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.