with his flat horns smashed and broken to fragments. fred warburton saw that his "turn" had arrived, and he made the most of it. rob had been merciless to him, and he was now ready to pay him off in his own coin. "i wouldn't lie down there, rob," he said, gravely, "for the ground must be cold." "it does seem rather chilly--that's a fact," replied his friend, who, knowing what was coming, slowly climbed to his feet; "i didn't think of that when i lay down." "what made you lie down at all?" "you see i noticed that the creature didn't mean to turn about and travel the other way as yours did; there was the difference. then i knew, too, that he must be tired from running so hard, and it struck me as a kind thing to do to serve as a rug or carpet for him." "you did so, and no mistake. if i'm not in error," continued fred, with a quizzical expression, "i heard you call out a minute ago something about my hurrying up and firing so as to save your life." "i say anything like that! what put such an idea in your head? it must have been the echo of your voice, when you were running away from the ox that was running away from you." and rob assumed an expression of innocent surprise that would have convinced any one else than fred of his mistake. "it is singular, but no doubt i am in error," said he, resignedly. "it must have been some one else that sprawled on the ground, and begged me to shoot quick or he was a goner; it must have been another vaunting young man, who looked up so pityingly, and was too scared to try to get on his feet until i shot the ox for him, just as i did the polar bear, when another minute would have finished him; but i'd like to see that other fellow," added fred, looking around, as if in quest of him. "i'll help you search," said rob, in the same serious manner; "and as soon as i run across him i'll introduce you two. you'll be congenial to each other. until then suppose we let the matter rest." "i won't promise that," returned fred, following up his advantage; "it depends on whether certain other matters are referred to." rob now laughed outright and offered his hand, which his friend readily took. the words were uttered hurriedly, for it was hardly the time or place for conversation. the popping of rifles was renewed from another part of the plateau, and several other musk oxen had tumbled to the ground. a half-dozen survivors managed to get it through their heads that they had enemies on both sides, and, seeing an opening, they plunged through it and were seen no more. the boys devoted some minutes to inspecting the two animals that had fallen by the rifle of fred warburton. they were a couple of the largest specimens of their kind, but the description already given renders anything like a repetition unnecessary. although it was the favorable season of the year, the youths detected a slight musky odor exhaling from the bodies, which was anything but pleasant. docak and jack were observed approaching across the plateau. both were in high spirits over the success that had marked this essay in hunting the musk ox, and the esquimau assured them that despite the odor to which they objected, he would furnish them with one of the best suppers they had ever eaten. the lads, however, could not feel quite assured on that point. it may as well be stated in this place that the spot where the animals were shot was about thirty miles inland from the home of docak, and a great many leagues south of upernavik, the most northernmost settlement on the greenland coast. it is beyond this quaint arctic town, in the neighborhood of melville bay, that the musk ox has his true _habitat_. there, although the animals are diminishing in number, he may be found by any one who chooses to hunt for him. the fact that docak had met them so far south was extraordinary, and, up to the previous year, he had never known of such a thing, nor did he believe there were any besides this particular herd within hundreds of miles of the spot, nor that they were likely ever to be seen there again. it took our friends two days and a part of a night to reach this portion of the arctic highlands. they had looked for foxes, reindeer, ptarmigan, hares, and other game on the way, but failed to run across any game until they came upon the musk oxen. had not the esquimau been thoughtful enough to bring a lunch of cold fish, they would have suffered from hunger. as it was, all felt the need of food, and the prospect of a dinner upon the game at their feet was inviting, indeed. the esquimau would not have bothered with the cooking had he been alone, but, out of deference to his friends, he prepared to make a meal according to their tastes. inasmuch as so much game had been bagged, they could afford to be choice. they cut the tongues from the animals, together with some slices from the tenderest portion of their bodies, and had sufficient to satisfy all their appetites and leave something over. no better place for camping was likely to be found than these hills, but a shelter was desirable, and docak set out to lead the way further among them. his manner showed that he was familiar with the section, for he did not go far before he came upon the very place for which fred warburton longed when making his desperate flight from the bull that he supposed was at his heels. it was a cavern among the rocks, as extensive as his own living room at home, and approached by an entrance, which if not so extended as his own entry, was of still less dimensions, causing them to stoop and creep for part of the way. "me be here 'fore," said he; "like de place?" "i should say we did," replied the pleased rob, echoing the sentiments of his friends; "but we shall need some fuel to cook the food and keep warm, and wood isn't very abundant in this part of the world." "we git wood," was the rather vague reply, whose meaning was not understood until they had penetrated into the cavern, which was lightened by a crevice on one side of the entrance. this permitted enough daylight to enter to reveal the interior quite plainly. it took the boys a few minutes to accustom their eyes to the gloom, but when they did so they were no less pleased than surprised at what they saw. chapter xxiii in the cavern that which the astonished visitors looked upon was a pile of wood at one side of the cavern big enough to build a roaring fire that would last for hours. this place must have formed the headquarters of docak when indulging in the occasional hunts that are anything but popular among the coast natives. the esquimau did not carry lucifer matches with him, but, on the other hand, he was not forced to use the primitive means common among savages. he possessed a flint and tinder such as our forefathers used and are still popular in some parts of the world. but rob and fred did not exhaust their supply of matches in trying to scorch the bear steak on the iceberg, and when everything was ready to start the blaze they did so with little trouble. the smoke bothered them at first, but it gradually wound its way through the opening, so that breathing became quite comfortable. docak cooked the tongues with a skill born of long experience. there was just the faintest trace of musk, but not enough to interfere with the vigorous appetites, which could afford to disregard trifles. the meal proved to be what he had promised--one of the most grateful they had ever eaten. there was a good deal left after the supper was finished, and this was laid aside for future contingencies, since the experience of their approach to this spot taught them to be prepared for an extended deprivation of food. indeed, the native esquimau sometimes goes for days, apparently with no craving in that direction, though it must be there all the same. when he finally secures nourishment, he stuffs prodigiously--so much so indeed that a civilized person would die of gluttony. he calmly waits, however, until able to hold a little more, when he resumes cramming the food down his throat, keeping it up until at last he is satisfied. then he sleeps, hour after hour, and, on waking, is ready to resume his frightful gormandizing. by the time the meal was finished the long arctic night began closing in. looking through the crevice on the side, and the entrance, they saw that the day was fast fading. the air was as clear as crystal and very cold. the boys had no extra garments to bring with them, but docak, despite his cumbrous suit, carried the fur of a polar bear that he had shot a couple of years before. this was not only warm, but had the advantages over many pelts of being vermin proof. when traveling over the snow docak had a way of using this extra garment, like a shawl, so that his arms were free. it was now spread upon the solid rock, and, though it was not extensive enough to wrap about the forms of the four, it furnished a couch for all, as they lay with their bodies near together, and it was most welcome indeed. it might seem that our friends ran an imprudent risk in venturing this far from the coast without snow-shoes; for, in the event of a thaw, the work of traveling the thirty miles would tax their endurance to the utmost. the snow was several feet deep on a level, and was drifted in places as high as a house. who could make his way through instead of over this? but all misgivings on that score were ended by docak telling his friends there would be no thaw for days, weeks, and, perhaps, not for months. it was more likely to be the other way. the surface, as i have intimated, was as easily walked upon as the floor of a house. so long as it remained thus there was no need of snow-shoes or anything like artificial help. the fire made it so cheerful and the warmth was so pleasant that it was decided to keep it going for an hour or two, and then let it die out after they fell asleep. there would be considerable fuel left for morning, and the blaze was not really necessary, unless the weather should take one of those appalling plunges during which a red-hot stove seems to lose all power. as was docak's custom, when staying in an inclosed place like this, he sauntered out doors before lying down to slumber, in order to take a look at the weather and the surroundings. the life of the esquimaux makes them wonderfully skillful readers of impending changes of temperature. signs which are invisible to others are as intelligible to them as the pages of a printed book to us. the native remained absent a considerable while, until his friends began speculating as to the cause. "maybe he has caught sight of another of those musk oxen, and wants to bring him down," suggested rob. "there is no call to do that when so many of them lie on the frozen ground, where they will keep for months unless the wolves find them." "they'll be pretty certain to do that," continued rob; "but then he may have caught sight of a bull, and both may want to try a race by starting in opposite directions and seeing which can travel first around the world." "that would be a sight worth seeing," fred hastened to say, "unless he fell down and bawled for some one to come to his help, after firing his gun and missing the game by about a rod." jack cosgrove looked wonderingly at his young friends, puzzled to know what this curious talk meant. to him there was no sense in it. rob and fred thought they had ventured as far upon forbidden ground as was prudent, so they veered off. while they were talking docak reappeared. his feet were heard on the crust of the snow for several seconds before he was visible, for there was no call to guard against noise. as he straightened up in the cavern he stood a moment without speaking. then, stepping to the wood, he threw a number of sticks on the blaze, causing an illumination that made the interior as light as day. jack was better acquainted with the native's moods than the boys could be expected to be, and the first sight of the honest fellow's countenance by the added light told him he was troubled over something. evidently he had made some unpleasant discovery. "he'll let me know what it is," concluded the sailor, deeming it best not to question him; "i can't imagine what would make him feel so uneasy, but he's got something on his mind--that's sartin." docak was on the point of speaking more than once, but some impulse led him to close his lips at the moment the all-important matter was about to become known. he probably would have kept it to himself altogether had not a question of rob given him an opportunity too inviting to be resisted. "which course will we take to-morrow, docak?" "dat way--we trabel fast as can, too." the astonishment of the three may be understood when they saw him point directly toward his own home--that is, in the direction of the seacoast, and over the course they had just completed. their purpose when they set out was to penetrate at least double the distance in the interior, and now he declared for a withdrawal. not only that, but the manner of the native proved that he considered the crisis imminent, and that no time was to be lost in carrying out his unexpected decision. jack knew him so well that he was right in deciding that his hesitancy of manner was caused by his doubt whether he should insist upon his friends starting at once, or allow them to defer it until morning. "what's the trouble, docak?" asked the sailor, now that the subject was broached; "i never saw you look so scared--" at that moment the dismal cry of a wolf reached their ears, quickly followed by others. the gaunt creatures that seem born ravenously hungry, and always remain so, had scented the rich feast that awaited them on the plateau, and were hurrying thither from all directions. soon nothing would be left but the bones of the game brought down by the rifles of the hunters. rob and fred naturally concluded the moment these sounds were identified that it was because of them the native was frightened, he having discovered them before the rest; but jack knew it was from some other reason. he saw nothing alarming in the approach of a pack of wild animals. the four were well armed, they had a fire, were in a cavern, and could stand off all the wolves in greenland for a time at least. "no, it isn't that," muttered the sailor; "but if he doesn't choose to tell i sha'n't coax him." chapter xxiv unwelcome callers within the following fifteen minutes it seemed as if a thousand wolves had arrived on the plateau, and were fighting, feasting, snarling, and rending the bodies of the musk oxen to fragments. they were far enough removed from the cavern for the inmates to hear each other readily, while discussing the curious occurrence. the boys could not contemplate a visit from the ravening beasts with the indifference of their companions. to them it seemed that the brutes would be rendered ten-fold fiercer by their taste of blood, and would not stop until they had devoured them. "do you think they will visit us?" asked rob of docak. the latter was standing in the middle of the cavern, in the attitude of listening. he nodded his head, and replied: "yes--eat ox--den come here." "if that is so i think we ought to prepare for them," suggested fred, who shared the nervousness of his friend. "how can we prepare more than we're prepared now?" asked jack; "they've got to come in that opening one at a time, and it will be fun for us to set back here and pick 'em off." "provided they don't crowd in so fast that we can't do it." "with four guns, i reckon we oughter take care of ourselves." "dere fire, too," remarked the esquimau, jerking his head in the direction of the flames. "ah, i forgot that," said rob, with a sigh of relief, recalling the dread which all animals have of fire. indeed, he felt certain at the moment that the burning wood would prove far more effective than their weapons in keeping off the wolves. it would be supposed that the bodies on the plateau were enough to keep the brutes occupied for a long time, and to afford them a meal sufficient to satisfy them for the night; but who ever saw a wolf when not ravenously hungry? they howled, and snarled, and fought, and pressed around the carcasses in such numbers that, when only the bones remained, it may be said that their appetites were but fairly whetted, and they were more eager than ever after additional prey. fully a score, in their keenness of scent, had been quick to strike the trail of the surviving musk oxen that had fled from the hot fire of the hunters. the scent was the more easily followed since a couple of the animals had been wounded, and there can be little doubt that all fell before the ferocity of their assailants, though the musk ox makes a brave fight ere he succumbs to those cowardly creatures. darting hither and yon, with their pointed snouts skimming over the ground, it was not long before several struck the footprints of the party that had taken refuge in the cavern. a dozen or, perhaps, a score would not have dared attack them had they not been inflamed by the taste of food already secured. as it was, they were aroused to that point that they were ready to assail any foe that could help to satisfy their voracity. "here they come!" exclaimed rob carrol, springing to his feet, with rifle ready. "yes--dey come--dat so." while the native was speaking he stood motionless, but with inimitable dexterity brought his gun to a level, and, apparently without any aim at all, let drive into the pack crowding toward the entrance to the cavern. no aim was necessary, for the wolves pressed so close that no one person could fail to bring down one at least of them. amid the snarling and growling rang out a single sharp yelp, which proved that some member of the pack was "hit hard." whether struck mortally or not made no difference, for the moment blood appeared upon him his comrades fell upon him with unspeakable ferocity and tore him limb from limb. the shot had the effect, too, of driving them away from the entrance for a brief while, but they speedily returned, crowding so far forward that their eyes, lank jaws, and noses showed plainly in the reflection of the firelight. it was evident that the shot of the esquimau produced no permanent effect upon them. it may have been, indeed, that they wished for a second that it might afford them the pretext for feasting upon another of their fellow-citizens. but the fire was burning brightly, and they dreaded that. so long as it was going and the hunters kept close to the flame, they were safe against the fangs of the wolves. "that's too good a chance to be lost," remarked rob, discharging his rifle among the animals. fred was but a moment behind him, so that two, if not more, of the brutes were slain and afforded an appetizer for the rest. docak had lost no time in ramming another charge into his gun, while jack cosgrove held his fire, as if expecting some emergency, when a quick shot was likely to be necessary. "it don't strike me as a good thing for all our guns to be empty at the same time," was his sensible remark, "so s'pose we take turns in banging into 'em." "dat right--dat good," commented the esquimau, and the boys promised to follow the suggestion. the scene at this time was striking. looking toward the entrance to the cavern, nothing could be observed but the fronts of the fierce animals, all fighting desperately to get at the opening, all eager beyond expression to reach the serene hunters within, but restrained by the glowing fire beyond, to which they dared not go. quick to note their dread of this element, the boys became more composed, though both could not help thinking how it would be if there were no fire. the fuel if judiciously used was sufficient to last until daylight, by which time the courage of the brutes would ooze away to that extent that they would be likely to withdraw. but the party could not spend all their time in the cavern, and, if attacked on the open plain, it would require the hardest kind of fighting to beat off their assailants. "but what is the use of speculating about the future?" rob asked himself, as, seeing that it was his turn, he drove another bullet among the brutes, doubling up one like a jack-knife, while his comrades proceeded to "undouble" him in the usual style. "suppose," said fred, "we should keep this up until we killed a hundred, wouldn't the rest have enough to eat by that time?" "no," replied jack, who had seen the animals before; "the rest of 'em would be as hungry as ever after eating 'em. you may keep the thing going till there is only two left, and then shoot one of 'em; the other will gulp him down in a dozen mouthfuls, and then lick his chops and whine for more." docak looked at his friend and grinned at this graphic illustration of the voracity of the lupus species. however, it was quite clear that our friends were wasting a good deal of ammunition, which might be needed before their return. so they seated themselves on the floor of the cavern near the fire, that was kept going with moderate vigor, and exchanging a few words now and then as the turmoil permitted, they sent a shot into the pack, when some of the foremost ventured to thrust their snouts too far into the cavern. "if they only had sense enough to combine into one rush," said fred, "they could wipe us out in a twinkling." "that's just what they would do if it wasn't for the fire," was the reply of his friend; "but it does seem to me that they must get tired after awhile." "i can't detect any signs of it yet. let me try something." catching a brand from the fire, rob whirled it about his head until it was fanned into a roaring blaze, when he hurled it right among the howling horde. the scampering that followed was laughable. in a second or two not a wolf was visible, and only the smoking torch lay on the ground where it had fallen just outside the entrance. it was expected they would soon return, and some of them did sneak back within a short distance, but the smoldering brand was a terror to them so long as it held any life, and they waited until it was utterly extinguished before venturing closer. meanwhile, docak showed such disquiet and concern over something else that jack cosgrove, well knowing it must be serious, determined to force him to an explanation, for he had racked his brain in vain to think what grisly dread was looming in front of them. chapter xxv the coming shadow docak, the esquimau, had no wish to affect any mystery as to the cause of his misgiving. he had not mentioned it of his own accord, because he was debating in his mind which of two courses to adopt: to remain longer in the cavern or to set out at once for his home on the coast. it may be said that except for the appearance of the wolves he would have insisted that the start should be made without delay, and pushed with the utmost vigor until their destination was reached. but this was not to be thought of under the circumstances. to venture outside the cavern was to invite an instant attack by the brutes who were in that state that they possessed a daring foreign to their nature. docak explained that an alarming change of weather was at hand. he knew the signs so well that there was no mistake on his part. as he had promised, it was not in the nature of a thaw or rising temperature, but may be explained by that expressive word with which the reader is familiar--blizzard. whoever has gone through one of those frightful visitations will never forget it. that one of a few years ago was so general throughout our country that the memory must remain through life with us. but a blizzard in the arctic regions is a terror, indeed. it meant in the present instance a snowstorm that might last for days, a hurricane of wind, and a temperature of such fearful cold that would consume almost like fire. with several feet of snow on the surface of that which now covered the ground, and too fine to bear the weight of the lightest animal, with the air white with billions of particles, eddying, whirling, and flying hither and thither, so that one could not see a step in advance--with the gale careering like a demon across the snowy wastes--the strongest hunter might well shrink from attempting a journey one-tenth of that which lay between them and the coast. when jack suggested that docak might be mistaken, he shook his head so decisively that it sent a chill through the boys, who were watching his dusky countenance and listening to his words. such a man spoke that whereof he knew. he would hold out hope, if he had justification for doing so, but he saw none. that the blizzard was at hand, that it was already careering from the far north and must speedily arrive, was as good as demonstrated. the only chance that docak saw was that it might prove of shorter duration than he feared. if it should last no more than twelve or possibly twenty-four hours, they might struggle through it, without serious consequences, but if beyond that (as he was almost certain it would be), there was little hope. however, since they must stay where they were until the following morning, preparations were made for spending the night, which, it will be borne in mind, was by no means as long as many which they have at certain seasons in the high latitudes. it was decided that rob should sit up until midnight and then awake fred, who, after standing guard for several hours, would arouse jack to take charge until daylight. inasmuch as this was the esquimau's own proposition, which, as will be perceived, relieved him of duty for any part of the night, the others understood its significance. he was reserving himself for the time when there was likely to be more urgent need of his services. no comment was made on the fact, and the simple preparations were quickly finished. docak added a caution to his friends that they should be as sparing as possible in the use of the fuel. they had already consumed a moiety of it, and the approach of the blizzard would render it valuable beyond estimate. enough only to hold the wolves at a safe distance was to be burned. thus it came about that an hour later rob carrol was the only one awake in the cavern. the others were huddled together on the bear skin, quietly sleeping, while he kept off drowsiness by pacing slowly back and forth over the brief space within. "it's getting colder," he said to himself more than once; "i had a hope that docak might be wrong, but he isn't; we shall catch it within a few hours. this is a bad place to be snowed up." he glanced continually toward the entrance, for he could not forget the wolves which were the indirect cause of their coming peril. they seemed, in spite of the disgusted remarks of jack, to have become satisfied that nothing was to be gained by hovering about the refuge. so many of their comrades had fallen, and the fire burned so persistently, that the others must have felt a certain degree of discouragement. now and then a howl echoed among the desolate hills, with a strange power, and was immediately answered by scores from as many different points, but there was no such eager crowding as marked the first appearance of the brutes. rob glanced repeatedly at the opening without seeing one of them. but the youth was too wise to be caught off his guard. he allowed the fire to smolder until the figures of his friends were only barely visible in the gloom, and his own form became shadowy, as it slowly moved back and forth over the floor of the cavern, with his rifle ready for instant use. he heard a soft tip tipping on the snow, and there was no mistaking its meaning. "they're there," he said, peering outward in the gloom and listening intently, "and are as watchful for a chance as ever." turning toward the crevice which admitted light, and was too straight to allow the smallest wolf to pass through, he caught the glow of a pair of eyes. they were motionless, and the wolf evidently was studying the interior with a view of learning the prospect for an excursion within. the temptation to fire was strong, but the eyes noiselessly vanished before the gun could be brought to a level. rob stood intently listening. he heard the stealthy footsteps pass along the side of the cavern toward the front, and he moved in that direction, but placed himself at one side, so as to be out of sight of any one looking directly into the mouth. he had not long to wait, when the same keenness of ear told him that the brute was cautiously entering. the fire was smoldering lower than ever, the brand at the entrance had died out long before, and no one could be seen on guard. the brute must have made up his mind that he had "struck it rich." in his selfishness he did not summon his friends to the feast, but resolved to devour the four persons all by himself, and that, too, after having had his full share of the musk ox and his fallen friends! there was just enough light in the cavern for rob to note everything. being at one side of the entrance, he could not be detected by the sneaking brute, which also was invisible to him. he must come further forward before they could discern each other. the wolf, one of the largest of his species, stood just outside with his ears pricked, his head raised, and his eyes roaming over the interior. everything looked promising, but he had learned to be suspicious of those bipeds, whose hands were always against them. he stood in this attitude for several minutes, as stationary as if carved in stone. then he lifted one of his fore-feet, held it suspended, as though he were pointing game, and then advanced a couple of steps. this brought him far enough into the cavern for the lad to see the end of his nose, but the beast still failed to detect that shadow at one side of the entrance that was calmly awaiting the critical moment. but he saw the dimly outlined forms near the smoldering fire, and licked his chops in anticipation. nothing could be more favorable for the grandest feast of his life. [illustration: the wolf licked his chops in anticipation (see page )] at that moment a howl rent the air at no great distance. it must have startled this prowler, and told him that, if he delayed his meal any longer, he must share it with an unlimited number. he started on a silent walk, straight for the forms, heedless of the figure that had pointed the rifle at him, while he was yet out of sight. all was like the tomb until the gun was fired. then since the muzzle almost touched the brute, why--enough has been said. chapter xxvi walled in by daybreak, when all the party were awake, the blizzard foretold by the native had fully arrived. it was a terror, indeed. the cold was frightful, and the air outside was white with snow, which was driven horizontally by the hurricane, as though shot from the mouths of myriad pieces of ordnance. it shrieked about the cavern, and drove the white particles so fiercely through the narrow crevice that docak hastened to shove his bear-skin into it. this only partially filled the opening and the snow spun in around it clean across the flinty floor. the regular entrance was partly protected by its own projection, but, at times, a blast entered that fairly took away their breath. the fire was necessary to keep from freezing, but the supply of fuel was growing low, and the last stick must soon be reached. what then would be the fate of the party if the blizzard continued? it was useless to discuss the future and no one did so; the present was with them, and the question was how to live from hour to hour. on shooting the intruding wolf, rob had flung his carcass away. the report awakened the others, and, rising to his feet, docak passed far enough outside to bring it in again. he did not speak, but all understood the meaning of the action; that body might be the means of saving them from starvation. enough of the previous night's meal remained to afford a nourishing breakfast, but they partook sparingly, preferring to use that in preference to the new supply. happily thirst was a torture that need never be apprehended. jack cosgrove braved the blast to that degree that he forced himself through the opening and stood several minutes outside, shading his eyes and striving to pierce the blinding turmoil. all in vain. the gale almost carried him off his feet, and his vision could no more penetrate the furious swirl of snow than if it were the darkest night that ever covered the earth. the cold was so piercing that he was glad to hasten back among his friends, and shiver and crouch over the fire. "by the great horned spoon, docak! s'pose we had started for home last night?" "wish had," was the sententious response. "why, we wouldn't have been half-way there by this time, and we would have perished all together." "we trabel fast--mebbe storm not dere yet." this intimation that the blizzard might be less terrific at so slight a distance was incredible, but the esquimau was positive that it would have been far better had they set out early in the evening. by rapid traveling they might have covered the greater part of the distance before morning, and could have fought the few remaining miles in the teeth of the gale. but it was equally useless to discuss what might have been. they were imprisoned in the cavern, thirty miles from succor and with no possibility that any friends would ever take the trouble to search for their bodies. all they could do was to rely upon heaven and their own exertions. without any explanation as to his intentions, and leaving his gun behind him, the native plunged through the opening and disappeared in the blizzard outside. born and reared in greenland, amid arctic snows and appalling tempests, the hardy esquimau was far better fitted to undergo such trials of endurance than could be any native of a temperate clime. "where do you suppose he has gone?" asked rob, wonderingly. "i don't know," replied jack; "but if he goes far he'll never come back again." "it doesn't seem to me," said fred, coming to the question of the present for the first time, "that the outlook is as bad as he would make us believe." "why not?" "we have enough food to last a week or two, or even longer, and the blizzard certainly won't keep it up that long." "you can't be sartin about that," said jack; "it may last for several weeks, but s'pose it's only for three or four days, there are two big things that we must face." "what are they?" "what to do after it stops; the snow will be several feet deep on top of that which is now on the ground; it will be too fine and soft to bear our weight, and can be traveled over only with snow-shoes which we haven't got. how then are we going to fight our way thirty miles through it?" "it will be a hard job, but no greater than that which many explorers have undergone. with docak as our guide, i think we can pull through." "but what is the other matter you refer to?" asked rob. "this wood will soon go, and then how are we going to keep from freezing to death?" "if we will huddle together as closely as we can with the bear-skin wrapped about us i think we can stand it." "i like the way you chaps talk," said the sailor, admiringly, "and if we have to go down we'll do so with colors flying. it's the downheartedness of docak that knocks me askew; if he would show a braver front i would feel better." "possibly he is more hopeful than he pretends." "no, he isn't that sort of chap; he knows better than we just what all this means. whew!" the exclamation was caused by a sudden outburst that sent the snow whirling through the opening and the crevice, from which the bear-skin dropped, as if struck a blow from the other side. jack ran forward, picked it up, and thrust it back, hardly able to breathe from the fury of the gale in his face. the snow shot through the opening, too, scattering the brands of fire in every direction. had the shelter been anything else excepting the solid rock that it was, it must have been swept like chaff from its foundations. the explosion, as it may be called, lasted but a minute or so. the boys hastily gathered up the scattered brands and flinging them together they were fanned by the tempest into a vigorous flame, whose warmth, slight as it was, was grateful beyond measure to the three gathered around it. "docak is wrong in regretting that we did not start last night," said jack cosgrove; "that style of storm is raging at this moment over hundreds of miles, and it would have made short work of us." "what about the 'nautilus,' if she is in it?" "she can manage it if she has plenty of sea room, but i hope she is far enough off to dodge this blizzard. she ought to be at any rate." the gale did the party an unexpected favor. it was a substantial one, too, which they appreciated. it drove the snow against the troublesome crevice with such fury that it quickly formed a solid bank, extending far above it. this ended the drifting of the particles inside and protected them from the cutting wind. at the same time it did something of the same nature with the entrance, where it soon became banked to that extent that little blew within, and the gale hardly disturbed them. seeing what had taken place, jack withdrew the bear-skin from where it had been stuffed into the opening and spread it in the farthermost corner of the cavern. "come, my hearties," said he, cheerfully, "we've got nothing to do but to make ourselves comfortable. we won't burn any more wood till docak comes back." they huddled together, and, though the cold made their teeth chatter and their bodies shiver, they found considerable relief and were willing to hope on. they could feel no anxiety about the absent native. it was certain he would not go far enough from the cavern to endanger his safety or to imperil his return. some definite object must have led him forth. "i wonder if it is for food," suggested fred. "no; for there's no possibility that the wolves left anything," replied rob; "and then, too, we have enough to last a good while." at that moment there was a flurry at the entrance and the esquimau, resembling a snow man, stooped and pushed his way in. entering, he flung a half-dozen small sticks upon the tiny pile at the side of the cavern. he had gone forth in quest of fuel and was able to secure only that miserable supply, really not worth taking into account. chapter xxvii "come on!" the esquimau's depression continued. after flinging down the few bits of wood he looked across the cavern to where the friends were huddled together, but did not speak. then he glanced at the crevice, now so completely blocked with snow that they were protected against any more drifting in upon them. the three respected his silence, and held their peace. he stood a minute or two, looking gloomily into the fire, which he replenished, partly from the scant supply he had brought. while it was gaining strength he drew his knife, deftly cut a number of pieces from the frozen body of the wolf, and proceeded to cook them over the blaze. had he been alone he would have devoured them raw, but he knew the sentiments of his companions. "well, docak," said jack, feeling that the silence ought not to continue, "it looks as if we are in for a long stay. we shall have enough to keep us alive a good while, and, when you're ready, you can come and snuggle down beside us." "not now," he replied, continuing his culinary work, with what seemed a wasteful disregard of fuel until he was through. when nothing more remained worth attention he held up a piece, considerably scorched, and, looking at the others, asked: "eat now?" "no; we'll wait till morning," replied rob, speaking for the rest. "all right." but he was not disposed to wait if they were. he made quite a meal, with as much evident enjoyment as if it had been upon the choicest part of the musk ox. he took care, however, to leave a good supply against the "rainy day" that he felt no doubt would come to them all. the dismal day wore slowly away, and with a feeling of unutterable loneliness they saw the second night of their enforced stay in the cavern close around them. the cold seemed to intensify with the approach of darkness, and the supply of wood had grown so slight that the warmth was barely perceptible. the blizzard raged with unabated fury. the gale shrieked around the rocks, the blinding snow whirled and eddied until it seemed that it must bury them out of sight, and the outlook was woeful enough to chill the bravest heart. the three in the corner adhered to their resolution not to eat any of the food prepared before the morrow. they might need it then to aid their systems in withstanding the terrific strain, but, as in the case of the bear on the iceberg, it must be the last resort. the esquimau declined their invitation to join them in the corner. he was thickly clad, and was so accustomed to the rigors of the arctic winter that he needed no such help. he seated himself near by, and talked a little, until, at a late hour, troubled sleep settled over all. a gleam of hope came with the break of day. docak was the first to awake, and, without disturbing the others, he forced his way through the entrance and took a survey of the weather and his surroundings. the blizzard was over. the fall of snow had ceased, little wind was stirring, but the cold was terrible. toughened as he was, he shrank when first exposed to it. the party had been walled in so tightly that the warmth of their bodies was of more help than would be suspected. quick to note the change in the weather the native studied the sky with its numerous signs in the effort to learn what was likely to come in the near future. great as was his skill at this it was now taxed to the utmost. the sun was not visible, and the difficulty became the greater; but he tarried until he had perfected his theory. the discouraging feature which the native saw about the matter was that the blizzard had ceased for a time only. he believed it would soon resume its fury, fully as great, if not greater than before, and it might continue for days and possibly weeks. if, when that time should come, it found them in the cavern they were doomed beyond the power of mortal man to save themselves. but the prospect was equally hopeless, if the lull lasted only a few hours, for, when it should break forth again it would overtake them in the open plain (provided they made the start he had in mind), where no screen against its resistless power could be secured. it should be understood that docak's solicitude was on account of his friends. had he been alone he would not have hesitated to set out for the coast, and with every reason, too, to believe he could make it, even, if the battle of the elements were renewed when but a small part of the way thither. but he had three others in charge, and it was hard to decide whether to urge them to make the attempt now or wait awhile, in the hope that he could settle with certainty the extent of the cessation of the blizzard. the additional snow was between two and three feet deep, where it had not been drifted by the gale. with the help of snow-shoes it would have been an easy matter to skim over it, but there were no snow-shoes to be had, as has been shown, the new fall was of such fine character that they would sink its full depth when essaying to walk upon it. when he turned about and re-entered the cavern his friends were astir. their appetites had assumed that edge that they eagerly attacked some of the meat prepared the night before. the few embers had been stirred into a sickly blaze, but not another stick remained. the warmth was only perceptible when the chilled hands were held almost against it. the esquimau smiled grimly when he saw what they were doing, but with the reticence that had marked his course since refuge was taken in the cavern, he held his peace. jack greeted him pleasantly, and he nodded in return, and then again passed outside. the sailor and lads had peeped after him, and discovered that the fall of snow was over, and the wind was not blowing. this gave them considerable hope, inasmuch as they were unable to read its full meaning like the native. "it's easy enough to see what he has on his mind," remarked jack. "what is it?" queried rob. "he is considering whether we shall make a start now for the coast or wait awhile longer." "what's the use of waiting," asked rob, "when it can't be any better and may grow worse? the snow that has fallen will stay where it is for months, so we can gain nothing there. i'm in favor of starting for home while it is yet morning." "that's the way it strikes me, but he'll make up his mind, and whatever he says we'll do. he isn't in the mood to take any advice from us; i never seed him so glum before." "we're quite well protected," added fred, who was eager to be off if that should be the decision; "we have the thickest kind of clothing, heavy shoes, and warm undergarments. then we mustn't forget that when we start through the snow the labor will help to warm us. fact is, i don't understand why docak hesitates." the esquimau used less time than they supposed in reaching his conclusion. but, with a view of giving him a hint of their wishes, jack and the boys prepared themselves as if it had been settled that they should venture at once upon the perilous attempt. they carefully adjusted their clothing, tying the lower parts of their trousers about their ankles, so as to keep out the snow, buttoned their heavy coats to their chins, pulled up the collars more carefully, and fixed their caps in place, though all this had been done to a certain extent before. when nothing remained they ranged themselves in a row beside the entrance and awaited the appearance of their guide. he came in the course of a few minutes. he started slightly when he read the meaning of it all. "we're ready," said jack, with a smile. "all right--we go--foller me--come on!" and he led the way out, and they turned their backs on the cavern forever. chapter xxviii a hopeless task a fearful task confronted the little party. thirty miles of snow, several feet deep, lay between them and their only haven of refuge, and they were without sled or snow-shoe. if they succeeded in their prodigious task, it must be done by sheer strength and the power of continued desperation. but, with compressed lips and the resolution to do or die, they bent to the work without faltering. the esquimau naturally took the lead to break the way so far as he could; jack cosgrove came next, then rob carrol, while fred warburton brought up the rear. the first move that the native made proved he was a veteran. he plunged in, following the decline down to the plateau, which was the scene of their adventures two days before. he walked like one who had only an ordinary tramp before him. in truth, he could have gone faster and done better, but he accommodated himself to his friends, to whom the labor was new and trying to a degree. none spoke for a long time. it requires strength to do even so slight a thing as that, and no one had an ounce to spare. the question that was uppermost in the minds of the three was whether they would be able to hold out to the end. "i don't see why we can't," reflected fred, who, being at the rear, had an easier task than any of the others; "it would be well enough if we had snow-shoes, but neither jack nor rob nor i can use them, and we would flounder around a good deal worse than we are doing now and likely enough wouldn't get ahead at all." the meditations of rob carrol were of a similar strain. "i've seen better fun than this, but it beats staying in the cavern and freezing to death on wolf steak. i believe i'm strong enough to see the business through; i hope fred won't give out, for he isn't as strong as jack and i. i believe docak enjoys it. gracious! if i ever live to get out of this outlandish country, i'll never set foot in it again. i haven't lost any north pole, and those that think they have can do their own hunting for it." the sun still remained obscured, and the wonder of the three was how their guide kept his bearings, after debouching from the highlands and entering upon the broad, undulating plain which stretched away to davis strait and baffin's bay. there was no misgiving, however, in that respect. docak could not go astray, or, at least, if there was any likelihood of his doing so, not one of his friends was able to help him. as the boys had anticipated, the labor of walking in this difficult fashion soon generated a warmth in their bodies that was a vast comfort, after sitting benumbed and shivering so long in the cavern. despite the extreme cold they felt no discomfort, for the air was quite dry, and less trying, therefore, than a damp atmosphere would have been, even though twenty-five degrees higher. but it is in such an arctic climate that one can have his limbs or a portion of his body hopelessly frozen without suspecting it. all were so effectually protected that only a small portion of their faces, their eyes, and tips of their noses were exposed. the bear-skin, which has been referred to as belonging to docak, was carried by him after his usual manner. he would have offered it to his friends in turn, had he not known that it would soon have become a burden which he could carry better than they. jack, who trod close on the heels of the esquimau, was admiring the sturdy manner in which he plowed through the snow, his labor being much greater than any one of those who followed him, when the native turned his head and scanned his face with curious intensity. pausing for the moment in his labor, he leaned to one side, and did the same to the others. his act was all the more singular since he did not speak. the lads smiled under their head-coverings, but their faces were so wrapped up that the relaxation of the features could not be perceived. "i wonder why he did that," thought all three. "the chap has been acting curious ever since this trouble began," continued the sailor, "and i wouldn't be s'prised if he's just a little off." "can it be," asked rob, following up a whimsical idea, "that he fears we aren't ourselves? he has started out to take us to the seacoast, and doesn't mean that anybody else shall rope himself in on him. i guess he's satisfied, though we're so covered up that our nearest friends wouldn't know us." for fully an hour the party toiled on, and all, with the exception of the leader, began to feel the effects of the severe exertion. still, no one protested or asked for rest; each determined to keep it up, if possible, until the leader chose to halt. but docak did not forget them. at the end of the time named he turned about, and, with something of his old pleasantry, said: "much tired--wait while--den go on." each of the boys longed to ask him what he thought of the prospect of getting through, but forebore, recalling his moodiness, which might be still upon him despite his present manner. "i think we're doing quite well, docak," said jack; "it's a little hard, but we can take a breathing spell now and then, and keep at it till we strike your home." had the esquimau made any response to this half-inquiring remark the sailor would have followed it up, but he did not. on the contrary, he was busy studying the sky and the surrounding landscape, doubtless with a view of determining what weather changes impended. the others did the same, but though jack had learned a good deal of the science at sea he was now at a loss. the dull, leaden sky, so obscured that it was impossible to tell in what part of the heavens the sun was, told him nothing beyond the fact that more snow was likely to fall before many hours. as the best thing that could be done, the friends studied the actions of the esquimau. the result of his survey was not satisfactory--that was clear. he shook his head and muttered something in his own language, which had anything but a pleasant effect on the others. the scene was one of utter loneliness and desolation. north, east, south, and west stretched the snowy plain, unrelieved by tree, house, or sign of a living creature. far up in the sky sounded the honk of some wild fowl, and, looking aloft, a line of black specks could be seen, sailing swiftly southward through space, as if to escape the arctic cold that would soon smother everything in its icy embrace. the rest was barely ten minutes, when docak, looking at his companions, asked: "be rested? we go on?" "yes; we're ready," replied jack. "all right--work hard now--don't get tired." "i won't, if i can help it; but the only way i know of is to stand still, which don't pay in this kind of business." the esquimau bent to his work, as if striving for a wager. he had a way not only of stepping down in the soft snow, but of shoving it partly aside from his path. it would have been the severest kind of labor for anyone else, and it is hard to understand how he managed it so well. it was a great help to the one immediately behind him. jack would have been glad to lighten the task for the boys, but that was out of his power, and he wasted no strength in the attempt. the party was becoming accustomed to the work. that the guide was aware of this was proven when he kept at it fully twice as long as before. they were going slowly--very slowly--but there was comfort in the consciousness that every step taken was toward safety, and the task before them was lessened, even to that small extent. at the moment the boys were beginning to think it about time another halt was called, docak stopped in his former abrupt way, and, leaning to one side, peered into each face in turn. something in fred's appearance caught his attention, and, with an exclamation, he sprang out of the path, and hurried back to where the lad stood, wondering what was the matter with the fellow. chapter xxix ten miles docak, when flurried, generally forgot his broken english, and spoke in his own tongue. before fred could divine his intention he had slipped off one of his mittens, grasped a handful of snow, and throwing one arm about the boy's neck, began rubbing his nose as though he meant to rub it out of existence. the watchful native was on the watch for the first sign of freezing in the case of his companions, and, discovering that the youngest member was becoming a victim without himself or friends suspecting it, he resorted to heroic measures, with no unnecessary delay. fred understood what it all meant, and, like the sensible boy he was, submitted with good grace, though the vigorous handling to which that organ was subjected made it hard for him to keep from protesting. not only that, but, when the esquimau, pausing to inspect his work, said: "all right," fred thanked him. jack and rob, who looked grinningly on, while the performance lasted, now asked docak whether they were in need of a similar manipulation. he took another look at the faces, and gave rob's a slight rubbing, but said nothing more was needed. it was a piece of thoughtfulness on the part of the native, for which he deserved to receive gratitude. but for him fred warburton, and probably the others, would have suffered injuries from which they never could have recovered. having rested but a brief while, docak moved on, and the dismal procession wound its way slowly through the snow, which clogged their feet and obstructed their path to that extent that more than once the hardy guide had to come to a full halt that he might decide in what way to flank the obstacle. the blizzard had played fantastic tricks with the snow. in many places it was drifted to a depth of six or eight feet, through which, as may be supposed, it was the severest labor to force a path. in others, again, it had swept the crust entirely clear of the new layer, so that they walked as easily as when making their way from the coast. unfortunately, these bare places, as they may be called, were not only few and far apart, but of such slight extent that their aid counted for little. there is nothing more cheering than the certainty that we are approaching our goal, even though the rate of progress is more tardy than we wish. as the afternoon drew to a close fred was positive they had made fully twenty miles. rob believed it was more, but, to be on the safe side, fell in with his friend's figures. when jack was appealed to he declined to hazard a guess, saying he preferred to wait till the halt for the night, when he would leave it to docak. "he'll tell you within a quarter of a mile," added the sailor, "and he won't make a mistake. i can let you know one thing, howsumever, my hearties, and that is that you'll find it a good deal less than you think." "i don't know about that," said rob; "fred and i have calculated the matter pretty closely." "you may think so, but you haven't. we have worked hard enough to tramp a hundred miles, but we haven't been able to use it in the best way." another fact, which might mean a good deal or little, was that a marked moderation in the temperature took place in the course of the afternoon. what this portended was left to the esquimau to determine. toiling through the snow was not favorable to conversation, and it was dropped. with only short halts the party pushed onward, until night began settling over the dreary landscape. they would have kept on had not the darkness been impenetrable. the sun had not shown itself during the day, and the obscurity was so dense that not a solitary star twinkled overhead. "besides," as the boys concluded, "the rest of the distance is so brief that we can afford to leave it until morning, by which time we will be fully rested. inasmuch as it is necessary to pass a night on the road, one spot is as good as another." camping at such times is simple. they were in the middle of a snowy waste, without tree or rock to shelter. starting a fire, of course, was out of the question. a slight wind was blowing, and though less rigorous than that of the preceding night, it was necessary to protect themselves from its force while they were idle. for a few minutes docak acted like a man seized with convulsions or the st. vitus' dance. he leaped about, kicked, and swung his arms, the snow flying in a storm from him, until, at the end of a few minutes, he had scooped out a bowl-like space, large enough to hold the party. in doing this he cleared the way down to the lower crust only, which was strong enough to bear their weight. to have dug to the ground would have been too laborious, and no special advantage was to be gained by doing so. this completed, he carefully spread his bear-skin on the hard surface, and the four seated themselves back to back. they had camped for the night. the discomforts of this primitive method were less than would be supposed. there is warmth in snow, as you are well aware, cold being a negative existence, and, so long as they were below the surface, they could not be reached by the wind that swept across the dismal waste. then, too, the change in the temperature was in the right direction as affecting their comfort, so there was little fear of suffering before morning. when they were adjusted for the night, rob asked the question of docak which had been in his mind for hours: "how far have we got toward home?" fred was confident the answer would be twenty miles; while rob was quite hopeful it would be more. judge, therefore, their consternation when the reply struck their ears: "purty near ten mile--not quite--purty near." the hopes of the boys sank to zero. jack, knowing they had placed their estimate too high, still believed it greater than was the fact. ten miles! barely a third of the distance between the cavern and the first place that could offer refuge. they had used a day in advancing thus far. at that rate two more days, and possibly nights, remained ere the terrible task would be ended. they had eaten the last mouthful before starting, leaving behind some food which they might have brought, but which was not deemed necessary. it was not the prospect of hunger that appalled them. in such a severe climate they could go a couple of days without food, and not suffer greatly, though the draught upon their strength would be trying to the last degree. the great question was whether the task they had essayed was a possible one. recalling the terrific exertions of the day, their exhaustion, and the repeated rests that were necessary, they might well doubt their ability, though it need not be said there was no thought of giving up so long as life and strength held out. "ten miles," repeated fred warburton; "are the esquimau miles the same as our english, or aren't they double their length?" "i don't know about that," said rob; "they must get their ideas from the danes, who have a system of measurement different from ours, but it don't matter in this instance." "why not?" "when we set out, and after reaching the hills, docak told us we were thirty miles from home; he tells us now that we are ten miles less." "not quite ten mile--purty near," interrupted the native. "well, calling it ten miles, we have come about one-third of the way to the coast. no matter what system of measurement is followed we can't figure out that we have gone further than that." "and not quite that far," suggested jack, who was not less disappointed than they, but was quicker to rally. "it isn't the thing calculated to make a chap feel good to learn a thing like that," he added; "but all we've got to do is to buckle down to it and we'll get there one of these days, with fair sailing and no more squalls." "it is those squalls or blizzards, jack, that are the real danger before us." it was rob who made this remark, and his friends knew he spoke the truth. chapter xxx the last pause the night slowly settled over the snow waste, and the little party, feeling no discomfort because of the cold, gradually sank into unconsciousness. just before slumber weighed down their eye-lids the dismal howl of a wolf echoed faintly across the plain. all heard it, and jack and the boys believed that one of the brutes had struck the trail of the hunters, and would soon be hot upon it, with an eager pack at his heels. jack asked the esquimau whether they ought not to prepare for a fight, but he replied that there were no preparations to make. each had his loaded gun and a good supply of ammunition; they could fight as well there as in any other place. docak showed no trepidation of voice and manner, and his coolness had a good effect upon the others. they were sure that, if there was any cause for alarm, he would feel it. this confidence proved well placed; for that single cry was all that reached their ears. they slept, and were not molested. but sometime during the night the fine snow began sifting downward, falling so gently that even the esquimau was not disturbed. through the long gloomy hours it silently descended, until when the daylight stole over the desolate plain, fully six inches had been added to the mass that covered the earth long before. sitting nearly upright and back to back, the pressure upon the sleepers was so slight and gradual that no discomfort resulted. all were so worn out that their slumber was profound, doubtless lasting as long as it would have done had no such snowfall taken place. it was jack cosgrove who first opened his eyes, and his amazement may be imagined when he saw their laps buried out of sight, only the outlines of their limbs showing, while head and shoulders were weighted down with the feathery mass. "by the great horned spoon!" he called, shaking himself free and rising to his feet, with such a flurry that the others were aroused; "wake up, for we're all snowed under, and, if we wait a few minutes longer, we'll be buried clean out of sight." "what's the matter?" called rob, being the next to climb to his feet; "has the snow tumbled in on us?" "yes; and more of it is tumbling every minute." docak was astonished that he had not been the first to awake, for his mind was burdened with anxiety for the rest. he forgot that, inasmuch as his labors had been far greater than theirs, his weariness of body was in more need of rest. "what time be it?" he asked of the boys, who carried watches. the answer showed that day had dawned more than two hours before. he sighed at the knowledge of the precious time wasted. harder work than ever was before them, and when night came again they might count themselves fortunate if one-half the remaining distance was accomplished. rising to their feet, with their heads above the surface, they found the snow falling so fast that they could not see fifty feet in any direction. "how can docak keep his bearings?" asked rob, in a low voice, of the others, when the native, walking a few feet, paused and looked earnestly about him. "it doesn't seem to me that it is any harder for him to do so than it was yesterday when there was no snow falling." "there is a big difference. we couldn't have done any better in the one case than the other, but he could see the sky. he knew where the sun was, though we did not; and there must have been something in the looks of the landscape to help, but there is none of that now." "i can give you the right answer to fred's question," said jack, in the same guarded undertone. "what is it?" "when you ask whether docak can keep the p'ints of the compass in his mind, and make sure that he is heading straight for home, the real answer is--he can't." there could be no denying that the sailor spoke the truth. the native, like the indians further south, may have possessed a subtle skill in the respect named beyond the comprehension of his more civilized neighbors, but, in all cases, there is a limit to such ability. where there is nothing to afford guide or clue no living man can walk in a straight line--hour after hour, or hold his way undeviatingly toward a fixed point of the compass. but, admitting this unquestioned truth, nothing was more self-evident than that it was sure death to stay where they were; the one and only thing left to them was to push on while the opportunity was theirs. the esquimau was a man of deeds rather than words. he showed no disposition to discuss the situation, and, beyond a few insignificant words, said nothing to his companions, who were as eager to be on the move as he. he stood a minute or two in study, and then, uttering the words: "come on--work hard--neber stop," began pushing through the snow with the vigor shown the day before. the others followed in the order named, and with a resolution as strong as his to keep it up to the last verge of endurance. it was necessary. in no other way could they escape the frightful doom that impended. another condition was equally necessary; their efforts must be rightly directed. the guide must lead them toward the sea-coast. had he the power to do so? the test was now going on, and the question would soon be settled. they were terrible words spoken by jack, but the time had passed when he felt it necessary to mince matters. he had done so at the beginning, but his companions were not children unable to bear the truth, however unpleasant it might be. but, despite the good reason in what he said, neither rob nor fred quite credited its full meaning. while they could not explain how any person could guide himself unerringly, when there was no visible help for the eye, they believed that somehow or other he would "get there just the same." they proved their own earnestness when docak, after a long struggle through the clogging snow, stopped, turned about, and said: "you be tired--then rest awhile." "no," responded fred, "i want no rest." "push on, then," added rob, "unless you are tired yourself, docak." the idea that the native needed rest caused him a half-smile, as he faced forward and resumed his weary plowing through the snowy mass. there was no call now to watch the countenances of the youths to protect them against freezing. the weather was so moderate that they would have felt more comfortable with their outer covering removed. if the blizzard had come back, it was in such a mild form that it could lay no claim to the name. it was simply snowing hard, and there was only a breath of air at intervals. had there been anything approaching the hurricane of two days before, they could not have fought their way for a single rod. when the guide, after another long interval, proposed a brief rest, it was acquiesced in by all. they had kept at it longer than before, and the pause must have been grateful to docak himself. "we are not going fast," remarked rob, "but i am sure we have covered a good deal of ground since starting, and when we go into camp to-night there ought not to be many miles between us and the sea." "remember the mistake we made in our calculations," said fred, warningly, "and don't count too much." "how far have we come?" asked jack, putting the question directly to the esquimau. "dunno," he answered, turning about and resuming his labor. "that's the last time i will ask him anything," growled the sailor, displeased at the curt treatment. a sad story awaits our pen. the poor hunters toiled on, on, on, slower and still more slowly, with the snow falling thicker and still more thickly, and the uncertainty growing more intensified as the day wore away. with short intervals of rest they kept at it with heroic courage, until at last the shades of night began closing once more around them. then, all of a sudden, the esquimau uttered a despairing cry and threw himself down in the snow. [illustration: the esquimau uttered a despairing cry and threw himself in the snow (see page )] he had made a terrifying discovery. they had come back to the very spot where they spent the previous night. all day long they had journeyed in an irregular circle, as lost persons almost invariably do, and the dreadful labor was utterly thrown away. the esquimau had essayed a task beyond his power, and he now threw up his hands and would struggle no more. chapter xxxi another sound the little party were overwhelmed with dismay. the very man on whom they had relied from the beginning, the one who had conducted them thus far, and the one who, under heaven, could alone guide them to safety, had thrown up his hands and yielded the struggle. he lay on the snow limp, helpless, and despairing. the new fall of snow had almost obliterated their trail, but enough remained to identify it beyond mistake. the cavity which docak had scooped out, and in which they slept, was recognized on the first glance. the whole day, from the moment of starting, had been wasted, in laboring to their utmost strength, in getting back to the very point from which they set out, and which itself was twenty miles from the sea-coast. the tendency that every one shows to travel in a circle, when lost, has been explained in various ways. it is probably due to the fact that one side of every person is more developed than the other. a right-handed individual gradually veers to the left, a left-handed one to the right, while a really ambidextrous one ought to keep straight ahead. jack and the boys remained silent for a moment. they looked down on the prostrate figure, and finally fred asked: "what's the matter, docak?" "gib up--no use--we die--neber see home 'gin." the words were uttered with all the dejection that it is possible to conceive, and the native did not move. he acted as if the power to do so had gone from him. suddenly, to the astonishment of the others, jack cosgrove gave him a thumping kick. "get up!" he commanded; "if you're such a lubber as all this, i'll take you by the neck and boot you all the way across greenland." and as a guarantee of his good faith he yanked docak to his feet, and made ready for a still harder kick, when the fellow moved nimbly out of the way. "if you are too big a calf to go on, i'll take the lead, and when i flop it'll be after all the rest of you've gone down." the breezy style in which the sailor took hold of matters produced an inspiriting effect on the others. despite the grim solemnity of the moments, both rob and fred laughed, as much at the quickness with which docak responded as anything else. "since we are here at the same old spot," said rob, "and it is growing dark, we might as well go into camp." "that's the fact, as we won't have to scoop out a new place to sleep in. i suppose, docak, you're able to sleep, aint you?" the native made no answer, and the party silently placed themselves in position for another night's rest, docak not refusing to huddle in among them. but there was little talking done. no one could say anything to comfort the others, and each was busy with his own thoughts. it need not be said that, despite the fearful gloom and these forebodings, they were ravenously hungry. their bodies were in need of sustenance, and the probability that they could not get it for an indefinite time to come was enough to deepen the despair that was stealing into every heart. it was unto fred warburton that something in the nature of a revelation came in the darkness of that awful night. his senses remained with him for some time after the others were asleep, as he knew from their deep, regular breathing. the snowfall had almost ceased, and he sat wondering whether, after all, the end was at hand, and he was asking himself whether, such seeming of a surety to be the fact, it was worth while to rise from their present position and try to press on further. if die they must, why not stay where they were and perish together? these thoughts were stirring his mind, with many other solemn meditations, which crowd upon every person who, in his right senses, sees himself approaching the dark river, when it seemed to him that there was sounding, at intervals, an almost inaudible roar, so faint and dull that for awhile he paid no heed to it, deeming it some insignificant aural disturbance, such as causes a buzzing or ringing at times in the head. but it obtruded so continually that he began to suspect it was a reality and from some point outside of himself. it was a low, almost inaudible murmur, sometimes so faint that he could not hear it, and again swelling out just enough to make it certain it had an actuality. suddenly the heart of the lad almost stood still. "it's the ocean!" he whispered; "the air has become so still that i can hear it. the plain is open, there has been a big storm, and the distance is not too great for it to reach us. but, no, it is from the wrong direction; it can't be the sea." the next moment he laughed at himself. having fixed in his mind the course to the home of docak, and, hearing the roar from another point of the compass, it did not at once occur to him that he himself might be mistaken. "if docak, with all his experience could not keep himself from going astray, what wonder that i should drift from my moorings? yes, that is the sound of the distant ocean or that part known as davis' strait and baffin's bay. we can now tell which course to take to get out of this accursed country." he wished to awake his friends, and in view of their hungry condition, urge that they should set out at once; but they were so wearied that the rest would be grateful, and it was needed. and so, while not exactly clear as to what should be done, he fell asleep and did not open his eyes until morning. docak was the first to rouse himself. he found that the snow was falling again, with the prospect worse than ever. fred sprang to his feet and quickly told what he had discovered the evening before. "it was the ocean," he added, with a shake of his head: "i have heard it too often to make a mistake--listen!" all were silent, but the strained ear could catch no sound like the hollow roar which reached the youth a few hours before. "i don't care; i was not mistaken," he insisted. "why don't we hear it now?" asked rob, anxious to believe what he said, but unable fully to do so. "there was no snow falling at the time; the air was clearer then, and what little wind there was must have been in the right direction." "where did sound come from?" asked the esquimau, looking earnestly at fred and showing deep interest in his words. "from off yonder," replied the lad, pointing in the proper direction. "he right--dat so--he hear sea," said docak, who, to prove the truth of his words, pointed down at the dimly marked trail. it led in the precise course indicated by fred. in other words, when the esquimau resumed the journey on the preceding morning, at which time his bearings were correct, he went of a verity directly toward his own home, which was the route now pointed by fred warburton. the others saw the point, and admitted that the declaration of the lad had been proven to be correct beyond question. and yet, while all this was interesting in its way, and for the time encouraged the others, of what possible import was it? the conditions were precisely the same as twenty-four hours before, except they were less favorable, for the comrades in distress were hungrier and weaker. but they could not hear the ocean, the snow was falling, and there was no way of guiding themselves. they could only struggle on as before, hoping that possibly before wandering too far astray they might be able to catch the roar that would be an infallible guide to them in their despairing groping for home. the three looked at docak, expecting him to take the lead, as he had done from the start. it may be said that jack cosgrove had kicked the esquimau into his proper place and he was prepared to stay there as long as he could. but the native, instead of moving off, stood with his head bent and his ears bared in the attitude of intense attention. they judged that he was striving to catch a sound of the ocean. but he was not. truth to tell, docak had detected another sound of a totally different character, but far more important than the hollow roar of the far-away arctic sea. chapter xxxii the wild men of greenland a sharp bark broke the stillness, a peculiar cry followed, and then, out from the swirl and flurry of the eddying snow, came a string of esquimau dogs. there were six couples fastened to a rude sleigh, and at the side of the frisky animals skurried one of the wild men of greenland on snow-shoes, and with a whip in hand having a short stock and a very long lash. directly behind him followed two similar teams, and then a fourth emerged with seven spans of dogs. there was a driver to each, and the sleighs were loaded with pelts intended for the nearest settlement. not one of the esquimaux was riding, though it was their custom to do so for a goodly portion of the way. this singular collection of men and animals were approaching in a line that would have carried them right over the amazed party that were about to start on their hopeless attempt to reach the sea coast, had they not veered to one side. when the foremost driver discerned the four figures through the snow he emitted a sharp cry, not dissimilar to that of his own dogs, and the obedient animals halted. the others did the same, and in a few minutes the four teams, with their drivers, were ranged about the others. these individuals were genuine esquimaux, the real wild men of greenland. their homes were far in the interior, and only at rare intervals did they venture forth with their dogs and sleighs to the coast settlements, where they were welcome, for they never failed to bring a good supply of peltries with them, for which they found ready barter among the agents of the danish government. there was no mixed blood among these esquimaux. they were copper-colored, short, of stocky build, and with more muscular development in the lower limbs than is seen among the coast natives. the latter, giving most of their time to fishing and the use of the paddle, have powerful arms and shoulders, but as a rule are weak in the legs. they were warmly clad in furs, their heads being covered with hoods similar to that worn by docak, but there was nothing in the nature of the dress ornamentation which he displayed. none of the party could speak english, but that made no difference, since docak understood their curious gibberish. an animated conversation began at once between him and the four, who gathered about him while jack and the boys stood silently listening and looking upon the singular scene. what the guide said was in the nature of "business." they had talked but a short while when one of the wild men went to his sleigh and brought forth a big piece of cooked reindeer meat, evidently a part of their own liberal supply of provisions, and offered it to jack. the latter accepted with thanks, shown more plainly by manner than his words. and didn't those three fellows have a feast, with docak himself as a participant? you need to be told no more on that point. the guide, after the brisk interview, explained the meaning of the conversation to his friends. the esquimaux were on their way to ivigtut, some forty miles in a southwest direction. they had come a long way from the interior, having been three days on the road, and it was their intention to push matters so vigorously that they would reach the famous mining town that night. but, best of all, they agreed to carry the three whites as passengers. they could be stowed in the sleighs among the peltries, as the drivers were accustomed to do at times, though they were capable of keeping pace with the dogs hour after hour without fatigue. they would do so now on their snow-shoes, and the three could ride all the way to ivigtut. it meant the rescue and salvation of the party, who were in the uttermost depths of despair but a few minutes before, and tears of thankfulness came to the eyes of all three. "we haven't much money with us," said rob, addressing docak, "but we will pay them as well as we can when we reach ivigtut." "don't want much," replied the grinning guide, "jes' little money--two, t'ree bits." "we'll give 'em all we've got," added jack; "but what about you, docak?" "me go home," was the answer, accompanied by one of his pleasing grins. "can you find the way?" "me all right now--hark! hear de water?" he spoke the truth, it being a singular fact that the atmospheric conditions had changed to that degree that the dull, hollow moaning for which they had listened so long in vain was now audible to all. it was like a beacon light, which suddenly flames out on the top of a high hill, for the guidance of the belated traveler. there could be no going astray, with that sound always in his ears, and strengthened by his meal of venison, the hardy native would press on until he ducked his head and passed through the entry of his home. it might well be questioned how the wild men could maintain their bearings, but they had come unerringly across the snowy wastes from their distant homes, and the boom of the ocean was as sure an aid to them as it was to docak. no fear but that they would go as straight as an arrow to ivigtut. there was no call for delay or ceremony. a long journey was before them, and it being the season when the days were not unusually long, they must be improved to the utmost. the wild men beckoned to the three to approach the sleighs, where, with a little dexterous manipulation of the bundles, they made room for each. jack found himself seated at the rear of one of the odd vehicles, which consisted mainly of runners, but had a framework at the back that gave grateful rest to the body. the peltries were fastened in front and around him, some being used to cover his limbs, and a part of his body, so that he could hardly have been more comfortable. the runners were made very broad to prevent them sinking in the snow. but for that, it would have been hard work for the nimble dogs to drag them and their loads with any kind of speed. the situation of the boys was similar to the sailor's. the arrangement left one of the sleighs without an occupant. this was well, since the wild men could take turns in riding, when they felt the need, and the whites need not walk a step of the way to ivigtut. while the confab was going on, the dogs were having their own fun. quick to obey the order to halt they squatted on their haunches facing in all directions, and for a time were quite motionless and well behaved, but it was not long before their natural mischievousness asserted itself, and they began frolicking with each other. they were snapping, barking, snarling, and then half of them were rolling over in the snow, fighting with good nature, the evil of which was that it tangled the simple harness into the worst sort of knots, which undoubtedly was just what the canines wanted to do. the head driver spoke angrily to them, cracked his long whip, and, bringing the knot down on their bodies, or about their ears, added their yelps of pain to the general turmoil, while the confusion was greater than before. he was used to the dogs, knowing every one of the half-hundred, and was quick to detect which was the ringleader. this canine belonged to the rear team, and not only started the rumpus, but kept it going with the utmost enthusiasm. he knew the driver would be after him, and he dodged and whisked among the others so dexterously that the well-aimed lash cracked against the side of some innocent spectator more than it touched him. but the driver was not to be baffled in that fashion. dropping the whip, he plunged after the criminal, and, seizing him with both hands, gave him several vigorous bites on the nose, which made him howl with pain. when released he was the meekest member of the party, all of whom sat quiet, while the angry esquimau devoted himself to unraveling matters. rob carrol had not forgotten the admiration which docak showed more than once for his rifle. when the native came over to the sleigh to shake his hand, as he was bidding all good-bye, the boy said: "docak, i meant that you should have this on our return from the hunt. i sha'n't need it any more; accept it as a reminder of this little experience we had together." the esquimau was so taken aback that for a moment he could not speak. before he recovered himself, jack and fred added their requests that he would not refuse the present. his gratitude was deep, and found expression only in a few broken words as he turned away. it had been on the point of the sailor's tongue several times to apologize for the kick of the evening before, but he felt that the result of it all was a sufficient apology of itself. besides, there are some matters in life which it is best to pass over in silence. the wild men showed little sentiment in their nature. seeing that all was ready, they cracked their whips, called out to their dogs, and off they went. jack and the boys turned their heads to take a last look at docak, who had served them so faithfully and well. as they did so, they observed him plowing through the snow again to the westward, his form quickly disappearing among the myriad snowflakes. they never saw him again. the first thought that came to each of the passengers, after the start was fairly made, was that the forty miles' journey could not be accomplished before nightfall. the sleighs were so heavily loaded with pelts and themselves that they formed quite a task for the dogs, which of necessity sank deep in the snow. but they tugged and kept at it with a spirit worthy of all admiration. but one of the remarkable features of the blizzard and snow storm that had come so near destroying our friends quickly made itself apparent, and raised their hopes to the highest point. the fall of snow decreased until at the end of half an hour not an eddying flake was in the air. the sun, after struggling awhile, managed to show itself, and the glare of the excessively white surface fairly blinded the passengers for a time. they noticed, however, that the depth of the last fall continued to grow less, until to their unbounded amazement and relief it disappeared altogether. they struck the hard surface, which was like a smooth floor, and capable of bearing ten times the weight of the sleighs without yielding. this proved that the blizzard was of less extent than supposed. the wild men more than likely were beyond its reach, while docak and his companions were caught in its very centre. its fury extended southward but a short way, and the party had now crossed the line. the country before them was like that over which jack and the boys set out to prosecute their hunt for game. the travelers were like athletes, who, emerging from a struggle with the angry waters, find themselves on solid land, free to run and leap to their heart's content. they had shaken off the incubus, and now sped forward with renewed speed and ease. the small feet of the dogs slipped occasionally, but they readily secured enough grip, and the sleighs, hardly scratching the frozen surface, required but a fractional part of their strength. several uttered their odd barks of pleasure, at finding their labor so suddenly turned into what might be called a frolic. but the wild men were a source of never-ending wonder to the whites. they sped forward through the soft snow, with no more apparent effort than the skilled skater puts forth, and when they struck the smooth surface, they became more like skaters than snow-shoe travelers. they cracked their whips about the ears of the dogs, called sharply, and made them yelp from the stinging bites of the whips handled with a dexterity that would have flicked off a fly from the front dog's ears, had there been one there. (if we were not opposed to all forms of slang, we would be tempted to say just here that there are no flies on the esquimaux canines.) the brutes were quick to respond, and galloped swiftly with their drivers skimming by their side, holding them to the task by their continued orders and cracking of whips. they gave no more attention to the passengers than if they were not present. the latter were delighted, for there was every reason why they should be. their limbs still ached from the severe exertion through which they had gone, and the sensation of being wrapped about with furs and fixed in a comfortable seat was pleasant of itself. then to know that they were speeding toward safety--what more could be asked? the sleigh containing jack cosgrove was in the advance; rob came next, then fred, while the one loaded only with peltries held its place at the rear. when the smooth surface was reached, they drew quite near each other, the friends finding themselves almost side by side. "this is what i call ginooine pleasure," said the sailor, turning his head and addressing the boys. "yes, i'm enjoying it," replied rob. "so am i," added fred; "it makes up for what we suffered." "we'll skim along in this style all day as if we was on the sea in a dead calm; nothing like a capsize--" at that very moment, the sailor's sleigh went over. chapter xxxiii conclusion no one can question that many animals have the propensity to fun and frolic. it may be absent in some, but it certainly is not lacking in the canine species. it didn't take three teams of dogs long to discover that their passengers belonged to the most verdant specimens of their kind, and when the brutes struck the smooth surface, where traveling was but a pastime, they decided to have some sport at their expense. at the moment jack cosgrove was uttering his words to his young friends, he failed to notice a small hillock just ahead and at one side of the course they were following. but the leading dogs saw it, and, veering off, they made straight for it with increased speed, heedless of the shouts and cracking of the driver's whip. before he could restrain them, the sleigh collided with the obstruction, overturned in a twinkling and jack found, as he after described it, that his nose was plowing through the snow with the whole plaguey load on top of him. he was dragged a hundred feet before extricating himself, and before the driver could check the animals, who looked so meek and sorrowful that he visited them with slight punishment. matters, however, were soon righted and the journey resumed, amid the laughter of the boys in which the sailor heartily joined. within the next hour rob's sleigh went over and he had an almost similar experience. but he was expecting something of the kind, and prepared for it, so that he emerged from underneath before being dragged far. fred got it, too, despite the apparent efforts of the drivers to restrain the dogs. by the time matters were once more righted and under way, the suspicion was confirmed among the passengers that the wild men were in the plot and enjoyed the ludicrous turn of affairs as much as did the brutes themselves. but jack and the lads were the last to complain, and were quite willing that such good allies should have a little sport at their expense. it was noticeable that after all had been capsized, nothing of the kind took place again. at noon an hour's halt was made. the esquimaux produced their cooked venison and all ate. the snow, although it seems to add to one's thirst, when first used, served excellently in the place of water. as well as they could by signs, the passengers offered to walk and allow the esquimaux to ride. where the surface was so favorable this would have imposed no hard work, but the natives refused, even declining to ride alternately in the rear sleigh. the dogs were tired enough to give no trouble during the noon halt. they sat around on their haunches and eagerly devoured the bits of raw meat tossed to them. when one or two showed a disposition to stir up matters, an angry warning and snap of the whip from one of the drivers brought him to his senses, and he deferred the amusement to a more convenient season. the esquimaux chatted volubly among themselves, and, although our friends could not catch the meaning of anything said, they were sure they had made good progress toward ivigtut, which, barring accident, would be reached by nightfall. the journey was pressed with the same vigor through the afternoon, the men seeming as tireless as the dogs, who trotted along as they might have done over the bare ground without any load impeding their movements. the sun was still above the horizon when the party reached the crest of the mountains near the coast, and saw before them, nestling at the curve of a fiord, a collection of low, weather-beaten houses, dispersed along the slope of the hills, with a wharf at the water's edge, on which lay a large number of blocks of the peculiar white ore known as cryolite. "vee-tut, vee-tut!" exclaimed one of the drivers, addressing the passengers with great animation. this was the nearest he was able to come to pronouncing the name "ivigtut." yes, this was the mining town famous the world over as containing the only cryolite mines so far discovered on the globe. ivigtut is in latitude sixty-one degrees and twelve minutes north, its climate being severe at certain seasons, but comparatively moderate during summer. then there are one hundred and thirty picked men from copenhagen engaged in the quarries, the number being a little more than one-half as great in winter. only one or two esquimaux are to be found about the place, and the only family that of the superintendent, who has his wife and her maid with him. the principal work of the employees is in quarrying the cryolite and piling it on the wharf, ready for shipment both to the old and new world. and now how many of my readers can tell me what cryolite is? shall i explain? do you know that most of the sal-soda, the bicarbonate of soda, the alum, and the caustic soda used in your homes is dug out of a mountain in greenland? in , a german named giesecke, believing that valuable minerals might be found in greenland, applied to the danish government for permission to prospect the mountains. he did so, all the way from cape farewell, living with the danish governors or among the esquimaux, as circumstances required, until he reached arsuk fiord. at this place he heard of a deposit of ice that never melted and which was on the edge of the fiord. it was powdered, was used by the natives in tanning skins, and acted on a greasy hide like soap. the prospector gathered a number of specimens and started with them for germany, for the substance was entirely new and required analysis. on the homeward voyage the danish ship was captured by a british man-of-war and the specimens of cryolite went to an english institution, where they were analyzed for the first time. it was interesting of itself, but pronounced comparatively worthless. it remained for a distinguished chemist named thomson to discover that sal-soda and bicarbonate of soda can be made cheaply from the substance. it is free from all impurities, and steps were taken to develop the quarry. the first attempt was in , but regular work did not begin until six years later, and more years passed before any money was made out of the mine. up to the entire product of the quarry went to europe. in that year the american firm known as the pennsylvania salt manufacturing company, of natrona and philadelphia, began to import it. the ships used are made as strongly as possible, for they have to force their way through fields of floating ice, craunch into huge blocks, and keep a sharp lookout for icebergs. small quantities of cryolite have been found in the ural mountains and a trace was discovered at pike's peak, in our own country, some years ago, but it did not pan out. a genuine cryolite mine within easy reach would prove a bonanza to the discoverer. cryolite in appearance resembles white quartz or ice, with a mixture of snow in it. although generally white, it is not always so. it is sometimes a light brown or a dark color, due either to vegetable matter that has soaked into it or the presence of iron. what i have related and considerably more, our friends learned during their stay at ivigtut. finding themselves at the end of their journey, the three climbed out of the sleighs, their limbs considerably cramped from their long-constrained posture. they shook hands with the esquimaux, who understood that form of salutation, and who grinned the delight they could not form the words to speak. to one of them jack presented his gun and fred gave his to another. this quite overwhelmed them, but the whites divided nearly all the money they had among them between the other two. the wild men were paid triple what they expected for the inestimable service rendered the party, who regretted that they could not do a good deal more for them. they parted on the edge of the town, and, just as night began settling over ivigtut, the three came down the slope and showed themselves among the employees, where their appearance attracted considerable curiosity. rob's first inquiry was for the superintendent of the mines. he was directed to a one-story house painted blue, near the rear of which rose a staff from which the flag of denmark floated. at the eastern end of the settlement was a somewhat similar house painted black, where the comptroller, or representative of the king lived, while near the centre were two other structures, from which puffs of steam rose. the visitors received the kindest hospitality from the superintendent, whose name was g. e. schmidt. he listened to their story with deep interest, and insisted that they should make their home with him as long as they could stay in ivigtut. he brought in his wife and introduced them to her. they found her a most pleasant lady, and the three soon felt entirely at home. "by the way," he asked, as the preparations for supper progressed, "what did you say was the name of the ship on which you left london?" "the 'nautilus,'" replied rob; "we fear she foundered in the gale a few days ago which separated us from her." "i'm not so fearful about that," put in jack; who felt that such remarks were a slight upon the ship to which he was attached; "she has rid out a good many tough storms, and i don't see why she couldn't pull through that one." "let us hope that she did," said the superintendent, kindly, and with a twinkle of his fine eyes which the others did not notice. "i was hopeful that she had possibly made her way to ivigtut," added fred, who continued, turning to the sailor, "we forgot to take a look in the harbor." "no use of that," replied jack; "she might have come in at some of the other ports, but not here." "i suppose, mr. schmidt, that we can go home by way of denmark?" "there will be no trouble about that; the only inconvenience is that it will extend the trip much longer than is pleasant, but i understand that you contemplated a visit to one of the posts of the hudson bay company." "yes, the destination of the 'nautilus' is york factory." "then your friends at home will feel no alarm, since you will be the first to carry the news there, unless possibly captain mcalpine turned immediately about and started for england." it struck rob carrol as singular that the superintendent should mention the name of the skipper of the "nautilus" when no one of the visitors had yet done so. where could he have learned it? his companions did not notice the odd fact and he was too polite to ask their host to explain. "we rarely receive a visit from the english vessels," continued mr. schmidt, "though now and then one drops down on us, but there is an american line, inasmuch as a good deal of cryolite goes to the united states. how would you like to make a voyage to that part of the country?" "it would be pleasant, but hardly practicable," replied rob, who could not forget that the funds of the company were at a frightfully low ebb. "we shall have to defer that treat to some more convenient season." "i cannot tell you how pleased i am to receive this visit," said the superintendent; "you must stay several weeks with me, and visit the mines and see all there is to be seen. i hardly suppose you would care to make a hunting trip into the interior?" he added, with a smile. "no, we have had enough of that to last several lifetimes," replied jack, uttering at the same time the sentiments of his friends. "i don't wonder; there is too much snow and cold weather for real sport, except at certain seasons. i must see the men who brought you in. the real wild esquimaux live on the east coast, where the climate is so terrible that the whites rarely, if ever, visit them, and they are beyond the control of all except their own. if these fellows of yours make their homes in the interior, they are very different from all the esquimaux of which i know anything. i think there is some mistake about it." "we know nothing, of course, beyond what docak told us." "he is an unusually intelligent native, and i know him very well. he is a little morose at times, and i understand has caused some trouble at the other settlements, but he is a worthy fellow for all that. by the way, i have a friend who is expected to supper with me this evening. it will be a pleasure, i am sure, for you to meet him." "it will be a pleasure to meet any of your friends," rob hastened to say, for his heart had already warmed to the genial and hospitable gentleman. "if i am not mistaken, he has arrived," added mr. schmidt, rising from his chair and stepping to the door. the next moment he admitted a stalwart, whiskered, sun-browned man, in middle life, and, shaking his hand, turned to his other guests. "permit me, captain, to introduce you to messrs. cosgrove, carrol, and warburton." "wal, by the great horned spoon!" exclaimed the sailor, springing to his feet and striding across the room, "where did you come from, captain?" it was captain mcalpine, of the "nautilus," standing before them, smiling, bewildered, and happy, as he gazed into the faces of his friends whom he had mourned for days under the fear that they were dead. the laughing rob and fred were right behind jack, and they shook the hands of the good old sailor, and felt like throwing their arms about his neck and hugging him. "i must apologize for this little joke," said superintendent schmidt, who enjoyed it fully, "but really i couldn't help it. captain mcalpine arrived at ivigtut yesterday, and came straight to me with news of what had happened. he was driven far away from the iceberg, as you know, and had searched for it in vain. at a loss what to do, he put into ivigtut to consult with me." by this time the excitement was about over, and all seated themselves as the servant came in and lighted the lamps. mr. schmidt continued: "the occurrence was so extraordinary that i was at a loss how to advise him, and his purpose in coming here this evening was that we might discuss the question and decide it." "you see," observed the captain (and he thereby verified the words of jack cosgrove, uttered several days before), "i observed that that iceberg wasn't sailing straight for the equator, and i got the idea that it was to be looked for further up north, though as likely as not it would change its course and head south again. the only thing for me was to try to get another ship or two to jine me in a search for you. i was going to find out whether that could be done, but now there isn't any need of it." "thank heaven, no!" fervently responded rob carrol; "we have had a close call, and the only regret we shall feel in leaving greenland is that it will take us away from our friends." "it is i who feel that, but it is one of the sure penalties of our existence. supper, i see, is ready; will you kindly walk out with me?" he asked, rising to his feet, and leading the way. and perhaps it is as well that we should say good-bye to the party, now that they are seated around the board with keen appetites, cheerful conversation, and happy hearts; for of the visit made to the cryolite mines the next day, the sailing of the "nautilus" two days later, the voyage through hudson bay to york factory, the visit there, the safe return to england, and the settling down of rob carrol and fred warburton to the sober business of life--why, all these may be covered in a paragraph, and so we say, "good-bye." the end ~the young boatman~ by horatio alger, jr. pages illustrated cloth, $ . this is an interesting story of a boy who is obliged to support himself and his mother by rowing passengers across the kennebec river. to add to his trials, his intemperate stepfather, after serving a term of imprisonment, returns home and endeavors to compel the boy to pay over his small earnings to him. this the boy, who was appropriately nicknamed grit, refuses to do, and after a struggle the stepfather retires from the conflict and returns to his thieving habits. shortly after grit discovers a conspiracy to rob the bank and promptly communicates his knowledge to the president, who succeeds in frustrating the plans of the robbers and secures their arrest. grit's cheerful manner and kindly good nature, coupled with the most sterling honesty, cause him to be held in high esteem by all who know him. his manly courage and self-reliance are often sorely tested, but his indomitable pluck transmutes calamity into success. the book is full of incident and adventure of just the right sort to hold the attention of any bright boy. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ ~the moncasket mystery~ ~and~ ~how tom hardy solved it~ by sidney marlow pages illustrated cloth, $ . the tone of this book is earnestly and emphatically moral, and the author understands that nothing makes morality so attractive to youth as to find it coupled with ingenuity, energy, and pluck. there is no "cant" and no "can't" about tom hardy, the decidedly vigorous hero of this story. he is a safe and worthy companion of any boy or girl, and it is predicted that he will not only win a warm place for himself in the hearts of all who make his acquaintance, but that he will gallantly retain it long after the covers shall have closed upon this chronicle of his efforts and adventures. he is an admirable boy, yet the author, in defiance of the usual method in modern juvenile fiction, has refused to sacrifice all of the other characters to the single hero. even those whose parts are but the slightest have been so attractively presented that the reader feels that if the events had chanced to require it each one of them would have become a hero. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ ~chasing a yacht~ by james otis author of "the braganza diamond," "toby tyler," etc. pages illustrated cloth, $ . two boys have engaged to run a steam yacht for the double purpose of pleasure and profit, and after carefully fitting her up they launch her, only to find the next morning that she is gone--stolen--as they later discover, by two other boys who had been refused a half-interest in her. the rightful owners start in hot pursuit, and in an attempt to recapture the steamer are themselves made prisoners. it is the intention of the thieves to hold the owners prisoners until the hudson river is reached and then put them ashore, but their plans miscarry owing to the intervention of two rather rough citizens who find their way aboard the yacht and make themselves generally at home. fortunately one of the owners manages to effect his escape, and gaining the assistance of the authorities the little vessel is speedily restored to them. the story is full of adventure, and the heroes are both bright and manly fellows, who make the best of their temporary hardships. the story will be found to enlist the interest at the outset, and to hold it until the last page is turned. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ ~the braganza diamond~ by james otis author of "chasing a yacht," "toby tyler," etc. pages illustrated cloth, $ . long before the opening events of this story the fragments of this celebrated gem are supposed to have been taken from a wreck by an old sea captain, and secreted by him on a lonely island in roanoke sound. this aged captain, now quite feeble, sends for his niece and her daughter. they invite two bright boys to accompany them, and engaging a steam launch the four, in company with the owner--a trusty sailor--set out for the lonely island. arriving there they are distressed at finding the captain already dead. to add to their discomfort they also discover that the former owners of the diamond have appeared upon the scene. the little party is forcibly made prisoner, and their captors demand that they forthwith produce the precious stone. this, of course, they are unable to do, but discovering among the old captain's effects a curious cryptogram, they are led to hope that its solution may reveal the secret hiding place of the diamond, and thus restore to them their freedom. this theory eventually proves correct, but not until after the party has endured many hardships, and passed through many exciting experiences. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ ~the odds against him, or carl crawford's experience~ by horatio alger, jr. pages illustrated cloth, $ . the hero of this story had to leave home on account of the ill-treatment he received from his stepmother, who had a son of her own about the same age. dr. crawford, a man of considerable wealth, but of weak, vacillating mind, loved his son, but was afraid to show his true feelings in the presence of his wife. after leaving home and meeting with a number of adverse experiences, carl eventually obtained employment in a factory. he soon gained the confidence of his employer, and after frustrating an attempt of the book-keeper to rob the safe, he was appointed as a traveler, and, visiting chicago, he discovered that his stepmother had another husband living. her success in getting a will made in her own favor, an attempt on the life of her husband, etc., are all defeated, and carl came out victorious in the end. the book is full of bright, cheerful, and amusing incidents, showing that a boy of good, honest, sterling, industrious habits can always secure friends, and succeed in earning a good living. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ ~the story of the iliad~ for boys and girls by dr. edward brooks, a.m. pages profusely illustrated cloth binding, $ . white and silver edition, $ . this is a story of absorbing interest both to young and old. it relates in a simple prose narrative the leading incidents of one of the greatest literary works of the world--the iliad of homer. many of its names are household words among educated people, and its incidents are a constant source of allusion and illustration among the best speakers and writers. no one with any claim to literary culture can afford to be ignorant of them. the object of the work is two-fold--first, to present to young people an interesting story which will be read with pleasure and at the same time cultivate a taste for good literature; second, to give a popular knowledge of this famous work of homer and thus afford a sort of stepping-stone to one of the grandest poetical structures of all time. it is thus a book for the home circle, and should be in every household in the land. it is recommended especially for school libraries and young folks' reading circles, and also to schools as a supplementary reader. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ ~the story of the odyssey~ for boys and girls by dr. edward brooks, a.m. pages profusely illustrated cloth binding, $ . white and silver edition, $ . the odyssey of homer combines the romance of travel with that of domestic life, and it differs from the iliad, which is a tale of the camp and battle-field. although the ancient author concentrates the attention on a single character--ulysses--he refers to several beautiful women, including some of the goddesses. after the siege of troy, ulysses started on a voyage of discovery and adventure in unknown lands, which, although described with poetic exaggeration, "has been a rich mine of wealth for poets and romancers, painters and sculptors, from the date of the age which we call homer's down to our own." in this wonderful poem lie the germs of thousands of volumes which fill our modern libraries. without some knowledge of it, readers will miss the point of many things in modern art and literature. ulysses was brave and valiant as a soldier, and was distinguished for his wisdom and shrewdness which enabled him to extricate himself from the difficulties which to others would seem insurmountable. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ ~harry ambler, and how he saved the homestead~ by sidney marlow pages illustrated cloth, $ . this is a narrative of a bright, active, and courageous boy, suddenly thrown upon his own resources and subjected to the malicious plots of a powerful enemy. the effectual and yet not unnatural manner in which the hero turns his enemy's weapons to his own defence, constitutes, perhaps, the chief charm of the book. the story abounds in humorous and exciting situations, yet it is in no objectionable way sensational. there is nothing in it that will tend to create or encourage a taste for mere reckless adventure. the author has given more attention to the delineation of his characters than is usual in juvenile literature, thus making the story pleasant reading, even for those who have passed the outer line of boyhood. he believes in a "moral," but not in those bits of abstract virtue which are so frequently forced into juvenile stories, only to be "skipped" by the youthful reader. he would create a personal sympathy with the best efforts of fallible boys and girls, rather than an admiration for the mere name of virtue. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ ~the campers out~ ~or~ ~the right path and the wrong~ by edward s. ellis, a.m. pages illustrated cloth, $ . this is one of the most interesting works of an author whose productions are widely read and deservedly popular on both sides of the atlantic. mr. ellis has in perfection the faculty of making his stories not only entertaining in the highest degree but instructive and elevating. a leading journal truthfully stated that no mother need hesitate to place any story of which mr. ellis is the author in the hands of her boy, for he is sure to be instructed as well as entertained. "the campers out" is bright, breezy, and full of adventure of just the right sort to hold the attention of any young mind. it is clean, pure, and elevating, and the stirring incidents with which it is filled convey one of the most forceful of morals. it traces the "right path" and the "wrong path" of several boys with such striking power that old and young will be alike impressed by the faithful portrayal of character, and be interested from beginning to end by the succession of exciting incidents. sold by all booksellers, or sent, prepaid, upon receipt of price. ~the penn publishing company~ ~ arch street, philadelphia~ canadiana online (http://www.canadiana.org) note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/ / / / / / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/ / / / / / -h.zip) images of the original pages are available through early canadiana online. see http://www.canadiana.org/eco/itemrecord/ ?id= aec ba kalli, the esquimaux christian. by the rev. t. b. murray, m.a. published under the direction of the committee of general literature and education, appointed by the society for promoting christian knowledge london. printed for the society for promoting christian knowledge, sold at the depositories, great queen street, lincoln's inn fields, , royal exchange, and , hanover street, hanover square, and by all booksellers _price sixpence._ [illustration: kallihirua, signature] kalli, the esquimaux christian. a memoir by the rev. t. b. murray, m.a. author of "pitcairn, the island, the people, and the pastor" published under the direction of the committee of general literature and education, appointed by the society for promoting christian knowledge london printed for the society for promoting christian knowledge sold at the depositories great queen street, lincoln's inn fields, , royal exchange, and , hanover street, hanover square and by all booksellers contents page kallihirua the esquimaux her majesty's ship "assistance" cape york kallihirua on board the "assistance" the esquimaux graves kallihirua's family lines on "kallihirua in the ship" description of the esquimaux admiral beechey's account the seal the narwhal sir w. edward parry's account need of christian instruction kallihirua's tribe kallihirua in england ib. his fondness for prints and drawings seal hunter sights in england great exhibition of st. augustine's college college studies reverence for sacred places illness from changes in the weather greenland-esquimaux vocabulary visit to kalli at college his amusements and occupations baptism of kallihirua stanzas by the warden kalli at st. john's, newfoundland death of archdeacon bridge intelligence from newfoundland allusion to prince le boo accounts from st john's letter from kalli kalli's illness and death legacy to a friend funeral intended memorial practical reflections conclusion illustrations portrait of kallihirua _to face title page_ map, including his birthplace _to face page_ entrance to a snow hut _page_ esquimaux striking a narwhal seal hunter walrus and seal st. martin's church, canterbury _to face page_ kallihirua the esquimaux. kallihirua, notwithstanding the disadvantages of person (for he was plain, and short of stature, and _looked_ what he was,--an esquimaux), excited a feeling of interest and regard in those who were acquainted with his history, and who knew his docile mind, and the sweetness of his disposition. compliance with the precept in the old testament, "love ye the stranger[ ]," becomes a delight as well as a duty in such an instance as that about to be recorded, especially when we consider the affecting injunction conveyed in the epistle to the hebrews, "be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares[ ]." [footnote : deut. x .] [footnote : heb. xiii .] her majesty's ship "assistance" erasmus augustine york, whose native name was kallihirua, was brought to england on board her majesty's ship "assistance," captain erasmus ommanney, in . captain ommanney was second in command of the expedition under the orders of captain horatio austin, c.b., which was dispatched in may, , in search of the missing vessels of sir john franklin, the "erebus" and "terror". franklin had quitted england on his perilous and fatal enterprise in may, . much interest was attached to the young esquimaux, who was considered to be about sixteen years of age in august, . he was one of a tribe inhabiting the country in the vicinity of wolstenholme sound, at the head of baffin's bay, in ° ' north latitude, the nearest residents to the north pole of any human beings known to exist on the globe. he was the only person ever brought to this country from so high a northern latitude. his tribe was met with by the late sir john ross, during his voyage in , and was by him called the arctic highlanders. cape york it appears that, when the expedition under captain austin's command was passing cape york, in august, , after its release from the ice in melville bay, natives were seen from the "assistance". captain ommanney went with the "intrepid" (one of the vessels comprising the expedition) to communicate with them, when it was ascertained that h.m.s., "north star," had passed the winter in the neighbourhood. the fate of this vessel was then a matter of anxiety, as by her instructions she had been cautioned to avoid passing the winter in those regions. the tribe thus discovered consisted of only three families, residing in their summer huts at cape york. as no steamer had ever before found its way to these seas, it was interesting to watch the impression upon the singular beings now visited, when they descended into the engine-room. the large furnaces and machinery astonished them. the latter, on being put in motion, made them take to their heels with fright, and they ran out of the engine-room on deck as fast as they could. kallihirua on board the "assistance" it was after this first interview that the report was raised of the massacre of two ships' crews in . captain ommanney, accompanied by captain penny, with his interpreter, immediately returned to cape york, and had a long interview with the natives. they most emphatically denied the whole statement, adding, that no ship had ever been on their coasts except the "north star," and passing whalers. then it was, that kallihirua consented to show captain ommanney where the "north star" had wintered, and to join the ship, for the purpose of being useful as an interpreter, in the event of their meeting with any natives during the search for the missing expedition under sir john franklin. parting (for awhile, as he supposed) with his immediate relatives, and with the only people whom he knew on earth, he threw himself into the hands of strangers in perfect confidence. having arrived on board the "assistance," he put off his rough native costume, submitted to the process of a good washing, and, being soon clad in ordinary european clothing, which was cheerfully contributed by the officers, the young esquimaux with much intelligence performed the duty of pilot to the place where the "north star" had wintered. the esquimaux graves on entering wolstenholme sound[ ], kallihirua, or, as he was familiarly called, kalli, directed captain ommanney and the officers to the late winter-station of his tribe, the spot having been abandoned in consequence of some epidemic, probably influenza, which had carried off several persons. on entering the huts, a most distressing sight presented itself. a heap of dead bodies, about seven, in a state of decomposition, lay, one over the other, clad in their skin-clothing, as if suddenly cut off by the hand of death. the survivors, from fear of infection, had left the remains of their relatives unburied. it was an affecting scene in such a remote and desolate region, separated from all communication with the human race. near the huts was the burial-ground, with several well-formed graves of heaps of stones. on one lay a spear, which one of the officers of the "assistance" took up, to bring away. some of the crew were examining the graves to see whether they contained any of our missing countrymen. seeing this, kalli ran up to the officer, and, with tears and entreaties, as well as he could make himself understood, begged him and the men to desist from the work of desecration. [footnote : for wolstenholme sound and cape york see the annexed map.] [illustration: map of western arctic] [illustration: the arctic regions of america _london. published by the society for protecting christian knowledge._] kallihirua's family poor kalli's lamentations were quite heartrending. his feelings were, of course, respected, the graves were at once built up again, and the spear replaced. captain ommanney learnt afterwards from kalli, that it was his father's grave, over which the spear had been placed by friends of the deceased. they have a tradition that in a future state the means of hunting are still required, and, because in this world the search of food is the chief object of life, the hunting-lance is deposited on the grave. the young stranger subsequently lived on board the "assistance". he was placed under the care of the serjeant of marines, who instructed kalli in the rudiments of reading and writing, and to whom he became much attached. by his amiable disposition he made himself welcome and agreeable to all the expedition, and, as, in consequence of the state of the ice, no opportunity was offered of landing him on his native shores, on the return of the vessel past york inlet, he was brought to england. the leaders of the expedition conferred the surname of york upon him, from the locality in which he was found. to this the name of erasmus was prefixed, after that of the gallant captain ommanney. lines on "kallihirua in the ship" kalli was a twin. his father, whose grave has been mentioned, had been dead for some years, but he had a mother living, of whom he often spoke with duty and affection. his father's name was kirshung-oak. his mother's sa-toor-ney. he had two sisters living with their mother. a touching circumstance, connected with his first introduction to our countrymen, has been adverted to, which gave rise to the following lines by the writer of this memoir. they were published in the "gospel missionary," in the year of the arrival of kallihirua, and are supposed to be spoken by a british sailor on board the "assistance"-- kalli in the ship a frost, like iron, held the air, a calm was on the sea, but fields of ice were spreading there, and closing on our lee. our ship half bound, as if aground, was scarcely seen to go. all hands on deck were gather'd round the little eskimaux. for he had come amongst our crew, a week or so before, and now we knew not what to do to put him safe ashore. poor lad, he strain'd his eyes in vain, till tears began to come, and tried if he could see again his mother and his home. the captain then saw through his glass the inlet, and the bay, but floes of ice, as green as grass, and icebergs block'd the way. "up with the sail!--the wind's awake!" hark to the captain's call, "i see, my boys, we shall not make york inlet, after all." we look'd upon the swarthy lad, then look'd upon each other, and all were sure that he was sad with thinking of his mother. we cheer'd him up, and soon he grew so useful and so kind, the crew were glad, and kalli too, he was not left behind. he learn'd to make the best of it, and now, by time and care, they tell us he can read a bit, and say an easy prayer. o kalli, fail not, day by day, to kneel to god above; then he will hear you when you pray, and guard you with his love. go on, my friend, in years and grace, your precious time employ, and you will pass, in wisdom's race, the idle english boy. nay, if you learn and practise too the lessons of your youth, some heathen tribes may gain from you the light of gospel truth. description of the esquimaux it may here be interesting to say a few words respecting the people who inhabit the gloomy abodes whence kallihirua came, and where he had passed the greater part of his life. [illustration: entrance to a snow-hut] admiral beechey's account "the characteristic features of the esquimaux," says admiral beechey, "are large fat round faces, high cheek-bones, small hazel eyes, eyebrows slanting like the chinese, and wide mouths." they are generally under five feet high, and have brown complexions. beechey, in his narrative of a voyage to behring's strait, &c., in h.m.s. "blossom," gave a curious and particular description of the habits and customs of the esquimaux, their wretched hovels, or "yourts," snow-dwellings, and underground huts, and the general want of cleanliness in their persons and dwellings. speaking of a tribe which he visited, he says, "we found them very honest, extremely good-natured and friendly. their tents were constructed of skins, loosely stretched over a few spars of drift-wood, and were neither wind nor water tight. the tents were, as usual, filthy, but suitable to the taste of their inhabitants, who no doubt saw nothing in them that was revolting. the natives testified much pleasure at our visit, and placed before us several dishes, amongst which were two of their choicest,--the entrails of a fine seal, and a bowl of coagulated blood. but desirous as we were to oblige them, there was not one of our party that could be induced to partake of their hospitality. seeing our reluctance, they tried us with another dish, consisting of the raw flesh of the narwhal, nicely cut into lumps, with an equal distribution of black and white fat, but they were not more successful here than at first." the seal the seal's flesh supplies the natives with their most palatable and substantial food, which however has a fishy flavour, as the creatures feed chiefly on fish. seals are sometimes taken on land, when surprised basking in the sun, with their young. as soon as they are alarmed by the sight of their enemies, they scuttle away, and make for the sea[ ]. it is on the great deep that the esquimaux, driven by hunger, chiefly seeks his precarious food. in his light canoe, which is made of seal-skins stretched over a slight framework of wood, he hunts, in all weathers, for his prey, especially for the much-prized narwhal. there, tumbling in their seal-skin boat, fearless, the hungry fishers float, and from the teeming seas supply the food their niggard plains deny. [footnote : see zoological sketches, _common seal_. published by the society for promoting christian knowledge.] the narwhal [illustration: esquimaux striking a narwhal] the same intrepid boldness is shown in their chase of the reindeer, the bear, and the fox. over the boundless deserts of snow they are borne rapidly along by their faithful dogs, which are harnessed to a sledge, six or seven to the team, and which scamper away, often in seeming confusion, but with a precision of aim and object which is perfectly surprising. no country presents a finer specimen of that honest, affectionate, much-enduring creature, the dog. kindness to animals is always praiseworthy, and to the honour of the esquimaux women it must be said, that they are remarked for their humane treatment of these dogs. they take care of them when they are ill, and use them better than the men do. still under blows and hard usage the dogs are faithful, and willing to labour. sir w. edward parry's account the esquimaux sometimes use slabs of ice for the walls of their huts, cementing them together with snow and water. kennels for their dogs are also made of the same material. the late admiral sir w. edward parry, in the course of a voyage commenced in may, , the chief object of which was the discovery of the north-west passage, availed himself of a winter's imprisonment in the ice, to observe and record the ways and manners of the esquimaux, whose guest he was. his account is on the whole satisfactory. "i can safely affirm," said he, "that, whilst thus lodged beneath their roof, i know no people whom i would more confidently trust, as respects either my person or my property, than the esquimaux." he also described their domestic character. the affection of the parents towards their children showed itself in a thousand ways, and the children on their part have so much gentleness and docility as to render any kind of chastisement unnecessary. even from their earliest infancy, they are said to possess that quietness of disposition, gentleness of demeanour, and uncommon evenness of temper, for which in more mature age they are for the most part distinguished. disobedience is scarcely ever known; a word or even a look from a parent is enough. these traits, added to industry and endurance of various kinds of difficulty, form the fair side of the picture, such as that amiable and distinguished officer was fond of presenting. the exhibition of these features of character was probably called forth, in a great degree, by his own kindness and good management, whilst living among them. need of christian instruction but doubtless there are other and less favourable points of view in which these people must be sometimes considered. at all events, it is sad to learn, from the silence of some travellers, and the actual statements of others, that the esquimaux do not appear to have any idea of the existence of a supreme being, or to hold any notion of religion. separated from the whole civilized world, and frequently finding it a struggle to live, even with the help of their faithful dogs, they are objects of pity and concern, rather than of sanguine hope and expectation to the christian mind. but were an opportunity to occur of carrying the gospel to their snow-clad land, there is little doubt that the remark of parry, applied to an individual of one of their tribes, might be used of all: "on dispositions thus naturally charitable, what might not christian education, and christian principles effect?" kallihirua's tribe certainly, the instance now before the reader affords a good illustration of this view of the esquimaux character. it is captain ommanney's opinion that kallihirua's tribe may be regarded as a remnant of the pure race which, no doubt, in ages past migrated from asia along the coasts of the parry group of islands and barrow's straits. the features, and formation of skull, bespeak tartar extraction. "their isolated position," he adds, "being far north of the danish settlements in greenland, and far removed from the american continent, has kept them uncontaminated with any of the various mixed breeds of which the esquimaux in those regions must be composed." kallihirua in england captain ommanney, soon after his arrival in england, brought young kallihirua to the society for promoting christian knowledge. at that time he could only speak a few words, such as "ship," "sea," "very sick;" "england, things very nice," "captain very good". from his language and gesture it was gathered, that he had suffered much from sea-sickness on the voyage; that he had been treated with the utmost care and kindness on board, and that he was highly pleased with english fare, and with the reception which he had met with in this country. his manners were so gentle, and even polite, without any seeming effort, as to excite astonishment in those who knew how short a time he had enjoyed the advantages of education. it was clear that great pains had been taken with him on board the "assistance," where his great study had been to adapt himself to the habits and manners of those among whom his lot was so singularly cast. "in this," says captain ommanney, "he succeeded; for people were surprised at his good address, when he reached england." his fondness for prints and drawings he was always much pleased with the company of young people, and appeared quite at home with them. some books and prints were placed in the hands of the youth, and he expressed the greatest delight in seeing views of ships in the ice, and the figure of an esquimaux watching for a seal. after gazing for a few moments at the latter, he uttered a cry of pleasure, and said, "this one of my people!" it seemed as if, for the time, he had been carried back to his own land, which, however homely, was once his home. had any proof been wanting of the faithfulness of the representation, his hearty and joyous approval of it would have afforded sufficient evidence of its accuracy. the reader shall see the engraving of the lonely seal-hunter which so much pleased poor kalli. seal hunter [illustration: seal hunter] in this situation, we are told, a man will sit quietly for ten or twelve hours together, at a temperature of thirty or forty degrees below zero, watching for the opportunity of killing and taking the seal, which is supposed to be at work making its hole beneath in the ice. the esquimaux, partly sheltered from the "winter's wind," and fast-falling snow, by a snow-wall, has got his spear and lines ready, and he has tied his knees together, to prevent his disturbing the seal by making the slightest noise. sights in england kalli, whilst in london, on a visit to the author, was taken to the british museum. with some of the objects there he was much gratified. the antiquities, sculpture, and specimens of art and science, had not such charms in his sight as had the life-like forms of stuffed animals in that great national collection. with the seals, reindeer, and a gigantic walrus, with bright glass eyes, he was especially struck and amused, lingering for some time in the attractive apartment which contained them. he had now and then much to bear from rudeness and incivility on the part of some thoughtless persons, who derided his personal appearance, though they were not successful in putting him out of temper. the author recollects an instance of this in a street in london. he was walking with kalli, when two young men, who ought to have known better, stared at the youth in passing, and laughed in his face: then presently turning round, they said, as they pointed at him, "there goes a chinese!" he merely looked up, smiling, as if at their ignorance, and want of proper feeling. it has been observed of the people of his nation, that they evince little or no surprise or excitement at such things as occasion admiration in others. when kalli first came up the river thames with captain ommanney, and travelled from woolwich by the railway, thence proceeding through the wonderful thoroughfare from london bridge to the west end of the town, passing st. paul's cathedral, and charing cross, he merely said, _it was all very good_. "i took him with me," said the captain, "to the great exhibition, the crystal palace, in hyde park. he beheld all the treasures around him with great coolness, and only expressed his wonder at the vast multitude of people." great exhibition of this is natural enough. many of our readers may recall the feelings of astonishment with which they viewed that large assemblage. on one of the shilling days, in october, , ninety-two thousand human beings were collected together in the crystal palace at one time[ ]. the force of contrast could perhaps go no further than in this instance. a young stranger who, in his own country, in a space of hundreds of miles around him, had only three families (probably twelve persons) to count, makes one of a multitude of more than ninety thousand of his fellow-creatures, in a building of glass, covering only eighteen acres of ground! [footnote : this was the case on tuesday, oct. , . the total number of visitors on that day alone was , .] he was taken to see the horse guards' stables. on seeing a trooper mount his charger, (both being fully accoutred,) kalli was puzzled. he could not account for the perfect order and discipline of the animal, and the mutual fitness of the man and his horse, the one for the other. st. augustine's college in november, , kallihirua was placed, by direction of the lords of the admiralty, at the suggestion of the society for the propagation of the gospel, in the missionary college of st. augustine's, at canterbury. this college, built on the site of the ancient monastery of st. augustine, was established in , for the reception of students intended for the work of the sacred ministry in the colonies and dependencies of the british empire, as well as among the heathen. the college, to which the queen gave a charter of incorporation, owes its origin chiefly to the munificence of a. j. b. beresford hope, esq., who purchased the ground, and gave the site. the college chapel was consecrated on the morning of st. peter's day, june th, , when seven prelates, with the archbishop of canterbury at their head, were present. college studies kallihirua remained a student of the college, attending to the instruction given him, and conducting himself well and properly in all respects. under the kind auspices of the rev. h. bailey, the learned and judicious warden of the college, who took the greatest interest in him, he availed himself, as far as his powers admitted, of the advantages of the institution. he appeared rightly to understand and value the blessings of education in a civilized community, and received with reverence the simple and saving truths of the gospel. it was hoped, that, should he willingly and intelligently embrace the christian faith, he might at no distant period convey the "glad tidings of good things" as a missionary or catechist to his own benighted friends and countrymen. in september, , the warden, in a letter, informed the author, that kallihirua had been in good health all the summer. "we consider him," said he, "a youth of intelligence, and quick observation. his progress in reading is necessarily slow, though he can manage words of four or five letters, he is fond of writing, and succeeds very well. he is very devout at prayers, and attentive to the religious instruction given him. i think he will one day be of essential use to a missionary in some northern region. he is grateful to you for your kind offer of books, and will write a letter of acknowledgment." his reverence for sacred places it was but a short time after his settling at st. augustine's college, that one of the students took him to see canterbury cathedral. the reverent regard with which he had been taught to look upon a church, as a place where prayer was made to god, manifested itself in his inquiry, when entering the nave, "whether he might cough there?" this tendency to cough, arising from an ailment, the seeds of which had probably been sown long before, was often observable; and he was very susceptible of cold. illness from changes in the weather in the spring of he suffered much from the variableness of the season. the mode in which he described his state to a friend is very simple and affecting. the original letter, which was entirely his own, both in composition and handwriting, is here copied verbatim. it commences with his signature:-- "e. york, st. augustine's college. april, . "my dear sir, "i am very glad to tell, how do you do, sir? i been england, long time none very well. long time none very well. very bad weather. i know very well, very bad cough. i very sorry, very bad weather, dreadful. country very difference. another day cold. another day wet, i miserable. "another summer come. very glad. great many trees. many wood. summer beautiful, country canterbury." should any reader be disposed to look with the smile of a critic on this humble but genuine effort, let him bear in mind the difficulties which poor _english_ adults have to encounter in learning to read and write; and then let him judge of the obstacles in the way of one whose existence had been spent with his native tribe, on fields of ice, and in dark snow-huts. in all attacks of illness he was attended with assiduous kindness by mr. hallowes, of canterbury, the skilful surgeon employed by the college, who showed much hospitality to kalli. one of mr. hallowes' family circle on christmas-day was always the good-humoured broad-faced esquimaux. at their juvenile parties, the youth joined cheerfully in the sports of the children, and he sometimes sung them some of the wild and plaintive airs peculiar to his tribe. it is believed that kalli never omitted his morning and evening prayers by his bed-side, and his utterance was full of devout earnestness. mr. bailey remembers once travelling with him to deal, and while in the railway carriage, the youth quietly took out of his pocket a little book, which was afterwards found to be a collection of texts for each day in the year. for some time he was reading thoughtfully the text for the day. no notice was taken of this to him; and as for himself, never perhaps was any one more free from the least approach to ostentation. greenland esquimaux vocabulary in the year , kalli rendered essential service in the preparation of a greenland esquimaux vocabulary, for the use of the arctic expedition of that year. the work was printed by direction of the lords of the admiralty, with a short preface acknowledging the advantage of his assistance. captain washington, r.n., hydrographer of the admiralty, says in the preface, "every word has now been revised from the lips of a native. in the midsummer vacation in kallihirua passed some days with me, and we went partly over the vocabulary. i found him intelligent, speaking english very fairly, docile and imitative, his great pleasure appearing to be a pencil and paper, with which he drew animals and ships. at the christmas holidays, we revised more of the vocabulary, &c." a member of the expedition afterwards visited st. augustine's college and stated that the vocabulary had been found to be of much service. visit to kalli at college the writer of this memoir well recollects the circumstances of a visit which he paid with his family to st. augustine's college, canterbury, on a bright day, in august, , when (it being the vacation) only three students remained in residence. these were . kallihirua, . a young hindoo by name mark pitamber paul, and . lambert mckenzie, a youth of colour, a native of africa, sent to the college by the bishop of guiana. kalli, who was the only one of these personally known to the author, did not at first appear. he had strolled out to witness a cricket-match in a field near canterbury, but blunsom, the college porter, said that he had promised to return by two o'clock, and that he was very punctual. it is here due both to blunsom and his wife, to say that they were most kind friends to kalli, watching over him with the most thoughtful attention, and the tenderest care throughout. as the cathedral clock struck two, kalli entered the college-gates. with hair black as the raven's wing, and eyes sparkling with good-humour, he made his appearance; and soon showed a desire to do the honours of the college. his dress was neat, like that of a young english gentleman, and he had a gaiety of look and manner, but far removed from foppery of apparel or demeanour. with true politeness--that of the heart--he accompanied the visitors over the library, the chapel, the common hall and the dormitories of the college; each student having a small bed-room and study to himself. his amusements and occupations kalli took great pleasure in exhibiting the carpenter's shop, a spacious crypt below the library. attention was there called to the wooden frame of a small house, in the construction of which, it appeared, he had borne a part. he said, when asked, that he should most probably find the knowledge of carpentering valuable some day, and that he should like to teach his countrymen the many good and useful things which he had learned in his college. he spoke little, and was evidently conscious of his imperfect pronunciation, but in answer to a question on the subject, he said he hoped to tell his people about religion, and the truths of the gospel which he had been taught in england. his amusements were of a quiet and innocent kind. he made small models of his country sledges, one of which, a very creditable performance, is in the museum in the college library, and a rough rustic chair, now in the college garden, is of his manufacture. he was fond of drawing ships, and figures of the seal, the walrus, the reindeer, the esquimaux dog, and other objects familiar to him in the arctic regions. [illustration: walrus and seal.] his sketches of animals and ships were very correct, and he used sometimes to draw them for the amusement of children. when on board the "assistance," he made a good sketch of the coast line of the region which his tribe frequented, from cape york to smith's sound. the use which he made of the needle must not be forgotten. for a year and a half, whilst at canterbury, he went regularly for five hours a day to a tailor to learn the trade, and was found very handy with his needle. he proved to be of much use in the ordinary work of the trade. baptism of kallihirua we now come to an important event in the history of kallihirua; his baptism, which took place on advent sunday, nov. th, , in st. martin's church, near canterbury. "the visitors present on the occasion," said an eye-witness[ ], "were, the rev. john philip gell (late warden of christ's college, tasmania), accompanied by mrs. gell, daughter of the late sir john franklin; captain erasmus ommanney, r.n. (who brought kallihirua to england), and mrs. ommanney, captain washington, r.n., of the admiralty, and the rev. w. t. bullock. the rev. t. b. murray, secretary of the society for promoting christian knowledge, who had been invited, was, in consequence of engagements in london, unfortunately unable to be present". [footnote : st. augustine's occasional paper.] [illustration: st. martin's church] "towards three o'clock in the afternoon, small parties began to issue from the college gateway in the direction of st. martin's,--that picturesque little church, looking from its calm hill-side over the broad stour valley, and over the cathedral and the steeples of the town half emerging from the smoke. in the interior of this oldest of the english churches there is an ancient font, which stands upon the spot (if it be not the very font itself), where king ethelbert, the firstfruits of the anglo-saxon race, was baptized more than twelve hundred and fifty years ago by augustine. "in the enclosure round this font sat kallihirua, and his 'chosen witnesses' captain ommanney, and the subwarden, mrs. bailey, and mrs. gell. the remainder of the church was quite filled with an attentive and apparently deeply-interested congregation, many of them of the poorer class to whom kalli is well known either by face (as indeed he could not well fail to be), or as the comrade of their children in the spelling-class at school. "after the second lesson, the warden proceeded to the font, and the baptismal service commenced. kallihirua, as an adult, made the responses for himself, and in a clear firm tone, which seemed to intimate that he had made his choice for once and for ever, that he had cast in his lot with us, and taken our people for his people, and our god for his god, and felt with an intelligent appreciation the privilege of that new brotherhood into which he was admitted. "may his admission within the pale of christ's holy church be, (as was the prayer of many, beyond the walls of st. martin's, on that day,) both to himself and to many of his race, an event pregnant of eternal issues! 'may the fulness of god's blessing,' to use the words of one of our most valued friends, 'rest upon it, and make it the first streak of a clear and steady light, shining from st. augustine's into the far north.' the christian names added to his original esquimaux name, were 'erasmus,' after captain ommanney, and 'augustine,' in remembrance of the college. "the service being concluded, an excellent sermon was preached by the rev. j. p. gell, on the text, isaiah lxv. : 'i am sought of them that asked not for me; i am found of them that sought me not: i said, behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.' afterwards the same kind friend attended our sunday evening meeting in the warden's house, and gave us some interesting details of the missionary work (in which he had himself borne a part) in van diemen's land. the drift of his remarks was to give encouragement to the principle of steady faithful persevering energy, undamped by early difficulties, and not impatient of the day of small things; and to show by convincing examples (especially that of mr. davis, a devoted missionary in that country) how such conduct is sure in the end to meet with a success of the soundest and most permanent kind, because founded on the spontaneous sympathy of the people, and on the blessings of the poor, 'not loud but deep.' "kallihirua had received a very handsome present in the shape of a beautifully bound bible and prayer book, as a baptismal gift from the society for promoting christian knowledge." it may be interesting to add, that the water used in the baptism was from the river jordan, and that it had been brought from thence by captain ommanney himself. in the _gospel missionary_ for february, , was a pleasing description of the baptism of kallihirua: and this was the sound and practical conclusion:-- "before we conclude, we may, perhaps, express the hope that our young friends will sometimes think kindly of their new christian brother, erasmus augustine kallihirua, and that they will pray that god will bless him, and make him to advance more and more in the knowledge and the love of his dear son jesus christ. when they thus think of him who is now made their own brother by baptism, and is thus brought into the family of christ's people, let them learn to value the good things which god has given _them_ in such rich abundance. let them be thankful that they were born in a christian country, in which they have been taught from children to know the holy scriptures, which are able to make them wise unto salvation through faith which is in christ jesus." stanzas by the warden the following stanzas, written by the warden on the occasion of the baptism, will be read with pleasure, especially by those who are aware how faithfully the amiable writer of them fulfilled his part in preparing kallihirua, not only for the right performance of such duties as seemed to await him in life, but (what was far more important) for an early death. the baptism of kallihirua "i will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and i will bring you to zion."--jer. iii. . far through the icy bounds of greenland's barren shore, at duty's call, on mercy sent, the brave are gone before. beyond the haunts of men they urge their tedious way, when lo! a wandering tribe appears by yonder northern bay. but who so wild, so lost in ignorance and sin! no god they know, no saviour own, is there a soul to win? yes, in that heathen race one heart at least is found that yearns for better things, by grace in unseen fetters bound. warm is the christian's heart, outstretch'd the christian's hand, "assistance" lends her friendly aid to reach a christian land. in this our calm retreat he finds a peaceful home, is taught such learning as is meet, in store for years to come. he learns to know and love his saviour and his god, and now he is a brother dear, by faith in jesu's blood. o gracious spirit! hear our prayer with one accord; and train this new-born christian heart in thy most holy word. have pity on his race! and bring them still to see their wretched state, and teach them all the father, son, and thee! to god the father, son, and spirit, glory be, who call'd, and saved, and sanctifies, the co-eternal three! some of these verses were sung in the college chapel on the evening of advent sunday, . kalli at st. john's, newfoundland the time having now arrived at which, according to the opinion of the bishop of newfoundland, and the warden of st. augustine's, the qualifications of kallihirua might be turned to some account, as an aid to missionaries in their efforts among the esquimaux of labrador, he left england, in the autumn of the year , for further training at st. john's, newfoundland. this step was taken at the expense of the admiralty, who agreed to allow him pounds a year for three years. the following notice of his character appeared in the 'occasional paper,' published in st. augustine's college at the time of his removal to newfoundland. at every step of his short but remarkable course, such willing testimony always awaited him. "kallihirua, whose name is known as widely as that of his college, has arrived at another crisis in his eventful history. having resided more than three years in college, he has been transferred to the experienced care of the bishop of newfoundland, with the view to his probable usefulness among the esquimaux of labrador. if integrity of moral principle, gentleness of spirit, docility of manners, willingness to be useful, and true christian politeness, are essential requisites in a missionary, then is kallihirua certain to fill his place well, if only the right place is found for him." kalli arrived in st john's, newfoundland, on the nd october, , and, on the following day, wrote a letter to captain ommanney, telling him that he had suffered on the voyage from the motion of the vessel, which had caused severe headaches. he added, "st john's puts me in mind of my own country. i have already found a great number of kind friends, and feel so happy." he was immediately admitted into the college of the theological institution for further training, and it was the bishop's intention to have taken him in the summer of in the church-ship to the coast of labrador, with the view particularly of comparing his language with that of the esquimaux on the american continent, who are included under the government, and consequently in the diocese, of newfoundland. that he was not unfitted for this task, appears from a passage in the preface to the greenland-esquimaux vocabulary. captain washington observes: "on comparing the labrador with the greenland dialect of the esquimaux, it was found that nearly one-half the words given by mr. platon were similar to the former. on going over the vocabulary with kallihirua, generally speaking he recognized the greenland word. when he did not do so, the labrador was mentioned, which, in most cases, he caught at directly. these words have been added. there would thus appear to be even a greater degree of similarity between the labrador and greenland dialects than might have been expected, and it is evident that the greenland dialect, as mr. platon states, is spoken by all the esquimaux to the head of baffin's bay." kalli had some conversation with a moravian missionary from labrador. the language was in most respects similar, though there was evidently a difficulty in understanding each other. death of archdeacon bridge it may be mentioned, as a circumstance of melancholy interest, that, besides kallihirua, the late venerable t. f. h. bridge, archdeacon of newfoundland, was to have accompanied and assisted the bishop in this voyage, which it was proposed should have extended to the moravian settlement. moravian missions have been established in greenland for more than a century. but the expedition contemplated by the bishop was more particularly designed to open sandwich and esquimaux bays to the much-needed missionary. these projects it was determined, in the good providence of god, were not to be realized. archdeacon bridge was prematurely carried off, in the midst of his zealous and successful labours, at the end of february, . "he worked himself to death!" said the bishop. "his death was felt in the colony as a public loss." intelligence from newfoundland the author of this memoir had written to kallihirua, whilst he was at st. augustine's, and had received from him a letter shortly, and plainly expressed, which the warden stated to have been composed and written by the youth himself, and which proved how anxious he was to do well that which was given him to do. the author afterwards often thought of the amiable kalli, and was in hopes of soon hearing from him in his new abode in newfoundland. but man proposeth, and god disposeth. a st. john's paper, _the newfoundland express_, taken up casually in july, , conveyed the intelligence that kallihirua had passed away from this busy anxious world to another, and, we humbly and reasonably hope, a better and happier. a melancholy interest generally attaches to the history of individuals dying in a foreign and strange land, far from friends and home. the separation from all they have known and loved is, in their case, so entire, the change of their circumstances, habits, and associations, so great, that such a dispensation specially appeals to the sympathy of all christian hearts. allusion to prince le boo feelings of this kind are excited by the narrative of the early death of prince le boo, a youthful native of the pelew islands, who was brought over to this country in july, , and who, in the spring-time of life, after little more than five months' stay in england, fell a victim, to the small pox. in the memoir of that young prince, who died at rotherhithe, and was buried in the church-yard there, in december, , there are some points of resemblance to the case under our notice. the natural and unforced politeness of the youth, his aptness at conforming, in all proper things, to the habits and customs of those to whose hospitality he was intrusted; his warm and single-hearted affection for such persons, in whatever station, as showed him kind offices, his desire for mental improvement; his resignation and submission in his last illness to the will of god, these are features which remind us of the subject of our present memoir. many are the tears which have fallen over the story of the young and amiable prince le boo. accounts from st. john's but to resume the thread of the narrative respecting kalli. during the winter of and he had suffered frequently from cough, and shown other signs of constitutional weakness. his cheerfulness, however, had seldom failed him; his readiness to please, and be pleased, to oblige, and be obliged, never. in letters which he sent to friends in england, he always spoke with gratitude of the kindness shown him, and of being very happy. letter from kalli the following letter to mr. blunsom, who, as it will have been seen, had treated him with constant kindness, and done him much good service, will be read with interest. "st john's college, newfoundland, january , . "i received your kind letter by the december mail, and am very sorry to hear of your illness. the weather here is very cold, i feel it more than at cape york. i have begun to skate, and find it a pleasant amusement. there is a lake a little distance from the college, called, 'quidi vidi,' on which we practise. the bishop is very kind and good to me. college here is not so large and fine a place as st. augustine's: nor are there so many students. i hope that all my kind friends at canterbury are quite well. please remember me kindly to mr. and mrs. gipps, and all at st. augustine's. with kind love to yourself, "i remain, yours affectionately, "kalli." kalli's illness and death with respect to the fatal attack under which he soon sunk, it has to be mentioned, that he had gone out to bathe with one of his fellow-students at st. john's, on saturday, the th june. from continuing too long in the water, which was very cold, he caught a chill, and showed many symptoms of inflammation for some days. on wednesday, good medical assistance was called in, but his constitution had received too violent a shock. the surgeon had fears from the first that his patient would not recover. it has been observed by medical men, that esquimaux have but little stamina, and generally fail under the first attack of serious illness. kalli was kindly watched and assisted by the rev. j. g. mountain, and mrs. mountain, and his fellow-students. he got rapidly worse. on the thursday he seemed utterly powerless, and could not lift up his arms, nor put them out of his bed. he was very restless during the greater part of friday night. "soon after ten o'clock on saturday morning, june th," said the bishop of newfoundland, "his gentle soul departed. i saw him frequently during his illness (three times the last day), and he always assented most readily, when i reminded him of god's gracious goodness in visiting him; and that it would be better for him to depart, and be with christ. it was remarkable that his english was more clear and distinct in his illness than i had ever known it; and though he said but very little, he seemed to understand better than ever before. the last seizure was so sudden and violent, that he did not articulate at all. he expired, whilst i was commending his soul to his faithful creator and most merciful saviour." he is stated to have died of "melanosis of the lungs," a disease in which the whole substance of the lungs turns completely black. it is very slow in its first advances, but fearfully rapid in its latter stages. the bishop had the chest examined after death, and sent a copy of the surgeon's report to the warden of st. augustine's. in a full communication, made to the warden, the bishop said, "the almost suddenness of our good gentle kalli's removal makes it difficult to realize the fact that 'he is gone.' i still look for his familiar strange face among the students, wondering at his unwonted absence. he seemed quite identified with our little company. we all miss him greatly, but he has now entered on that perfect rest which he seemed made for, and is delivered from a troublesome, naughty world for which he was certainly not made." the bishop also spoke of kalli's _submission to those set over him; his kindness to all around him, and his attention to all his religious duties_. many young persons, born and bred in our own country, and brought up from the cradle in the very midst of christian instruction, may glean a valuable lesson from the character of this lamented esquimaux christian. they may ask themselves, with some feeling of self-reproof, whether they should have merited such praise from one so revered, and so well qualified to judge. "perhaps," added bishop feild, "i was a little proud at being able to exhibit a far-off esquimaux brought near, and among my own scholars." during kalli's last illness, which, though short, was not without considerable suffering, the same spirit of resignation and thankfulness, which he had always shown, was evinced. "mr. d---- very kind," "k---- very kind," "mrs.---- very kind," "sorry to give so much trouble," were expressions continually on his lips, as he was visited and assisted by his fellow-students, and other friends in succession. his gentle spirit departed in the presence of the rev. thomas wood, the rev. principal of the college, and all his fellow-students. the rev. j. f. phelps, vice-principal of st. john's college, newfoundland, who had been a fellow-student of kalli's, at st. augustine's, wrote thus, june , , respecting him. "i have every reason to believe and hope that he has been translated to a better state, and that he now rests in his saviour: for though he had not much knowledge, yet few indeed act up to their knowledge so well and consistently as he did to his. it must be a comfort to you, sir, to be assured that in his last moments he was cared for, and attended by all members of the college here, the students constantly being with him, as well as mr. and mrs. mountain and myself. he showed himself very grateful for all that was being done for him, and expressed great sorrow at giving so much trouble. he always spoke of his friends in england with great affection, and was delighted whenever he received letters from them, which he was always eager to answer. altogether, his was a very amiable character, and we all felt his loss very much." in another letter from mr. phelps is the following passage:-- "during his last illness, in his conversation with me, it was evident that he quite understood the principle on which we christians ought to bear our sufferings, patiently, and even thankfully, because of the still greater sufferings which we deserve, and which our divine saviour bore for us. i was, i confess, surprised at the readiness with which he realized the truth and the force of this reasoning." legacy to a friend the author had often remarked the very grateful manner in which the youth acknowledged any kindness shown towards him. he spoke with the utmost affection of his dear friends, captain ommanney, captain austin, r.n., the rev. the warden of st. augustine's college, and mrs. bailey. mrs. bailey, he said, taught him constantly his readings in the new testament, heard him his hymns, and corrected his writing-exercises. the rev. a. p. moor, sub-warden of the college, was also very kind to him, and gained his regard. of the moderate means placed at his disposal he was always properly careful, expending very little upon himself. he had a few pounds laid up in the savings' bank at canterbury. this amount, together with his humble store of goods and chattels, consisting chiefly of the prints which had adorned his room, he left, by a kind of will, to his untiring and constant friend, captain ommanney, in token of gratitude and regard. kalli's funeral the remains of kallihirua were borne to the grave by his fellow-students, and followed by the vice-principal of the college, and by the bishop of newfoundland, as chief mourner. the burial service in the church (st. thomas's) was conducted by the rev. mr. wood, and in the cemetery by the rev. mr. mountain, the principal of the college. the quiet solemnity of the service was in keeping with the life and death of the gentle kalli. mrs. mountain, of st. john's, newfoundland, in whose house he lived, and who had kindly assisted in instructing him, wrote as follows:-- "it is in sincere sorrow and mourning that i write to inform you that we yesterday followed to the grave our poor erasmus kallihirua. he died after only a few days' illness, brought on by incautiously going out to bathe with one of our other students. on the following day, when he came to me to read, as usual, he complained of great pain in the chest and side, and so rapid was the inflammation, that the usual remedies were unavailing. "poor fellow, he was as patient and gentle during his illness, as he always was when he was well and strong, and expressed perfect resignation to god's will, and much thankfulness to those who ministered to him. we all loved him for his unvarying kindness and gentleness, his submission to those set over him, and his willingness to serve all. i miss him so very much, not only in his daily lessons, but in his constant knock at our door, to know whether i had any thing for him to do in the garden, or a message in the town when he was going out for a walk. "he looked very nice, lying in his silver-white coffin, covered with flowers, and a bunch of lilies and wild pear-blossoms on his bosom. we trust that he was one of the blessed meek who shall inherit the earth. we were all with him when he breathed his last, the bishop, and the principal of st. john's college, commending his soul to his faithful creator." intended memorial it is proposed to inscribe a record of kalli, and of other deceased students of st. augustine's college, on a tablet in the crypt under the college chapel. a memorial stone will be erected over kalli's grave in st. john's, newfoundland. with reference to the recent decease of some hopeful students of st. augustine's, who, after giving promise of much usefulness in the cause of missions, had been removed from this earthly scene, mr. phelps observed in a letter lately printed at the st. augustine's college press:-- "the whole college is again reminded, that 'all flesh is grass,' and that our life 'is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.' poor kalli is no longer with us. he has been made fit for the master's use, and has been taken back by him who lent him to us." practical reflections the writer in the "newfoundland express" made the following practical reflections on kalli's early death, which suggest serious though cheering thoughts:-- "it may seem to some persons but folly, and to others but mere boasting, to point to this young man, as any fruit of, or recompense for, the costly and calamitous arctic expeditions. but others may not think it all in vain, if thereby one soul has been saved, and an example left to a few young men, of thankfulness and kindness to men, duty and devotion towards god. such was erasmus augustine kallihirua, once a poor benighted esquimaux, but brought out of darkness into the marvellous light of the gospel, to be a pattern to some, who, with much greater advantages, are far inferior in the best graces of the christian." conclusion all that has been written will tend to show that kallihirua was held in much esteem and affection by those who knew him, and that some tribute, (such as even this little memoir,) is due to the memory of one who was well called "erasmus," or "beloved." this, however, is not the chief end which the author had in view in presenting an account of kalli's short career among his adopted countrymen. he would fain convey, amidst other wholesome lessons, that of the uncertainty of life, and the necessity of working while it is day. when we reflect on the departure of one, whose face and figure still dwell in the minds of many of us, it would be wise to remember, that we ourselves are making for the same point of our journey, the concluding scene of this short existence, the end of our probation. how trifling and insignificant do all other events appear, compared with the close of the race, and the arrival at the looked-for goal! may god grant us grace to act constantly on this conviction, as to all our plans and prospects! the end gilbert and rivington, printers, st. john's square, london books printed for the society for promoting christian knowledge; sold at the depositories, , great queen street, lincoln's inn fields, , royal exchange, and , hanover street, hanover square, and by all booksellers a discount of per cent to members s d aera of mahomet annals of the colonial church (fredericton) ----------------------------- (new zealand) ----------------------------- (toronto) ----------------------------- (quebec) anson's (lord) voyage round the world, _with map_ australia and its gold regions (a visit to) bede (the venerable) bingley's (rev. w.) celebrated voyagers ------------------- celebrated travellers biographical sketches, _with cuts_ bonnell, james, esq. (life of) burton's (rev. dr. e.) history of the christian church _cloth_ channel islands (rambles among the), by a naturalist china, _with cuts_ church history, sketches of conqueror (the) and his sons conquest of peru, _with a map_ conversations on the history of russia part i. -------------------------------------- part ii. council of constance (the) country round the sea of galilee _per dozen_ davies of devanden (memoir of), _portrait_ defoe on the plague (abridgment of), with evelyn's account of the fire of london donne (dr. john), life of, _with cuts_ eldad the pilgrim. part i. evenings at wychwood rectory genoa, _with cuts_ gilpin's (rev. w.) life of trueman and atkins, _stitched_ gosse's history of the jews, _school edition_ herbert (rev. george), life of, _with cuts_ history of greece, by the rev. r. w. browne ---------- rome, _with map and cuts_ historical accompaniment to the holy scriptures hone's (rev. r. b.) lives of eminent christians, _with portraits_ vol i.--bishop wilson, archbishop usher, dr. henry hammond, and john evelyn vol ii.--bernard gilpin, philip de mornay, bishop bedell, and dr anthony horneck vol iii.--bishop ridley, bishop hall, and hon. robert boyle vol iv.--john bradford, archbishop grindal, and sir matthew hale holy sites in the land of promise jerusalem and the adjacent country, _with cuts_ journal of a visit to mount aboo journey through palestine, _with cuts_ keightley's crusaders, _with views, &c._ _cloth_ life of alfred the great (sketches of) ------- henri quatre ------- howard the philanthropist marlborough (duke of), life of the maundrell's journey to aleppo mexico, _with cuts_ mountains (the) of scripture naimbanna (memoir of) naples narrative of a journey through part of new zealand ------------ two voyages to hudson's bay natives of africa, _with maps_ nelson (lord), life of new zealand, _with map and cuts_ norway, sweden, and lapland, _with cuts_ old arm chair (the) palestine and lebanon (three weeks in) _cloth_ ---------, _with a map and cuts_ peep at st. petersburgh ------- constantinople ------- amsterdam perseverance under difficulties persia, _with cuts_ pitcairn, the island, the people, and the pastor, _fifth edition_ readings in biography _cloth_ scenes beyond the atlantic, _with cuts_ scripture manners and customs, illustrated by extracts from modern travellers scripture topography (_palestine_) -------------------- (_gentile world_) sea of galilee (the) _per dozen_ seven churches of asia, _with map and cuts_ shipwrecks of the lady hobart packet, cabalva, centaur, and lichfield (narrative of the), _with cuts_ short memoirs of eminent men, _with a plate_ spain, _with cuts_ stevens (wm., esq.), memoir of, by hon. mr. justice park stories of the norsemen storm (the) _per dozen_ st. patrick summer in the antarctic regions, _with a map and cuts_ tayleur (wreck of the) taylor's history of mohammedanism and the mohammedan sects, _with views, &c._ _cloth_ tent (the), or, a traveller's recollections, _with cuts_ thugs (the) travels in africa, _with plates_ ---------- north america, _with plates_ ---------- south america, _with plates_ ---------- northern asia, _with plates_ ---------- south-eastern asia, _with plates_ ---------- south-western asia, _with plates_ ---------- european russia, _with plates_ ---------- spain, _with plates_ ---------- sweden, _with plates_ ---------- switzerland, _with plates_ travels (arctic), or an account of the land expedition to the continent of north america tribes of israel (the) _per dozen_ tweed (wreck of the), _sewed_ --------------------, _in cloth boards_ venice, _with cuts_ visit to cairo voyages in the arctic seas, in , , --------------------------, from to -------------- pacific ocean -------------- north pacific ocean walton's (isaac) lives, _entire, with portraits_ watering places of england wellington (military life of), _new edition_ willmott's (rev. r. a.) lives of sacred poets, vols. _with portraits_ _cloth_ wilson and hildesley (bishops), lives of, _stitched_ winter in the arctic regions, _with cuts_ wotton (sir h.), life of, _with cuts_ the first book of +eskimos+ [illustration] the author and artist are indebted to a great many scientists and other careful observers who have lived among the eskimos. the whole record of our sources is too long to give, but here are some we have found particularly helpful: various writings of dr. franz boas, vilhjalmur stefansson, rockwell kent; also the federal writers project, _a guide to alaska_, and books by edward moffat weyer, jr., clarence l. andrews, aage gilberg, knut rasmussen, fridtjof nansen and peter freuchen. many articles in the _national geographic magazine_ have been consulted, as have publications of the united states natural history museum. in addition to valuable pictorial material in most of the foregoing, we have received assistance in preparing illustrations from the fish and wild life service of the united states department of the interior. without help from all these sources and others, too, this book would not have been possible. very special thanks go to dr. ruth bunzel, anthropologist with the bureau of applied social research of columbia university, for her advice regarding the manuscript. printed in the united states of america by ~the garrison corp~. sbn - - the first book of eskimos _by_ benjamin brewster _pictures by_ ursula koering [illustration] [illustration] franklin watts, inc. lexington avenue new york , n. y. _copyright by franklin watts, inc._ [illustration: ~this shows all the places where eskimos have lived.~] the laughing people if you could look down at the world from high above the north pole, this is what you would see--an icy ocean with land almost all around it. the brown-skinned people who have lived along this shore for many hundreds of years are eskimos. [illustration: ~a harpoon~] when white men first met the eskimos, they were surprised by several things. the eskimos never used salt. they lived on nothing but meat and fish and water. and they were the most cheerful people in the world. an eskimo laughed more in a day than anyone else did in a week. nobody knows exactly where these laughing people came from but many scientists think they traveled across from siberia into alaska, just as their cousins the indians did. nobody knows why they decided to stay there near the top of the world. but we do know that eskimos like the country where they live. they settled along the shore of the ocean where they could find both sea and land animals to eat. the weather there was not as cold as it was farther inland or even in some parts of the united states. long ago eskimos invented wonderful ways of getting food and of staying warm. they trained dogs to pull their sleds. they learned to find their way home over great fields of drifted snow, even in the dark night. they knew exactly what to do in order to live and have a good time. [illustration: ~papik with his fish spear~] the eskimo people found different ways of living in different parts of the arctic country. but everywhere they had many of the same customs. some groups settled near forests, and they used wood in their tools and for building igloos. (_igloo_ is the eskimo word for house, no matter what it is made of.) other groups had no trees, so they made skin tents for summer and snow houses for winter, and they used bone and ivory for tools. one group lived where they could find chunks of pure copper which they made into tools. a very few learned to make tools from the iron in meteorites. (a meteorite is a shooting star that has landed on the earth.) [illustration: ~a salmon hook~] the people when white men moved into the arctic country, eskimos borrowed many modern inventions, such as guns and stoves, and they changed many of their old ways of living. but they still think they are luckier than people who live where houses are big and hard to build and the hot summers are long. summer in eskimo land is often hot, but it's always short. for several weeks the sun shines night and day. winter lasts for more than half of every year up there, and for several weeks the sun doesn't shine at all--it's dark night twenty-four hours a day. a great many customs in the warmer parts of the world seem strange and silly to the eskimos. they think they do things the way people should naturally do them. in fact, they call themselves the people. [illustration: ~an ivory comb~] the fringe of land where the people spend their lives belongs to different countries now. part of it belongs to the united states, part to canada and denmark and the soviet union. but the people are still eskimos. they all talk the eskimo language wherever they live. [illustration] their language is one of the hardest in the world to learn. in order to speak it, you must know many more words than most people ever learn in order to speak english. in the old days eskimos had no alphabet and no way of writing down their language. but today many of them can read and write, and there are even books and newspapers in eskimo. [illustration] papik and his clothes a long time ago, an eskimo boy named papik lived in a tiny village on baffin island. all winter his home was a round little house built of snow, out on top of the frozen sea. papik was warm and comfortable in his snow house, and outdoors he kept warm, too. he looked all bundled up in his clothes made of animal skins, but his winter suit was really lighter and softer than yours. [illustration] it was easy for papik to get dressed. first he pulled on his pants made of baby sealskin, with the soft, white hair on the inside. next he put on his deerskin stockings and his slippers of bird-skin with the feathers inside. over these he drew a second slipper of sealskin and his waterproof sealskin boots. [illustration: ~papik wore these clothes in winter. his mother sewed good luck charms into them.~] finally papik slipped his jacket over his head. he even had his cap on because it was made right into his jacket. papik didn't have to fuss with buttons or zippers. he just tied an animal-skin thong around each leg to hold the tops of his boots up. now he was dressed in his underclothes--which were also his summer outfit. to go outdoors in winter, he put on an extra pair of pants and an extra jacket made of deerskin with the hair outside. these, with deerskin boots and mittens, were all the clothes he needed for a trip out over the ice with his father. [illustration: ~his mother's jacket was extra large so she could carry his baby brother inside it on her back.~] each mitten looks as if it had two thumbs--and it had. papik's mother made them that way so that he could turn them around without taking them off and wear them backwards if he got one side wet. papik's sister milak wore clothes almost exactly like his. the grownups did, too. when white men came to the arctic, they found eskimo clothes were better for winter there than anything else that could be made. [illustration: ~eskimos lighted their lamps by striking sparks from stones called flint and pyrite.~] inside the igloo papik and milak had no regular bedtime. they slept when they were sleepy. lamps burned in their house all the time to give heat as well as light. an eskimo lamp worked in the cleverest kind of way. it was made of soapstone--a soft stone that could be hollowed out into a bowl. this bowl was filled with oil which came from seal fat, called blubber. along one side of the bowl ran a little ridge of moss. this was the lamp's wick. [illustration: ~a cooking pot hung above the lamp. the rack was for drying clothes.~] when the wick was lighted, it burned with a hot, white, steady flame. the children's mother watched it and was careful that it never smoked. to keep the lamp filled, she put a chunk of blubber near the flame. as the flame burned it kept melting oil out of the blubber, and the oil kept oozing down into the bowl where the wick soaked it up. the lamp never ran over and never ran dry. [illustration: ~eskimos never scolded their children for waking them up.~] sometimes the round dome-shaped room got too hot and the roof began to melt. then papik would go out with his snow-cutting knife and help his father fix the drip. instead of patching the roof, they shaved it down! this made the ceiling colder, and the dripping water froze. when the house was not warm enough, papik and his father went out and heaped more snow on the roof and sides. this kept the cold out. [illustration: ~sometimes new puppies were kept warm in the rack over the lamp.~] breakfast is ready the seal oil lamp was also a cooking stove. when milak and her mother wanted to cook, they hung a soapstone pot over the flame. they melted ice and snow for drinking water in a pot, too. some of the ocean ice was too salty for drinking water. but many eskimos knew that when ice was a year or more old it lost its saltiness, and that was the ice they melted. milak didn't have to help with much cooking. eskimo families on baffin island liked meat and fish raw. in fact, that is where the word eskimo came from. it was the name that the indians gave to their neighbors in the north, and it meant "people-who-eat-their-food-raw." [illustration: ~fork~] [illustration: ~spoon~] before breakfast time, milak went outside and got a chunk of frozen fish. the whole outdoors in winter was a deep-freeze, so it was easy to keep a good supply of food. milak tossed the fish on the floor. when it had thawed till it was about as soft as cream cheese, her mother cut off the best chunks for the children. grownups didn't start to eat till the children had been served. in winter it was breakfast time whenever anybody woke up and began chattering to the others. because it was so dark outside in the long winter night, nobody kept track of time. eskimo families just slept and woke when they felt like it. getting ready for a trip even when it was quite dark papik sometimes went hunting with his father. first they got their sled ready. the sled was made of bone and pieces of driftwood, with a high pair of deer antlers for handles at the back. its runners had to be slick and smooth so that the dogs could pull it easily. [illustration: ~eskimos had different kinds of sleds. this was papik's.~] [illustration: ~hunters riding on sleds never talked to each other. if they did, the dogs would stop and listen.~] long ago the eskimos discovered that a coating of ice made a sled's runners good and slick. but ice won't stick very well to bare wood or bone. so this is what they did: at the beginning of winter they plastered the runners with a thick coat of mud and decayed moss, which would stick tight when it was frozen. now an ice coating would stick to the mud. each time papik used the sled, he iced the runners. he filled his mouth with water and squirted it back and forth. as the water froze, papik squirted on more, until he had a thick layer of ice over the mud and moss. next papik and his father put harness on the dogs and hitched each one separately to the sled. while the dogs barked and quarreled with each other, papik hung a snow knife and a rope made of skin over the sled's handles. he put a harpoon and a big polar bearskin on the bottom of the sled, and now they were ready to start. [illustration: ~a snow knife made of walrus ivory for cutting snow~] papik's father snapped his long whip over the dogs' heads. he could make the whip crack right near a dog's ear without ever touching it. papik could do this, too. by the time he was six years old, he could aim the whip anywhere he wanted to, although the lash was more than twenty feet long. [illustration] at the whip's crack, the sled was off. the team spread out like a fan behind the lead dog, who was a natural leader and always traveled at the very front. papik sat on the bearskin behind his father who used the whip to guide the dogs. papik hunts seal [illustration] at a place where they thought there might be seals, papik and his father stopped. they turned the sled upside down and pushed the points of the runners and the antlers deep into the snow. the sled had to be an anchor to hold the dogs while the eskimos hunted. now papik unhitched the lead dog and held tight to his harness strap. the dog ran ahead, sniffing the snow. he was looking for a seal hole. [illustration] although seals lived in the water, they weren't like fish. they had to come up for air. when the ocean froze, they gnawed many breathing holes through the ice. they could get plenty of air through the holes, even when a blanket of snow covered the ice. [illustration: ~the harpoon handle came loose from the barb. the sharp barb of the harpoon acted like a fishhook.~] suddenly the lead dog began to bark. he had smelled a seal hole. papik pulled him away and ran back to the sled. he must not let the dog frighten the seal away. papik's father poked around in the snow till he found exactly where the hole was. then, with his snow knife, he carved a snow seat so he could be comfortable while he waited for the seal to come. he put a piece of fur under his feet with the hair side up. he might have to wait motionless for hours, and he had to keep his feet warm. beside him he laid his harpoon--a special kind of spear with a line attached to it. for a long time papik played near the sled. at last his father's sharp ears caught a little noise. it was a seal breathing. quietly he stood up, plunged his harpoon straight down, and hit the seal. [illustration: ~the hunter held on to a line attached to the barb and pulled the harpoon handle out, so it would not break.~] [illustration: ~a woman's knife was called an ulo.~] papik came running at his father's shout. together they chipped the ice away from the edges of the hole, making it big enough so they could pull the seal out and kill it. [illustration: ~milak's doll~] now they took little ivory pins and closed up the slit that the harpoon had made in the seal's skin. they didn't want any of the animal's blood to spill out. seal blood was an important food. and when it was prepared in a special way, the children often used it for chewing gum, too! papik's family, and the dogs as well, would have plenty to eat when they got home. a use for everything milak and her mother were ready to cut up the seal with a special knife, called a woman's knife. they cut the blubber away and carefully peeled off the thin layer of skin between the blubber and the hide. when this thin skin was dry, they would use it like cellophane, for wrapping things. to make the furry outside skin ready for sewing, milak rubbed it with snow or ice, then dried it in the cold outdoor air. next she chewed it to make it soft. [illustration: ~eskimo women did almost no cooking or housework so they had time for sewing the warm clothes everyone needed.~] [illustration: ~an ivory needle~] [illustration: ~a thimble~] an eskimo woman could do wonderful things with her hand-carved ivory needles and the thread made of animal tendons called sinew. she could join skins together so that they were absolutely watertight. as milak and her mother worked, they sang. milak made dolls out of scraps of fur. [illustration] building a snow igloo when papik and milak weren't busy, they played outside in the snow with other children. they tumbled around with the puppies, threw snowballs and slid down their houses. the houses were very strong. they could last all winter. but very often a family or a whole village would pack up and go off to find new hunting grounds or just to visit another village. when they moved, they built new houses, if they didn't find empty ones to use. it took only a few hours to make a new house. this is how papik's family did it: his father looked for a place where the snow had drifted deep in one big storm, so that he could get solid, even chunks of it. (snow on level places in eskimo land was seldom very deep!) with his snow knife papik's father cut out blocks about the size and shape of a small suitcase and placed them in a circle ten or twelve feet across. each block leaned inward. [illustration: ~the second row of blocks began to spiral upward.~] after the first row of blocks had been laid, papik's father shaved two of them down, the way you see in the picture. when he laid the next row, the blocks began to slant in a spiral, upward and inward. soon, the spiral almost closed in over his head, because he worked inside while his family worked outside. [illustration: ~this snow house would be used for hunting or a short visit. it had no window.~] finally, there was only a small hole at the very top. he cut a block just the shape of this hole and fitted it into place. now he was inside a house that had no door! but he and his wife had already decided where to put the door. so he started to dig his way out, making a tunnel _under_ the wall. at the same time, his wife tunneled toward him from the outside. after a while they met. now they made the tunnel strong by roofing it over with snow blocks. [illustration: ~a regular house had a window made of seal intestines sewed together. or it might have a pane of thin clear ice.~] papik and milak were busy all this time, too. they pushed loose snow into the cracks between the blocks. then they helped shovel more snow all over the house and tunnel. when they were through, it looked just like a snowdrift. [illustration: ~unpacking dry heather~] inside, their father cut a small hole up through the roof for ventilation. cold air would come into the house through the tunnel. hot air would leave through the hole in the roof. next, their father dug the middle of the floor deeper, leaving a snow bench all around the circular room. he tramped hard on the floor to pack it down. then he sprinkled water on it to give it a hard finish. milak and her mother were ready to make the beds. they unpacked bundles of dry heather--a plant with tough, springy stems--that they had collected in the summer. they spread the heather on the snow benches. this was a mattress. over it they laid deerskins, making one big blanket for the family. the snow benches were seats as well as beds. often papik and milak sat there cross-legged, while their parents made tools and clothes or sang or told long stories. [illustration: ~snow bench~ ~door~ ~storeroom for meat and fish~ ~storeroom for clothing and harness~ ~snow bench~ ~one kind of snow house would look like this if you saw it from above with the top off.~] [illustration] outdoors the sky was sometimes filled with weird, quickly changing colored light, which we call the aurora borealis or northern lights. this is the way papik's father explained the lights: even though people died, their spirits kept on living. some of them were in the sky. the changing, jumping lights were really spirits having a wonderful time playing a kind of football game--kicking a walrus head around. summer comes as the days grew longer, late in winter, papik and milak played outdoors more and more. then one day when papik climbed on top of the snow house, the roof suddenly caved in! summer had come. papik wasn't really surprised. summer in the arctic always came in a sudden burst. there was no gradually warming spring. nobody scolded papik for breaking the house. instead, his family moved into a deerskin tent on the land, where they would live all summer. dozens and dozens of different kinds of brilliantly colored flowers bloomed in no time. clouds of mosquitoes appeared and made life uncomfortable for people and dogs. the ocean ice broke up with great cracking noises. [illustration] at first the earth was swampy and the eskimos sometimes starved because they couldn't hunt. as the ground dried out the dogs carried small packs on their backs. the eskimos had to walk and carry big loads on their own backs, hung from straps around their foreheads. [illustration: caribou] as soon as the ice had opened up in the sea and streams and lakes, the eskimos could travel on water, too. the whole family sometimes got into an umiak--a big boat made of skins. a man or boy could go out in a little skin boat called a kayak. there was much work to do during the hot days--and plenty of daylight in which to do it. the nights grew shorter, until there was no night at all. the huge sun hung in the sky and never went down. nobody in the village slept much. even the children went without any sleep at all for two or three days at a time! [illustration] papik and his father hunted for deer. they used bows shaped from deer antlers and strengthened with deer sinews that had been glued to the horn. their arrows had points of flint or walrus ivory. in summer, whales and walruses swam back from warmer water into the arctic ocean. to catch them, an eskimo hunter used a big harpoon. sometimes he could harpoon a whale from land or from big cakes of ice near land. often several men went hunting together in an umiak, which had oars and a sail made of seal intestines sewed together. the boat was so light that two men could lift it, but so strong that it could hold two or three tons of whale meat. [illustration: papik hunted these big animals with bow and arrows.] [illustration: the umiak towed the whale to shore.] each hunter had his harpoon and line. tied to the line was a watertight sealskin blown up like a balloon. this was called a float. after the hunters harpooned a whale, the animal tried to swim away, but the floats dragged in the water and finally tired it out. then it was easy for a man to send a spear straight into the whale's huge heart and kill it. [illustration: a sealskin float] the whale belonged to the whole village. all the women helped cut it up. and everybody agreed that the best food in the world was the whale's skin and the blubber under it. they cut this off in strips and ate some raw while it was fresh. then they cut the rest of the whale up and stored it under rocks so that the dogs couldn't get at it. [illustration: a drum] after a lucky whaling trip, the villagers naturally wanted to celebrate. so they had a feast. a man beat a big flat drum made of deerskin or sealskin stretched tight over a hoop of wood or bone. people danced and sang songs they made up as they went along. and everybody ate and ate and ate. in the evening they played catch with a light ball made of skin stuffed with moss. or they whipped a heavier, clay-stuffed ball around the village with the long whips they used for their dog teams. [illustration: a fancy ball] there were other games at feasts, too. the men had archery contests with bows and arrows. when a man hit the target, the women showed their approval by running up and rubbing noses with him. if a strange man came, there was usually a boxing match between him and one of the village men. if the stranger lost, he might have to go away. life was so hard that only strong people were wanted in an eskimo village. papik practiced these games, just as he practiced hunting. before long he would be a man and would do the things a man did. there would be a feast when people agreed he was grown up. by then he could take care of himself, even if he was far from any village, all alone in the winter snow. [illustration] [illustration: eskimos made wonderful inventions] [illustration: this is how eskimos hunted little birds with darts. each dart had several points.] [illustration: a throwing board and dart] [illustration: a bow drill for making fire] eskimos invented ways of killing whales, the largest animals in the world, with only a few pieces of wood and bone and hide. they invented ways of hunting powerful polar bears with only small handmade weapons. they invented a new kind of lamp, which was perfect for their needs. they made the coldness of the arctic work for them, when they turned ice and snow into useful tools. they could even make their food do double duty--sometimes they built sleds of frozen skins and meat or fish. later they and their dogs could have a feast of the thawed-out meat. [illustration: eskimos invented snow goggles to protect their eyes from the glare of sunlight on snow.] eskimos used every part of an animal. what they didn't eat they turned into clothes or tools or building materials. they even made fine thread from the fibers in bird feathers. all around these two pages you'll find inventions that helped eskimos to live in the arctic. [illustration: eskimos invented little skin shoes to protect their dogs' feet when they had to travel over sharp ice.] [illustration: eskimos often hung skin linings inside snow houses. this kept the snow from melting and made the house much warmer.] [illustration: eskimos fastened waterproof jackets tight to their kayaks. they could turn over in the water without getting anything but their faces and hands wet.] [illustration: polar bear] [illustration: white whale] they share what they have eskimos were so good at working with their hands that they could use their wonderful inventions to live alone if they wanted to or had to. but they were very sociable, too. they made lots of visits--and long visits. nobody ever knocked when he entered a friend's door. in fact, the eskimos had no word for "hello." visitors were expected to come right in. [illustration: walrus] as long as there was anything to eat, no eskimo ever went hungry. eskimos always shared their food and houses. no one ever owned a house after he moved out of it. but to show that he intended to come back home, he left some tools in his house. tools, dogs, clothes, good luck charms and toys were about the only things an eskimo called his own personal property. it never occurred to an eskimo to pile up wealth enough to hire someone else to work for him. [illustration: narwhal] the eskimos had no laws about sharing. they knew they _must_ share in order to live at all. they had no chiefs as indians had, and no police or prisons or warriors. if people decided something an eskimo did was wrong, usually they just wouldn't talk to him, or they asked him to leave the village. that was real punishment. nobody liked a man who was too lazy to hunt, but they divided their food with him and his family anyway. they shared with orphans, too. every child had a home. eskimos loved children. [illustration: bowhead whale] [illustration: the whole village shared the food when these big animals were killed.] [illustration] mackenzie eskimos papik and milak had never seen a white man. they lived in the days before explorers began to visit the far north country. but other eskimos had already met white traders and men who hunted whales in sailing vessels. [illustration] the village where hilltop and his sister, driftwood, lived was near a whaling station at the mouth of the great mackenzie river in canada. the children knew some traders and thought they were very funny people indeed. to begin with, white men always had at least two names. no eskimo ever had more than one, and it was always the name of someone who had died. eskimos thought that these names were unhappy and brought bad luck unless they were given very soon to a new baby. there were no special girl names, like mary, or boy names, like john. any name was good for either a boy or a girl. [illustration: hilltop used a double-ended paddle for his kayak.] white men looked peculiar, too--their beards, for instance. eskimos almost never had beards, but white men either shaved or had a lot of hair on their faces. white men's beards were a nuisance in winter, because they filled up with icicles and made faces freeze. [illustration: dogs helped hunt bears. the men had to aim their guns carefully. a good dog was worth more than a bearskin.] even funnier were the traders who had hairy faces but no hair at all on the tops of their heads. hilltop and driftwood had never seen a bald eskimo. using new things the eskimos laughed at all the things that seemed so strange and foolish to them. they laughed, too, about the useful things that the white men brought. it was good to light a seal oil lamp with matches instead of a bow-drill. it was safer to kill a polar bear with a gun than with a spear. now that the eskimos had guns, hunting was easier, but they had to do more of it. they killed animals for their own use, and they did extra hunting because they needed furs to trade with the white men for bullets and guns and new things to make their homes more comfortable. [illustration: hunters drove caribou into lakes where it was easy to shoot them from kayaks.] [illustration: this kind of house was called an igloo, just as snow houses were.] new ways and old hilltop and driftwood lived in a house made of logs covered with sod. the sod was grass, dug up with the earth around the roots when the ground wasn't frozen. it helped to keep the houses warm. look at the picture and you will see how different this log cabin was from the ones you know about. the walls sloped inward, instead of going straight up. this was important for two reasons. first, piling chunks of sod was easier against sloping walls than against straight ones. second, the slanting walls made less space at the top. that meant less air to heat than in a squared-off house. [illustration: eskimos played string games like cat's cradle. this one is a deer.] a log house was very warm. in fact, hilltop and driftwood felt uncomfortably hot when dinner was being cooked on old-time lamps or over a new-fangled iron stove. the grownups took off most of their clothes indoors, and the children didn't wear anything. everybody sweat a great deal. this is how they wiped themselves dry: when the men sat around the house at night, they often spent their time whittling pieces of wood into toys or ornaments or tools. the shavings they made were very small and fine, like excelsior. piles of the shavings were always heaped up at the side of the room. when anyone got sweaty, he wiped himself dry with the excelsior and threw it away. he used his towel only once, so it never got dirty. they didn't get lost [illustration: dogs sometimes pulled umiaks on sleds.] in winter, hilltop and driftwood often went traveling with their parents. riding on sleds, they visited other villages, and sometimes they built snow houses, just as papik and milak had done. but their sleds were a little different, and the dogs were not harnessed in the same way. instead of hitching each dog separately to the sled, hilltop tied them all to one line and they all pulled together in single file. [illustration] eskimo dogs were tough and strong. each one knew his own name and the names of all the others in his team. a dog usually hated to leave his team if he was sold. sometimes he would run away from his new master and travel as much as sixty miles to get back home. eskimos took good care of their fierce, hard-working dogs, although they weren't gentle with them. to train them and make them obey, eskimos used whips. but they had to be careful. too much punishment made a dog refuse to work at all. if their dogs hadn't worked and helped them travel, eskimos couldn't have found enough food. even though eskimo families traveled far away over wide snowy plains, they never got lost. they knew which way the winds blew, and they could tell by looking at the snowdrifts whether they were keeping on a straight course. in the darkest night they could find their way just by feeling the drifts with their mittened hands. [illustration] [illustration] fooling the seals sometimes hilltop went with his father on hunting trips when the ice was breaking up, and he learned about the habits of seals. he learned that a seal is always watching out for polar bears, which are its worst enemy. when a seal comes out on the ice for a nap, it always chooses an open flat place. that way it can hear bears, or see them, before they come too close. and the seal gets its sleep in little snatches--often only a half-minute nap at a time. then it wakes up and looks around. on his first hunting trip, hilltop saw the seals far off, wiggling and scratching themselves with their flippers. and then he saw his father crouch down and make the same motions! as he crawled along over the ice, he wiggled and scratched. he was making the seal think he was just another seal. then, when he was close enough, he raised his gun and shot it. [illustration] [illustration: men often fished this way in spring and fall.] fish to eat in winter, the men from hilltop's village also went fishing with nets which they poked down through the ice. driftwood helped her mother clean the fish with her special woman's knife--the kind that eskimo women used everywhere. then she did something many eskimos never used to do. she cooked the fish. once driftwood tried sprinkling the fish with salt that white traders had given her. but her family didn't like it. if there were many fish, the women cleaned them, took out the backbones and stored them away to freeze. in early summer and fall, they hung the fish up to dry. once in a while the men caught so many that the women couldn't keep up with them. then they cleaned the fish and tossed them into a big box. later they built a heavy log wall around it to keep out bears and wolves. hilltop and driftwood particularly liked to eat this kind of fish raw, after it had been frozen in winter--even if it was rotten. [illustration: the women hung fish and meat up to dry like this.] [illustration: copper eskimos] open water as summertime came, the whole village waited for the exciting time when the ice began to thaw and break up. the whales and walruses came back into the arctic ocean. they swam up between long cracks in the ice called "leads." eagerly the men and boys waited along the edges of the leads. who would see the first walrus? the day hilltop went with the men in an umiak to hunt whales in a lead was even more exciting. the men paddled a long time before they saw a whale blowing its waterspout in the distance. then they quickly pulled the umiak out onto the ice and waited. suddenly the whale came up to blow again, not far away. the men all fired their guns at once, aiming at its heart, which was deep in its body and as big as a barrel. [illustration: a copper eskimo bow] it took everybody in the village to pull the whale out onto the ice. they used a block and tackle they had got from the white sailors. then, after the villagers had cut up the whale, they held a great feast. there was plenty of meat and blubber for all--including the dogs--and whalebone to be traded for more bullets and guns. neighbors not very far from hilltop's village lived people that the white men called copper eskimos because they had learned to use copper for some of their tools. [illustration: a siberian eskimo teacher uses books written in the eskimo language.] other neighbors along the coast did a new kind of work after white men came. in their high, waterproof boots, they waded into the ocean and chipped away the black rocks near the edge of the water. the rocks were really coal which the white men wanted and taught them to use. eskimos have always kept on learning how to make the most of the land in which they live. [illustration: a copper eskimo cache] greenlanders nearly half the eskimos in the world now live in greenland. not many of them have ever seen a snow house, although most of their huge island is covered with ice. [illustration: with luck a north greenlander can catch a hundred or more small birds in an hour.] greenland eskimos have known white men for more than nine hundred years, but they still hunt in many of the old ways. in the northern part of the island, hunters use nets to catch little birds called auks, which come there by the millions on the exact day the last snow melts in spring. it takes eight or nine auks to make a good meal for one person! [illustration] sometimes greenlanders paddle their kayaks out to icebergs and perch high up, on the lookout for seals. instead of being just pure white, the icebergs shine with beautiful tints of blue and green and purple. greenlanders' clothes, too, are bright, embroidered and decorated with many of the colors of the aurora borealis. [illustration: people in west greenland dress like this. some women pull their hair so tight that it comes out and they often get bald over the ears.] [illustration: eskimos are such good mechanics they quickly learned to fit outboard motors on umiaks.] trouble ahead traders began to visit the eskimos in alaska a long time ago. the eskimos sold them caribou meat to eat and sealskins--and whalebone. when the traders explained what the whalebone was for, the eskimos could hardly stop laughing. women down in the warm world wanted whalebone to stiffen their corsets, so they would look thin where they weren't. you can imagine how silly this seemed to the eskimos, who thought people looked best when they were plump all over. but the white men traded them guns and cloth and stoves and tea for whalebone, so they caught many whales. [illustration: a whalebone corset] for a while the eskimos got along very well with their trading. then things changed. most of the whales had been killed off by white men whose ships could follow the whales all the way as the great sea animals migrated from the arctic ocean down toward the south pole. most of the walruses were gone, too. the whalers killed them for oil and for their ivory tusks. next, the caribou began to disappear. eskimo hunters had killed most of them so that white men could have meat. [illustration: some eskimos taught reindeer to pull sleds.] by now, eskimos had learned to need the things they got from traders, and they were almost starving because so many of their food animals were gone. they needed a new way to make a living. what could they do? at last the head of the american school for eskimo children had an idea. he thought of bringing reindeer from siberia to alaska. reindeer are a kind of caribou that has been trained to live with men. [illustration: laplanders from scandinavia came to teach the eskimos how to herd reindeer.] he persuaded the government and some individual people to try his plan. the reindeer could eat the grass that grew thick in the hot alaskan summer. in winter they could use their horns and hoofs to dig down through the thin arctic snow and eat lichens. a reindeer was a sort of combination horse and cow! it provided meat to eat, milk to drink and strength to pull heavy loads. its skin was valuable, too. [illustration: alaskan eskimo children often wear dresses to keep their fur clothes clean.] reindeer were first brought to alaska in . now there are many, many thousands of them. eskimo cowboys the alaskan eskimos became the cowboys of the far north! each year they have reindeer roundups, much like cattle roundups in the west. of course, they don't ride horses the way cowboys do. but they sometimes rope reindeers with lariats, and they herd them into huge corrals for branding. [illustration: alaskan kayakers wear waterproof suits made from animal intestines.] the thin reindeer hides are valuable, so eskimos don't spoil them by burning on a brand. instead they notch the edges of the animals' ears in special ways. as the reindeer move from the corral through a narrow chute, the cowboys cut the notches, so that each man can tell his own animals. [illustration] very few eskimos have grown rich from their reindeer, but reindeer herding has become an important way of making a living for some of them. others still hunt and fish. some get work part of each year on fishing boats or in mines or on the docks loading ships. but most eskimos are still very poor. [illustration] eskimo abc's john and susie alook are eskimo children who live in alaska today. although they speak eskimo at home, they go to school and study english. they learn to read, write and count. long ago, when papik and milak were children, no eskimo could count beyond twenty--the number of fingers and toes he had. any number bigger than that was just "more-than-one-can-count." some eskimos only bothered to count to six. that was enough, because they had so few things they needed to count. if they caught a lot of fish, nobody cared to figure out how many. the important thing was that the whole village had enough to eat. [illustration] doctors and nurses john and susie alook have first and last names. eskimos have borrowed this two-name custom and many others from white people. they have had to learn about doctors and dentists, too, because the eskimos are not as healthy as they used to be. before the white men came, most eskimos never had decayed teeth. now they do. measles, tuberculosis and other diseases which they never had before make them sicker than they make white people. but doctors and nurses are now helping the eskimos to prevent and cure these new diseases. [illustration] [illustration] dancing on air when their village has a whale feast, john and susie share in the celebration and dance. this is how the dance goes: a lot of people hold a big walrus skin that has hand-holes cut around the edges. john stands on the skin and they toss him into the air. [illustration: dancers were sometimes tossed twenty feet up in the air.] higher and higher they toss him. he keeps his balance, lands on his feet, over and over again, dances in the air and sings a song. at last he tumbles off his feet, and it's someone else's turn. the dancer who goes the highest is the winner. john and susie are proud of the way their mother and father can dance--not only the old-time dances but new ones, too. eskimos are just as good at the white men's dances as the white men are themselves. and they love singing just as much as ever. now they sing the songs they hear on the radio as well as their own songs. the new world has brought many changes and many problems to the eskimos. to be sure, they have new inventions, but they have new illnesses, too. their old way of living is ended, and they haven't yet found a good new way. but they are still the laughing people. transcriber's notes silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors. retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. enclosed italics font in _underscores_. enclosed cursive font in ~tildes~. enclosed letter-spaced characters in +plus signs+.