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.