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diff --git a/old/67445-h/67445-h.htm b/old/67445-h/67445-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 52c54fe..0000000 --- a/old/67445-h/67445-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13031 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Young Ice Whalers, by Winthrop Packard. - </title> - - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - -<style type="text/css"> - -a { - text-decoration: none; -} - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -h1,h2 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -h2.nobreak { - page-break-before: avoid; -} - -hr.chap { - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - clear: both; - width: 65%; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -div.chapter { - page-break-before: always; -} - -p { - margin-top: 0.5em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -table { - margin: 1em auto 1em auto; - max-width: 40em; - border-collapse: collapse; -} - -td { - padding-left: 2.25em; - padding-right: 0.25em; - vertical-align: top; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.tdr { - text-align: right; -} - -.tdpg { - vertical-align: bottom; - text-align: right; -} - -.blockquote { - margin: 1.5em 10%; -} - -.caption { - text-align: center; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-size: 90%; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.center { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.gothic { - font-family: 'Old English Text MT', 'Old English', serif; -} - -.larger { - font-size: 150%; -} - -.noindent { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - right: 4%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; -} - -.poetry-container { - text-align: center; - margin: 1em; -} - -.poetry { - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poetry .stanza { - margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; -} - -.poetry .verse { - padding-left: 3em; -} - -.poetry .indent0 { - text-indent: -3em; -} - -.poetry .indent2 { - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.poetry .indent4 { - text-indent: -1em; -} - -.right { - text-align: right; -} - -.smaller { - font-size: 80%; -} - -.smcap { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; -} - -.titlepage { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 3em; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.x-ebookmaker img { - max-width: 100%; - width: auto; - height: auto; -} - -.x-ebookmaker .poetry { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; -} - -.x-ebookmaker .blockquote { - margin: 1.5em 5%; -} - </style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Young Ice Whalers, by Winthrop Packard</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Young Ice Whalers</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Winthrop Packard</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 19, 2022 [eBook #67445]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Carlos Colon, the University of California and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG ICE WHALERS ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus1"> -<img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="700" height="450" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">“WAY ENOUGH,” SAID JOE. “STERN ALL!” (<a href="#Page_105">see p. 105</a>)</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="titlepage larger"><span class="smaller">THE</span><br /> -YOUNG ICE WHALERS</p> - -<p class="titlepage">BY WINTHROP PACKARD</p> - -<p class="titlepage">WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</p> - -<div class="figcenter titlepage" style="width: 140px;"> -<img src="images/pan.jpg" width="140" height="250" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">BOSTON AND NEW YORK</span><br /> -HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY<br /> -<span class="gothic">The Riverside Press Cambridge</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">COPYRIGHT 1903 BY WINTHROP PACKARD<br /> -ALL RIGHTS RESERVED</p> - -<p class="center smaller"><i>Published September, 1903</i></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> - -</div> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdr smaller">CHAP.</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">I.</td> - <td>A CHANGE IN LIFE’S PLANS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">II.</td> - <td>BOUND FOR THE ARCTIC</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">III.</td> - <td>BUCKING ICE IN BERING SEA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">56</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IV.</td> - <td>THE LITTLE MEN OF THE DIOMEDES</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"> 87</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">V.</td> - <td>WHEN THE ICE CAME IN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">112</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VI.</td> - <td>WINTER LIFE AND INNUIT FRIENDS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">140</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VII.</td> - <td>THE GHOST WOLVES OF THE NUNATAK</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">167</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VIII.</td> - <td>WHALING IN EARNEST</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">195</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IX.</td> - <td>IN THE ENEMY’S POWER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">224</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">X.</td> - <td>“THE FEAST OF THE OLD SEAL’S HEAD”</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">250</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XI.</td> - <td>“THE VILLAGE WHERE NO ONE LIVES”</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">277</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XII.</td> - <td>IN THE HEART OF BLIZZARDS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">305</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIII.</td> - <td>THE MEETING OF TRIBES</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">332</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIV.</td> - <td>STAKING OUT A FORTUNE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">354</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XV.</td> - <td>HOME AGAIN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">381</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -</div> - -<table summary="List of illustrations"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">“Way Enough,” said Joe. “Stern all!”</span> (<a href="#Page_105">See p. 105</a>)</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus1"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">The Long Rollers of the North Pacific</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus2">36</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Harbor of Unalaska</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus3">50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Bucking the Ice</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus4">68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">A Siberian Topek</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus5">84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Home of the “Little Men” of the Diomedes</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus6">94</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Whalemen’s Camp on Arctic Shore</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus7">114</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Rough Arctic Cliffs</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus8">136</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Harluk and Kroo</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus9">164</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Visiting Eskimos</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus10">168</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Locked in the Arctic Ice</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus11">198</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Camp on the Tundra</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus12">234</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Toiling on through the Drifts</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus13">310</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Eskimo Family Traveling</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus14">334</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Prospector and his Outfit</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus15">364</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Sluicing at Candle Creek</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus16">376</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - -<h1>THE YOUNG ICE WHALERS</h1> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<span class="smaller">A CHANGE IN LIFE’S PLANS</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>“I will do what I can to help make matters -easy, father.”</p> - -<p>The speaker was a handsome, well-built boy -of seventeen, with a frank, winsome face that -ordinarily showed neither strength nor weakness -of character,—the face of a boy out of -whom circumstances make much that is good, -or sometimes much that is ill, according to -what experiences life brings him. There are -boys who will grow up strong and able men, -anyway. They seem to have it in them from -the start. There are others who have an inborn -tendency to evil and dissipation, which -no amount of training and opportunity for -better things can eradicate. Harry Desmond -was of neither of these types; his character -was rather that which responds easily to outside -influences, whose weaknesses may easily<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span> -grow upon it, or whose strong points may be -developed and brought out by use.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, my son,” said the other simply, -extending his hand; “I was very sure -you would. The business will of course go -on, and may be built up again with care and -strict economy; but the outside investments, -whose returns have made us well-to-do, and -from which the money for your education -was coming, are totally swept away. I’m -afraid we shall have to withdraw you from -the preparatory school. It is an expensive -place, and just at present I do not feel able -to supply you with the money necessary to -keep up your standing among the boys there. -In another year I had hoped to see you in -the freshman class at Harvard, and that may -yet be managed. There are always scholarships -to be had.”</p> - -<p>“Father,” said Harry impulsively, “I don’t -think I care for college. I’d rather help you. -To tell the truth, I have not stood very well -at school; I mean my marks have not been -high. I have managed to pass always, but it -has been a close shave sometimes. I’ve liked -it immensely because I have had such jolly -times with the other fellows. I have thought -of college much in the same way. So long<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span> -as we had plenty of money, it was just as well -to go. A college man who has spending-money -has no end of a good time, and I don’t -doubt I could pass in the studies as well as -a good many of the fellows. But now it’s -different. You’ve always stood by me like -a brick. Now I want to help you.”</p> - -<p>A look of pride and delight beamed in the -careworn face of the elder Desmond, and the -stoop came out of his shoulders a little as if -a weight had been lifted from them. He had -expected the boy would meet the news bravely -and carry himself well. He knew his own -blood. The Desmonds had never yet been -the men to cry baby when unpleasant things -had to be faced, and yet—he knew now how -it had weighed upon him—he had feared in -his heart for the effect of the news on his -only son. He knew of the low marks at the -preparatory school, and how careless and pleasure -loving the boy had seemed. There had -been one or two escapades, also, things which -showed carelessness and high spirits rather -than viciousness, and they had worried him a -good deal.</p> - -<p>“I think we shall be able to keep the house, -here,” said the father, “though we shall have -to live rather simply. The horses must go<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span> -and most of the servants, but when that is -done and things straightened out a bit, we -shall owe no man a penny. The hardest rub -is coming in the business. There we must -reorganize and retrench, and the office force -is badly cut down.”</p> - -<p>Harry hesitated, though it was only for a -moment, and swallowed a lump in his throat. -He had a pretty good idea of the drudgery -of the office. The younger clerks came in -at eight or before, and never got away until -six. That was for every week in the year, -except a brief vacation of ten days or so. He -thought of his Saturdays and holidays, of the -long vacation in the heat of summer; and -then he saw the careworn look in his father’s -face, and he held up his head and spoke -swiftly.</p> - -<p>“I’d be glad to help you in the office if -I can, sir,” he said; “I’m pretty handy at -figures and have a good idea of book-keeping. -I’d like to do it, if you’ll only let -me. A year or two of it would be good -for me. Then, if things go better, it will not -be too late to go to college after all. Perhaps -I shall feel more like it then.” He -smiled somewhat grimly, mentally noting how -swiftly ideas and ideals change. College,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span> -which had seemed inevitable only a few short -hours before, had not appealed to him except -as a pleasant place to spend time and enjoy -himself. Now he suddenly seemed to see -how useful it might be to him in the future, -yet that he would probably not be able to go -there.</p> - -<p>“It is a good deal of a sacrifice, my boy,” -said his father, “but you really could help -me there a great deal. I need some one -with the force whom I can be sure of as -loyal to my interests. Think it over for a -day, and if you are still willing you can begin -right away. It is almost worth while to be -ruined financially to find one’s son so plucky -about it and so loyal to the house. I shall -have to let you go now; I am to have a business -conference here in a few minutes, and I -see the others coming down-street now. Be -as cheerful as you can about this with your -mother. I think it is hardest on her; but -if we can all be patient for a few years, I -think I can pull through and get matters in -good shape again. Good-by.”</p> - -<p>Harry left the library, put his hat on, and -stepped out of doors. It was one of those -days in late April that make one glad he is -alive, and in New England. The grass was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span> -already green upon the lawn, the buds were -swelling in the shrubbery, and a bluebird caroled -as he fluttered from the bare limbs of a -maple and inspected the bird-box where he -planned to build his nest in spite of the scolding -of the English sparrows that flocked about -and threatened to mob him, but did not quite -dare. Harry turned down the gravel path -toward the boat-house. Beyond, the waters -of the bay sparkled and ruffled in the wind, -and his knockabout, new only last year, swung -and curtsied at the mooring as if in recognition -of her master. The lump came in -Harry’s throat again. If he worked in the -office, he would have little time in the long -bright summer just ahead of him to sail the -blue waters of the bay. Besides, perhaps he -ought not to keep the knockabout. The boat -was worth money, and should be given up just -as much as the horses. Well, he had the boat -now, and the afternoon; he would have a sail -while yet he might. It would give him a -chance to think over things, too, as his father -had suggested, though he knew his mind was -made up already. He found the skiff at the -landing, rowed to the boat, hoisted mainsail -and jib, then, as an afterthought, instead of -towing the skiff astern he made it fast to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> -mooring and sailed away without it. It was -one of those little decisions which mean nothing -at the time, but which, such are the -mysterious ways of Fate, often change the -whole current of life.</p> - -<p>Pointing well up into the wind, the graceful -boat slipped rapidly through the water. She -was breasting the incoming tide, Harry knew, -for he could feel that peculiar quiver of the -rudder that thrills through the tiller into the -arm when a finely balanced boat heads the tide -and beats to windward at the same time. -Harry looked backward at the Quincy Point -Village as it slowly drew away from him. He -saw the fine old houses,—his own the finest -of them all,—and was devoutly glad that the -business reverses were not so great that they -would have to leave that. On the rear veranda -of one of them he saw the gleam of a white -dress, and a young girl waved her hand at him. -It was Maisie Adams, he knew, and he regretted -that he had not seen her sooner. Maisie -was a jolly good sailor, and he would have -liked her for company. It was the time of the -spring vacations, and Maisie was home from -boarding-school. She would no doubt have enjoyed -this first sail of the season. He almost -decided to put back and ask her to go out, then<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> -he happened to think he was no longer the -prospective Harvard freshman with plenty of -money to spend, but the prospective clerk in -an office, and not likely to have even the boat -he was sailing, after a few days. He ought -to have had sense enough to know that this -would make no difference with Maisie, but he -was only a boy after all, and could not be expected -to know much about the way a really -nice girl like Maisie would look at things of -this sort. So he pulled his hat down over his -eyes a little—to keep out the sun, of course—and -sent the knockabout bowling along -down the Fore River, by Germantown, by -Rock Island Head, and out into the wider bay -toward Hull, where he got the full sweep of the -bustling spring breeze.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Maisie pouted on the piazza. -She had recognized Harry, and she, too, -wished he had seen her sooner. The day was -warm, almost like summer, and she would have -liked a sail down the bay. However, she got -some fancy work and sat down in a big piazza -chair in the sun, with a wrap about her shoulders, -determined to watch the boat if she could -not sail in it. After a little while her mother -came out.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you catching cold out here, Maisie?” -she asked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span></p> - -<p>“I think not, mamma,” replied Maisie. -“It’s just as warm as a summer day, and I -thought it would be nice to sit here in the sun -and embroider—and watch the boats. Sit -down with me, won’t you, and talk to me?”</p> - -<p>“I knew you wouldn’t be home long before -you were on the lookout for a sail,” said Mrs. -Adams rather roguishly. She knew that -Harry Desmond’s knockabout was the finest -small boat on the river, and that he and Maisie -were great friends. “There aren’t many -of the boats in commission yet. I thought I -saw the Princess”—that was Harry’s boat—“at -the mooring yesterday, but I see that I -was mistaken.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Adams smiled quietly to herself as she -saw the faint color creep up into Maisie’s -cheek and hide itself under the dark ringlets -of her hair. Then the girl looked up with -charming frankness and said, “The Princess -was there a few moments ago, but Harry has -just gone out in her. See, he is almost down -to Sheep Island now. He would have taken -me, I think, if he had known I was at home.”</p> - -<p>Maisie looked straight into her mother’s eyes, -and that was one of Maisie’s chief charms. -She had a way of looking at you clearly and -honestly, and you knew that you were looking<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -down through pretty gray eyes into a heart -that was as open and frank as it was sunny.</p> - -<p>“I should have been perfectly willing to -have you go,” said her mother. “Harry is a -very gentlemanly boy, and a good sailor. I -think I can trust you with him.”</p> - -<p>“I think you can trust me with any of the -boys I am willing to go sailing with, can you -not, mamma?” said Maisie, and knowing it to -be true, Mrs. Adams gave her daughter a little -squeeze of affection and changed the subject.</p> - -<p>They sat and talked for a long time in the -bright afternoon sun, while Maisie embroidered -industriously, now and then glancing at -the sail of the Princess, which had diminished -to a little white speck over toward the mouth -of the harbor, then grown again as her skipper -headed toward home. By and by Mrs. -Adams went into the house, and Maisie laid -down her embroidery and strolled across the -lawn and down the path toward the Adams’s -boat-house.</p> - -<p>There she found none of the boats put into -the water for the season except the smallest, a -light little thing with one pair of oars. Maisie -was a good oarsman, and she often rowed -one or another of the boats up the placid -reaches of the Fore River, above the bridge;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -so there was nothing uncommon in what she -now did. Finding it ready for use, she got -into the little skiff, cast off the painter, and -was soon skimming with easy strokes under -the bridge and away up-river. The bridge -and the heights of land on either side of it -soon hid the bay and the sail of the Princess -from her sight, if not from her thoughts. -There were plenty of interesting things to see -up-river, and who shall say that she did not -turn her whole attention to these? At any -rate, she alternately rowed and floated for -some time, and thoroughly enjoyed the vigorous -exercise and the outing in the bright -spring sunshine. By and by the ebbing tide -carried her back toward the bridge, and she -turned the bow of her skiff homeward just -as the Princess, with the west wind in her -sails, came nodding and curtsying up toward -her mooring.</p> - -<p>Harry had thought it all out, and was at -peace with himself. He would take the -clerkship in the office and work patiently and -bravely. Perhaps he would like business better -than he thought, or if he did not, he could -work faithfully and hope for an improvement -in the family fortunes that would enable him -to enter college after a few years. He had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span> -heard it said that a year or two of experience -in business was a good thing for a boy who -was to enter college, just as a college education -was a sure help in business, if that -were to be taken up after graduation. At -any rate, he would be doing the thing that his -father wanted him to do, and that was bound -to be best. So, with the buoyancy of boyhood -asserting itself, his brow was clear, the -trouble was already behind him, and he whistled -a merry tune as he tacked to make his -mooring.</p> - -<p>Then he noted a skiff coming through the -draw of the bridge with the tide, and gave a -cheerful shout of greeting as he recognized -Maisie in it. Suddenly something happened, -and just how it did happen neither of them -could clearly tell. The skiff was passing the -piling at one side of the draw, and perhaps an -oar caught between two piles, perhaps Maisie -turned too suddenly at the call of greeting, -or the sweep of the tide did it, or all three. -Whatever it was, the skiff overturned, and before -Harry could realize what had happened, -Maisie’s dark head floated for a moment beside -the upset skiff, then sank beneath the water -while the skiff floated away. He swung the -tiller of the Princess swiftly so as to throw the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> -boat back on the other tack and head for the -spot, which was not far away; but quick as -the knockabout was in stays, the two tacks, -one immediate upon the other, had lost her -headway, and she got a fill of wind too late to -fairly make the spot where Maisie had gone -down. As the girl’s head again came above -water, the boat was a dozen feet to leeward -and would be no nearer. There was but one -thing to do, if she were to be rescued, and -Harry did it. Letting go of tiller and sheet, -he sprang quickly overboard and plunged with -vigorous strokes in her direction, shouting a -word of encouragement which she did not -seem to heed, but which was answered by a -wild warwhoop from the shore.</p> - -<p>There the ancient ferryman, who takes people -across from Germantown to the Point for -a nickel, had suddenly waked up to the catastrophe -and nearly swallowed his pipe, which -he had been smoking placidly when it happened. -He saw the need of immediate help, -and sprang into the stern of his skiff and -snatched an oar from the thwarts, swinging it -hastily into the scull hole, very nearly upsetting -himself in his excitement. Then he vigorously -plied the oar and sent the clumsy boat -through the water toward the scene of the -accident.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span></p> - -<p>Maisie was behaving herself well. Used to -the water, but so weighted and snarled in her -skirts that she was unable to swim, she nevertheless -did not hamper Harry by needlessly -clinging to him, but simply grasped his shoulders -and clung tenaciously, though speechless -and half drowned already. Yet Harry was -having a hard time of it. He was a good -swimmer, but the ice-cold water seemed to grip -his chest and stop his breathing. He held -Maisie up and looked for the Princess, but -the boat, with its sheet caught, had swung off -the wind and was rapidly sailing away. He -could not reach the shore, and he knew it. -He could hold Maisie up for a while, if he -spared his strength as much as possible. -There was a chance that help might come, -though he could not tell from where. His -head whirled, but he swam mechanically. -Once they went under, and then as they came -up something struck his shoulder and he -grasped it and held on.</p> - -<p>The swift tide had floated them out toward -the mooring, and set them alongside the skiff -that he had inadvertently left there some hours -before. Thus kindly Fate helps us oftentimes -in little things. It was only an impulse that -had made him leave the skiff at the mooring,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -and now it was to be his salvation and Maisie’s -as well.</p> - -<p>There he clung, to be sure, but he was unable -to lift the girl into the skiff. His head -whirled with excitement and fatigue, but he -would not let go. The iron grip of the icy -water on his chest seemed to crush the strength -out of him, and he scarcely knew when the -ferryman, his clumsy craft quivering with new-found -speed, swung alongside and lifted first -Maisie and then him into the boat. Then -with a strong sweep of his oar the old man -swung the boat’s head toward the shore, and -fell to sculling desperately without the utterance -of a word.</p> - -<p>Harry was still dazed and breathless, and -Maisie was the first to recover speech. “I’m -sorry I made so much trouble,” she said -faintly to Griggs, “but we were nearly -drowned, and would have been quite if you had -not come just as you did. We thank you -very much.”</p> - -<p>Then she turned to Harry, who could still -only smile faintly and shiver. “I have to thank -you, too, for my life. I should have gone down -before any one else could get to me if you had -not been so quick and brave.” She held out -her hand to him and he clasped it for a moment,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -while his teeth managed to chatter that -it was all right.</p> - -<p>The ferryman turned his head over his -shoulder and grinned cheerfully and reassuringly -across his pipe, which was still gripped -in his teeth, but he said no word, only went -on sculling. Then the boat reached the landing -and he helped Maisie out and gave a hand -to Harry. The boy rose with difficulty, he -was so chilled.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Griggs,” he said as he stepped -on the wharf. “You came just in the nick -of time, and I’ll see that you have more than -thanks for your trouble and coolness.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you say a word, Mr. Harry,” said -the ferryman. “You and I’ve been shipmates -a good many times, and your folks have -been more than kind to me. I’ll get the Princess -back to her mooring for you. I’m mighty -glad I was on hand, and you’ll do me a favor -if you won’t say anything more about it.”</p> - -<p>Harry was feeling better, but his teeth chattered -still as he stumbled along with Maisie to -her own door. At home he told his mother -quietly that he had had a ducking, saying nothing -about the rescue, and went to bed, while -she dosed him with hot drinks. He did not -seem to recover as he should, and his mother<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span> -sent for the family physician. He laughed -at the escapade, and gave Harry medicines -that brought him round all right in due time, -though not feeling very active. But the next -day the doctor took care to call on Mr. Desmond -privately.</p> - -<p>“The boy is all right,” he said; “and the -ducking isn’t going to hurt him any, but -I want to warn you that though he is constitutionally -sound, he seems lacking a bit in -vitality. He is not very resilient; that is to -say, things that some boys would throw off -as a duck does water are likely to hurt him. -Indoor life is bad for him. He’s the sort of -chap that should be out in the open as much -as possible for a few years. Don’t let him -study too hard. Keep him sailing his boat -and playing outdoor games while his constitution -hardens.”</p> - -<p>A day or two afterward Harry came into -the library and found his father with an open -letter in his hand.</p> - -<p>“I’m ready to report for business, father,” -said the boy, smiling. “How soon do you -want me to begin at the office?”</p> - -<p>“Are you really anxious to begin?” asked -his father.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, father,” said Harry. “I know<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span> -it will be a good deal of a grind, but it will be -good for me, and I feel that I am big enough -now to help when you need me.”</p> - -<p>“Did Maisie stand her ducking all right?” -asked his father with a smile, suddenly -changing the subject.</p> - -<p>“Why—yes, sir,” faltered Harry. “How -did you know about it? I wasn’t going to -tell anything about that part of it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I saw Mr. Adams yesterday and he -was quite full of the story. He spoke very -nicely about your share in it, and I am quite -proud of you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, sir,” said Harry, turning very red -with pleasure at his father’s praise; “it wasn’t -anything much, and anyway it was Mr. Griggs -who pulled us both out. We would not have -got out at all if it hadn’t been for him.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said his father, “it was a very fortunate -escape, and I’m glad it came out as -it did. But I have two things that I wish -to talk to you about, and it may be that we -shall not need you in the office at all, but can -use you to better advantage in another way. -First, I want you to read this letter from Captain -Nickerson, my old friend from Nantucket.”</p> - -<p>He handed Harry a letter written in a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> -cramped but bold handwriting. It was as -follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Whaling Bark Bowhead, Honolulu, January 15, 189-.</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Friend Desmond</span>,—It is a year -since I wrote you last, and longer than that -since I have heard from you, but shall hope -to hear from you when we arrive at Frisco, -which will be in April unless something comes -up to prevent. We have had rather an uneventful -cruise so far, and have taken but few -whales in the South Seas. We shall land -about 1100 barrels of oil, however, as the result -of the cruise up to date. We are refitting -here as the result of a hurricane which -we took about a month ago, in which we lost -the fore-topmast and some gear with it. No -one was hurt except two Kanakas, one of -whom went overboard when the gale first -struck us, and the other got a broken arm -by a fall from the foreyard during the gale. -How he escaped going overboard is a mystery, -but it is pretty hard to lose a Kanaka. -I watched out for the other one most of the -way into Honolulu. Expected nothing but -he might swim alongside and board us, but -he didn’t come. Picked up a couple of white -men off the beach here to take their places.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span> -Think they may prove good men. They -have been on the beach long enough to know -what it is to have a good ship under them -and regular fare, though not so good as you -people at home get, doubtless.</p> - -<p>The old ship is in fine trim again, taut and -nobby as a race horse over on the Brockton -track. Guess I shall not be home in time to -take in the county fair this year, though I -would like to. We shall fit out again either -at Frisco or Seattle, and will probably touch -at Seattle anyway on our way north. I am -going to cruise through Bering Sea and into -the Arctic this summer for bowheads. Oil -is cheap now, but bone is higher than ever, -and a good shipload of bone and ivory, such -as we can probably get if we go north, will -be worth while. And this brings me to one -object in writing this letter. My boy Joe is -with us this cruise, and as fine a young sailor -as ever you saw. I wish, however, he had a -lad of good family of his own age for company. -I do not like to have him have the crew -alone for friends. Some of them are good -fellows, too, but many of them are, as you no -doubt guess, a rough lot. Your son Harry -must be about his age now,—eighteen. Why -do not you let him come on and meet us at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> -Seattle, and go north for the summer? He -would enjoy the cruise thoroughly, and no -doubt learn much that is useful to a young -lad just growing up. We shall be back by -November at the latest, and it would be nothing -much but a summer vacation for him. -If you think he would like to go, why not send -him on? We’ll make a man of him, and a -sailor man at that. I spoke to Joe about it, -and he is wild with delight at the idea. He -remembers the visit that you all made to us at -Nantucket some years ago, in which he and -Harry came to be great friends. It would be -good for his health, too. There is no place -like the Arctic in summer for putting health -and strength into a man. Besides, I could -give him a paying berth as supercargo. There -is not much to do in this except a little book-keeping, -and that is just what a boy who has -been to school as much as Harry has would do -easily and well. He would have to keep track -of the ship’s stores, keep account of expenditures, -and such things as that. The pay is -not large, but it would give him some pocket-money -when he got back, and he would not -feel that he was dependent, or a guest even.</p> - -<p>Write to me at Frisco about the middle of -April, and we will plan to have him meet us<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -there or at Seattle before we start out, which -will be some time early in May.</p> - -<p>With many pleasant memories of old school-days -together when Nantucket was really a -whaling town, and the schoolmasters did a -good deal of whaling,—Lord! what pranks -we used to play, we two!—and my regards to -Mrs. Desmond, and many to yourself, I am,</p> - -<p class="center">Yours very truly,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">William Nickerson</span>.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Mr. Desmond watched Harry narrowly as -he read this letter. He saw his eyes light up -at the prospect, and noted his suppressed excitement. -Then the boy handed it back, and -steadied himself.</p> - -<p>“But you need me in the office, don’t you, -father?” was all he said.</p> - -<p>“Would you like to go?” asked his father.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, very much, sir,” answered -Harry frankly; “but not enough to go when -you need me for other work here at home. -If things were as they were a year ago I should -tease to be allowed to go, but now I would -rather stay at home.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Desmond looked pleased. “Now,” he -said, “this is the other matter I wished to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -speak about. My business conference the -other morning was with Mr. Adams and some -other wealthy men who are planning to make -large investments in the whaling and trading -vessels which go north into Bering Sea and -the Arctic each year after whalebone and -ivory. There is a good demand for whalebone -commercially, and there are some industries -which cannot well get along without it. -At the same time the supply is limited, and -the market would easily pay a much higher -price for it. I am partly interested in this as -a small share-owner in the Bowhead. It was -hardly reckoned as an asset in the business -difficulty, as the whaling has not paid well of -late years, and dividends are few and far between. -So I still retain the stock. The plan -of these gentlemen is to concentrate all these -vessels under one management, obtain control -of the world’s available supply of whalebone -each year, and, by careful business methods -and proper handling of the market, make a -good paying business of what is now conducted -often at a loss. The scheme is already under -way, but the arrangements will not be completed -until next fall. Meanwhile we are anxious -to get a report of the conditions in that -country, and the circumstances under which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span> -the business of Arctic whaling and trading is -carried on. If you take this trip with Captain -Nickerson, you will have a chance to see -much of these conditions, and be able to make -such a report. It is true that you are young -and inexperienced in such matters, but your -work may be all the better for that. You will -have no prejudices or already formed opinions -to bias you, and what you lack in experience -in that region may be made up by conversation -with those who have made previous cruises -there. At any rate, Mr. Adams seemed to -think it was worth our while to give you such -a commission, if you went out there. He -seems much interested in you since the upset, -and if you go, you will go on a modest salary -in his employ, he being the head of the enterprise. -That will perhaps be better for us both -than work in the office would be. Now what -do you say? Will you go?”</p> - -<p>Harry looked hard at his father, saw that -he, as usual, meant what he said, and was -really desirous of having him go, and then -his delight and enthusiasm bubbled right over. -He danced about his father, wrung his hand, -and in general acted more like a crazy boy -than the sedate and repressed youth who had -been so willing to go into the office. As he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span> -rushed off to tell his mother, and plan his arrangements -for the trip, Mr. Desmond smiled -cheerily.</p> - -<p>“Humph!” he said to himself, “I suppose -the doctor was right, but there certainly -doesn’t seem to be much lack of vitality -there.”</p> - -<p>That afternoon he sent and received the -following telegrams:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">To <span class="smcap">Nickerson</span>, Whaling Bark Bowhead, San Francisco, Cal.</p> - -<p>Have decided to let Harry go north with -you. Where shall he meet you, and when?</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">H. N. Desmond.</span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">To <span class="smcap">H. N. Desmond</span>, Franklin St., Boston, Mass.</p> - -<p>Will be in Seattle May tenth to fifteenth. -Have Harry meet me there. Great news.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Nickerson.</span></p> - -</div> - -<p>Mr. Desmond wrote also, and five days later -received a letter from Captain Nickerson, -which he had evidently written as soon as -the telegrams were exchanged, giving further -instructions. Arrangements were hurriedly -but carefully made, and one day early in May -Harry bade good-by to father, mother, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span> -many friends at the station in Boston, and was -off. Maisie was there too, with a smile on her -face but a tear in her eye as she bade him -good-by with a friendly handshake.</p> - -<p>“Good-by, Harry,” she said. “I hope -you won’t go plunging overboard after careless -young ladies, up there among the Eskimos. -It would be just like you, though. Be -a good boy, and bring me a polar bear or -something when you come back.”</p> - -<p>“Good-by, Maisie,” replied Harry. “I’ll -bring you the finest aurora borealis there is -in all the Arctic.”</p> - -<p>Some one shouted “All aboard,” the train -rumbled from the station, gathering headway -rapidly, and Harry Desmond was fairly -launched upon a new life, which was to be so -strange and so different from the old that he -was often to be like the old lady in the nursery -tale, who exclaimed periodically, “Lauk-a-mercy -on us! This can’t be I.”</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<span class="smaller">BOUND FOR THE ARCTIC</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The city of Seattle grows to-day by leaps -and bounds. The roar of traffic sounds unceasingly -in her streets, the city limits press -outward in all directions into the unoccupied -territory near by, and the present prosperity -and future magnitude of the place -seem already assured. She sits, the queen of -the Sound, at the meeting-point between the -great transcontinental railroads and the great -trans-Pacific steamship lines. Great steamers, -the largest in the world’s carrying trade, ply -unceasingly between the magnificent waters -of Puget Sound and the mysterious ports of -the far East, as we have learned to call it,—though -from Seattle it is the far West,—and -fetch and carry the products of the Orient -and those of our own great country. -Mighty full-riggers from the seas of half the -world lift their towering masts skyward, as -they swing at the city’s moorings in water -that is just offshore, but so deep that the ordinary<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span> -ship’s cable hardly reaches bottom, hence -special cables and moorings are provided. -To the westward the Olympic Mountains, -clad with the finest timber in the world, lift -their snowy cloud-capped summits to the sky, -and glow rosy in the light of the setting sun; -while, between the city and these mountains -beautiful, flow land-locked waters which -might hold all the navies of all the world -without being crowded, and which seem destined -to be the centre of the commerce of -the coming century, borne over seas that are -yet new to the world’s traffic.</p> - -<p>Thus to-day! yet a decade and less ago the -city was far from being as energetic. Seattle -then slept in the lethargy of a “boom” that -had spent itself, and was but just beginning to -feel the stir of new life and a solid and real -prosperity. Splendid business blocks were but -half tenanted, many of the original boomers -were financially ruined, yet the city kept up -its courage, and had an unabating faith that -position and pluck would win out. Already -this faith was beginning to have its reward in -works, and the faint glimmerings of future -great advancement were in sight. More business -began to reach the port, and the often -almost deserted docks had now and then a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span> -ship. One of these on the day of which I -write was the Bowhead, and certainly business -bustle was not wanting on and near her. -Perhaps the amount of work going on was -not so very great, but the bustle more than -made up for that, and Ben Stovers, the Bowhead’s -boatswain, was the guide and director -of this bustle, and to blame for the most of -its noise.</p> - -<p>Stovers had a voice as big as his frame, -and that was six feet two in longitude, as -he would have said, and it seemed almost -that in latitude. Surely, like this terrestrial -globe, his greatest circumference was at the -equator. Captain Nickerson was wont to say -that Stovers was worth his weight in ballast, -and that made him the most valuable man -on the ship. It was a stock joke on the part -of the first mate, when the wind blew half a -gale, the crew were aloft reefing topsails, and -the good ship plunged to windward with her -lee-rail awash, and her deck set on a perilous -slant, to politely ask the mighty boatswain -to step to the windward rail so that the ship -might be on an even keel once more.</p> - -<p>It was the voice of this mighty man that -was Harry’s first greeting as he came down -the dock toward the vessel that was to be his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> -home for the long cruise. It rolled up the -dock and reëchoed from the warehouses, and -every time its foghorn tones sounded, a little -thrill of energy ran through the busy crew.</p> - -<p>“Hi there! Bear a hand with that cask,” it -yelled, and two or three dusky Kanakas would -jump as if stung, and the cask they had been -languidly handling would roll up the gang-way -as if it concealed a motor.</p> - -<p>“Come on now, Johnson, and you, Phipps; -this is no South Sea siesta. Stir your mud-hooks -and flip that bread aboard. Wow, -whoop! you’re not on the beach now, you -beach-combers; you’ve got wages coming to -you. Step lively there!” Result, great rise -and fall in breadstuffs, and boxes of hard -bread going over the rail and down the hold -in a way that made the Chinese cook below -shout strange Oriental gibberish, in alarm lest -the boxes be stove and the contents go adrift.</p> - -<p>“Lighter ahoy!”—this to the man driving -a cart down the dock; “clap on sail now and -come alongside. We’ve got to get away from -this dock before night or the city’ll own the -vessel for dock charges.”</p> - -<p>This sally brought a grin from the loungers, -not a few, who watched the loading, -dock charges being always a sore point with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -the vessels’ owners, and brought the pair of -bronchos and the load of goods down the -crazy planking at a hand-gallop.</p> - -<p>Flour in bags, bolts of cotton cloth and -many hued calico, shotguns and rifles, ammunition, -what the whalers know as “trade -goods” of all sorts, for traffic with the Eskimo -tribes, were all being hustled aboard -the vessel before the impulse of this great -voice, which sounded very fierce, and certainly -spurred on the motley crew to greater exertions. -Yet it had a ring of good humor in -it all, and the men obeyed with a grin as if -they liked it.</p> - -<p>A tall young fellow with bronzed face and -black curly hair stood noting the goods that -came aboard and checking them off on a -block of paper. He looked up as Harry came -down the dock, then gave a shout of recognition, -and came down the gangplank with -hand extended.</p> - -<p>“It’s Harry Desmond, isn’t it?” he said; -“awful glad you came. When did you get -here? Father is up in the city doing some -business. He’ll be as glad as I am that you -are here. Come right aboard. I’m Joe -Nickerson; of course you remember me, don’t -you? You’re a good deal bigger and older,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span> -but you haven’t changed a bit. I’d know -you anywhere. My! but I’m glad you are -going up with us.”</p> - -<p>He glanced somewhat dubiously at the -black hand-satchel that Harry was carrying, -but said nothing about it as they went up the -plank. Not so the boatswain; he took one -look at it and rolled heavily forward.</p> - -<p>“Ax your pardon, young feller,” he said; -“but ye’d better not take the hard-luck bag -aboard, had you? Don’t you want to leave -it down here on the dock? We’ll see that -it’s safe till you go ashore again.”</p> - -<p>Harry was somewhat surprised, and inclined -to resent this seemingly needless interference, -but Joe spoke up before he could say -anything. “Mr. Stovers,” he said, “this is -my friend Harry Desmond, of whom you’ve -heard me speak. He’s going up with us -this trip as supercargo.”</p> - -<p>The big boatswain reached down a hand -like a ham, and shook Harry’s awkwardly -with it.</p> - -<p>“Glad t’ meet you,” he said. “Didn’t -mean nothing sassy about the bag, you know, -but sailors are queer fellows. ’Tain’t me; -I don’t believe it, but the crew think a black -bag is full of gales of wind, and lets ’em out<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span> -when it’s brought aboard ship. See ’em looking -at it, now. ’F you could leave it ashore, -and bring your dunnage on in a canvas bag, -they’d feel better about it. No use getting -the men grumbling down for’ard.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” said Harry politely. “I’ll -leave it out on the dock here, if some one will -keep an eye on it for a while till I can get -something else. Glad you told me. I don’t -want to be a bad weather man my first cruise.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said the boatswain with -equal politeness; “I guess you and I’ll get -along all right.” Then he turned suddenly -to the crew, who were loitering and gazing -uneasily at the black bag.</p> - -<p>“’Vast gawking there, and bend on to that -dunnage. Whoop, now! Get her up here! -Heave her up, boys, lively now; the gale’s -gone down. That’s the new supercargo, and -you don’t want to go cutting up any monkeyshines -with him. He’s going to leave the -hard-luck poke-sack ashore.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve got a trunk over at the station, too,” -said Harry, as they went down the companion-way -aft. “Do you suppose they’ll mind if -I bring that aboard?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Joe, “they’re superstitious -about trunks, too, although they don’t care so<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span> -much about them as they do about a black -bag. That’s a special hoodoo.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll store them both ashore, then,” said -Harry resolutely; “I want to start all fair -with the crew. You have things pretty nice -down here, don’t you?” he went on with some -surprise as they entered the cabin. Here he -saw a room with a well-furnished dining-table, -and doors leading off, the fittings being in -hard wood, and the whole having an air of -refinement and home surroundings pleasant -to see.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes,” said Joe. “You see a whaling -captain lives aboard his vessel the year -round, and we like to have things snug. Father’s -cabin is just aft of this. He keeps his -charts there and instruments. The first mate -has the one on the starboard, and you and I -are to share this.”</p> - -<p>Joe, as he spoke, showed Harry into a little -cabin which was lighted by a port side dead-light, -and which had two neat berths with -clean bedding and white sheets. There was -abundant locker room, and the whole looked -somewhat as any boy’s room might that was -occupied by a young man studious and interested -in outdoor sports. A rifle and shotgun -hung on the wall, and other boyish belongings<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span> -were scattered about. There was a shelf or -two of books, and it reminded Harry in a -certain way of his own room at home. Joe -noted his approval with pleasure, and seeing -him glance at the books said:—</p> - -<p>“Father’s got quite a library in his room -that you are welcome to use. We’ll study -navigation and some of those things together, -if you want to. Here’s your locker, and these -hooks are for you. You may have either -bunk you wish, but I think you’ll find the -lower one more convenient. Come on ashore -now, and I’ll help you get your things aboard -and get you settled. We sail to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>That night at supper, which was deftly -served at two bells by the Chinese steward, -Harry was cordially welcomed by Captain -Nickerson, and met the first mate, a lank, muscular -man, bronzed and singularly taciturn, -and learned much of his duties as supercargo, -which he readily saw were nominal indeed. It -was strange how easily he became adapted to -life on board, and before bedtime he felt as if -he had already lived a long time on a whaling -ship. He stored his trunk and the “hoodoo” -black bag in the city, and brought his belongings -aboard in two canvas sacks, regular -sailor’s bags, much to the approval of the two<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span> -brawny Kanakas of the crew detailed to bring -them down for him. Harry was much interested -in these dusky South Sea islanders, and -found them intelligent, good-natured, and efficient. -Joe showed him over the ship, introduced -him to the engineer and his assistant, -and taught him much about the general working -of the vessel. He saw the great kettles, -set in brickwork on the forward deck, for the -trying out of blubber. He saw the whaling -implements, the bundles of staves for casks, -and the great space between decks above and -below for the storing of these when they should -be coopered and filled with oil. He saw the -galley where two slant-eyed Chinese were in -charge, and the narrow quarters of the crew -forward, crowded as much as possible to give -more space in hold and on deck for oil casks, -and for such members of the crew as he came -in contact with he had a pleasant word.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;" id="illus2"> -<img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="550" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE LONG ROLLERS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC</p> -</div> - -<p>Until Arctic whaling by way of Bering -Sea began, few if any whalers were fitted with -steam as an auxiliary; but it was found that -if vessels were to make a success of the industry -among the ice-floes of these treacherous -waters, get into and out of the Arctic by the -narrow, current-ridden, ice-tangled passage -of Bering Straits, it was wise and expedient<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -to add steam to the equipment. Hence many -vessels like the Bowhead, though thorough-going -sailing vessels, were equipped with engines -and propeller, to be used when the wind -did not serve, or when the passage of ice-floes -made it necessary. It was under a full head -of steam, then, that the Bowhead passed up -Admiralty Inlet, as that portion of the Sound -is called, rounded into the Straits of Fuca, and -spread her sails to the westerly wind only -when she was well out toward Cape Flattery, -and breasting the long rollers that swung unimpeded -from the vast expanse of the world’s -greatest ocean.</p> - -<p>How Harry’s heart had swelled within him -at the sight of this sea! He had something -of the feelings of Balboa when he first sighted -it from that Central American mountain-top, -and fell on his knees in adoration and thanksgiving. -He longed like Captain Cook to furrow -it with exploring keel, and seek out the -enchanting mysteries that lie in and beyond -the shores that it touches.</p> - -<p>“Great sight, isn’t it, Harry?” said Captain -Nickerson, who stood near him and noticed -his emotion.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” replied Harry. “It seems like -dreams coming true to think that I am to see<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> -the things that I have read about this side of -the world, but never really expected to see -with my own eyes.”</p> - -<p>The captain smiled. “You’ll see strange -sights, my boy, before you get home,” he said, -and there was more of prophecy in this than -either of them dreamed at the time.</p> - -<p>“Are we liable to do any whaling right -away?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p>“Well, that depends,” replied the captain. -“There is now and then a humpback in these -waters, but they are pretty shy nowadays, and -hard to come up with. They’re hardly worth -while. I doubt if we shall lower a boat before -we get into Bering Sea and get among the -bowheads as they follow the ice up. We are -likely to see a whale, though, most any time -now.”</p> - -<p>“I wish we could,” said Harry, the ardor -of the sportsman beginning to thrill in his -veins; but no whale appeared that day, though -he watched the sea with patience and undiminishing -ardor.</p> - -<p>A day or two afterward, as he came on deck, -he saw a little cloud on the surface of the -water like the puff of smoke that follows -the discharge of a rifle loaded with black -powder. A moment after another puff shot<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -into the air quite near the ship, and he saw -beneath it a black body rise languidly to -the surface, loll along it a moment, and then -sink again. His heart gave a great jump. -A whale! Why had none of the crew seen -it? To be sure they were not on watch for -whales, but still several were on deck, and the -first mate, whose watch it was, was pacing -leisurely back and forth behind him as he -stood at the rail. The mate now and then -glanced at the sails to see how they were drawing, -and now and then shot a command, a -single word if possible, to the crew for a pull -on the braces, or something of that sort, but -he seemed to take no notice of the puff of -smoke and the black body just showing above -the surface almost alongside. Harry looked -again. Yes, it was there, so near that he -could see that the little puff of smoke was a -cloud or vapor blown with a whiff into the -air from one end of this black body. He -could stand it no longer, but rushed up to the -mate, grasped his arm, pointed in the direction -of his discovery, and said excitedly, “See, -see! There he is! Don’t you see the whale?”</p> - -<p>“Nope,” calmly replied the taciturn first -mate, gazing at the little puff of vapor and -the black body.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span></p> - -<p>“Isn’t—isn’t it a whale?” faltered -Harry, a little ashamed of his enthusiasm in -the face of this stolidity.</p> - -<p>“Nope,” said the first mate.</p> - -<p>“But it looks like a whale,” persisted -Harry; “and it acts like a whale, at least as -I have read that they acted. What is it, -then?”</p> - -<p>“Blackfish,” said the mate, with a sweep of -his hand to the other side of the ship. Harry -looked in that direction, and was silent in -astonishment and delight.</p> - -<p>“Hundreds!” said the mate, and resumed -his walk on the deck.</p> - -<p>There were not so many as that, but there -were certainly scores of these creatures sporting -lazily in the waves, rolling their black -bodies to glisten in the sun, and sending up -the puffs of vapor that floated a moment in -the breeze and then vanished. It reminded -Harry of the skirmish line when the Cadets -were encamped at Hingham, and the order -“Fire at will” had been given. The puffs -were much like those from the Springfield -rifle.</p> - -<p>The blackfish is really a whale, though the -whalemen do not like to consider him as such -or give him credit for it. He is small, not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span> -generally reaching a length of twenty feet, -but otherwise he has all the characteristics -of a whale. He blows, breathes, feeds, and -lives in whale fashion. But he contains but -a barrel or two of oil, of an inferior quality, -and hence is beneath the notice of the average -whaleman, though vessels in hard luck occasionally -turn to and slaughter him rather than -return to port empty. His meat, on the other -hand, is better than whale meat, and is often -esteemed a delicacy on a long whaling voyage -when fresh meat from other sources has not -been obtainable.</p> - -<p>Some time afterward, as they were nearing -the Aleutian Islands, Harry was to see his first -“real whale,” and witness one of the fierce -tragedies of the sea. He sat by the taffrail -conning Bowditch’s Navigator, puzzling his -way through the intricate and bewildering instructions -as to the taking of the sun, the -use of sextant and quadrant, the working out -of longitude and latitude, while Joe, standing -second mate’s watch as was his wont, paced -the deck, and now and then passed a word with -the boatswain. That worthy was sitting cross-legged -near the rail amidships, busy with sailor’s -needle and canvas rigging some chafing-gear -for some of the lines, when he suddenly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> -sprang to his feet and gazed intently over the -bow toward the horizon. A moment he stood -thus, and then the great tones of his voice -rang out in the musical call:—</p> - -<p>“A-h-h blow! There she blows! -Whale—o!”</p> - -<p>The ship sprang into bustle immediately. -The watch on deck, which had been languidly -busy over such small matters as the boatswain -could devise to keep them at work, jumped -into instant action, scurrying hither and thither -to get the gear up and the boats in trim for -a possible conflict. Those below came piling -up on deck, and Joe sprang into the rigging, -looking intently toward the spot where -the whale was supposed to be. Harry gazed -eagerly, but he could see nothing.</p> - -<p>Captain Nickerson and the first mate appeared -as suddenly from below, and the whole -ship was activity and attention.</p> - -<p>“Where is that whale?” asked the captain.</p> - -<p>“Three points off the port bow, sir,” -answered Joe; “about four miles, I think.”</p> - -<p>“Good!” cried the captain. “Hold your -course”—this to the man at the wheel.</p> - -<p>He climbed into the mizzen rigging with -Joe, and gazed through his glass in the direction<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span> -indicated. A shade of disappointment -came into his face.</p> - -<p>“It’s an old bull humpback,” he said, -“and I don’t believe we can get near him, -but you may see that the first and second -boats are in readiness, Mr. Jones.”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir,” answered that man of brevity, -using three words in the excitement of -the moment; but there had been no need to -give the order, for he had several of the crew -busy doing just that very thing already. All -had been keen in the hope that it would be -a sperm whale.</p> - -<p>Harry climbed into the rigging too, and -as the ship drew toward the spot, he plainly -saw an occasional puff as the monster breathed -and sent a little cloud of vapor into the air. -Steadily they approached the lazy leviathan, -and by and by Harry could see his black -head and hump, yet still the vessel kept her -course, and the order to lower was not given.</p> - -<p>“Hullo!” said the captain. “He’s gallied.”</p> - -<p>What that might be Harry was not sure, -though he took it to mean excited, for the -animal suddenly surged forward, half out of -water, swung a half circle on the surface with -a great sweep of his mighty flukes, and began -to forge through the water in their direction.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -As he did so, something flashed into the air -behind him, and a black figure twenty feet -long, shaped somewhat like another whale, -seemed literally to turn a somersault from the -surface, landing with a thud right on the back -of the great humpback. The noise of the -blow was plainly heard, though the whale was -more than a half mile away. The humpback -gave a sort of moaning bellow, and sounded.</p> - -<p>“’Vast there with your boats,” cried the -captain; “the killer has got ahead of us.”</p> - -<p>The orca, or “whale-killer” as the whalers -call him, is one of the most powerful and rapacious -animals in the world. Himself a whale, -he is the only one of the species that lives on -other whales, and does not hesitate to attack -the largest of them. He grows to a length -of thirty feet, and his activity and strength are -extraordinary. One of them has been known -to take a full-grown dead whale that the -whalemen had in tow, grasp it in his tremendous -jaws, and carry it to the bottom, in spite -of its captors. One does not have to believe -an old writer who says that a killer has been -seen with a seal under each flipper, one under -the dorsal fin, and a third in his mouth. -Eschrit, however, is reckoned reliable, and -we have his authority that a killer has been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -captured, from the stomach of which were -taken thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals. -The killer is shaped much like a whale, has -great jaws filled with sharp teeth, and a -pointed dorsal fin, with which he is fabled to -dive beneath a whale and rip up his belly. -He is found in all seas, but is particularly -numerous in the North Pacific. In the far -north he pursues the beluga or white whale -and the walrus. He captures the young -walrus in a novel manner. The latter climbs -on the back of the mother and the great -ivory tusks keep the orca at bay, but he dives -beneath the old one and comes up against -her with such a blow that the young one -falls from the rounded back of its mother, -when it is immediately seized and crushed in -the great jaws of the rapacious animal.</p> - -<p>For a few moments nothing more was seen -of either animal, and then, not his own length -from the ship, the whale appeared, shooting -up as if from a great depth, and flinging almost -the whole of his great bulk straight into -the air. The orca rose with him, his jaws set -in the body of the whale just behind the -left flipper. As the monster shook himself in -agony, even when reared almost his whole -length in the air, and with his great flukes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> -beating the water beneath to foam, the hold -of the orca was broken, and he fell back into -the water beside the whale, leaving a great -three-cornered tear in the whale’s side that -dyed the water crimson as with another tremendous -leap the wild wolf of the sea was -again on his victim.</p> - -<p>Again Harry heard that strange half -moan, half bellow, as the frenzied humpback -ploughed along the surface to windward, -beaten by the blows of the orca as he -flung himself into the air, and again and -again came down like an enormous club on -his victim’s back. And thus the unequal -contest went on, and Harry watched them -till they disappeared in the distance to windward. -He was much impressed by the -spectacle.</p> - -<p>“How do you suppose it will come out?” -he asked, as they clambered down from the -rigging.</p> - -<p>“The killer will get him, sure,” replied Captain -Nickerson. “He will hammer him and -worry him for miles, till he is completely -exhausted. Then he will get a bite in his -lip, and it will be all up with Mr. Humpback. -By this time to-morrow as much of him as the -orca does not want to eat right away will be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span> -floating belly up, and the sea birds and sharks -will be busy with it.”</p> - -<p>Two days afterward great banks of fog, -with now and then a white peak gleaming -through, showed that they were nearing the -Aleutian Islands. The course was changed -more to the northward, and the ship sailed -into the windy, cloud-tormented reaches of -Unalga Pass. Just as they reached the edge -of the mists, the clouds lifted for a moment, -and showed a scene of surpassing grandeur. -The scarred and weather-beaten abrupt cliffs -of the mountain sides rose from dark waters, -that flashed green and white as they broke -against the island sides, varying from dull -red to deep crimson, streaked with vivid -green of grasses and golden brown with -lichens. Above these again swept the bare -uplands, golden and olive with the tundra -moss that clothes all to the farthest Arctic -limits of the north, while over all, majestic -and wonderful, lifting its crystal pinnacle -eight thousand feet to the heavens, stood -the mighty crest of Shishaldin, clothed white -with unmelting snows, and tipped with a fluttering -banner of smoke from the undying -fires within. Shishaldin and Pogromnia, the -one white as snow, the other dark with furrowed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -cliff and frozen lava, are chimneys to -the banked fires of Unimak Island, in which -slumber still, as they have slumbered since the -white men first discovered them nearly two -centuries ago, the mighty forces of eruption.</p> - -<p>In the baffling currents and gusts of the -pass sails were furled, and the ship proceeded -under a full head of steam, skirting the lofty -cliffs of Akutan. On this island once dwelt -many thousand happy, contented Aleuts. -They were great whalemen, and when the -summer brought the humpback whales in -schools to their turbulent waters, they captured -many of them by bold but primitive -hunting. Wisely, they did not attack the old -whales, for the humpback is a famous fighter, -and the white whalers rarely attack them in -these dangerous waters to-day. Instead they -picked out the agashitnak (yearlings) or -akhoak (calves), and boldly attacked them in -their two-holed bidarkas, made of walrus and -seal skin stretched over driftwood framework. -In the after-hole sat the paddler, and in the -forward one the harpooner with his six-foot -driftwood harpoon, tipped with an ivory -socket bearing a notched blade of slate. This -was thrust deep into the young whale and -then withdrawn, leaving the socket and blade<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> -in his carcass. The mark of the hunter was -scratched deep in this slate blade, that he might -know it again. On being thus wounded the -whale fled to sea, and there, as the Aleuts -used to say, “went to sleep for three days.” -Meanwhile watchers lined the cliffs, and -watched through the scurrying fog for the -currents to drift the carcass back to the -island. Once perhaps in twenty times this -happened, and then there was a feast and -great rejoicing in the villages. The mark -of the mighty hunter, inscribed on the blade, -was found when the weapon was cut out, and -he was honored for his feat during life, and -even afterward. After his death, if he had -been one of the very great men, his body was -preserved, cut up, and rubbed on the blades -of the young harpooners, that his valor and -good fortune might be thus transmitted.</p> - -<p>The villagers were bold sea hunters, but -gentle and peaceable in their intercourse with -one another, and so large were their villages -that to-day the ruins of one of them front for -nearly a mile on the beach. Over on Akun—another -veritable volcanic mountain rising -abruptly from the sea—were other prosperous -villages, also of primitive whalemen. Here -were boiling springs in which the villagers<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span> -might cook their meat without fire, and the -winter’s cold was in no wise to be feared -because of the underground heat.</p> - -<p>The humpbacks still school in summer -about the islands of Akun and Akutan, and -millions of whale birds swoop in black clouds -above them. The little auks and parrot-bill -ducks, as the sailors call the puffin, swarm -upon the cliffs, and breed there as of old; -but the Aleuts are gone from their ancient -villages, and only a diseased remnant remains -in favored spots in the once populous archipelago. -On Akutan and Akun there are -none. At Unalaska, or Illiluk as they called -it, a remnant survives, their blood mingled -with that of their exterminators, the Russians, -and their sod huts cluster about the beautiful -Greek church which they support. While -the Bowhead lay at anchor in their harbor, -Harry and Joe saw much of them, and found -them so shy and gentle that it did not seem -possible that they ever had risen in revolt -against their fierce Cossack oppressors and -swept them from the island; but such they -did more than a century ago, only to be -conquered and almost exterminated by fresh -hordes of the invaders.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus3"> -<img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="700" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HARBOR OF UNALASKA</p> -</div> - -<p>Like a necklace about the throat of Bering<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> -Sea, the Aleutian Islands swing in a cloud-capped -circle of peaks to within about five -hundred miles of the Siberian coast. The -story of their discovery and exploitation by -the Russians is one of romantic interest, -thrilled through with horror at the needless -oppression and slaughter of their gentle inhabitants. -It was in the year 1740 that the -Russians first sighted them, on the ill-fated expedition -of Bering and his fellow commander -Chirakoff. During the preceding centuries -the little white sable known as the Russian -ermine had led the wild Cossack huntsmen -across the Siberian steppes to the shores of -Kamchatka. The value of east Siberian furs -in Russian markets was great, and when the -wild huntsmen and traders reached the sea -limit, they learned from the natives legends -of land yet beyond, over-sea, where furs were -still more plentiful. Accordingly, with a commission -from the Russian court, Bering and -Chirakoff fitted out two little vessels and set -out upon these unknown seas on a voyage of -discovery. Bering touched the mainland of -Alaska, but soon started for home. Chirakoff -visited several of the Aleutian Islands and -finally reached Kamchatka again, after losing -many of his crew from starvation and disease.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -Bering, however, was wrecked on the Commander -Islands, just off the Gulf of Kamchatka, -and died there, but after incredible -hardships a remnant of his crew reached the -mainland. They had been obliged to subsist -on the flesh of the sea otter during their stay -on the islands, and they brought back with -them some of the pelts of the animals. These -were received with great favor in Russia, and -the high price offered for the skins gave a -great impetus to further exploration of the -islands, on which they abounded. Expedition -after expedition was fitted out in crazy -vessels, and the Promishlyniks, as the Russians -called these savage huntsmen and voyagers, -began to overrun the Aleutian chain.</p> - -<p>Often their unseaworthy ships were wrecked -in the gales which surge about the islands. -Hunger and disease decimated their crews, -and many an expedition started out boldly -into the untried tempestuous waters, only to -disappear and be no more heard from. Yet -now and then an unseaworthy craft would -escape the gales, and with half an emaciated -crew return, the ship loaded down with -many thousands of sea otter, fox, and seal -skins, meaning great wealth to the survivors. -Nothing could exceed the boldness and hardihood<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> -of these men. The half-starved, disease-smitten -remnants of the unsuccessful -crews would immediately dare the myriad -dangers again in a new expedition, so great -was their courage and so tempting the prize. -We have scant records of the expeditions, yet -in those of which we know the misery and -death, even when success resulted, is appalling. -Yet they kept on, and the boldness -and hardihood of the Cossack hunter-mariners -were equaled only by their rapacity and -cruelty. Invariably met with goodwill and -hospitality on the part of the natives of the -mountainous islets, their return was invariably -oppression and cruelty in the extreme. -A busy, contented, hospitable people swarmed -in the sheltered coves of the rocky isles when -the invasion began. Within thirty years but -scattered remnants were left, enslaved, diseased, -discouraged. Once only, on Unalaska, -they took advantage of the winter and slaughtered -their oppressors who remained on the -island, but with the spring came new hordes, -and they were obliged to sue for peace, with -slavery.</p> - -<p>This uprising took place in the winter of -1763, and the story of the escape of two of -the Promishlyniks, driven to the mountains,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -at bay on a rocky headland, concealed in a -cave, fleeing alongshore in a captured canoe, -always with tremendous odds against them, -yet always winning in the unequal fight, is an -extraordinary one.</p> - -<p>Most of the Aleutian Islands to-day are -barren, and desolate of inhabitants. Few if -any Russians remain, and but a handful of -Aleuts. Moreover, the greed of a century -and a half has practically exterminated the -sea otter. Once so common that it might be -killed with a club, the animal is to-day one of -the most wary known, and the price of a single -skin is a fortune to the Aleut hunter, of -whom a few still seek for the prized fur. The -Russian domination passed with the sale of -Alaska to the United States. The American -domination is kindly, but the Aleut does not -thrive, and it seems but a few more years -before he will have passed into the category -of races that have faded before the advance -of the white man.</p> - -<p>The Bowhead made only a brief stay at -Unalaska. Here some coal was added to -their supply, and store of fresh water was -taken from the reservoir, established by one -of the big trading companies that have stations -there, at the seal islands, and at St.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> -Michaels, at the mouth of the Yukon River. -Then the anchor was hoisted, they steamed -out of Captain’s Bay, by the strange headland, -Priest Rock, which marks its entrance, -and with a southerly wind in the sails left the -clouds and snowy peaks behind. Their prow -was set toward the mysterious north, and -already the man on the lookout was on the -watch for the blink of Bering Sea ice not -yet melted by the spring sun.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<span class="smaller">BUCKING ICE IN BERING SEA</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>Harry sat at the mess-room table one morning -a few days later, writing the first chapter -in what he rather shyly called his “report.” -He had learned much from Captain Nickerson -of the habits of the humpback whale, -which frequents the Aleutian Islands, and the -dangerous circumstances under which vessels -would work while whaling in these waters. -The captain had declared that it was not -worth while to hunt the humpback, that the -dangers and losses would more than balance -the gain, and Harry believed him. Nevertheless -it was on such things as these that -Mr. Adams wanted knowledge, and so he was -jotting down what he had learned.</p> - -<p>The old humpbacks are born fighters. The -shoals and currents, the fogs and gales, of the -islands are their allies, and right well do they -know how to take advantage of them. Once -an iron is fast to a humpback, his first impulse -is to turn and crush the puny boat which has<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> -stung him. Failing in this, he rushes to a -shoal, and rolling on the bottom tries to roll -the iron out, or he swings in and out the narrow, -reef-studded passages, and often wrecks -the boat that is fast to him. Even if he fails -in all these attempts and is killed, the swift -currents and the fog which surrounds make -the bringing of the carcass to the ship difficult -and dangerous. Hence, now that the -Aleuts have passed from the islands, he is left -to pursue his ways in peace. “Why bother -with him,” say the whalemen, “when just a -little way to the northward are the bowheads, -far more valuable, and as a rule killed almost -without a struggle?”</p> - -<p>Now and then Harry lifted his head from -his work to listen to a peculiar grating sound -that seemed to come from the side of the -ship. It was the same sound that a small -boat makes when it touches a gravelly bottom, -and he noted also that steam was up on the -vessel, and knew by the slow pulsations of the -screw that they were proceeding at half speed. -He was curious about all this, but decided -that he would finish his work before he went -on deck. Then a faint, far-away cry came to -his ear. The man at the masthead had sung -out—“A-h-h blow!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span></p> - -<p>The next cry was neither faint nor far, for -it came from the mighty lungs of the great -boatswain. “Whale—o!” he shouted; -“tumble up lively, lads. There’s a bowhead -out here in the ice.”</p> - -<p>Harry tumbled up lively, indeed, but he was -at the heels of the members of the crew, who -had been below at the call, for all that. He -found himself in a new world. During the -early morning hours the ship had entered the -southern edge of the Bering Sea ice, and was -steaming steadily northward into it. Thus -far the ice was neither thick nor in force, scattered -floes to the right and left leaving open -leads through which the vessel pressed, rubbing -her sides against floating fragments as -she passed. It was this scattered “slush” that -had made the grating sound on the ship’s side. -A big bowhead was playing leisurely along in -the broken ice some distance ahead, now diving -beneath a floe, now appearing in an open -space, feeding, and unconscious of danger. -The open water and the ice round about was -no longer the clear green which it had been, -but was turbid with a brownish substance like -mother-of-vinegar.</p> - -<p>“What’s that stuff?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p>“Whale food,” answered Joe; “the sea is -full of it about here at this time of year.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, I’m glad I’m not a whale,” said -Harry; “I’d hate to eat that.” The brown, -muddy, clotted messes were even frozen into -the ice. They consist of minute forms of low-grade -animal life, and are certainly not palatable -in appearance. Yet the bowhead is fond -of them. He sculls along with his mouth -wide open, the bone in his upper jaw reaching -down to his lower lip on either side, and making -of his mouth a cavern into which food, -water, and all enter. Once the great mouth -is full he pushes his enormous spongy tongue -up into it, squeezes the water out through the -whalebone sieve, and swallows the food left -behind.</p> - -<p>One bell sounded in the engine-room. The -throb of the screw ceased, and the Bowhead -glided gently along an open space of water -toward her namesake.</p> - -<p>“That fellow will go sixty barrels, and a -good lot of bone,” said Captain Nickerson. -“Lower away there!”</p> - -<p>Two whaleboats were swung over the side, -the first mate in charge of one, Captain Nickerson -in the other. Joe was left behind, nominally -in charge of the ship, and Harry, of -course, remained with him. His nerves were -a-tingle with the excitement of the chase, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -he ardently wished he might be in one of the -two boats.</p> - -<p>“Hard luck, isn’t it?” said Joe, who noticed -his excitement. “Tell you what, we’ll -get ready for a strike ourselves. There’s likely -to be more than one bowhead about, and we’ll -get up some gear in case they want more of -it. Here, Billy,”—this to one of the Kanakas -on deck,—“get up a couple of tubs of -that extra line.”</p> - -<p>“There’s no knowing how soon we’ll want -another boat away. I’ll get up another bomb -gun and a supply of ammunition. Then -we’ll be heeled, as they say in Frisco.”</p> - -<p>Harry handled the bomb gun when it arrived,—a -short, ponderous weapon of brass, -clumsy indeed to one accustomed to handle -an ordinary rifle or shotgun, but very efficient -in the service for which it is intended. -Joe showed him how it was used, and even -loaded it, placing it carefully against the rail. -The two boats, zigzag fashion, approached -the whale through the floes, the captain’s -much in advance, and finally came up with -him. Cautiously they glided on till the -bow of the foremost just grazed the black -back. Then the harpooner, with a mighty -thrust, sent the iron deep into the blubber, -and the boat backed rapidly away.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span></p> - -<p>“The gun missed fire! The gun missed -fire!” shouted Joe excitedly; “they’ll lose -him!”</p> - -<p>So it seemed, for there was no sound of an -explosion, only the welt of the whale’s flukes -on the water as he sprang into action at the -thrust of the harpoon. With this one great -splash he went below the surface, sounded, as -the whalemen say, and there was no sign of -his presence except the two boats and the rapidly -whizzing line as it ran out through the -chock.</p> - -<p>“They’re heading this way,” said Harry; -and so they were, the captain’s boat standing -bow on beside a floe, with the line whizzing -against the edge of the ice, and the first -mate’s men pulling with all their strength -toward the ship. Then they heard the warning -shout from the captain,—</p> - -<p>“Watch for him, we’ve parted.” The -rough edge of ice had cut the line, and the -whale was free.</p> - -<p>The bowhead’s chances for getting away -were good. He would come to the surface -again only for a breath, and then continue -his flight to safety in the distant ice fields. -But now came one of those happenings which -prove how wise it is to be prepared for any<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span> -emergency. Joe, in getting up that extra -gear and the gun, had unwittingly saved the -day. As both boys stood by the rail gazing -toward the boats, there came a crash in the -weak ice just alongside, a black bulk crushed -up through it, and with a gasp like that of a -steam exhaust a puff of vapor shot up right -in their faces.</p> - -<p>“There he is! There he is!” yelled Joe -frantically; “give it to him!”</p> - -<p>With the words he snatched up the iron -at his side, and hurled it downward with all -his strength into the head of the whale, where -it stuck quivering. At the same time Harry, -yelling like mad in his excitement, caught up -the bomb gun, put it to his shoulder as if it -were a toy, and discharged it full into the -middle of the black mass, which he saw as -through a mist heaving in the crushed ice. -There was a dull, heavy sound of a muffled explosion, -and the whale quivered and stopped. -Then came a wild hurrah from the ship, and -an answering one from the boats. The boatswain -sprang up the short ladder from amidships -to their side.</p> - -<p>“Mighty good, young fellers,” he shouted, -almost as excited as they; “you plunked -him fair, and just one chance out of a thousand.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span> -Whoop! but we’re a whaling crew. -Greenhorn bagged the first bull right from -the quarter deck. Whoop!”</p> - -<p>The bowhead lay motionless, evidently -dead, and the boatswain made the line fast to -a cleat. Then he sang a variation of an old -sea chantey, cutting a ponderous pigeon wing -to the tune—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Tra la la, tra la la, tra la la boom,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Lorenzo was no sailor,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Tra la la, tra la la, tra la la boom,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">He shipped on board a whaler.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“’Vast there, bosun,” he said to himself, -suddenly sober; “no monkeyshines on the -quarter-deck. Get down amidships where -you belong. Hi there, you Kanakas! clear -away that cuttin’-in gear. Step lively now, -they’re alongside.”</p> - -<p>The boats were no sooner at the davits -than preparations for cutting-in the whale -were made. He was hauled alongside, head -toward the stern, and a heavy tackle was -rigged to the mainmast head. Then the cutting-in -stage of planking, rigged so as to -swing from the side of the ship out over the -carcass, was put outboard. Two men, each -with the great steel chisel which the whalemen -call a spade, took stations on this. A<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> -longitudinal slit was cut in the blubber just -back of the flipper. Then cuts were made -from this round the carcass, a hook from the -tackle was made fast in the end of the strip, -and hoisting away on the tackle the blubber -was peeled from the dark meat beneath in a -spiral peeling, somewhat as one might peel an -apple. As the weight on the tackle grew great, -the strip was cut away and hoisted upon the -deck amidships. Meanwhile, others of the -crew had started fires beneath the great kettles -forward, and the blubber, cut into small cubes, -was put in these. At first this fire was of -wood, but as the work progressed the scraps -from the blubber were thrown into the grate -and burned fiercely, giving off a thick black -smoke that had a disagreeable odor of burnt -flesh.</p> - -<p>By and by the blubber was all aboard, filling -the space between decks with its quivering -oily masses, among which the crew plunged -and worked like demons. The furnaces -spouted smoke and oil, and remnants of -blubber made the decks slippery. Last of all -the tackle was carefully made fast to the head, -and the ship listed to one side as the donkey -engine put a strain on the great mass. Then -the great backbone was severed by the spades,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> -and the tense tackle sang as the enormous bulk -was swung inboard and landed safely on the -deck.</p> - -<p>“What for goodness’ sake is that in his -mouth?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p>“That’s the bone,” replied Joe; “and a -fine head of bone it is. Some of the slabs -are eight or nine feet long.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I never thought whalebone looked -like that,” said Harry, gazing in astonishment -at the black slabs varying in length from one -foot to eight that extended down from the -upper jaw. They were flattened, nearly a foot -in greatest diameter at the base, and tapering -to a thin tip. This was fringed far up on the -sides with what resembled horsehair.</p> - -<p>“Can he shut his mouth with all that in -it?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” replied Joe. “The tips fit into -the groove between the tongue and the lip, -and point backward when he shuts his jaws. -They are very elastic, as you know, and they -spring and bend close together.”</p> - -<p>The boatswain and the mate busied themselves -cutting out these slabs of bone, which -were piled away to be cleansed before stowing -them. The boatswain was jovial and talkative. -He sang snatches of sea songs, made jokes,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span> -and tried to draw out his companion as they -worked; but the taciturn mate was as silent as -ever. Not so Harry and Joe, who put on oil-skins -and worked with them. After the bone -was removed, the head was tipped overboard, -and floated away with the stripped and abandoned -carcass. Arctic gulls had gathered in -troops from no one knew where, and dogfish -were already nibbling at it. It would not be -many days before the meat would be stripped -from the bones, and the latter resting on the -shallow bottom of Bering Sea.</p> - -<p>“Pity the mersinkers could not have that -meat,” said the boatswain. “It would make -a feast for a whole village for a week.”</p> - -<p>“Who are the mersinkers?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p>“The natives over at East Cape,” said the -boatswain; “that’s what they call themselves. -You’ll see them in a day or two, -probably.”</p> - -<p>The twilight of early June lasts in Bering -Sea until almost eleven o’clock; then flares -were lighted of scraps and blubber in wire -baskets, making torches that lighted up the -gloom with weird, fantastic glare, and still the -work of trying out went on. The men loomed -in and out of the shadows like strange goblins -at uncanny sport. The fires illumined a brief<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -circle of the desolate ice, and showed only a -part of the rigging which made ladders into -an unknown gloom, and the whole was like a -midnight assembly of goblins of the strange -ice world, working spells about witch kettles -that far outdid the wild work of the witch sisters -in “Macbeth.” The brief night had -passed, and the morning sun was shining on -the ice again, yet the incantations did not -cease, and it was two days before the last of -the bowhead’s oil was stowed in casks below -decks. Then only the weary crew had a brief -rest, before the ship was cleaned and scrubbed -down. Nearly a thousand pounds of whalebone -was the most valuable result of this first -catch, and as the market price of bone at San -Francisco was something over three dollars a -pound, Harry had matter of interest to jot -down in his report as to the methods and -profits of the pursuit of the bowhead.</p> - -<p>The vessel now found herself in the middle -of the Bering Sea pack ice. Here and there -were open leads still, but they were fewer, more -narrow, and much less connected. Now and -again there were places where contrary winds -and currents had crushed the floes together, -piling the crumpled cakes high on one another -in wild confusion, often to a height of twenty<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> -or thirty feet. Joe called these hummocks -icebergs, and Harry and he had much friendly -controversy as to the correct use of that term. -Harry explained that he had learned that icebergs -were the product of glaciers alone, that -there were no glaciers on the Alaskan coast -north of the Aleutians, and that these should -properly be called hummocks. In this he was -right, but Joe, with the pride of the man who -“has been there,” would not concede it. -Whatever they were, they totally prevented -the progress of the vessel, and when they appeared -in the path, the Bowhead was obliged -to make a detour to avoid them. Now and -then they were obliged to “buck ice” to get -from one lead to another, and the process was -very exciting. The vessel under a full head -of steam would plunge straight at the field of -heavy ice, striking it with a thump that entirely -stopped progress and shook the structure from -stem to stern. The masts would spring under -the blow, and at each shock Harry fully expected -to see Captain Nickerson jolted from -his perch in the crow’s nest, high on the fore-mast. -Then the ship would back away again -at the captain’s order, leaving a three-cornered -dent in the ice. Again and again she would -rush at this dent with her great weight under<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span> -full head of steam, till the floe would split, and -leave a narrow crack through which the vessel -could crowd her way. Thus for several -days they hammered their way on through -the pack, until they reached its northwestern -edge, where open water gave them free passage -to the ice-bound shores of east Siberia. -There they came to anchor under a headland, -and though it was mid-June and did not seem -cold, were greeted by a storm of snow that -came scurrying down from the snow-clad hills -inland.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;" id="illus4"> -<img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="550" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">BUCKING THE ICE</p> -</div> - -<p>Next day it cleared, and the skin topeks of -a Chuckchis village could be seen on the barren -shore. A strip of shore ice still separated -them from the land, but the natives came dragging -their umiaks across this and then put to -sea in them, soon paddling alongside. There -were a dozen or more in each boat, men, women, -and children, all clad much alike in walrus-hide -seal-top boots, sealskin trousers, and -a hooded coat of reindeer fur which extended -nearly to the knee. Men and women and the -older children alike paddled, and the walrus-hide -boats made rapid progress over the -waves. Once alongside they made fast and -came aboard, all hands, smiling and silent, -sitting or standing for a time until addressed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -by some one who was or seemed to be in authority. -Then they spoke, and conversation -was soon general. It was limited, however. -Many of the men know considerable English -of the “pigeon” variety, and most of the -whalers are familiar with the trade language -of the Eskimos of Bering Sea and the straits, -which consists of Eskimo, mingled with words -and phrases picked up from the whalers and -traders, and originating Heaven knows where. -Possibly some are Kanaka words transplanted -far north. Others are words invented by the -sailors on the spur of the moment, which, once -applied by the natives, have been adopted into -general use.</p> - -<p>Each native had a sealskin poke which he -carried slung over his shoulder by a rawhide -thong, and which consisted of the skin of -the ordinary Arctic seal taken off whole, and -tanned with the hair on. A slit was cut in the -side of this, making a sort of traveling-bag, -in which he carried articles which he was to -offer for trade. Within these pokes were walrus -tusks, plain and carved, some elaborately; -walrus teeth carved into grotesque imitations -of little animals; “muckalucks,” the trade -word for the native skin-boot; “artekas,” or -coats of reindeer skin; furs of ermine, mink,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> -otter, and the hair seal; in fact, anything -which the mersinker could find at home that -he thought the whalemen might fancy. None -of these goods were offered on deck, however. -Each waited until the captain, sitting in state -in his cabin, sent for him; then one by one -they went down to trade. After each man -had made what bargain he could with Captain -Nickerson, he brought what was left to the -deck, and there traded freely with the sailors.</p> - -<p>As supercargo, Harry sat in the cabin with -Captain Nickerson, and kept account of each -trade as it was made, having good opportunity -to watch the methods of the natives. -He found them very clever at barter, Captain -Nickerson, Yankee that he was, often meeting -his match in some stolid native, who seemed -to have a very clear idea of what he wanted, -and how to get it. The first day of trading -was merely preliminary, however, the natives -bringing off their least valuable goods for -barter, reserving the best of the ivory, and all -the bone, until they found how prices were -going, and whether the ship held such supplies -as they needed or not. Their first demand -seemed to be for hard bread, of which they -are very fond. For this they offered, as a -rule, the muckaluck, or native boot. Calico,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -as they had learned to call all forms of cloth, -came next; then flour in bags, and later ammunition, -rifles, and trade goods. Of brown -sugar they were desirous, and chewing tobacco -was asked for almost as soon as the hard-tack. -This they called kowkow tobacco, or eating -tobacco, from their trade word “kowkow,” -meaning to eat. Harry made note of the -Eskimo words as he heard them used, and -picked up a working vocabulary, with the help -of his notebook, in a very short time. Before -the first day’s trading was over he had begun -to understand what was meant, and by the -end of the third day he astonished Joe with -his fluency. As a matter of fact, his vocabulary -thus far consisted of only forty words or -so; but as they were the ones in most constant -use, it made him seem quite a linguist. From -this time forward he took great pains to jot -down a new word and its meaning as soon -as he heard it, getting many from the officers -and crew, and this quick acquisition of -the language was to stand him in good stead -later on.</p> - -<p>At the end of the third day trading had -ceased. There were great piles of deerskins, -muckalucks, and small furs, several hundred -pounds of not very good bone, quite a quantity<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -of ivory, and many trinkets and curios. Harry -wondered greatly as to the destination of -much of this stuff.</p> - -<p>“Are reindeer skins worth much in the -States?” he asked Captain Nickerson once, as -the pile grew larger at the expense of much -flour and calico.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think there is any market,” replied -the captain, “though it is hard to see why. -The fur is very thick and warm, the skin light, -and should make most excellent lap robes and -carriage robes, just as the buffalo fur once did. -We shall trade them again when we meet the -Eskimos on the other side of the straits. -The caribou is scarce over there, and they -gladly exchange fox, ermine, and bear skins -for them. These we can dispose of readily in -Frisco.”</p> - -<p>A good quantity of bone was in hand, but -it was only a part of what the natives had -taken, as the captain knew. Two whales had -been their good fortune as the ice came down -the fall before, and a third had come to them -that spring as the gift of the orcas. These -eat the lip and the soft tongue of the bowhead, -leaving the carcass to float ashore. Hence -the mersinker looks upon the orca with a sort -of veneration as a provider of great and valuable<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> -gifts, and has certain ceremonies which -he goes through each year as an invocation to -him and an expression of gratitude. The -mersinker, in fact, is a man of many ceremonials, -the reason for which he does not know, -but which he follows because his father did the -same before him. These three whales had been -small ones, but there must have been far more -bone from them than the natives brought to -the ship for sale. The balance they were -keeping back for further trading with other -ships, nor was it possible to get them to bring -this out, even by offering increased value for -it. They held it in reserve, as is their custom, -hoping that the next ship would bring goods -which they would care for more than those at -hand.</p> - -<p>Captain Nickerson wished to purchase some -reindeer for fresh meat, but none were at the -coast. The deermen were said to be stationed -in a valley half a dozen miles in the -interior, and he decided to send an expedition -inland in search of some. A coast native -volunteered as guide, and brought along -a sledge and dog team for the transportation -of supplies. Mr. Jones, the taciturn first -mate, was detailed in command of this expedition, -and Harry and Joe were allowed to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span> -go, with many injunctions to be careful not -to get into trouble with the Chow Chuen, as -the deermen call themselves.</p> - -<p>It was a perfect June day when they set -off. There was no breath of wind, and the -sun shone brilliantly as they landed on the -shore ice, transferred their supplies to the -sledge, and set off through the native village -toward the hills. They had instructions not -to be gone longer than over one night, and it -was agreed that a signal of trouble and need -of assistance should be three shots repeated in -quick succession. Such precautions were necessary -as the Chow Chuen, though generally -willing to barter, are of uncertain temper, and -even the mersinkers are not to be trusted when -they seem to have an advantage. Harry and -Joe tramped on ahead of the company, the -Eskimo following with his team and sledge, -and Mr. Jones bringing up the rear. The -air was warm, and on bare spots the spring -grass was already growing through the tundra -moss, but the snow still covered most of the -earth, and the trail lay across it, well trodden.</p> - -<p>Each boy carried a rifle and was well supplied -with cartridges, while Harry had in -addition a small camera slung over his shoulder -by a strap. The boys were in high glee at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -the outing, after the long confinement aboard -ship, and rollicked along well ahead of the -others. Yet their progress was slow, the way -winding, and it was lunch time and yet they -had not reached the upland valley, where the -camp of the deermen was said to be. A -few dry twigs of willow—the only growth -of wood, and this in the main creeping vine -fashion, and rising only to a height of two or -three feet—were found to feed a fire, and a -pot of tea was boiled. Then after the men -had taken a hasty smoke, the journey was -resumed. It was mid-afternoon when they -seemed to be reaching the summit of a low -divide. The six miles had stretched into a -dozen, and there was no sign of human life -among the hills, only the beaten trail leading -steadily on over the snow. The mate had -seemed anxious for an hour or so, and had -swung into the lead along with the boys.</p> - -<p>“Home pretty soon,” he said, wasting no -words; “most far enough.” A moment after, -they rounded a ledge of broken basaltic rock, -and looked down upon a scene of pastoral life -such as only the extreme north of Asia can -show. A brown and sheltered valley wound -among the rude hills. It was bare of snow -in the main, and the golden brown moss, with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span> -which it was carpeted, showed green with -grasses already springing in it. In scattered -groups about this grazed several hundred reindeer, -many brown in color, some piebald, the -old ones bearing branching antlers, the fawns -spotted, and gamboling like any young deer. -Here and there, fur-clad herders watched -them, and there was a little group of large -skin topeks at one side of the valley not far -off, the homes of the herders and their families. -Thither they turned, the coast native -taking the lead now. They were near the -little hut hamlet before any one took notice -of them, when a man suddenly appeared with -a rifle in his hands. He was taller than the -coast native, and seemed more robust. He -fearlessly pointed the rifle at the approaching -party.</p> - -<p>“Way enough!” shouted Mr. Jones. -“Hold water!”</p> - -<p>At a wave of his hand the Eskimo went -ahead resolutely, his hands held up palm -forward as a sign of peace, and shouting, -“Nagouruk! Nagouruk!”</p> - -<p>The deerman lowered the muzzle of his -rifle, and the two talked for a moment. Then -the Eskimo made a sign for the party to come -forward. The deerman met them with the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> -word “Nagouruk,” which means “Good,” in -token of friendship, and talked with the Eskimo -volubly in a dialect that no one in the -party could make much of. The other, who -could speak some English, explained that it -was doubtful if deer could be bought. It -had been a bad winter, many had died in the -deep snow, and they wished to let the herd -increase during the spring and summer, lest -they face starvation next winter. In any -case, it would be necessary to consult the -head deerman, and he would send for him.</p> - -<p>“Watch out,” said Mr. Jones to Joe and -Harry. “Don’t like this gang.”</p> - -<p>The deermen’s topeks numbered about half -a dozen, scattered along the sunny side of an -abrupt turn in the cliff which bordered the -valley’s edge. The deerman lifted the flap -of one of these, and motioned them to enter. -A crowd of curious women and children, the -smaller of these latter perched on their -mothers’ shoulders astride their necks, had -begun to gather. Men came running up -from the other topeks, and the little party -was soon being stared at, criticised, and even -poked and hustled, in half-curious, half-insolent -fashion. The Chow Chuen are certainly -no respecters of persons. They hate and distrust<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -the white man, but they do not fear -him.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jones hesitated. Then he motioned -to Harry to stand by the sled. “Stand watch, -will you?” he said. “Keep ’em off. Don’t -get gallied.”</p> - -<p>Harry, rifle in hand, took his stand by the -sled, while the other three entered the topek. -The Alaskan coast native builds a small summer -shelter, but the Siberian coast native, and -the deermen of the uplands inland, build -great ones, sometimes thirty feet in diameter. -These are covered with skins, held down -with rawhide ropes and stone weights against -the furious gales of that country. Within -is a central common space surrounded by -smaller rooms, made by deerskin curtains. -They found this central room empty, but a -rustling behind the curtains showed that the -others were tenanted. The deerman bade -them wait and went out, soon returning with -another of his kind who seemed to be the -head man, and followed by half a dozen -others. Then the bargaining began, the -Eskimo acting as interpreter, and signs filling -up the spaces where words failed.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Harry was very busy outside, -and somewhat worried. The entire population<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -of the hamlet seemed bent on investigating -him thoroughly. They made derisive -remarks about his clothing, and tried to put -their hands in his pockets, which they seemed -to admit to one another were good things to -have. One man took off his hat and started -to put it on his own head, amid laughter from -his comrades. He seemed to resent it when -Harry snatched it away, and touched his knife -significantly. But when one attempted to relieve -him of his watch and chain he was forced -to draw back hastily, for Harry felt that the -limit of patience was about reached, and -cocked and pointed his rifle threateningly. -The others seemed to enjoy the hurried retreat -of this man, and to deride him for -cowardice. However, the men kept out of -arm’s reach after this. Not so the women and -children. Their attentions were not only to -himself, but to the sled; and he soon saw -that under their carelessness was a systematic -attempt to cast off the lashings and get at -the goods there. During all this annoyance -he happened to think of his camera, and decided -that at least he could get a picture or -two to counterbalance the trouble. So, unslinging -it from his back, he slipped the -little instrument from its case, drew out the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span> -bellows to the universal focus, and proceeded -to point it at the most picturesque of the -insolent group. The effect was magical. -They tumbled backward from the machine -with alarm. When they saw the flick of the -shutter as he pressed the button, they threw -their hands before their eyes and retreated, -repeating a word which he did not understand, -but which he learned later meant -“magic.”</p> - -<p>This amused Harry greatly, and afterward -he had only to point the camera to widen the -circle about him; and to take a new picture -was to send arms flying to the faces that -were in range. They seemed to think something -would come from it to injure their eyesight. -They resented this threat, however, -and there were black looks on the ugly faces -of the men when the mate and the head deerman -appeared from the topek followed by the -others. The bargain had been satisfactorily -concluded, and the deermen went off to drive -in the purchased reindeer, while Jones and -his lieutenants took the goods from the sled. -The crowd of fur-clad Chow Chuen stood -about, but kept a respectful distance from the -camera.</p> - -<p>But when the half-dozen deer were driven<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -up, there were fresh complications. Mr. Jones -was about to slaughter them at once, and had -passed the goods over to the head deerman, -when a great outcry arose. The deermen -flocked about the Eskimo, and seemed to demand -that he tell the whites something, which -he did.</p> - -<p>“No kill. No kill,” cried the Eskimo in -much alarm; “Chow Chuen kill.”</p> - -<p>“Well, tell them to go ahead and do it, -then,” roared Mr. Jones, so angry that he was -fluent. “It’s nightfall now, and we’ve got -a long road ahead of us.”</p> - -<p>The Eskimo was much disturbed. He explained, -with a strange mingling of Eskimo -with his scant English vocabulary, that there -was a ceremonial to be gone through with -first. It could not be done at nightfall, they -must wait the rising sun. “One sleep,” he -said. “Nanaku kile. Bimeby he come,” -pointing to the sun. “Mucky” (Dead), with -a sweep of his hand toward the reindeer.</p> - -<p>In vain Mr. Jones stormed with picturesque -and unexpectedly voluble profanity; the deermen -were determined. The head deerman -ordered the goods brought out and laid at -the feet of the company, scornfully waving -his hand toward the home trail, indicating<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> -plainly that they might consider the trade off, -but he would not have the deer slaughtered -then. Mr. Jones would not return without -them, and so they waited.</p> - -<p>“Tell him,” he said sulkily, “we’ll wait -till sunrise.”</p> - -<p>The Eskimo explained, and this seemed to -clear matters somewhat. Some tobacco offered -them helped still more; and the head -man drove the crowd away, evidently telling -them to go about their business, which they -did reluctantly. He conducted the party -down the line of topeks to one which was -near the end, and told them that that was to -be their habitation for the night.</p> - -<p>“We’ll stand watch and watch,” said Mr. -Jones, as they entered this; “no knowing -what these rapscallions will try to do to us, if -we all go to sleep.”</p> - -<p>The interior of this smaller topek was all -one room, and there were no traces of former -occupancy, which was satisfactory. It gave -promise of reasonable cleanliness, which could -not be said of the others. It was no doubt -a storehouse not in present use. The sled, -their blankets, and belongings were hauled -inside; the dogs were tied to the tent-poles -outside, and the Eskimo disposed of himself<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -as best he might. Joe stood the first watch, -while Harry and Mr. Jones rolled themselves -in blankets on the mossy floor of the topek -and were soon asleep. It was still light, -though the sun was behind the northern -mountains. Indeed, in June in that latitude, -there is but a brief interval of dusk at midnight. -The deermen retired to their topeks, -except those on watch with the herd, and -save for the howl of an occasional wolf-like -dog, peace reigned.</p> - -<p>At midnight Joe woke Harry, and he went -on guard. A gray dusk hung over everything, -there was a sharp chill in the air. All things -seemed touched with a white fungous growth, -which was frost. From behind the northern -mountains the sun shot dancing streamers -like aurora halfway up the sky. The whole -scene was beautiful but strange, and gave -Harry a sense of the ghostly and supernatural -which was hard to shake off, and which he -was often to feel still more vividly as he saw -more of Arctic nights. The prowling, howling -bands of Chow Chuen dogs loomed large -in the uncertain light, and it seemed hard not -to believe that they were bands of wolves bent -on destruction. He was glad indeed when -the first glimpse of the sun came over the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -mountains to the northeast, and it was time to -call Mr. Jones. The night had passed, and -they were not molested.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus5"> -<img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="500" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A SIBERIAN TOPEK</p> -</div> - -<p>With the sunrise the whole hamlet was astir -for the ceremony of the slaughter of the reindeer. -The six deer purchased were led up, -and the shaman of the village appeared from -his lodge, which was decorated with strange -devices and carved images. He held in his -hand a long, sharp knife, and as he passed -Harry the boy inadvertently drew back, so -fierce and sinister was the look on his evil -face. Each deer in turn was led up to him -and faced to the east. The shaman held his -knife toward the sun, recited something that -seemed like a liturgy, then with one thrust -sent the keen knife full to the heart of his -victim. With a bleat the animal fell to its -knees, then rolled over dead, and the shaman, -rushing forward, caught the blood from the -wound in his palm, scattering it toward the -sun with more words, or perhaps the same, -of the ritual. Thus each deer was slain, and -in a twinkling was fallen upon by the Chow -Chuen and the entrails removed. The bodies -were then placed on the sled, and it was evident -that the adventurers might take their -departure, which they were glad to do. A<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> -mile or two down the trail they breakfasted -on deer steak, broiled over the few willow -twigs they were able to find, and went on, -reaching the ship at midday. Captain Nickerson -received them gladly and was pleased at -their success, but had a long conference with -the Eskimo. Then only they learned that -the treacherous and ugly Chow Chuen had -been much incensed at their wish to take the -deer and slaughter them without the legendary -rites of the tribes, and would have attempted -to murder them during the night. -The Eskimo had dilated upon the strange -power of the little “magic box,” which he -told them could take each man’s image and -carry it away (he having seen photographs -taken with a similar one by previous visiting -white men), and crafty and superstitious as -they are fierce, the deermen wisely decided -to let the strangers alone. No doubt the fact -that they stood armed watch had its effect as -well.</p> - -<p>The next day a southeasterly gale sprang -up, and the vessel was obliged to hoist anchor -and get away from the dangerous coast.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE LITTLE MEN OF THE DIOMEDES</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>In the unremembered ages it is probable that -the extreme end of Asia, which is East Cape, -Siberia, was joined to the extreme western -end of America, which is Cape Prince of -Wales, Alaska. No tradition remains of the -time when the sea broke through this slender -barrier, yet even now it is but about thirty -miles in a straight line across, and on clear -days from the mountains of one promontory -the other can be faintly discerned. There is -a halfway station, too, two storm-beaten islands -which lift rocky crests of grim granite -in the very middle of the hurly-burly of the -straits. These are the Diomede Islands, the -greater belonging to Russia, the lesser to -America, and the space between the two is so -narrow that it seems in bright weather as if -one could almost throw a stone across, though -in reality it is more than a mile—farther -than it looks. Across this slender land path -in those forgotten years came one race after<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -another from Central Asia, which was the -birthplace of races, pressing southward and -peopling the Western hemisphere with tribes, -of which scant traces remain in some instances, -while in others their degenerate descendants -are still fading before the westward -rush of civilization. Individuals cross this -narrow barrier of tempestuous sea still, but -races come no more, and we find on the halfway -station of the Diomedes a remnant of -some ancient people that has stranded there -and made a home where it seems scarcely -possible that human creatures could live the -year round.</p> - -<p>Here during the recent centuries met the -Asiatic and Alaskan Eskimos, to trade and -fight; and the bold, bare cliffs have been the -scene of many a bloody battle. Now even -this custom has passed, and the men from one -side of the straits rarely meet those of the -other; but the little remnant of an unknown -people, who stranded there no one knows how -long ago, still cling to their rocky islets and -live as did their forefathers. You may find -among them some who bear the mark of the -Chuckchis, some who are more like the Alaskan -Eskimos, but the little folk, while having -the manners and customs of each, have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> -characteristics which belong to neither. Hardly -five feet in height, they are too small to have -battled successfully with their more robust -brethren, but they make up in slyness and -ability what they lack in brute strength. -They are shy and reticent, clever workmen, -clever thieves, and cleverest of all in trading.</p> - -<p>No vegetation save grass and chickweed -grows on their cliffs. They build their dwellings -of flat stones banked with scant earth, -and the icy sea, which rims them round and -seems to threaten with certain death, is their -father and their mother in that it provides all -they have in the world. In the brief summer -an occasional log of driftwood is thrown -against their cliffs, and from this they fashion -their canoe frames and their spear handles. -During all the cold and cruel winter the ice-floes -which crash and grind against the worn -granite of their islands bring the seal and -walrus and the polar bear. These and the -myriad sea birds of summer are their supplies.</p> - -<p>For many days the southerly gale which -had driven the Bowhead from the Siberian -shore kept her in much danger. The sea -room was narrow, ice-floes came driving down -before the wind, it was impossible to get<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -sight of the sun to find the ship’s position, -and the drift of the current toward the straits -was an unknown factor. Most of the time -the vessel jogged under reefed topsails, with -steam up for use in an emergency, and Captain -Nickerson was almost constantly on deck. -Thick clouds made the nights longer, and -very dark, and Harry had a chance to see the -full danger of Arctic navigation.</p> - -<p>It was in the gloom of one of these nights -that he stood on deck. The vessel heeled to -the gale, now and then an icy wave sent -a rush of spray over the windward rail, the -wind howled and wailed in the tense shrouds, -and an eerie glow seemed to show in the -darkness without lighting it, as if dull fires -burned behind the cloud curtains. It seemed -to Harry as if they were blown about in chaos, -a place dreary, ghostly, and lonely beyond -expression. He shuddered and thought of -the people at home, happy in the bright June -weather. For the first time he was sorry for -himself, and homesick. He thought with a -great longing of the broad veranda looking -out upon the bay, of his mother sitting there, -and he seemed with his mind’s eye to see Maisie, -in a pretty white gown, flitting gayly across -the lawn toward the boats. Then out of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -night came a wild, despairing cry, and something -fluttered aboard, crashed against the -mizzen rigging, and fell in a draggled white -heap at his feet. The thought of Maisie was -so strong that he sprang forward, with a great -cry of alarm, to pick her up where she had -fallen, when a sudden tremendous gust of the -gale threw the Bowhead on her beam ends. -A wall of white water roared down upon him, -lifted him up with Maisie in his arms, and he -went out into the night with it, still clinging -to the limp figure he had clutched as he went -down.</p> - -<p>It was well for Harry that the same sea -that sent him overboard sent with him a coil -of line from a belaying-pin, where it hung -against the mizzenmast. The whirl of the -wave wound this round him, and the great -boatswain, whose watch on deck it was, saw -him go out with it, and finding it taut, and -something towing, hauled away at it until he -could reach down and get him by the collar. -Then with one big swing of his enormous arm -he landed him aboard. He set him in a -heap on the deck, and with a hand on either -knee peered down at him in the gloom.</p> - -<p>“Young feller,” he said, with much emotion, -“there’s just one thing I want you to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> -do for me when we get back to Frisco. Do -you know what that is?”</p> - -<p>“What?” asked Harry, wholly dazed and -half drowned, replying mechanically.</p> - -<p>“I want you to take all the money I get -this trip and go and bet it on something for -me. A man that can win out the way you’ve -just done couldn’t lose at any game. Great -jumping Jehoshaphat! what have you got -here?”</p> - -<p>“Is she all right?” asked Harry, struggling -to his feet. He was still dazed, and had -forgotten all the events of the last two months. -It seemed to him that it was Griggs speaking, -and that he had just pulled him and Maisie -out of the Fore River.</p> - -<p>The boatswain took the limp white figure -from his arms and looked at it. It was a -great white bird, quite dead, no doubt killed -by its crash against the mizzenmast.</p> - -<p>“Go below, my boy,” he said; “and get -something hot and turn in. You’ve had -trouble enough for one night.”</p> - -<p>The great boatswain went forward, holding -the bird in one hand and now and then slapping -his great leg with the other, and letting -forth a roar of amazed laughter.</p> - -<p>“A goose,” he said; “a Yukon goose!<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -Went overboard and came back and brought -a Yukon goose! Well, the young feller is a -seven-time winner. Bet ye we’ll raise whales -this trip, all right.” He went forward to the -galley, where he left his game, and then went -back on watch.</p> - -<p>As light grew through the chaos of struggling -mist, the cry of “Land ho!” rang out -from the lookout, and the ship rounded to -so near dark cliffs that stretched upward into -the mists out of sight that she was fairly in -the wash of the great waves that thundered -at their base. A moment after, ice barred -their farther way on the other tack, and a -great floe moved majestically along, bearing -them down toward the cliffs. To lie to was -to be carried in and crushed between ice and -rocks, and Captain Nickerson, who was on -deck, wisely guessing that it must be one of -the Diomedes, wore ship and ran before the -gale, coasting within sight of the great rock -barrier. A half hour afterward he rounded -to and swung close up under the lee of the -towering northeast cliff of the big Diomede; -so close to its sheer lift that one could almost -throw a line ashore.</p> - -<p>Here was level water indeed, and they were -safe from the northward driven ice-floes, which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -would split on the island’s prow and sail by -to port and starboard; but they did not escape -the wind, which came over the heights in tremendous -“willie-waus,” blowing, as the sailors -say, “up and down like the Irishman’s hurricane.” -This seems to be a peculiarity of -the Arctic gale. It comes tearing over the -great heights, plunges down the steep face of -the cliffs, and striking the water at their base -with tremendous velocity, sends it whirling -out to sea in great masses of spoondrift that -sail along the surface as blown snow does in -winter.</p> - -<p>Two days more the ship lay head to the -cliff, swinging to two anchors, then the mists -blew away, the wind went down rapidly, and -the sun shone brightly on lofty granite -heights. Halfway up was a little space of -level ground like a shelf set in a corner of -rock, and out of holes in this green level -came stubby fur-clad men and women, who -swarmed down the cliff by paths of their own -and launched umiaks from a sheltered little -hidden cove, putting out to the ship.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus6"> -<img src="images/illus6.jpg" width="700" height="450" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HOME OF “THE LITTLE MEN” OFF THE DIOMEDES</p> -</div> - -<p>Harry was none the worse for his sudden -plunge overboard a few days before. Instead -of the weakness and lassitude which had followed -his April upset in the Fore River, there<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span> -came an immediate reaction, and he declared -a few hours afterward that it had done him -good; he would do it every day, if he could -be sure of getting back to the ship so handily. -The Arctic air was already working -wonders in him. The experienced seamen -shook their heads at this. They knew well -that his chance had been one in a thousand, -and Captain Nickerson rated him soundly for -being so careless as to let a sea catch him that -way.</p> - -<p>The little men had much walrus ivory, but -not much else that was of value to the ship, -and their trading did not last long. They -did have many curios, and Harry had an -opportunity to buy some of these with the -“trade goods” he had brought from Seattle -for the purpose. By Captain Nickerson’s -advice he had laid in a few dollars’ worth of -rubber balls, huge beads, little mirrors, harmonicas, -and trinkets, and he now found these -very useful. He bought with them many walrus -teeth; the back teeth, which are as large -as one’s thumb, carved in grotesque but life-like -shape of seals, bear, walrus, and other -animals. Two bargains which he made are -noteworthy as showing the ways of the little -people in trading. One of these was for an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> -exquisite pair of little shoes, soled with walrus -hide crimped up into miniature boots, topped -with the softest of fur from the reindeer -fawn, and with a bright edging of scarlet -cloth. They were most skillfully fashioned, -and tasteful, for the Eskimo is a born artist, -and were brought aboard by a young woman -who apparently was very proud of them, and -wished rather to exhibit than to sell them.</p> - -<p>Harry, proud of his newly acquired Eskimo, -asked her immediately, “Soonoo pechuckta?” -(How much do you want?) but she replied by -shaking her head and putting the shoes away -in her fur gown.</p> - -<p>By and by she brought them out again and -patted them lovingly. Again Harry tried to -get her to name a price for them, and after -much labor he got from her the single word -“Oolik” (Blanket).</p> - -<p>“Soonoo?” asked Harry again.</p> - -<p>“Tellumuk,” was the answer, further emphasized -by holding up five fingers.</p> - -<p>Five blankets was so obviously exorbitant -a price that Harry could not and would not -think of giving it, so he thought to tempt -his adversary with the offer of other things. -In vain he brought out tin trumpets, harmonicas, -bangles, beads, and even two alarm<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span> -clocks, which he had found elsewhere to be -greatly desired by the tribes, and offered them -singly and in groups; the owner of the little -shoes was determined. To all his offers she -replied with fine scorn, “Peluck” (No good), -and clung persistently to her first price.</p> - -<p>But Harry, grown wise, took a leaf from -her own book. He bethought him of a little -plate-glass mirror, rimmed with scarlet plush, -which he had not offered thus far. It had -cost him a dollar and a half at Seattle, but -he was willing to trade it for the shoes. Yet -he was convinced that direct offer would be -useless. So he brought it on deck, and without -looking at the obdurate young woman began -admiring his own countenance in it. When -she took a furtive interest in it, he thrust it -back in his own pocket. After a little he took -it out again, and once more contemplated himself -in its depths. This ludicrous performance -continued for some time, and he could -not tell whether or not his adversary were -much interested, so cleverly did she veil her -thoughts. By and by her boatload of people -were ready to go home, and getting into the -umiak, called to her to come with them. Harry -saw that she lingered, and he played his last -card.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p> - -<p>“Ah de gar!” he exclaimed; “ah de -gar!” (Wonderful! wonderful!) and held -the mirror in front of the little woman. She -saw her own comely countenance in it, she -saw the beveled glass and the vivid scarlet -plush, and as Harry held out his other hand -she gave a twitch of her shoulders, snatched -the shoes from their concealment in her -gown, and gave them to him. At the same -time she caught up the mirror, flounced -down into the umiak, and settled herself on -the bottom, with an air that was ludicrously -like that of her civilized sister when angry -with herself for being outwitted. Vanity -and curiosity had conquered, but it was the -only case in all his dealings with Eskimos in -which Harry ever knew one of them to name a -price for an article and then accept something -different.</p> - -<p>The other trade, if trade it could be called, -was a different matter. It was with the smallest -of the Eskimo men of another boat. He -had half a dozen ivory finger rings, carved -symmetrically with a seal’s head, or two or -three, where stones would be. Harry sighted -these and wished to trade for the bunch, but -this did not suit the little man at all. Instead, -with much pomp and much show of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span> -valuing it highly, he took one ring from the -string and offered it to Harry, saying:—</p> - -<p>“Tobac, tobac, tunpanna kowkow” (Eating -tobacco).</p> - -<p>The Eskimos are not great smokers, a whiff -or two is generally enough for them, but they -are very fond of chewing tobacco, or “eating -tobacco” as they call it, and there was a good -store of this on the ship. Harry offered a -moderate-sized piece for the ring and then -wanted to purchase the second with a similar -piece. This he could not do. The crafty -little man’s price had risen fivefold, and it -was only reluctantly that he parted with the -second ring at the price of five pieces of tobacco. -But when it came to the third one, -there seemed to be no such thing as purchasing -it. Harry offered tobacco galore, added -trinkets and trade goods, but the little man -was obdurate and all chances of trade seemed -off.</p> - -<p>Harry remembered the shoes and the mirror, -and did not despair. He went down -to his locker and brought out the alarm clock -again. He wound it up, set the alarm for -a little ahead of the moment, and took it -on deck. There he set it up on a cask and -waited. Several of the Eskimos gathered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> -round and admired it, but the little man only -looked at it out of the corner of his eye.</p> - -<p>After a few minutes the alarm went off, and -being a vigorous one, it startled the crowd -of little men and women around it. They -nearly fell over one another in astonishment, -and when Harry wound up the alarm and -set it off again, their delight was great. The -ring-maker tried to assume an air of indifference, -but when his boat was ready to go -he came toward Harry as if to offer to trade. -Harry had learned much of the ways of the -Eskimo trader by that time and turned away -indifferently. When the boat was loaded, he -strolled to the side with the clock in his hand. -The little man held up one ring, but he shook -his head. Then the Eskimo offered two. -The boat was just going, and Harry wanted -the rings so much that he yielded. It would -make four in all, which was perhaps all he -cared for anyway. He handed the clock to -the little man, and that worthy dropped something -in his palm as he did so. At the same -time he pointed toward the cliff and jabbered -something excitedly in Eskimo.</p> - -<p>Harry looked where he pointed but saw -nothing. The boat was several lengths away -now, the click of the windlass pawl showed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span> -that the Bowhead’s anchor was coming up, -and they were off. The little man was no -longer gesticulating, but looked back over -his shoulder and solemnly winked one eye. -This was a new feature in Eskimo expression, -and Harry wondered much if a wink -meant as much with these seemingly stolid -people as with us. As he mused, the umiak -rounded the cliff and was gone, and Harry -looked at his two rings for the first time. -They were not rings at all, only two circular -sections of a walrus back tooth, flat and useless -disks, which the little man may have -meant to make into rings later.</p> - -<p>Then he realized that a wink is a wink the -world over, and the language of signs is common -to all people.</p> - -<p>The day was bright, the gale was over, and -the Bowhead put to sea, once more heading -northward into the mysterious Arctic, keeping -a keen lookout for whales. The southerly -weather had driven the ice of the straits -far to the northward, and though there was -now and then a floating cake, the pack was -many miles distant.</p> - -<p>“Suppose you could pull a whaleboat oar?” -asked Captain Nickerson of Harry that day -at dinner.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span></p> - -<p>“Why, yes, sir,” replied Harry, “I think -so. I’m a good oarsman, though I have -never used quite such large oars as you have -in the whaleboats.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure he could, father,” said Joe; -“what of it?”</p> - -<p>“Why, this,” replied his father; “you’ve -been practically second mate of the Bowhead -ever since we left Hawaii. Now I think I -shall let you take a second mate’s place in -charge of one of the boats, and am planning -to have Harry pull an oar in your boat.”</p> - -<p>Both boys turned red with delight at this -prospect, and it was soon decided to thus promote -them to the list of regular whalemen. -Billy, an experienced Kanaka harpooner, was -assigned to their boat as being a level-headed, -skillful whaleman, whose counsel would be of -use to Joe, and the whole thing was arranged.</p> - -<p>If the two boys had been anxious to sight -whales before, they were doubly eager now, -and both spent as much time as they could -in the rigging on the lookout. It was Joe -who first of the two boys sighted a bowhead. -The cry of “A-h-h blow!” had rung -from the crow’s nest, and the Kanaka on -the watch there reported a whale nearly dead -ahead. All hands were on the lookout for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -the spout of this one, for the Kanakas in -many cases have wonderful eyesight and can -sight a whale much farther than the average -white man, when, several points off the -windward bow, Joe saw another blow and -loudly proclaimed it from the mizzen rigging. -A few moments afterward a third and a fourth -were sighted, and the ship approached a school -of black monsters numbering a dozen or so. -Then she rounded to, a little to the windward, -and the boats were hastily lowered. Harry -found himself at the end of a sixteen-foot -sweep that was very different from the oars -he had been used to, but he soon accustomed -himself to the stroke and swung along in -good time with the others. He was conscious -of a feeling of great elation, the thrill of -ecstasy of the huntsman mingled with the -dread of the unknown. They seemed such -puny creatures to be attacking the greatest -monster in the world. As they went on, both -these feelings increased, till he shook with -excitement and the man behind him noticed -it. He was a brawny, grizzly old timer, -bronzed by all the winds of the world, and -hardened by many a hundred conflicts with -the whales of all seas.</p> - -<p>“Don’t get gallied, younker,” he said<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> -kindly; “the bowhead ain’t no whale. He’s -jest a hundred tons or so of blubber and -bone. If we was goin’ up against a sperm -now, or a fightin’ bull humpback, ye might -feel skeery, but a bowhead ain’t nothin’. -They kill as easy as a slaughter-house lamb.”</p> - -<p>Just then Harry fairly jumped from his -seat, and lost his stroke for a moment. A -shout had sounded, and glancing over his -shoulder he saw that the first mate’s boat -near by had already made fast, but had not -as yet used the bomb gun. Instead, the -whale seemed to have sounded too quickly, -then changed his mind, and as Harry looked -up over his shoulder he saw a great black -mass rise fairly under the attacking boat, -lifting it clear of the water, where it hung -high for a moment, then, by some miracle -still uncapsized, slid from the broad mass as -if being launched. Even as the boat left -the mountainous back, the mate leveled the -bomb gun and discharged it full into the -whale’s side. There was a shiver, the great -flukes curled in one sweep that sent tons of -spray into the air, which Mr. Jones with -a skillful sweep of the steering oar narrowly -avoided, and then the great black mass floated -quivering on the surface.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span></p> - -<p>“I told ye so, younker,” said the veteran, -still swinging steadily and strongly to his oar. -“He’s a dead un. There ain’t no fight in a -bowhead. Ef that had been a sperm bull, -there wouldn’t have been enough of that -boat left to swear by. Oh, this ain’t whalin’, -this ain’t; it’s pickin’ up blubber.”</p> - -<p>Joe, standing by the steering oar, lifted -his hand in a gesture commanding silence. -His eyes glowered big beneath his cap, and -Harry knew that they were close on to their -game. A few more strokes and then, “Way -enough,” said Joe gently. They glided silently -forward with lifted oars. It seemed -to Harry as if something took him by the -throat and stopped his breathing. He would -have given much to look around, but something -held him motionless. He heard the -stirring forward as the Kanaka harpooner -moved to his position in the very bow. Then -there was a gentle jolt and a “Huh!” from -the harpooner as he drove the iron home.</p> - -<p>“Give it to him!” yelled Joe; “stern -all!”</p> - -<p>Harry backed water mechanically, feeling -curiously numb all over. He heard the report -of the gun, and saw something tremendous -and black beat the water three times with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> -great blows within a few feet of the blade of -his oar. A rush of foam shot from these -blows and seemed to overwhelm him in a -smother of salt water. Then he found himself -still sitting on the thwart, wet to the -skin and up to his knees in water, but still, -to his great astonishment, alive and right side -up, and backing water with mechanical precision. -There was no sound save the whir of -the line through the chock and the voice of -the veteran in his ear.</p> - -<p>“You’re all right, boy,” it said. “Ye didn’t -jump out, and ye kept your oar a-goin’. -Ye’ll make a whaleman ’fore many days, an’ -a good one, too. He’s soundin’ now, but -he’ll come up dead. The Kanaka put the -bomb into him right. He’s our whale.”</p> - -<p>The rush of the line slackened and then -ceased, and they began to take in on it. A -long time they pulled steadily, and at last the -black bulk showed in the wash of the dancing -waves on the surface, the nerveless flipper -swaying in the swell, and blood flowing -from the spout-hole. Joe and Harry had captured -their first whale in regulation fashion, -and two prouder boys it would be hard to -find. A hole was cut in the gristle of the -great flukes, and the work of towing the monster<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span> -to the ship was begun. Harry could not -put much strength into his stroke at first, he -was too weak with the reaction from the -excitement, but he soon recovered from this -and tugged away manfully.</p> - -<p>A little way ahead of them was the first -mate’s boat with an equally large capture in -tow; astern was the captain’s boat, which had -failed to make fast, and which soon pulled -in to their assistance; but the boatswain was -having the greatest adventure of them all. -He had made fast to a good-sized whale, which -had immediately become gallied, and without -waiting to be reached by bomb gun or lance -had started out at a terrific pace, headed apparently -for the north pole. The boat was -already almost out of sight in the distance -and diminishing steadily in size. By and by -it grew no smaller, but gradually moved along -the horizon, proving that the tow had changed -its course. Indeed, it seems to be well established -that a frightened whale runs in a circle, -though generally a very large one. This -particular bowhead had done this, though -his circle was much smaller than many would -have made. Thus it happened that when -the two whales which the first mate’s boat -and Joe’s had struck were alongside, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span> -boatswain’s was looming large on the horizon -again and approaching rapidly. The circle -which his whale had taken seemed to -include the position of the ship in a part of -its circumference. With strength and vivacity -quite unusual for a bowhead, the monster -kept up the pace, and had thus far frustrated -the boat’s attempts to close up and -kill. The boatswain, seeing that the whale -was towing them toward the ship again, had -ceased to attempt it, confident that even such -a wonder of a pace-setter would finally tire, -and wishing to be as near the ship as possible -when the final stroke was made. Much attention -to the race was given by those aboard, -and Harry had an uneasy feeling that the -monster, even though a proverbially timid -bowhead, was bent on wreaking vengeance -on the ship. If the huge creature should -hurl himself against it at the pace at which -he was coming, the result would be wreck -beyond a doubt.</p> - -<p>On he came at a great rate, ploughing -through the water like a torpedo boat, the -boatswain now straining every nerve to get up -with him, but when the whale was within -an eighth of a mile, there was an unexpected -interference. He swerved to the right, again<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> -to the left, sounded and then breached, and -the next moment a mottled black and white -orca flung itself into the air, turned end over -end, and came down with a tremendous thud -in the middle of the bowhead’s back.</p> - -<p>A strange groaning bellow came from the -whale, but he plunged on desperately. Again -the orca launched its twenty-five feet of length -into the air and came down on the poor -bowhead; and now another appeared, and the -two alternately beat the frenzied and exhausted -whale till it apparently had what -little breath there was left hammered out of -its body. Right alongside he gave up the -fight and rolled motionless on the surface. -The bellow had already subsided to a moan; -this was followed by a gasp or two, and the -bowhead ceased to breathe, turned on his -side with the flipper in the air, dead before -the boat could get alongside and finish the -matter. The orcas had literally hammered -the exhausted whale to death, and were now -tearing at his lip to get his mouth open and -devour the soft, spongy tongue, which is their -chief delight. They seemed to pay no attention -to the ship or the boat, and Harry had a -good opportunity to see the behavior of these -wild wolves of the sea before the boatswain,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span> -with much indignation, lanced them both to -death.</p> - -<p>“You’ll try to eat up my whale, will you, -you blasted davy devils! Take that—and -that—and that!” and with every “that” the -keen lance searched the vitals of the gnawing -orcas.</p> - -<p>One died still voraciously tearing at the -whale’s under lip, but the other turned at the -blow of the lance and bit at what had stung -it, taking the bow of the boat in its jaws and -crushing and shaking it in the final agony as -a terrier might worry a cat. The great teeth -crunched the wood, and the men, with cries -of terror, were shaken out of the boat, but -luckily none were caught in the grasp of the -jaws. The lance-thrust was deadly, and in a -moment the orcas lay, belly up, beside the -dead whale. The men were so near the side -of the ship that ropes were thrown to them -and they clambered aboard, after some trouble -to save the gear and the crushed boat, which -was towed alongside and hoisted on deck.</p> - -<p>Thus ended the first adventure with a school -of bowheads in the Arctic. Not so badly, -though the whales had been much more lively -and the events far more exciting than is common -in the pursuit of this gentlest of cetaceans.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> -A week of calm, warm weather followed, -and at the end of that time the three -whales were cut in, the blubber tried out, and -the oil stowed away, together with three good -heads of bone, making a fine beginning of -what bade fair to be a very prosperous summer -cruise.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<span class="smaller">WHEN THE ICE CAME IN</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>During the cutting in and trying out of the -three whales the wind and current steadily -carried the Bowhead northward, until on July -fourth they again sighted the pack extending -from the headland of Cape Lisburne westward -indefinitely. Along between the ice -and the land was a space of open water, and -into this the Bowhead passed, working her -way northeast as the summer season opened -and the ice gradually receded from the shore. -Now and then a whale was sighted in the -opening leads of the retreating pack, and -they occasionally captured one, though these -whales in the ice were far smaller than the -ones they had found in the open and consequently -much less valuable. Moreover, in the -ice-fields they were difficult to get at, and almost -invariably escaped by plunging beneath -the floes and coming up in some distant lead -whither the boat could not follow them. In -this way the ship reached the shallow and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -dangerous coast off Blossom Shoals and beyond -to Wainright Inlet with the waning of -the brief Arctic summer without any special -adventures.</p> - -<p>Every day had hardened Harry in rugged -strength and vigor, and he and Joe were as -fine specimens of young whalemen as the sea -could boast. They had met and traded with -the Eskimo tribes alongshore and exchanged -the reindeer skins for fox and ermine pelts, -ivory, and whalebone, thus adding to the -value of their cruise. Harry and Joe had -been rivals in acquiring the Eskimo dialect -of this coast, and had been helped greatly -in this by the presence aboard of a young -Eskimo of the Point Hope tribe, who worked -as a sailor, with the understanding that when -the ship should go out he would be paid in -“trade” and left with his tribe. Thus both -were quite fluent and could understand much -that the Eskimos said among themselves. This -was of great assistance to them.</p> - -<p>As far north as Wainwright Inlet you begin -to see the end of the summer often by -the last of August. Already the sun, which -in June simply circled the sky without setting, -has begun to set again, and there is a -considerable period of darkness each night.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span> -The marvelous growth of beautiful flowers, -which stud the moss and grass of the Arctic -tundra during midsummer, has already passed -to quick maturity, and the slopes are brown -and autumnal by the middle of the month. -Gales set in and bring snow on their icy -wings, and the threat of winter is everywhere. -The whalers take this warning and begin, -about the middle of the month, to work south -again, unless they intend to winter in the region. -Oftentimes the Arctic pack hangs just -offshore here and with westerly winds menaces -the ship with destruction, but more often—indeed, -it is counted upon by the whalers—a -northeast gale comes with the first of September -and drives the pack seaward, while -giving them a fair wind for the strait. It -was about this time that the cruise, thus far -prosperous, began to meet with a series of -mishaps that ended in disaster.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus7"> -<img src="images/illus7.jpg" width="700" height="450" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">WHALEMEN’S CAMP ON ARCTIC SHORE</p> -</div> - -<p>It was the last day of August that the west -wind began to blow, and Captain Nickerson -was uneasy directly. The Bowhead was just -north of Icy Cape, in comparatively shoal -water and with much floating ice in the sea. -The pack ice was not in sight, but it might -loom up at any moment, so steam was got -up on the vessel and she poked her way<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span> -among the floating cakes to windward, working -out as fast as possible. The sky was still -clear and it did not promise to be much of a -blow, but things work together for evil quickly -in the Arctic, and it behooves a navigator to -be very wary there. The wisdom of the immediate -move was shown in this case, for the -ship was scarcely well off the shoals and round -the cape into the deep water to westward, before -a long, slender point of solid ice was noted -to the windward. It might be the main pack -or not. There was open water to seaward -and clear sea between the ice and the land, -and Captain Nickerson was puzzled which -course to take. If it was but a detached floe, -as it well might be, the open course lay to -windward of it, away from the land. If, -on the other hand, it was part of the main -pack, the proper course lay between it and the -coast. Captain Nickerson finally decided that -the seaward course was the wise one, and soon -a widening point of ice separated them from -the shoreward stretch of open water. An -hour later they were among drifting floes, but -still had good water ahead of them toward -the southwest. The breeze was gentle, but -the sky was hazing up a little, and the sun -shone coldly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span></p> - -<p>The next afternoon at eight bells (four -o’clock), as the watch was changed, the man -on lookout called down to the deck.</p> - -<p>“Something adrift on the ice off the starboard -bow, sir.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked Mr. Jones, whose -watch on deck it was.</p> - -<p>“Can’t make it out, sir,” replied the lookout; -“it might be a seal, then again it might -be a man.”</p> - -<p>There was much interest at once. Several -other vessels were cruising in the Arctic, and -they had occasionally sighted one at a distance, -though there had been chance for a meeting -and a “gam” but once. They knew that -the other ships were already to the southward -on their way out. Perhaps this was a man -from one of them, gone adrift on the ice, and -having-but one chance in a thousand for rescue. -Captain Nickerson was not called, as he -had just gone below after a long siege on -deck, but Mr. Jones took the responsibility -of changing the vessel’s course slightly, and -they approached the figure on the ice. It -was difficult to make it out. All hands on -deck saw it,—a motionless huddle on a cake -of ice, driving before the wind in the dreary -polar sea.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span></p> - -<p>By and by the ship was as near as it could -well get, a heavy floe crowding in between -it and the open lead in which the cake floated. -Still it was difficult to decide just what the -figure was, but Mr. Jones finally said: -“Humph! Dead seal,” and changed the -vessel’s course again.</p> - -<p>Harry and Joe looked at each other. They -also had been carefully examining the object -through the glass, and each thought it might -be a man, fur-clad and lying in a heap, dead -or exhausted.</p> - -<p>“I don’t care,” said Joe; “I’m going to -speak to father, if he <em>is</em> tired out. We don’t -want to take chances of passing any one that -way.”</p> - -<p>He hastened below with Harry at his heels, -both with hearts swelling with indignation. -They knew that Mr. Jones was probably right -in his guess, but the thought of the possibility -of a fellow creature floating thus into the -desolate Arctic winter filled them with pity -and a great desire to leave nothing to chance.</p> - -<p>Captain Nickerson listened to their story -with attention, and so eager and excited were -they that he finally gave them permission to -have Mr. Jones stop the ship long enough for -them to man the dingey and investigate.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span></p> - -<p>“Can you make it with the dingey?” he -asked.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, sir,” replied Joe. “There’s a -narrow lead or two that will take us part way, -and the dingey is so light that we can haul -her across in the other places.”</p> - -<p>The dingey had been the special care of the -boys, and rarely used except by them. They -had been duck shooting in her during the -summer, when whales were not in sight, and -had kept the ship’s larder well supplied with -the great ducks which swarm in that region -all summer long. They had fitted her with -a light sail and a few reserve provisions,—a -tin or two of meat and some hard-tack, in -case they should happen to be away over meal -time. There was also a small keg of fresh -water, and in the locker forward a one-burner -oil stove with tea, sugar, and condensed milk, -by way of refreshment. The boatswain used -to laugh at this “life-boat,” as he called it, -but the arrangement had often been useful, -and the little craft was very handy at all times.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jones did not look particularly happy -when he heard the order to stop and lower -the dingey, but he did as requested and the -boat was soon on its way. The boys entered -one of the narrow leads in the floe which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span> -barred their way, traversed it to its end, and -hauled their boat out. It was some way -across to another open space and this did -not take them far in the right direction, but -it led to where they could haul to another, -and so little by little they won their way -across. As they came to the open water, they -found to their chagrin that other ice-fields -had crowded in between them and their -object, and they were obliged to make a wide -and winding detour to approach it. Distance -is always far greater than it looks to -be in the Arctic, and they were fully an hour -in getting near the motionless heap. At last -the dingey grazed the floating cake and they -sprang out on it, dropped the ice anchor at -the end of the two-fathomed painter into a -chink in the ice, and hastened toward the -motionless object.</p> - -<p>As they reached it the huddled heap of fur -moved, wavered, and sat up, smiled faintly -from a face sunken-cheeked and hollow-eyed, -murmured the Eskimo word “Nagouruk,” -then wavered back into a motionless heap -once more; and as it did so a whirl of great -flakes came pelting down on the little group -on the cake of ice, and the world was blotted -out in snow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span></p> - -<p>All eyes on board the ship had been fastened -on the two in the dingey, and the squall -had taken them as much by surprise as it -did the boys. It had come up with a sudden -veering of the wind to the southward, and -had taken them from behind. Before they -knew it all things were smothered in the -whirl of snow, and, though he thought it -probably only a passing squall, Mr. Jones was -very uneasy about it, and when after a half -hour had passed with no signs of letting up, -he called Captain Nickerson. As the wind -and snow increased, all hands became very -anxious, and everything possible was done to -give the boys knowledge of the ship’s whereabouts. -The whistle was blown frequently -and shots were fired in volleys every few minutes, -but there was still no sign of them.</p> - -<p>It soon became evident that a severe blow -was threatening and, though terribly anxious -about the boys, Captain Nickerson realized -that he must give his attention to the safety -of the ship. The south wind was bringing -the shoreward floe out upon her rapidly. It -had already closed the lead just ahead of them, -and if they would not be crushed they must -retreat. The ship was therefore put about -and slowly worked its way eastward again,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span> -keeping just out of the jaws of destruction, -in the vain hope that the dingey would reappear. -Day wore on and darkness came with -no sign of the missing boat, and during the -next day the best they could do was to work -back to Icy Cape, where the floes grounded -on the shoals and they found safe refuge, -partly behind them and partly behind the cape. -The wind had swung to the westward again -during the night and the morning brought -no snow, but the air was full of a black mist -and bitter cold. There was but faint hope -that they would see the boys again unless the -weather soon moderated, and Captain Nickerson -was overcome with grief and self-accusation. -Nor was the taciturn Mr. Jones much -better off. Each felt that he had been careless -to let them go as they had, yet the squall -was so sudden and unforeseen that they could -hardly be blamed.</p> - -<p>For days the wind hung to the westward, -veering to the northwest, and at the end of -the third the main pack came in in earnest, -pushing the shore floes on the ship till she -was forced into shallow water and grounded. -It became evident that she would hardly be -got off again that fall, and that immediate -measures must be taken for the safety of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span> -crew. Leaving Mr. Jones in charge, Captain -Nickerson took a strong crew of his best men -and set off down the coast, hoping to find one -of the other ships of the little Arctic fleet. -The journey was hard and dangerous. Now -they found a space of open water, again they -had to drag the boat over the ice for a long -distance, camping for the night under the -overturned boat, and looking anxiously for -traces of the boys, but finding none.</p> - -<p>At the end of the fifth day the wind and -cold diminished, and they joyfully sighted the -Belvidere in open water near the shore, with -what seemed a fair chance to work out. They -were taken aboard, and the captain of the -Belvidere readily agreed to wait until the remainder -of the crew of the Bowhead could -reach him. For his own safety this was as -much as he could do. He could not agree to -stay in and risk his own vessel and crew for -the chance of getting the Bowhead out of -her difficulty. It was decided that she must -be abandoned, and Captain Nickerson, with -one man, started back on foot to get the -crew. The journey was made successfully, -and within a day after his return the balance -of the crew in four boats, with merely what -provisions they needed for the trip, abandoned<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span> -ship and contents, and, after a hard struggle, -reached the Belvidere.</p> - -<p>It was time. Already she was hard pressed -by the shoreward-moving ice, and the captain -was taking great risks in remaining. She -pushed slowly down the coast, forcing her -way through closing floes and running a hundred -hazards successfully, till at last they -rounded Lisburne and were in comparatively -clear water. Captain Nickerson had not made -any further efforts to discover the lost boys. -He knew that these would be useless. Depending -on their own exertions, they had a -slender chance for escape to some other vessel, -if any remained, or they might reach -shore and winter with the natives. In either -case he felt that the chances were slight, and -he aged perceptibly in the cruise back to the -States. The loss of his only son and his protégé -weighed heavily upon him with the loss -of his vessel and valuable cargo. The taciturn -Mr. Jones became more silent than ever, -and hardly spoke the whole voyage through. -It was a sad home-coming for the ship’s company.</p> - -<p>As for the boys, their plight was bad -enough, but at first, at least, their anxiety -was only for themselves.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span></p> - -<p>Indeed, in the very beginning, it was only -for their new found friend. “He’s dying,” -cried Harry, when the Eskimo collapsed at -their feet; “what shall we do?”</p> - -<p>“Give him something hot,” cried the practical -Joe. “If we only had some brandy! -But we haven’t. I’ll tell you—you chafe -his hands and I’ll make some hot tea.”</p> - -<p>So Harry fell to chafing the cold, skeleton-like -hands, while Joe eagerly lighted the little -oil lamp and soon had a pot of hot tea made, -sheltered from the wind in the forward locker -of the dingey. He poured this between the -clenched teeth of the unconscious man, who -choked a bit as it went down and opened his -eyes.</p> - -<p>“There!” said Joe; “I thought that would -fetch him. It’s strong enough to raise the -dead and—well, I guess it’s pretty hot, too. -Lucky we stocked the dingey this way, ain’t -it? Whew! how it does snow. We’ll have -to wait till it quits before we think of getting -back to the ship again. It’s kind of risky -to get too far away from your ship when the -ice is coming in. Guess we’ll make it all -right, though.”</p> - -<p>For the first time Harry looked around him -and thought of his surroundings. The snow<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span> -was pelting in on them in great flakes, and -he could hardly see across the ice cake they -were on. He did not realize that the wind -had changed, but he noticed that it blew -strongly, and he felt singularly lonely and -distant from shelter and aid. Something of -the eerie wildness of the Arctic came over -him, as it had that night in the storm in -Bering Sea, and he had a sense of desolation -that was beyond words. The only link between -him and life seemed to be the dingey, -and even then an ice cake crushed against it -with an alarming crash. He rushed to it and, -hauling with all his strength, got it out on -the ice. The planking was cracked, and it -had barely escaped utter ruin.</p> - -<p>“Whew!” exclaimed Joe; “they’re after -us, aren’t they! We’ll have to mend that a -bit before we can start out. But that will -be easy. Once we get our friend here fixed -up so he can travel, we’ll tend to all those -things.” He crumbed a little hard bread into -the balance of the tea, making a sort of soup -which the Eskimo took eagerly. After a time -he spoke briefly in his own language.</p> - -<p>“No catch seal,” he said; “kayak gone. -Nine sleeps and no eat.”</p> - -<p>“Do you hear that?” said Joe to Harry;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span> -“No wonder he’s used up. Guess I’ll give -him some more to eat.”</p> - -<p>The Eskimo answered this in English as he -got up, rather waveringly. “No,” he said; -“bimeby want.”</p> - -<p>Born of generations inured to famine, no -one recovers from it more quickly than the -Eskimo, and within half an hour he was able -to walk about and take a hand, in a feeble -way, in patching up the injured dingey. They -found that he was a Point Hope man by birth, -and had learned a little English at the mission -there. He had come north with some of his -tribe a summer or two before, and finding a -place to his liking near Point Lay, had settled -there with them. He had been out after seal -among the floes and lost his kayak, and had -drifted on the cake for nine days. A day or -so before, he had given himself up for lost, -and calmly covered his head with his skin -coat, waiting for death, as an Eskimo will. -He had taken the boys at first for the ghosts -of the ice world, come for him, and had gone -to sleep at sight of them. Now he knew them -to be men, his friends, and some day he would -save their lives as they had his.</p> - -<p>All this he explained, bit by bit, partly in -brief English, partly in Eskimo which they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span> -understood, as the boat was being patched -with a bit of canvas tacked over the break in -the planking. They had no tacks, but Harry -had a many-bladed knife with an awl in it, -and they made holes with this and used pegs -whittled from a thwart. These they made a -trifle long for the awl-holes, and hammered -the protruding ends to a fuzzy head. It was -not a good job, but it would do.</p> - -<p>Harry was eager to start back for the ship -at once, but Joe, wiser in the ways of the -Arctic, wanted to wait. He knew that in -that driving snow it would be almost impossible -to reach her unless constantly guided by -sound. Without that they might row within -a dozen yards of her and not see her. More -than one whaleman has lost his ship while -wintering in the Arctic, and died in the storm -within a few rods of her, never knowing that -he was so near safety. So Joe, backed by -the Eskimo, judged that they would better -wait until they were sure in what direction to -go. As a matter of fact, the ship, floe-bound -near the shore, had drifted but slowly in -the southerly wind, while the cake on which -they were had gone northward quite rapidly. -Hence when the shots and whistle sounded -they heard them only faintly, and could not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span> -tell, in the drive of the storm, from what -direction they came.</p> - -<p>Thus time slipped by and they still clung -to their floating cake, a pitiful little ice world -in a gray universe of flying snow. They were -warmly dressed, but the inaction in the chill -wind soon set the white men to shivering. The -Eskimo, on the contrary, seemed comfortable -in his furs, and regained strength every moment. -He noted how cold they were, and, -motioning them to his assistance, they turned -the boat over, keel to the wind, spread the -sail beneath it, and drew part of it up so as -to close the opening. With the movable -thwarts they blocked the wider apertures, -and then, still at the bidding of the Eskimo, -heaped the fast gathering snow about it. -This gave them a narrow igloo, where they -huddled for warmth. From now on the dusky -brother they had rescued proceeded to rescue -them, and they soon learned to trust his judgment -implicitly.</p> - -<p>As time passed more snow accumulated and -was banked about, until their cave was well -fortified and quite comfortable.</p> - -<p>Gradually dusk came on, but still the snow -fell as thick as ever, and there was no alternative -but to remain where they were. Matters<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -did not look very cheerful, and Harry, for -one, heartily wished he had never seen the -Arctic, or, for that matter, left the pleasant -confines of Quincy Point. However, a healthy -boy grows hungry at supper time, wherever -he is, and he pulled one of the three or four -tins of canned meat out of the locker, together -with about half the hard-tack.</p> - -<p>“Let’s have some supper,” he said; “I’m -hungry.”</p> - -<p>They divided the meat, and each ate several -squares of hard-tack. Joe made shift -to boil some water with the little oil stove, -and they made tea. The glow of the flame -lighted their shelter with cheer and helped to -warm it. The drifting snow wrapped it closer, -and, in spite of the keen nip of the frost and -the icy gale without, they had a sense of -warmth and comfort. Joe, however, put out -the flame as soon as the tea was done.</p> - -<p>“We may need that oil badly before we -get back,” he said, “and it won’t do to waste -it. No, we’d best sleep if we can till daylight. -The storm may break by that time, -and we can see better what to do. This ice -cake is big enough to hold us safe till the -blow is over, and that is the best we can do -at present.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span></p> - -<p>They cuddled together for warmth, and in -spite of the obviously great danger of their -situation, two at least, Joe and the Eskimo, -soon slept soundly. Harry did not sleep so -readily. He was fairly warm and comfortable -lying between his two friends in the narrow -cubby-hole, now wrapped deep in the -sheltering snow, but he could hear the howl -of the storm without, and a sense of the weird -and supernatural was strong upon him. It -seemed as if the wild powers of the unknown -ice world laughed and gibbered in the gale. -He thought he heard low wails, hideous laughter, -and a sort of insane babbling that sounded -now far, now near at hand, and he did not -blame the Eskimos for thinking the world of -unknown ice and desolation to the north to -be peopled by strange spirits. Once it seemed -as if the Innuit at his side was awake and -listening too, and he poked him gently and -asked, “What’s that?” as a sound of ghostly -footsteps and something like deep breathing -came to him in a lull of the gale.</p> - -<p>The other lifted his head and was silent. -“Hush,” he replied, after a moment. “Nunatak -mute (ghost people) come. Perhaps no -hear, no see, bimeby go away.”</p> - -<p>He lay down again and was soon asleep,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span> -and at last tired nature soothed Harry to -slumber, and he slipped away into the world -of dreams where was no ice or gale, no -strange ghosts of the frigid night, but the -pleasant warmth of his own fireside at home, -his father and mother sitting by the evening -lamp, and he himself propped among cushions, -slipping gently into dreamland in the -comfort of his own home.</p> - -<p>Hours afterward he was wakened by a familiar -scratching sound. It was pitch dark, -and he was warm and comfortable though the -air was oppressive. By and by there was a -spurt of flame, and he saw that Joe was lighting -a match. He touched it to the wick of -the oil stove, put the teapot on, then looked -at his watch.</p> - -<p>“It ought to be light by this time,” he -said. “It’s five o’clock. What do you -suppose is the matter?” The Innuit was -awake at this, and sat up also in his cramped -quarters.</p> - -<p>“Plenty snow,” he said. “Eat first, bimeby -look out. Much cold.”</p> - -<p>They made a hasty breakfast from the scanty -stock of food, and the Innuit pushed his arm -through the drift that had snowed them completely -under, safe and warm from the tempest.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> -Light came in through the hole which -his arm had made, and a whiff of fresh but -very keen air. He enlarged the hole carefully, -making it a sort of burrow out of which -each crawled. The snow had ceased, but the -wind still blew hard, and the air was full of -a black fog, which gave no sight of the sun. -It was bitter cold, and the short distance which -they could see about them showed only a rugged -mass of snow-covered ice. During the -night their floating cake had joined with -larger ones, how large they could not tell, and -they were now on what seemed an ice-field.</p> - -<p>“Shall we try to make the ship?” asked -Harry dubiously, his teeth chattering in the -keen air. Joe shook his head.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we’re in a bad scrape,” he -said. “We can’t be sure of the direction, -and even if we could, we might pass within -a short distance of the ship and not see her. -Seems to me there is nothing to do but to -wait for the weather to clear up. Then we -can tell what we are doing.”</p> - -<p>The Eskimo nodded his head in approval -of this. “Too much cold,” he said. “Too -much no see. Wait in igloo long time, maybe -five, six sleeps. Then sun come.”</p> - -<p>“If I only had a compass, so that we could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> -get the general direction, I’d chance it,” said -Joe; “but there is no telling how the wind -may have changed, and we might be traveling -right out to sea. It’s better to wait -where we are safe till we can be sure. They’ll -be anxious on the ship, but what can we do? -No, the Eskimo is right. We’ve got to stay -here till we can see the sun, at least.”</p> - -<p>The bite of the wind warned them to get -within their shelter again, and they did so. -The Eskimo, however, continued to work on -the snow entrance to their cave beneath the -drift, and soon had it made into a veritable tunnel, -through which they could crawl, but which -was long enough to keep out the worst of the -cold. Then he enlarged their igloo by pushing -out the sail, compacting the snow behind -it, till they had quite a little room in which -to turn round, though they could barely sit -upright there. He almost blocked the far -end of his entrance tunnel with snow, and -closed the nearer end with the boat’s thwarts. -Thus the wind and cold were shut out, and -they were surprisingly comfortable, considering -that they had no fire. Their eyes became -accustomed to the semi-darkness, and -they felt themselves quite at home. It was a -long day, though they whiled away the time<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -talking with the Eskimo, who was quite recovered -from his nine days of starvation.</p> - -<p>At nightfall there was no change in the -weather, and they resigned themselves to a -long siege. Neither was there any change -the next day, nor the next. Occasionally -they went out and plunged through the snow -about their igloo for exercise, but the Eskimo -warned them not to go but a few steps away -from it, for to be lost in the cold and black -frost-fog was to meet certain death from exposure. -Now and then it snowed again, but -they did not care for this, as it drifted higher -about their shelter and made it warmer. On -the third day a serious matter was forced upon -their attention. At breakfast, that morning, -Joe divided the last of the meat and hard-tack. -Only a little tea stood between them -and starvation.</p> - -<p>The night of the fourth day they were -much disturbed by crushing and grinding -noises, and got little sleep. Sometimes the -ice beneath them seemed to jar as if hit by -a tremendous blow. The Eskimo hailed this -with delight.</p> - -<p>“Nagouruk,” he said. “Ice talk. Bimeby -get seal.”</p> - -<p>At the first light he was out, taking his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span> -spear with him, but he returned at nightfall, -thoroughly chilled and empty-handed. Matters -looked dubious. They drank tea and -licked the inside of the can that had held the -condensed milk. It was a poor substitute for -a meal. They learned that the Eskimo had -hunted long for an open lead, and had risked -his life by venturing far from their shelter, -but had found only a small crack, which he -had watched all day without success. The -next morning, however, Joe, who was first -out, gave a great shout of delight. The -gale had abated, and there was a faint glow -through the black fog which showed the direction -of the sun. He wished to start southeast -at once, for that must be the direction in -which they should go, but the Eskimo wished -to wait.</p> - -<p>“Get seal,” he said. “Much eat. Bimeby -go;” and though Joe chafed at the delay, the -weakness of hunger made him think it wise -to defer to the man of the ice. The Eskimo -went off with his spear, found an opening -within sight of the igloo, and stood there -motionless for literal hours, his spear poised, -himself a statue frozen upon the frozen scene. -Suddenly the poised spear shot downward, -and with a shout of triumph he hauled a seal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span> -out upon the ice, tossed him upon his shoulder, -and came running to the igloo with him.</p> - -<p>It took him but a moment to strip off the -already freezing hide, and slice off big strips -of blubber and meat from the carcass. Passing -these to the boys he proceeded to eat -others immediately. Joe and Harry were -hungry enough to follow his example, but -they nevertheless lighted the oil stove and -partly broiled their steaks before eating. It -must be confessed, however, that they were -cooked rare. When they had satisfied their -hunger the Eskimo carefully rolled up the remainder -of the meat and blubber in the hide, -and it soon froze solid, making a compact -bundle.</p> - -<p>The cold abated with the wind, and as the -sun struggled through more and more, they -made an immediate start. They dug the -dingey out of the snow shelter that had -saved their lives, packed their belongings carefully -in it, and, with the Eskimo tugging at -the painter, and Joe and Harry lifting and -sliding it over the snow and rough ice, headed -southeast as nearly as they could tell by the -sun.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus8"> -<img src="images/illus8.jpg" width="500" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ROUGH ARCTIC CLIFFS</p> -</div> - -<p>It was hard work, but the boat was still -their only salvation, and they stuck to it. The<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span> -good meal of seal meat had put renewed life -into them, and, in the clear Arctic air, headed -toward safety once more, they felt almost jovial. -The brown man of the ice seemed to -have completely recovered his strength, and -tugged manfully, working like a beaver, and -leading the way with a discretion born of -generations of men trained to the work.</p> - -<p>By mid-afternoon it had grown quite clear, -and they paused for a rest, making another -meal of seal meat, very slightly cooked this -time, for the oil in the stove gave out as they -were cooking. When they started on, the -Eskimo swung sharply to the south with a -joyful shout.</p> - -<p>“Emik! Emik!” (Water! Water!) he -cried; and soon they saw an open lead in a -southerly direction. It was not long before -they had the boat in this, and with a sigh of -relief Harry settled to the oars, while Joe took -the tiller, and the Eskimo ensconced himself -in the bow, spear in hand, in the hope of seeing -another seal. An hour or two later the -clouds to the eastward settled away, and they -saw at no great distance the glimmer of snow-clad -peaks in the setting sun. Land was in -sight, and it seemed as if their troubles were -soon to be over. The open water between<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span> -the pack and the shore could not be far ahead -of them, and they found a place where a haul -over a space of ice let them into another lead -that took them in the right direction. Just -before sunset a warning word from the Eskimo -bade Harry cease his rowing, and the -boat glided gently along through the water, -while the Eskimo stood erect with poised -spear.</p> - -<p>Again there was the sudden thrust and the -shout of triumph, and another seal was added -to their larder. This was a larger one, and -they had at least no fear of the starvation -which had threatened them at sunrise. Still -there was no sign of the ship, and even now -a return of the gale, with snow, might easily -prove disastrous. Therefore, changing places -at the oars, they toiled doggedly on, making -another short haul over the ice, and finding -the open water just at twilight. They found -it full of floating cakes, and as they neared -the shore there was much “mush ice” newly -formed in the open, which made their passage -difficult. It was well into the night -when they finally hauled the boat out on the -snow-clad land with a great sigh of weariness -and relief. It was like coming to a new and -strange world, however. The brown tundra<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span> -was now drifted with snow, and the country -round about was in the grip of the beginning -of the long Arctic winter. There are years -in which this is delayed until late in September, -but in others it comes by the very first, -and happy are those ships which escape to the -warmer waters of the south before it happens.</p> - -<p>They had not got sight of the ship, but they -hoped to on the morrow. At least they were -safe from the terrible drifting Arctic pack, -and with thankfulness for the watchful care -of Providence they once more overturned the -dingey, rigged the sail over its open side, -packed snow from a drift about it, and crawled -into the improvised igloo for the heavy dreamless -sleep that follows severe and long-continued -toil.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<span class="smaller">WINTER LIFE AND INNUIT FRIENDS</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>That night as they lay sheltered from cold -and from sound, snug in their snow igloo, the -four boats of the Bowhead battled past them -on their way down the coast, leaving no trace -behind in the shifting ice and mush of the -narrowing waterway; the difference of a few -hours in time, of a few furlongs in distance, -was so little, yet it meant so much! With -the passing of those four boats civilization -shut her door upon the two boys, and was to -open it no more for a year and a half.</p> - -<p>Yet they knew nothing of this, and slept -serene in the hope of soon rejoining their -comrades. They woke to find the sun already -up, and the Eskimo gone. His tracks lay -through the snow inland. While they wondered -if he had abandoned them he reappeared, -bearing a scant handful of willow brush which -he had dug out of the snow in the valley beyond. -With this they managed to roast some -strips of seal meat and make a satisfactory<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span> -breakfast. The wind had ceased, the air was -keen but bracing, and they did not mind the -cold, which, after all, was not great. The -first warning of the terrible winter was on -them, but it was not yet severe. Their young -blood leaped in the keen air, and they felt -a relief from danger that made them fairly -frolicsome. The ship could not be far away, -they were sure, and they would find it and all -would be well.</p> - -<p>“There is one comfort about this way of -living,” said Harry philosophically; “you -don’t have any dishes to clean up.”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Joe; “nor much to put in -them, either.”</p> - -<p>Then both boys noted the Eskimo’s manner. -He stood looking toward the north with a -strange intensity. Over in that direction the -snowy fields of the pack ice stretched away to -the limitless haze of the horizon. In the distance -these ice-fields seemed to quiver as the -air quivers in summer when the heat is intense. -They trembled and wavered, and changed -from ice-fields to open sea that shone fair -under the morning sun. This sea was calm -and free from ice, and seemed to move eastward, -melting the ice and snow before it as it -went. They turned to watch this eastward<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span> -movement, and after a little a headland appeared -in it, and both boys gave a cry of -delight.</p> - -<p>“The ship! the ship!” they cried, and -danced and swung their hats and hurrahed. -There she was at anchor by the headland, -safe and sound as they had left her, and their -hearts glowed within them at the thought of -home coming.</p> - -<p>“There she is!” cried Joe exultantly, “right -north by Icy Cape! I remember the headland -there. Good Lord! What’s she doing?”</p> - -<p>The Bowhead moved out from her anchorage -on this quivering open sea with never a -sail set, and no smoke from her engines, and -lifting up and up seemed to climb the horizon -to the northeast and disappear, a speck in the -high heavens; and as she did so the shimmering -waters vanished, leaving only the rough, -snow-clad ice-fields, bleak and impenetrable.</p> - -<p>Joe and Harry looked at each other. It -was mirage, they knew that, yet there had -been the headland, and the ship, her every -spar and rope familiar to them. It was magic; -that was what the Eskimo said, but he was -quite confident that it was bad magic, and that -this was to show them that ship and crew were -lost, —had sailed far away to the unknown,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span> -never to return. He would go to Icy Cape -with them if they wished, but they would -find only winter ghosts there.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless it was their only clue, and they -decided to go. With their friends camped -only a few short miles to the southwest, they -headed in the opposite direction and began -struggling through the mush ice, across floes, -making a toilsome but sure progress to the -northeast. At noon they camped on a floe, -ate seal meat, and, after a brief rest, toiled -on. At night they camped as before. Thus -for two days they steadily worked up the -coast. At nightfall of the second the wind -came in again from the west, with squalls -of snow and a recurrence of severe cold, but -the next day they went on still, and by noon -were rounding the headland. The air was -thick with snow, but in a lull they sighted -what seemed to be the ship, and cries of -thanksgiving went up from the weary wayfarers.</p> - -<p>“The ship! the ship!” they cried once -more, confident that this could be no mirage. -The Eskimo shook his head.</p> - -<p>“Bad magic,” he said; “ghost ship.” But -the boys knew better. The Bowhead lay at -anchor in mush ice and among floes, ghostly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span> -enough in the whirl of flying snow that made -the outlines of spar and sail white against the -leaden sky, but the ship in very truth, and -never so welcome a sight in any man’s eyes. -They shouted and hallooed, and listened in vain -for any response as they neared her, and their -exultant hearts grew cold with fear as they -got none. A terrible weird loneliness brooded -over her, and it seemed to the exhausted boys -as if they struggled to her side through a bad -dream.</p> - -<p>There was no greeting as they stepped on -deck, only the wail of the wind through the -icy shrouds. The deck was drifted with snow -that held no tracks. The cabin, the forecastle, -the galley, all showed signs of hasty leave-taking, -and were untenanted. Then, once -more in the cabin, the truth came upon them -with stunning force. The ship had been -abandoned, and they with it were left to face -the long loneliness of the coming Arctic night -as best they could. Joe sat down with a pathetic -slump in his broad shoulders and buried -his face in his hands, losing his cheerful courage -for the first time; nor did he note for -quite a while that Harry was face down on the -captain’s berth sobbing with homesickness, -loneliness, and utter physical exhaustion. Of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span> -the hour that these two spent in the full realization -of their misfortune, it were best to say -little. Up to that hour they had been boys. -In it they passed through the crucible that -melts and reshapes souls, and they came out -of it men.</p> - -<p>His anguish over and once more master of -himself, Joe rose, and, stepping to Harry’s -side, laid a hand on his shoulder. Then he -saw that Harry had found peace in sleep, and -knowing how much he needed it, he threw a -quilt over his shoulders and left him, going -on deck.</p> - -<p>The Eskimo had gone, and with him the -dingey.</p> - -<p>It did not change the look of serenity in -Joe’s face. He had met and conquered all -fears and apprehensions in the hour that had -just passed, and one more misfortune could -have no effect on him. He turned to the -galley, where he started a fire, and from the -cook’s stores took the material for a first-class -hot supper. When this was ready, he went -and wakened Harry. The two did not say -much, but they clasped hands in the dusk of -the cabin, and each saw the change toward -manhood in the other’s face,—the look of -greater sturdiness, greater self-reliance, together<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span> -with a certain serenity which surely -marks the man. Some fortunate men acquire -this serenity, self-poise, in the face of fortune, -good or ill, early in life; some never acquire -it, and they, as well as the world, are the worse -off for that.</p> - -<p>They slept warm and long that night, had a -good hearty, hot breakfast the next morning, -and felt fit to face the world. It was a bright -morning, with the sun struggling through -frost mists, and as they came on deck they -found quite a change in the position of the -small floes overnight, and some open water -near the ship. Out of this open water came -a quavering hail.</p> - -<p>“Kile, innuit” (Come here, man); “kile, innuit,” -cried Joe with delight, and the Eskimo -paddled alongside in the dingey. He touched -the ship gingerly, but it neither flew away -nor burned him. He climbed aboard and -looked earnestly at Joe and Harry, who shook -his hand cordially. Then his face lighted up -with a broad grin.</p> - -<p>“Nagouruk,” he said. “No more ghosts. -Good magic. White man great ankut” -(wizard).</p> - -<p>That was all. He thought it great magic -that the boys had made the ghost ship real<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span> -and were living aboard it in safety. Henceforth -he did not question his own safety there, -but the night before he had feared to go -aboard lest it sail off with him into the undiscovered -country, as it had in the mirage.</p> - -<p>That day the two boys—we will call them -boys still, though, remember, they have the -hearts of men—took stock of their situation, -and found it not so bad after all. The captain -and crew were gone southward, probably -to safety, but they had left behind the ship, -with abundance of provisions and all sorts of -supplies, including a good amount of coal. -There was really no reason why they should -not be warm and comfortable all winter long, -and find safety with the returning whalemen -the next summer. If they had been short of -provisions or without the splendid shelter and -the coal that they had, it might have been -wise to attempt to work south on the chance -of catching a belated whaleship at Point -Hope. As it was, the chance was too slender, -and it was best to face the winter just where -they were.</p> - -<p>Thus they planned their life anew, and -went leisurely about their preparations. The -Eskimo wished to leave them for a time. His -family were at the village at Point Lay, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span> -he would see them again. He would come -back, perhaps bring his friends with him, and -they would build another village ashore, so -that he might be near his white brothers. -The boys thought well of this. The friendly -Eskimos might be of great help to them, and -already there was in Joe’s mind a half-formed -plan in which they were to be partners. So, -loading him down with such provisions as he -could best carry, a rifle, and abundant ammunition, -to his great delight, they bade him -good-by, and he started bravely through the -snow alongshore. They had no fear for his -safety. He would burrow deep in the drifts -at night or in case of severe weather, and -reach the village safe and sound.</p> - -<p>As if for his encouragement and their own, -there followed several days of halcyon weather. -It was calm and the sun shone brightly; and -though the temperature remained below freezing -and the thermometer went below zero at -night, the air was so dry that it did not seem -nearly as cold as it was. Yet they knew they -were soon to face deadly cold, when the mercury -would drop to fifty below and fierce -gales sweep over them for weeks, and they -must prepare for it. The position of the ship -they could not change, but it seemed reasonably<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span> -safe. It was well behind the headland, -in shallow water; aground, as they soon discovered. -The shore ice would form thick -about it, and it could not be touched by the -moving pack, which would grind back and -forth all winter half a mile to seaward. Their -next care was to decide in what part of the -ship they could live most comfortably. The -galley was large enough; it had the range, -on which they could best cook, and there were -two bunks in it which the Chinese steward -and his assistant had occupied. No one is -cleaner than a cleanly Chinaman, and these -bunks bore inspection. They might fumigate -them and bring up their own bedding and -supplies, and it was by all odds the most -convenient place. For all this, Joe shook his -head.</p> - -<p>“It won’t do, Harry,” he said; “the place -will be too cold. It is on deck; and when the -thermometer gets way down and the gales -blow for a month steady, we shall surely freeze -to death.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose so,” said Harry doubtfully; -“but it is low amidships here between the -bulwarks. If we could only build a double -house right around it, the air space between -the two would be a great protection,—and it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span> -is <em>so</em> handy. Tell you what, there’s some -spare boards and stuff down in the main hold. -Couldn’t we do it with them?”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t make it tight enough,” replied -Joe. “The wind would shoot through and -get at us. If it was buried deep in snow—but -the snow would blow away in the wind.” -He pondered a moment, and shook his head.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with ice, then?” answered -Harry. “We’ve got all the ice we -want, right handy.”</p> - -<p>Joe sprang to his feet with a laugh. “I -believe you’ve got it, this time,” he said. -“We’ll make a regular Eskimo igloo all -around it with ice blocks, same as we used to -read about in the schoolbooks. We’ll chink -them with snow and pour water on, and when -it freezes we’ll be snug as need be.”</p> - -<p>They went immediately to work while the -weather favored them. From the floes alongside -they cut cubical blocks which they hauled -aboard with a whip rigged to the main yard. -These they piled one above another, about -three feet from the galley sides. A second -row was then set up a foot outside these, and -the space between filled with snow. Thus -they had two ice walls with a free air space -next the building. Spare spars placed across<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span> -this served for rafters, and they covered these -with ice cakes also. For cement, snow with -water poured on was excellent, and at the end -of three days their protecting igloo was nearly -finished. It filled the space amidships from -bulwark to bulwark, and the two architects -were very proud of their creation.</p> - -<p>“When you are in Rome,” said Harry, -“you must do as the Romans do,” and in this -he had solved the real secret of successful -winter life in the Arctic. Through a thousand -generations stern necessity has taught -certain things to the Eskimos, and the explorers -who most nearly follow their methods are -the ones who winter in safety and with least -loss of life and comfort.</p> - -<p>Still in imitation of the ice-dwellers of the -far north, they made the only entrance to this -big igloo through a low tunnel of ice cakes, -well chinked and mortared with snow and -water, and with a deerskin doorway that -dropped curtainwise and could be fastened -tight. Had Sir Christopher Wren been viewing -the completion of St. Paul’s Cathedral, -he could have done so with no greater thrill -of pride than did these two beginners in Arctic -life their rough ice shelter from the cold -to come.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span></p> - -<p>“I think that makes it all right,” said Joe, -with great satisfaction. “If it doesn’t work -we can retreat below, but with a good fire in -the galley stove it seems as if we might be -comfortable here, even in the coldest weather.”</p> - -<p>They took stock of their provisions and -coal and, as was to be expected, found both -ample for a large number of men. Trade -goods still held out, and they could purchase -what the Eskimos had to offer during the -winter, if they cared to. Joe sighed as he -looked at the whaling implements, harpoons, -bomb guns, and line, left just as they had -been abandoned, ready for instant use. He -picked up a harpoon and handled it lovingly.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have a shot or two with you, yet,” -he said, “before we get out of the wilderness.”</p> - -<p>“How do you mean?” asked Harry; -“there’s no chance to get whales in winter, -is there?”</p> - -<p>A half-formed plan in Joe’s head took -shape in that instant.</p> - -<p>“No,” he said, “not in winter, but the -whales begin to appear in the leads in the ice -very early in the spring. Long before the -ships can get up here to get at them, the most -of them have gone north. Now, situated as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span> -we are, we can do whaling right from the ice, -if we can get the Eskimos to help us. They -will gladly do it for the blubber and meat, -and we shall have the bone. That is the best -part of a whale nowadays, anyway. Here’s -what I plan for the spring and summer. We -will get all the bone and furs we can this winter -to add to the cargo. We’ll be as careful -of the coal as we can, and if the Bowhead -comes through the winter all right, as I hope -she will, we will try and take her south ourselves, -with the help of the Eskimos, when -the ice opens next summer.”</p> - -<p>Thus, well provided for in the present, and -with roseate plans for the future, they began -the winter. Daily the sun got lower; so did -the mercury in the thermometer; and often -for days there was no sight of the former -because of flying snow and the deep haze of -frost-fog. The ice set more and more firmly -about the Bowhead, and the pack which -ground and crushed against the edge of the -shore ice outside the headland no longer made -any answering movement in the frozen stretch -about her. The winter was upon them, and -there were times when their ice igloo was put -to severe tests as a frost defender. It stood -them all well, and with a good fire in the galley<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span> -range, it was always comfortable within. -In the open space between the galley and the -igloo frost crystals collected, till, in the glow -of lamplight, the narrow way looked like a -fairy grotto, all hung with spangles and frost -gems.</p> - -<p>The temperature there was always below -freezing, and Joe prosaically suggested that -it would be a good place to hang their fresh -meat, if they had any to hang.</p> - -<p>“I wish our Eskimo friend would come -back and spear a seal for us,” said Harry. -“We’ve had no fresh meat since he left. -Suppose he got home safe?”</p> - -<p>They were to have fresh meat soon, however, -by way of a most interesting adventure -that began the very night after.</p> - -<p>October had come, and with the middle of -it a few brief days of mild weather. The -sun slanted upward in a low sweep from the -southern horizon, then down, after scarcely -three hours, leaving behind it, as it set, a -running fire of beams that swept along the -horizon like a prairie fire, then the dancing -splendor of the aurora and a full moon that -swung the circuit of the sky without setting. -The refraction in the air, first cousin to the -mirage, gave this moon odd shapes that were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span> -indescribably weird. Sometimes it was cubical, -sometimes an elongated oval, and often -there were rainbows in the frost about it that -made mock moons, two or three ranged in irregular -order, with encircling fires that were -as beautiful as ghostly. The boys, warmly -wrapped in furs chosen from their stock, -would, on these calm nights, often promenade -the deck for an hour, viewing these phenomena -and listening to the crash and grind -of the pack against the shore ice beyond the -headland. This night they had done so, then -retired to the glow of their evening lamp, -with books from their stock. They were -studying navigation, and a book on engineering -and seamanship from the engineer’s locker, -that they might be better able to handle the -vessel if the chance came to them in the -summer.</p> - -<p>Weariness overcame them there, and Joe -had already turned in, while Harry dozed in -the chair over his book. He started up once, -thinking he heard footsteps, then settled down -again, sure that it had been only imagination. -There he slept while the footsteps came along -the deck, hesitated at the deerskin curtain, -and then something tore it down. Harry -stirred uneasily, but did not wake. The steps,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span> -padded but scratchy, came along the ice tunnel -and hesitated again at the closed door to -the galley. Then something clawed at this -door and shook it, sniffling. Harry came to -his feet with a bound and listened, uncertain -whether he had heard or dreamed. Then the -sound went round the side of the galley, as -if something were crowding through the ice -passage to the window.</p> - -<p>“Joe!” cried Harry; “Joe, there’s something -here!” Joe roused sleepily, then tumbled -out of his bunk with a rush, for there -was a crash of glass and a great white forearm -came through the little window with a -black palm and long, hooked nails. Then the -lamp went out.</p> - -<p>Darkness, and the sound of heavy breathing, -with a terrifying recollection of that -great arm and the palm with long nails!</p> - -<p>The two boys crowded together in the corner -of the galley, quivering and terrified. -The thought of the winter ghosts that the -Eskimo had said they would find at Icy Cape -came to both, and did not seem like a foolish -superstition now.</p> - -<p>“What is it? What is it?” cried Harry -in terror. His voice sounded faint and far -away to him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span></p> - -<p>“Can’t you find a match?” replied Joe between -his set teeth. He was trying hard to -conquer this superstitious terror, but he only -partly succeeded.</p> - -<p>Harry tremblingly pulled a match from his -pocket and struck it. The arm was there, -reaching and clawing, and behind it gleamed -two fierce little eyes. Joe snatched the 45-70 -from the corner and began pumping shot after -shot at the little window. In the confines of -the little room the report was deafening, and -the match went out at the first shot.</p> - -<p>Harry lighted another. The arm hung -limp and there was a heaving and straining -without that fairly cracked the galley walls, -then silence.</p> - -<p>“Ghost or devil or what all, I’ve finished -him,” said Joe, after watching for a moment -with pointed rifle.</p> - -<p>Harry relighted the lamp. His courage -was coming back, but his nerves were still -shaky. Then he flung wide the door while -Joe held the rifle in readiness. Darkness -was there, but neither sound nor ghost. Cautiously, -lamp in hand and rifle ready, they -entered the space between the ice and the -galley sides, and there they saw their ghost -motionless. He was bulky and white, so bulky<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> -that he filled the three-foot space tight, with -his arm still stuck through the cabin window.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Joe, “he’s white enough for -a ghost, but he isn’t one. He’s a white bear, -and a fine one. Let’s get him out of that and -skin him before he freezes.”</p> - -<p>In the light of the ship’s lanterns they -tugged and wrestled for an hour to get the -great creature out through the igloo entrance -to the deck. There they skinned him and -cut him up, hanging the four quarters in -what they henceforth named their refrigerator. -The pelt was a fine one, in the full -strength of the winter coat. In spite of the -cold and dim light, they took it off carefully, -muzzle, claws, and all.</p> - -<p>“There,” said Joe, “that skin will bring a -hundred dollars in San Francisco, if we can -ever get it there. It is a good night’s work, -if we were scared to death. What do you -suppose brought him?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t know,” replied Harry, “unless it -was the smell of that salmon.”</p> - -<p>Both sniffed, and on the air from the igloo -caught the faint odor of the salted salmon -that they had put on the galley range to simmer -and freshen. He was probably right. -The white bear has a keen scent, and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span> -odor of cooking will draw him a long way -across the ice.</p> - -<p>They repaired the window, re-closed the -igloo entrance, and though somewhat apprehensive, -slept soundly and unmolested until -daylight. Then they sought and found tracks -showing where the bear had climbed a drift -and come aboard by way of the stern. Other -tracks seemed to show that their intruder had -a companion that had circled the ship on the -snow but had not boarded it. This adventure -gave them fresh meat, the first for a long -time, and they ate bear steaks till they were -weary of them; but it also gave them an idea -for the capture of more valuable pelts.</p> - -<p>“If white bears are coming our way,” said -Joe, “we’ll try and fix things so they’ll stop -with us. We must make a little shelter on -the deck aft, and set a whale-oil lamp burning -in it with a kettle of salmon stewing over it. -Then we’ll fix things so that if his bearness -approaches it, he’ll breast a string and set off -a rifle. One of those old Springfield muzzle-loaders -that dad couldn’t sell, even to the -mersinkers, will be just the thing. We can -load it half full of bullets, and it don’t matter -if it does burst. There’s plenty more of -them.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span></p> - -<p>“Good idea,” said Harry. “If bears are -coming, I’d like to have something stop them -before they get far enough aboard to scare me -the way the last one did. We’ll do it to-day.”</p> - -<p>They did, but that night one of the terrible -Arctic blizzards set in, and it never -let up for a month. Their trap was rigged, -but they could do nothing toward baiting it -in such tremendous weather; they scarcely -ventured outdoors, and got along as best -they could by the galley fire. Yet the time -did not hang very heavily on their hands. -They read and studied, played all the games -there were aboard the vessel, and slept a great -deal. In the gloom and cold of the full Arctic -night the tendency to hibernate seems to -come on men as well as animals, and they -sometimes slept the round of the clock at a -stretch.</p> - -<p>The fifteenth of November the gale ceased -as suddenly as it had come up, and they ventured -out at high noon. The air was still, but -intensely cold. Clad in reindeer-skin suits -from head to toe, with fur hoods, and little -but the eyes exposed to the frost, they looked -about. A luminous twilight hung over all -the wastes of snow. To the north the sky -was purple black, flushing pink in quivering<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span> -streams of light toward the zenith, where -glowed great stars. The heavens seemed, -through this luminous pink haze, these quivering -bars of aurora, to have wonderful depth -and perspective. Great golden stars shone -there, some far, some seemingly very near, -and the distance between the two was very -marked. The wonderful depths of infinite -space were revealed to them as never before, -and they gazed in awe and delight.</p> - -<p>“I never knew before,” cried Harry, “what -was meant by the depths of the heavens. -At home the sky is a flat surface with holes -poked in it that are stars. Here you see them -worlds, with millions of miles of space before -and behind and around them. It is wonderful. -See the south, too; it is afire!”</p> - -<p>A little to the east of due south lambent -flames sprang above the horizon as if a great -fire burned there. They shot up and moved -westward as though a great forest was going -down before a smokeless conflagration. On -to the west they moved, and sank, glowed, and -disappeared—burnt out.</p> - -<p>It was the last of the midday sun, and they -were not to see it again until well into February. -A faint breeze seemed to blow in from -the south, as if bearing a message and a promise<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span> -that the sun would come again. Joe -sniffed this breeze.</p> - -<p>“Come,” he said; “let’s set that bear -trap. This wind from the south will send -the smell of burnt salmon miles and miles -out on the ice. It ought to bring a lot of -bears.”</p> - -<p>They did as Joe suggested, and as the south -wind blew gently and a spell of mild weather -ensued, kept the toll-dish stewing for a long -time. It was two days before anything happened. -Then they were both called from -the cabin by a tremendous explosion. They -rushed to the trap and found a bear sprawled -before it, dead, with a big hole torn in his -neck. Nothing, moreover, was left of the -Springfield musket but the breech. The -tremendous charge with which it had been -loaded had blown the barrel to pieces and -shattered the bait stew as well.</p> - -<p>“Whew!” exclaimed Joe. “We did -things that time, didn’t we! How much -did you put in that old musket, anyway?”</p> - -<p>Harry looked a little guilty. “Why,” he -answered, “you said to fill her about half full, -and I did. There were nine bullets, I think.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I should say so,” replied Joe, -“by the looks of the bear. Guess we won’t<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span> -load quite so heavy next time. I don’t care -for the old musket, there’s plenty more, but -it don’t do to tear up the pelt too badly. -Great Scott, what’s that!”</p> - -<p>Both jumped, for, silhouetted against the -aurora, figures stepped from the drift to the -deck and approached. The thoughts of both -were of bears, but a second glance showed -these figures to be men, and in a moment they -were greeting their Eskimo friend of the ice -and several others who had come with him. -Moreover, as they soon learned, the entire -village was ashore, having decided to move -to the neighborhood of the ship, where food -and trade goods were plenty. They had -come up with dog teams, and the women were -already carving huts from the deep snow just -back of the beach, in a spot sheltered from -the north winds.</p> - -<p>It was not until these other human beings -appeared that the boys realized how lonely -they had been, and in their joy at the sight -of fellow creatures they planned a feast, to -which they invited the whole village. This -took place the next day, and though the village -numbered scarce fifteen adults, they ate -up pretty nearly the whole bear. However, -it made them very friendly toward the two<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> -Crusoes of the ship, and the boys did not -grudge the feast in any case.</p> - -<p>You must not directly ask an Eskimo his -name; they have a superstitious dread of telling -it to your face, but you may ask another, -even in his presence, and etiquette is in no -wise outraged. So now, for the first time, -they learned that the one they had rescued -from the floating cake months before was -Harluk, that his wife was Atchoo, while -other men of the village were Kroo, Konwa, -Neako, and Pikalee.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus9"> -<img src="images/illus9.jpg" width="500" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HARLUK AND KROO</p> -</div> - -<p>They had plenty of dogs, sleds, two umiaks -which they had brought on the sleds, -clothing, and a small amount of blubber and -seal meat. That was all; but they were happy, -and viewed with no fear the narrow margin -which separated them from starvation in the -Arctic midwinter. Their snow igloos, carved -deep in the drifts on the leeward side of a little -hill, and warmed by a stone lamp full of -seal oil, were comfortable and at first clean. -When they were no longer so, they moved a -few rods and carved another without much -labor. If the weather was not too severe, the -men watched the margin where the pack ice -was ground back and forth by the shore ice, -and were sometimes rewarded with a seal.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span> -They tracked white foxes, ermine, and now -and then a wolf or a bear, and exchanged -the pelts with the boys for hard-tack, or blankets, -or other necessaries of life, and were -singularly placid and good-humored. Everything -with them was “Nagouruk,” and their -chief delight was to visit the ship, and spend -hours in the company of their white friends. -The outer sheltering igloo of ice cakes, which -the boys had built over the galley, won -their admiration at once, and they gave it the -greatest compliment that an Eskimo can pay. -Kroo, the oldest man, and in that respect the -chief, as chiefs go in a little Eskimo community, -inspected it carefully and solemnly, and -then announced oracularly in his own tongue:</p> - -<p>“It is good. The white brothers are almost -as wise as Eskimos.”</p> - -<p>Many conferences were held between Harluk -and Kroo and the two boys as to the -prospects and methods of spring whaling in -the ice, and as they learned the ways of the -whale from their dusky friends and the ease -with which they are captured by the Eskimos -with their primitive weapons, Harry and Joe -became very enthusiastic as to the success -which awaited them with modern appliances. -Harluk and Kroo were also greatly pleased.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span> -The plan meant for them unlimited supplies -of whale meat and blubber, and both parties -were impatient of the long night of fierce cold -that must still pass before they could begin. -They got no more bears for a long time, because -the cold was so severe that their blubber -lamps went out and the tolling smell of -stewing salmon failed them. Joe remedied -this in part by mixing the whale oil with -kerosene, which did not freeze even in the -most severe weather, and finally he enlarged -his lamp greatly, using a square kerosene can -for a reservoir, and filling it with kerosene -alone. This worked much better, and an -occasional white pelt was added to their store -by this means. Out of this, too, came a most -singular adventure, which was of great service -to the Eskimos, and no doubt saved the -lives of both boys, though it lost them a -valuable bearskin.</p> - -<p>It happened late in February, after the -sun had begun again to smile at them for a -moment above the southern horizon, though -his brief daily presence seemed in no wise to -abate the cold.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE GHOST WOLVES OF THE NUNATAK</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The “Ankut,” as the Eskimos call him, the -wizard, is the bane of life among the peaceful -Arctic villagers. He is generally of greater -intelligence than they, his craftiness mixed -with great greed and ferocity, and he brings -strife and misery to the community on which -he fastens. Beginning with little tricks and -pretended magic, he gains an ascendency over -the tribe which often ends in their giving up -to him most of their possessions and sometimes -their lives. Growing thus in power and -audacity, he becomes a veritable tyrant, and -his career usually ends in the utter disaster of -the people whom he rules, or else they in their -extremity overcome their superstitious fears -and drive him out. In either case he is apt to -become an outlaw, living by brigandage, and -working ruin wherever he goes. Among the -tribes of northern Siberia the Russians have -given him the name of “Shaman,” but in -Alaska a Pacific coast term is applied to him<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span> -when he becomes an outlaw, and he is known -to the whalemen as a “highbinder.” Oftentimes -he is a half-breed descendant of a white -father and Eskimo mother, and seems to inherit -the evil cunning of both races. Driven -from a community by its utter ruin or by -force, the highbinders band together and rove -about, preying upon the gentle and superstitious -villagers, and spreading disaster and -terror wherever they go. They play strange -tricks, murder, and rob with no fear of anything -except superior force, and carry off -boys and girls and sometimes grown men and -women into slavery.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus10"> -<img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="700" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">VISITING ESKIMOS</p> -</div> - -<p>There came a week of chinook weather just -at the last of February. The Indian tribes a -thousand miles to the south have named the -warm wind from the Japanese current “chinook,” -from the name of a tribe whose habitat -was to the southwest of them, the direction -whence this wind came, and the name has -come to be applied to it the continent over. -Down there, no doubt, this chinook melted the -snow, and gave the first promise of coming -spring. The faint breath of it that reached -the far Arctic regions where our friends wintered -could do nothing of that sort, but it did -bring a period of mild, clear weather, when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span> -the dry air seemed positively warm during the -few hours of sunshine, while through the long -night, under the dancing light of the aurora, -the thermometer barely descended to zero. -The first night of this warm weather and -faintly breathing southern air brought two -bears in from the ice-fields, one of which was -killed at the trap. The boys, rushing out, -saw the other on the ice near by, and Harry -killed him by a lucky moonlight shot with the -45-70. Thus two fine pelts were added to -their collection, which now numbered ten fine -and three less valuable ones, captured by themselves -or bought from their Eskimo friends. -Joe figured that the value of these in the -San Francisco fur market would not be less -than a thousand dollars, and they decided that -they would keep watch while the south wind -lasted and thus lose no chances of getting -more.</p> - -<p>That night Harry called Joe hastily, and -the two, fur-wrapped and rifle in hand, listened -into the magnificent whiteness of the -moon-flooded night.</p> - -<p>“There!” cried Harry. “There it is!”</p> - -<p>A low, half-fierce, half-mournful, wailing -howl came from the ridge of land above the -Eskimo village. It was repeated to the right<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span> -and left, and came again and again at brief -intervals.</p> - -<p>“Wolves?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p>“I should think so,” said Joe; “but”—</p> - -<p>Both boys shivered and drew nearer together, -as if for mutual protection. The -weird glamour of the Arctic night was upon -them, and they thought again of the story -that Harluk had told them of the winter -ghosts at Icy Cape.</p> - -<p>“Look there,” cried Joe. “The Eskimos -are out.”</p> - -<p>They dimly saw two figures, in the radiance -of the full moon, come from the direction of -the Eskimo village. Silhouetted against the -snow, they moved to the right and left of the -ridge, seemed to pause a moment, and then -went back. There came the wolf-like howling -again, but this time it had a sort of jubilant -ring in it. It was heard no more that night, -though both boys were up for a considerable -time listening for it.</p> - -<p>At dawn the next day Harluk appeared -with woe in his countenance. “Good-by,” -he said; “Eskimo all go to-day.”</p> - -<p>“But why?” asked Joe in wonder; “are -you not all right here with us?”</p> - -<p>“Yesterday,” said Harluk, “plenty all right.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span> -Last night Nunatak (ice spirit) people send -ghost wolves for food. Eskimo put out plenty. -Then they go away. To-morrow night come -again. Bimeby food gone, furs gone, then -they take Eskimo. More better Eskimo go -away first. Too much winter ghosts at Icy -Cape.”</p> - -<p>Joe was in dismay at the thought of losing -the village. The companionship of the Eskimos -meant much to the two boys, and their -leaving would break up their plans for the -spring. But at first all argument was in vain. -The Eskimos had had experience with the Nunatak -people before. When Eskimos settled -in their realm, they must pay tribute to the -ghost wolves sent or move out. There was -no alternative. If the wolves howled again, -they must put out something in food or furs -or other property to appease them, or else the -ice spirit people would come and take the -Eskimos themselves. The boys conferred together -about this new difficulty.</p> - -<p>“What do you suppose it is?” asked -Harry.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” replied Joe; “but whatever -it is, ghost wolves or real ones, or just -superstition, we must stop it. We can’t lose -our friends this way, and they must not lose<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span> -their little stock of food and furs. Will you -guard the ship to-night and let me sit up with -the Eskimos? Ghosts must be pretty hard -to hit, but we’ll see what a 45-70 will do for -them.”</p> - -<p>There was a grim set to Joe’s square jaw, -and Harry felt the spirit of battle rise within -him as he saw it.</p> - -<p>“You go ahead,” he said; “and if the -ghost wolves come to the ship, I’ll deal with -them.”</p> - -<p>That night Joe sat in the snow igloo with -Harluk, Atchoo his wife, and the two Eskimo -babies, one a child of a year or so, the other -four or five, both fat and roly-poly youngsters -with beady black eyes that looked in wonder -at the white man. A blubber lamp burned -brightly in the centre of this igloo, while -over it hung a kettle of melted snow-water. -Round the wall was a seat of hardened snow -covered with a few sealskins. In the corner -was a bundle. Joe examined this bundle. It -contained a small stock of food, all there was -in the igloo, and some furs. Harluk was -prepared to propitiate the evil spirits, should -they again send their representatives. Later -in the evening more of the Eskimos came in, -until all the members of the village were concentrated<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span> -in this igloo and that of Kroo, the -head man, near by. Fear of their ghostly -oppressors was strong upon the village, which, -but for Joe’s offered protection, would have -been already far on the road south toward -Point Hope.</p> - -<p>About midnight Atchoo shuddered and -drew her children to her. The other Eskimos -looked at Joe with their brown faces whitening -with fear, for right down the smoke-hole -came that weird, wailing howl. Joe snatched -the rifle and scrambled out through the low -passage. The moon shone brightly on the -still whiteness of the Arctic midnight, but -there was no sign of living creature in sight. -Only over the ridge, some distance away, came -the howl again, this time with mocking intonation, -as if the messengers of the Nunatak -people laughed at his futile efforts. Again -it seemed to come right from the ship, and -Joe, baffled and angry, yet felt a chill of fear -thrill through him. He jumped as a figure -appeared almost at his feet, but it was only -Kroo with a bundle of provisions and furs -in his hand, scrambling from the low passage -of his igloo.</p> - -<p>“The ghost wolves must be fed,” said Kroo -resignedly. “My white brother is brave, but<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> -he cannot shoot spirits even if he could find -them. I will go.”</p> - -<p>Quaking with fear, but doggedly, the old -man plodded through the snow toward the -ridge. He had gone but a step or two when -Joe was close behind him, walking as he -walked, so close that from a little distance -the two would look like one man in the uncertain -light. When they reached a furrow -between two drifts Joe dropped into this, out -of sight. Kroo went on a few rods farther, -placed his offering on the snow, and turned -back. He would have paused by Joe, but -the latter firmly motioned him on, and a few -moments later he entered the igloo.</p> - -<p>There was silence for a long time, while Joe -watched the bundle narrowly where it showed -dark against the white surface, holding his rifle -ready for instant use. The minutes seemed -to stretch into hours. He felt a chill that -was not altogether cold, and his hand shook -with a nervous tremor that was very close to -fear. Real wolves he did not care for, yet -with all his sturdy Anglo-Saxon sense, something -of the superstition of the Eskimos -seemed to touch him. Civilization slips easily -from us when face to face with night, the -wilderness, and the unknown. He had a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span> -haunting feeling that something was near him, -yet peer as he would he could see nothing -but the whiteness of the moonlit expanse of -snow and the black bundle, untouched, where -Kroo had dropped it.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he sprang to his feet with a gasp -of alarm and surprise, for, seemingly right -behind him, sounded a snarling howl. He -turned and looked eagerly, and ran in that -direction for a few steps, breathless, yet there -was no sign of man or beast. He listened -intently. No sound for a moment, then right -behind his back the howl sounded again, this -time with a chuckle like laughter in it, and -he gave an exclamation of disgust, for the -bundle no longer lay dark upon the snow. -The ghost wolves had found their offering -and made off with it. It seemed to Joe, as -he looked about, as if he could see a blur -of a white figure moving along against a -white snow ridge, and he brought his rifle -to his shoulder to shoot, then hesitated, thinking -he must have imagined it, so indistinct -was the impression. As he hesitated, he saw -another blur of white over a near-by ridge, -almost within arm’s reach, with what looked -like an evil face in it, and before he could -turn, a heavy mass of frozen snow struck<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> -him in the head and stretched him senseless. -The figure of a white bear with the -face of a man leaned over him, then lifted -its head and gave forth the wolf howl, a different -cry from the others heard that night. -There was no chuckle in this howl. It was -rather a cry of rage which carried in itself -a command, and it had scarcely ceased before -three other bear-like figures hurried up. -These, too, had the faces of men and they -walked erect, yet they left behind tracks of -claws. Hurried low words were spoken in -Eskimo, and the four took up the motionless -figure and carried it away from the igloos, yet -a little toward the ship, down a long furrow -behind a drift, to a place on the shore where -the ice crushing in during the early fall had -left a sheltering ridge. Here they vanished -with their burden as if they had been dissipated -into air.</p> - -<p>Harry’s watch was long that night on the -deck of the Bowhead. He felt appallingly -lonely long before midnight, and it was all he -could do to keep from setting out for the -shore to see what was happening at the igloos. -The ghost wolves seemed less a matter of superstition -now that Joe’s sturdy presence was -lacking, and he waited with apprehension for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> -their howling, and shivered with nervous -dread when it began. He watched narrowly, -and saw what he thought was one figure go -out from the igloo and return in the uncertain -light. Again he heard the howling, now -far, now seemingly near, and watching, with -his rifle under his arm, he was surprised -to see a figure appear dimly in the snow -far over on the ridge. He saw this figure -move back and forth. Then, to his astonishment, -it seemed to rise up from the ground -in a horizontal position and move off, disappearing -again. All this was strange and -disquieting, and for a long time there was -silence.</p> - -<p>What seemed hours followed, and at last -he could stand it no longer. He fastened the -galley door, took his repeating rifle under his -arm, and marched down the hard drifted -snow off the Bowhead in the direction of the -igloos. As he did so, far off on the ice to the -northward two great white bears lifted their -noses and sniffed the wind, which blew from -the south. On it came a faint odor of fish, -always enough to attract any white bear, but -this odor was more appetizing than any the -two had ever smelled before. The salmon -kettle was doing its work. Warily the two<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span> -great creatures took their way southward over -the rough ice.</p> - -<p>At the igloos Harry’s call for Joe was answered -by the furry Eskimo head of Harluk. -He put this carefully out from the tunnel-like -entrance and calmly said Joe was no more. -He was a good man and a noble friend, but -he was no longer even a spirit. The ghost -wolves had no doubt eaten him, and thereby -he became as nothing. Killed in battle, -eaten by real wolves, his spirit would yet -remain, but when the ghost wolves of the Nunatak -people got a man, he simply vanished. -If Harry did not wish to vanish, it would be -well for him to come into the igloo.</p> - -<p>Harry took Harluk by the shoulders and -pulled the rest of him out into the moonlight.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Harluk,” he said. “You stop -this nonsense, and tell me where Joe is. Is -he with you? If not, where did he go? -Tell me and tell me quick.”</p> - -<p>Like cures like, says the old adage. Harry’s -manner was so fierce that he frightened his -dusky friend, and for a moment drove some -of the superstitious fear out of him. He -spoke to the point when he got his breath. -Joe, he said, had gone out with Kroo to bait<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span> -the ghost wolves. In this direction they had -gone, over toward the ridge. Kroo had come -back, Joe had not. This was long ago.</p> - -<p>“Harluk,” said Harry, “you get that repeating -rifle that we gave you, load it, and -come with me. Tell Kroo to come, too, and -bring his gun and Konwa. The others shall -stay with the women and children.”</p> - -<p>The three came, reluctantly. Harry’s impetuosity -carried them along, but some distance -behind. Any one of them would have -faced danger and probable death without a -tremor, but this matter of ghosts was different. -They reached the place where Kroo had -left Joe, and Kroo pointed out his tracks, -indistinct in the moonlight, then farther on -they saw where he had gone on. But they -saw neither the bundle nor Joe. Unlike his -cousin, the Indian of the interior, the Eskimo -has no special aptitude in following a blind -trail, hence it was Harry who first noted in -the snow the indistinct marks of clawed feet. -At sight of this the three men of the north -collapsed together in a shivering bunch. The -ghost wolves had been abroad, their eyes saw -the marks of their feet. Joe, brave and able -as he was, had been eaten and was now no -more, even in spirit. The Nunatak people<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> -were no doubt all about them at that moment, -and if they got back to the igloos -safe, it would be a wonder. They headed -tremblingly for home, but Harry stepped resolutely -in front of them. The spirit of battle -was fully roused in him now, and he had no -thought of ghosts. Joe was to be found, rescued -if need be, and the Eskimos must be -made to help. Force would be of no avail. -He must meet superstition with superstition.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Harluk,” he said, “do you not -know that the white man is a great ankut, a -wizard much greater than any? Did we not -make the ghost ship real? Can I not make -the spirit of a man or a place go into a little -box and come out again so that you may see -it and hold it in your hand? I tell you, if -we do not find Joe and you do not help me, -the ghost birds of the white man’s Nunatak -shall fly away with you. They shall hang -you head down in the smoke-hole of his igloo, -and with fire shall torment your bones as long -as the ice lasts in the sea. Now will you -come with me?”</p> - -<p>It was too bad, and Harry knew it, but -there did not seem to be any other way. It -certainly had a great effect on his superstitious -friends. They drew suddenly back from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span> -him with an alarm that nearly made him laugh -in spite of the fact that he felt the situation -to be critical. He held one hand aloft and -seemed to listen. “The ghost birds are coming,” -he cried; “I hear their wings!”</p> - -<p>Konwa’s teeth chattered audibly, Harluk -was sullenly silent under this counter pressure -of conflicting ghosts, but Kroo, the old -head man, drew himself up with a certain -dignity. He seemed to conquer his fears, and -for the rest of the night he acted the part of a -brave man. “There be many wizards abroad -to-night,” he said, “and my white brother is -perhaps one. Kroo will help his friends in -spite of evil spirits.”</p> - -<p>Then the hunt for the missing man began -again. The full moon shone low on the horizon, -and the stately hosts of the aurora -began to parade the sky with flaunting crimson -banners. The two lighted up the white -wastes with a radiance that was but little less -than daylight, and with their help they followed -the claw tracks here and there. It -seemed as if many ghost wolves had been -out that night, prowling along the hollows -between snow ridges. Here and there they -found an imprint quite plain, showing the -mark of a heavy foot with claws on the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span> -front. By and by Harry found a place -where four of these converged in a spot, -and something like a heavy body had fallen -in the snow. Kroo looked at this place intently.</p> - -<p>“Bundle here,” he said.</p> - -<p>Then the four tracks blurred into one another -and went on. Harry had a moment’s -mental vision of the indistinct figure that had -flitted back and forth in the moonlight, then -risen and gone off in a horizontal position, -and he guessed very nearly right as to the -catastrophe. He found shattered fragments -of a chunk of ice on the snow, and on one of -these what looked like a spot of blood. A -great anger swelled in Harry’s breast at the -sight of this, and for a moment he choked -for words.</p> - -<p>“See,” he said, showing the blood-stained -crystal to the Eskimos; “they have hurt him -and carried him away. Here are their tracks. -It cannot be ghosts. Ghosts do not draw -blood. We shall find them and kill them. -Kill them, do you hear? whether they are -men or beasts.”</p> - -<p>Kroo stepped forward and examined the -deeper tracks critically. “Nanuk,” he said; -“bear; plenty bear.” Konwa, himself a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span> -mighty bear hunter, corroborated the testimony.</p> - -<p>This put new courage into Harluk and -Konwa. Bears they knew and would fight in -any number, and for the first time they took -an active interest in the proceedings. The -trail was broad and easy to follow in the soft -snow, and they went on for some distance. -Down near the shore, however, they lost it, -and did not pick it up again. Then, at -Kroo’s suggestion, they spread out far apart -and began to zigzag along the snow, each -hunting carefully.</p> - -<p>But if the light-hearted Eskimos had in a -large measure lost their superstitious dread, -the discovery of bear tracks had not helped -Harry to overcome his. Why should bears -attack Joe and carry him off bodily? Why -had he not used his rifle before it happened? -It was a good deal of a mystery, and he -could not help feeling that the whole affair -was ghostly and savored of the supernatural. -This in no wise affected his courage and -eagerness in the hunt.</p> - -<p>There certainly were bears about, real bears, -for the two that had been attracted by the -salmon bait had nearly reached the ship. -They slipped along cautiously from hummock<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span> -to hummock, and were much disturbed by the -presence of men ashore. These they winded; -but the salmon bait was too much for their -hungry stomachs, and they went cautiously -toward it. The curiosity of madam bear, or -else her hunger, was greater, for she was well -in front and stepped forward and breasted -the fatal line, while her lord and master stood -to one side.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile things had been happening rapidly -over on shore. Harry, Kroo, and Harluk, -armed with rifles, Konwa with his great -walrus spear, had spread far apart and were -hunting carefully for tracks in the snow, but -it was drifted so hard thereabouts that they -found none. Harry was nearest ashore of -any, and he suddenly felt the snow giving -way under his feet. He gave a cry of alarm -and went down out of sight, landing full -upon something solid, that in the indistinct -light of an oil lamp looked and felt like -a bear. This creature turned and grappled -him, yet there was no clutch of bear’s claws, -but rather the arms of a man that had hold of -him. The face that was turned toward him -was not that of a bear either, but seemed to -be the evil face of a man.</p> - -<p>“Kroo! Harluk! Help!” shouted Harry, -and wrestled desperately with his opponent.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span></p> - -<p>Other bear-like figures seemed to swarm -about him and join in the battle. As he -fought, he noted that he seemed to be in an -igloo like that of one of the villagers, and he -backed toward the low entrance, clinging to -his adversary and dragging him with him. -His rifle had dropped in the beginning of the -mêlée, but there was no chance to use firearms. -It was a hand-to-hand struggle, in which the -numbers of his adversaries were of little use -to them. As he backed toward this igloo -entrance, he saw another figure rise from the -further corner, not that of a man-faced bear, -this one, but of a fur-clad man. It seemed -to take his part in the conflict, and hustled -toward the low entrance also. Then the lamp -was kicked over, and the affray went on in -the dark. It was a strange mix up, but Harry -found himself outside after a little, where he -could see and act, and, seizing an opportunity, -he dealt his opponent a stunning blow in the -face with his fist. It broke his hold, and he -had a chance to turn, just in time, for another -man-faced bear was leveling a rifle at him. -Harry struck this aside as it went off, and the -bullet whistled harmlessly by. He grappled -with this new adversary, and found himself -much stronger. Round and round on the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span> -snow they went; but another one seized him -from behind, and the two bore him to the -snow, and held him there.</p> - -<p>The next moment he saw Joe, struggling -weakly on the snow beside him, held down -by other men clad in bearskins. He heard -these bear-like men speak in Eskimo to one -another. His own hands and Joe’s were hurriedly -bound with walrus-hide thongs; then -the five men,—he could count them now and -take note of their actions,—rifle in hand, advanced -toward the ship. They began to shoot -hastily and inaccurately, as Eskimos will.</p> - -<p>The struggle had taken place almost entirely -under the snow, and the shot which had -missed Harry was the first thing to call the -attention of Kroo and his men to the affray. -Harluk and Kroo could not fire while it lasted, -lest they shoot their friends. Konwa, however, -mighty bear hunter and fearing nothing -but ghosts, set his walrus spear at the -charge and plunged valiantly at the group. -He received one of the first bullets from the -fusillade and fell. Kroo and Harluk, seeing -themselves over-matched, and both Harry and -Joe out of the combat, emptied their rifles -hastily and without aim, then turned and fled -before the superior numbers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span></p> - -<p>The battle seemed lost. Joe and Harry -tugged in vain at their bonds. Konwa lay -face down upon his walrus spear, and Kroo -and Harluk fled for safety. One, who seemed -to be a leader of the enemy, spoke to the -others.</p> - -<p>“Let them go,” he said in Eskimo. “We -can get them later. Let us attend to these -two first.”</p> - -<p>He beckoned to another, and the two took -a stand by Joe and Harry. Harry recognized -the one by him as the man with whom -he had first struggled, and he saw with much -satisfaction that one of his eyes was well -closed by that last blow. The other eye, however, -looked upon him with an evil gleam of -vindictive triumph in it. He leveled his rifle -full at Harry’s head.</p> - -<p>“Shoot,” he said to the other one, who -had taken a similar position by Joe. “We -will be well rid of the dogs.”</p> - -<p>Over on the ship madam bear had just received -the charge from the Springfield musket, -and was plunging and kicking in the -death agony on the snow. Her mate watched -this with dismay, then anger, and finally -rushed in blind fury at the thing that had -hurt her. He swept the rifle three rods away<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span> -with one blow of his mighty paw. Then he -plunged at the toll kettle, bit at it, and -crushed it to his chest with one great bear’s -hug. The tin can flattened, the oil showered -from his shoulders to his feet as he stood erect -in his rage, and igniting, made of him a huge -torch that rushed landward over the snow, -a dancing figure of flame that snarled and -roared, leaped and somersaulted.</p> - -<p>Harluk and Kroo saw this strange apparition -first, and fled to the right and left with -yells of superstitious fear. On it came, tearing -across the snow, right toward the outlaw -Eskimos and their victims. The two about -to murder hesitated and lowered their rifles.</p> - -<p>“What is it? What is it?” asked the -men of the bearskins, one of another, and -the reply was but one word, “Ghost.”</p> - -<p>Harry heard and saw, and quick-wittedly -took advantage of the opportunity. He -struggled to a sitting position and shouted in -Eskimo: “Come, spirit! I, the wizard, command -you. Come and burn them with great -fire. Come fire spirits all, and burn them.”</p> - -<p>The strange figure of flame seemed to obey -his words. It rushed, roaring and capering, -at them. It was too much for the Eskimo mind -to stand. The men who had themselves posed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span> -as ghosts were astonished at this far greater -apparition than they could make. With one -impulse of panic fear they turned and fled -inland, leaving weapons and shedding their -bearskins to hasten their flight. Nor did -they stop till they had disappeared beyond -the ridge.</p> - -<p>The dancing figure of flame stumbled and -stopped almost at the feet of Joe and Harry. -There was a groan, and it lay motionless, while -the flames flickered for a moment and then -went out.</p> - -<p>For some time Joe and Harry struggled -with their bonds, but at last Joe slipped his -and released Harry. They looked the field -over. Konwa lay motionless where he had -fallen. They examined the blackened figure -that had been their flame deliverer, and finding -it to be the carcass of a bear, guessed the -strange accident that had set them free at the -very moment when their case seemed hopeless. -They shouted for Kroo and Harluk, -and by and by the two came, hesitatingly. -The sorrow of these two at the death of -Konwa was genuine but undemonstrative. -They were willing to believe that the battle -had been with men clad in bearskins, but -their theory of ghost wolves was in no wise<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span> -shaken. Yes, there was the carcass of a -scorched bear on the snow. They saw that, -but they had also seen a fire spirit dancing -and roaring across the snow. This spirit -might have tipped over the kerosene kettle -and burned the bear, but to say that the bear -was the spirit was foolish. They knew enough -about wizards and their work to know better -than that. The white men were certainly -great ankuts as well as good fighters. They -had driven away the ghost wolves for the -night, and they had brought forth a spirit of -fire that had driven away men, or ghost wolves -changed into men. Anyway, the spirit of the -white man was evidently much the stronger, -and they would have no fear as long as Joe -and Harry were by.</p> - -<p>Thus reasoned Harluk and Kroo. The two -boys saw that it was of no use to argue with -them and wisely let the matter stand. They -gently carried the body of Konwa back to -the igloos, and Joe and Harry stayed with -their friends till daybreak. They had collected -the weapons that their enemies had -dropped in their flight, and they stood watch -lest they return, but they saw nothing more -of them. Joe’s head was slightly cut and -somewhat bruised from the blow he had received,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span> -and it ached, but otherwise he was -uninjured, and he made light of the whole -matter. There was no sign of the foe during -the remainder of the night, nor did the -ghost wolves howl again.</p> - -<p>At daybreak, fully armed, they made a careful -survey of the ground. The Eskimos, having -no fear of the Nunatak people or their -messengers as long as the sun was shining, -turned out to a man. They found near the -beach, in a big drift behind a sheltering ridge -of ice, the igloo into which Harry had fallen. -It seemed a temporary affair, built, perhaps, -for the use of the outlaws in a future attack -on the ship, or for a convenient hiding-place -while they terrorized the Eskimos. Joe had -no recollection between the time he was felled -by the chunk of ice and the time he came to -in the igloo and feebly joined Harry in his -struggle there. The place was empty, except -for one bearskin, evidently shed during the -fight, that its wearer might have more freedom. -An examination of this pelt showed -the ingenuity of the outlaw Ankuts. The -carcass had been taken from it through a slit -beneath. This left the skin of the hind legs -and feet intact, with the claws on. Walking -in this bearskin suit, a man would leave the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span> -trail of an animal with claws, and be nearly -invisible in the night, the white skin being so -like the snow in color. Slipping along the -drifts, they could thus play all sorts of pranks -on the superstitious Eskimos with little fear -of detection, and, as we have seen, even a -white man could be much puzzled by their -antics.</p> - -<p>The party warily followed the tracks inland. -The blowing, fine snow had nearly -obliterated them in spots, but they found them -again. Moreover, they found two more bearskins, -shed in the hurry of flight. A mile -inland they found also a larger and more carefully -made igloo, with traces of dogs and a -sled. The marks showed that the outlaws had -hastily harnessed up their dog team and gone -on, with all their belongings, straight toward -the interior. This probably ended them, so -far as the little community at Icy Cape was -concerned, and they returned to the igloos, -taking the three bearskins with them. They -were excellent pelts; and Joe, after declaring -the Eskimos to be half owners in them, proceeded -immediately to buy out their share. -The Eskimos recognized this even-handed justice, -and admired and respected the boys for -it. But when Joe tried to make them see<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span> -how foolish it was to believe in ghost wolves -and the evil spirits of the ice, the Nunatak -people, they listened politely, but smiled incredulously. -Had the boys not fought with -them and heard them howl? Yes, there were -bad men, too; but how did they know but the -Nunatak people changed their wolves into bad -men and then back again at pleasure? Thus -the matter ended.</p> - -<p>They buried Konwa the next morning. -Harry thought they should read the service -for the burial of the dead over him, but Joe -vetoed it. He said that the Eskimos had funeral -ceremonies of their own, and they ought -not to be interfered with. They placed Konwa -on a small walrus hide, dressed in his best -furs, with his walrus-gut rain-coat over all. -At one hand was his sheevee, or big knife, in -the other the walrus spear with which he had -made his last charge, and beside him were his -plate and cup. On the very top of the ridge -they laid him, carried thither by the men of -the village, while his widow wailed loudly in -the igloo. They brought stones from a ledge, -blown bare by the wind, and piled these in -a little cairn above him. Then they walked -three times around him, chanting a weird -chant, while the widow still wailed in the igloo.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span> -Reaching the igloo on their return, they -walked three times around this, and chanted -again, while the widow wailed more loudly. -Then the chanting ceased, the wailing was -cut off with equal abruptness, and the little -village resumed its round of daily life.</p> - -<p>Harry carved the name “Konwa” deep on -a board, and added the sentence, “He died -bravely, fighting for his friends,” and placed -this over the body, supported by the stones.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">WHALING IN EARNEST</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The bowhead whale spends his summers -among the ice-fields that surround the pole. -What he does in winter is still a mooted -question, but there are many old whalemen -who declare that the bowhead hibernates. -Many of them, they say, spend the winter -about Bering Straits, and as far south in -Bering Sea as the Seal Islands. Here it is -claimed that they lie on the bottom and sleep -till the warmer currents of the spring rouse -them, as they do the marmots, badgers, and -brown bears on land, and at about the same -time. At any rate, the bowhead goes north -with the ice in the spring, comes down with -it in the fall,—and then vanishes. He is not -found in the southern part of Bering Sea, -nor in the north Pacific. Hence, say the -whalemen, who make a business of following -him, if he does not hibernate, what does become -of him? Ordinarily, in the summer -time, the bowhead comes to the surface and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span> -breathes every forty minutes or so. But now -and then, for some cause or other, one will -sulk, and the natives have watched them lying -close in shore in shallow water for five days -without seeing a movement or attempt to come -to the surface to breathe. Such whales are -denominated “sleepy heads,” and when killed -are found to have a blubber that is watery -instead of full of oil. The blubber of more -than one whale is thrown overboard after -being cut in, because it is deficient in oil. -Whether there is any connection between the -sleepy heads and the hibernating may never -be known, but if a whale can stay on bottom -without air for five days simply because he is -sick or sulky, say the whalers, ought he not -to be able to sleep all winter in good health? -There is no certain answer to the question.</p> - -<p>At any rate, the whales appear in the open -leads from Point Hope to Point Barrow about -the middle of April. These are all young -whales who seem to be the early risers. After -them come the cows and their calves, and behind -these, mostly in the open water, follow -the older single whales. Bachelors and old -maids these, and perhaps lack of responsibilities -makes them lazy. As these are the last -up in the spring, so they are the first down in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span> -the fall. Sometimes they too go in with the -ice, and in that case the whaleships following -do not get many. The whales which the Eskimos -capture are almost always the young, -who go up first, and they capture them quite -easily from the ice. The Chuckchis about -East Cape get from twenty to thirty thousand -pounds of bone annually, and the Alaska -natives about as much. This is bought in -the main by traders or whalemen, who pay in -trade goods at the rate of about fifty cents a -pound for the bone. As good bone is worth -about three dollars a pound in San Francisco, -it will be seen that the business is a profitable -one for the buyers. Yet the Eskimos are glad -to dispose of their surplus for the white man’s -goods, and the returns are of great value to -them.</p> - -<p>There used to be in Bering Sea and the -Arctic a small black whale with a white spot -near the small, which was easily killed and -yielded good blubber, but was weak in whalebone. -These whales were all killed off as long -ago as 1885. Before them, and now probably -extinct, were the old 100-ton gray backs, the -monster bowheads of all. These whales were -leviathans indeed, yielding sometimes four -hundred barrels of oil, and often three to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span> -four thousand pounds of whalebone. These -were the prize monsters of the early days of -the bowhead fishery, and the lucky ship that -got through the straits and fastened to one -or two of them was well along toward a full -trip at a blow. The last record of the capture -of one of these whales was as far back -as 1876. They were sly, lazy old chaps, exposing -often only the edges of the gray spout-hole -when blowing, and having thus the appearance -of a gull sitting on the water. It -is perhaps plausible that these great-grand-fathers -of whales had survived the glacial -epoch, as is claimed for them. At least, they -were of as great age compared with the smaller -bowheads as are the giant sequoias of California -compared with the redwoods of the -present day.</p> - -<p>After the battle with the highbinders, the -community at Icy Cape saw no more outsiders, -but as day by day the sun rose higher -and stayed longer, they began to await impatiently -the coming of the spring and to -prepare for it. March was a wild, uproarious -month, intensely cold for the most part, and -with fierce gales blowing. The boys got a -bear or two and the Eskimos brought in a -good number of smaller pelts, so that the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span> -collection of furs grew steadily and bade fair -to be of considerable value. Joe used to figure -it up every few days, and when it reached -the two-thousand-dollar valuation mark he was -quite jubilant.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;" id="illus11"> -<img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="550" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">LOCKED IN THE ARCTIC ICE</p> -</div> - -<p>“Now,” he said, “if we can only get a -good catch of whalebone while the ice is -melting and get the ship out safe, what happy -fellows we’ll be!”</p> - -<p>The Eskimos too began to prepare for -whaling after their own fashion, and the second -week in April began their ceremony of -propitiation. They blackened their faces with -soot and streaked them with red. They -dressed in their best clothes, with hoods -fringed with wolverine fur, giving their faces -thus a halo of bristling hair that made them -look quite savage and warlike. Then they -took bits of blubber carefully saved from the -preceding year and cut into little dice-like -cubes. These they bore in pompous procession -to the grave of Konwa, and placed -them thereon with much ceremony, that his -spirit might be propitiated. They marched -about his grave as they had at the time of the -burial, then passed down to the ice and across -it to the first open water. Here they strewed -the remaining bits of blubber, that the spirits<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span> -of the ice might be favorable. Nor would -they consent that the boys, or modern weapons, -should participate in the taking of the -first whale. The others might be captured -as they pleased, but the first must be taken -with all the ceremonies and in the accustomed -manner of their forefathers, else would not -prosperity come to their whale hunting.</p> - -<p>They mounted walrus-tusk spears, tipped -with slate, on long driftwood poles. They -sledded their umiaks out to the nearest open -water, a half mile or so from shore. Here -they placed them ready for launching, and -built on the windward side a windbreak of ice -and snow behind which they found shelter, for -it was still very cold. Painted and plumed, -here they waited for a week. One day the -welcome cry of “Akovuk! akovuk!” (Whale! -whale!) rang from the watchers, and the spout -of a whale was seen in the open lead. The -black body rolled along carelessly, heedless -of danger, till it was nearly opposite them. -Then the harpooner took his place in the bow -of the umiak with two paddlers behind him. -The others launched the boat with a rush, -and it slid of its own momentum across the -space of water till its bow gently rubbed the -whale’s side. Kroo, the harpooner, stood<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span> -erect. With all his strength he drove the -slate-tipped and barbed harpoon into the -whale’s side, pushing desperately on the long -driftwood pole. Then the paddlers backed -rapidly away, while he threw overboard about -fifteen fathoms of walrus line fastened to the -ivory harpoon, and having along its length -three sealskin pokes as floats. The wounded -whale sounded, and tried to roll the weapon -out on the bottom, but failing in this he rose -again and began trying to lash the thing from -him by blows of his flukes at the pokes. By -this time the other umiak was launched, and -another and another string of floats was made -fast to him in a similar manner, till, buoyed -up so that he could no longer dive, and exhausted -with his battle with the light pokes, -he lay sullen and was lanced to death by Kroo, -with an ivory lance on a driftwood pole. -Then there was great rejoicing among the -villagers. The whale was hardly dead before -they began to cut bits of the outer epidermis, -the blackskin, from him and to bolt it -raw, it being considered a great delicacy -among “the people;” indeed, many white men -find its nutty, oily flavor pleasant.</p> - -<p>Then they towed the carcass alongside the -ice, cut “jug handles” in the heavy floes, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span> -reeved their walrus-hide lines through these. -With this primitive purchase they hauled the -head up so that one side of the bone could -be cut out. Then they rolled the whale and -cut out the other side. Each native present -received five slabs of bone. The crew of the -boat making the strike received ten slabs more -each, then the harpooner received the rest. -Blubber and meat there was enough, and more -than enough, for everybody, dogs and all, and -the event closed with great feasting. Thus -for the first whale; but the ancient customs -having been complied with, and the spirits of -the dead and the ice having been duly propitiated, -they turned quickly to modern weapons, -and the boys had no difficulty in getting -them to use the whaler’s harpoon and the bomb -gun. Some of them had used these before, and -all had seen the whalemen use them and knew -their efficiency. As the fishing progressed, the -whole village, children and all, turned out, and -the boys learned to brave the cold and be as -hardy and patient as they. With the good supply -of bomb guns and lances and harpoons of -all kinds aboard the ship, the little army was -well fitted out, and sometimes they were able -to kill a whale from the ice with a single shot -from a bomb. One whale came up and died<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span> -under the ice, but they blew the floe up and -shattered it with tonite bombs, and got at the -carcass in this fashion. When the weather -became too severe, they retreated to the ship, -and the boys entertained the village there, -while the villagers in turn entertained the -boys.</p> - -<p>The Eskimo women were greatly interested -in the cooking methods and implements of -the boys and learned their use with surprising -readiness, though there were many laughable -incidents. They gave names of their own -to many things, which were appropriate and -interesting. Beans they called “komorra,” -from their word “komuk,” meaning little -grub, the larva of the gadfly. “Sava kora,” -chopped larvæ, was rice, and they named baking -powder “pubublown,” their word for -bubbling. Soap the children were inclined -to eat, but the older folks soon learned to use -it, as well as towels.</p> - -<p>Whalemen are apt to be fond of “chile -con carne,” as the Mexicans call it,—a red-pepper -condiment for meat that is wondrous -strong. Atchoo got hold of this one day and -wondered long what it was. Finally she gave -some to a boy who was waiting about, boy-like, -for a chance to taste things. The boy<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span> -helped himself liberally, and the contortions -through which he went on getting the full -strength of the pepper were near to causing -a stampede among the women and children, -who thought him possessed of an evil spirit. -When matters had quieted down, Atchoo took -the balance of the can of “chile con carne” -and dug a hole in the ice, burying it deeply -there, and saying over it the words of an Eskimo -incantation, which is supposed to keep -the buried spirit of evil from ever rising again.</p> - -<p>The wife of Kroo was quite an old woman, -and she did not take kindly to the innovations -in cooking. Finally, however, she was given -some rice, and persuaded to boil it for Kroo’s -dinner. She retired to the forecastle, and -started a fire in the little stove there, that she -might not be observed in her work. Not long -afterward cries of alarm were heard, and -Kroo’s wife rushed frantically from the forecastle, -crying that she had the devil in the pot.</p> - -<p>She had filled the kettle far too full of rice; -and as it swelled and continued to pour out -over the rim, she concluded that an evil spirit -was in the white man’s food, pushing it out -continually.</p> - -<p>But the matter of the explosive doughnuts -was the most exciting, and indeed came near<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span> -being serious, not only in its immediate effects, -but in the setback which it gave the white -man’s food in the opinion of the Eskimos. Joe, -who was the cook for the boys, had frequently -made doughnuts and fried them in oil for -the delectation of the community, the natives -having a great fondness for them. Then he -taught Atchoo how to mix them up, and she -seemed to learn very rapidly. One day, however, -she undertook to make them without -supervision, and used water from melted ice -which had chunks of ice still in it. These -chunks she incorporated in the doughnuts, no -doubt thinking, Eskimo fashion, that it was -just as good that way. The doughnuts fried, -but the chunks of ice turned to steam within, -and about the time Atchoo was forking the -doughnuts out into a pan they began to blow -up, scattering oil and the wildest consternation -among those waiting for the feast.</p> - -<p>The first one popped on the fork as Atchoo -was handing it to Harluk, that he first might -see how good a cook she was. The largest -chunk of it landed square in Harluk’s eye, -causing him to dance with astonishment and -alarm.</p> - -<p>“Hold on!” he cried. “No want to see -him; want to eat him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span></p> - -<p>Others blew up in the kettle, scattering hot -oil, and sending the crowd in a wild plunge -for the doorway. Out they scrambled, Harluk -well in advance, as he had had the first warning. -He plunged head first from the outer -end of the entrance and butted Joe, who was -about to enter, into a sitting position on the -snow.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” said Joe, partly because that is -what one usually says when suddenly butted -in the stomach, but partly in surprise at this -exodus from the galley. “What is the matter?” -he asked, as soon as he could get breath.</p> - -<p>The answer came from Pickalye, who was -fat, and who scrambled out on his knees and -one hand, holding a hot wad of half-fried -doughnut to the back of his neck with the -other. Finding himself outside, he ducked -until his head was well under one arm and he -could lay his burnt neck gently in the snow. -From this contortionist’s position he looked -up solemnly sidewise at Joe.</p> - -<p>“White man’s grub too much shoot,” he -said.</p> - -<p>The appearance of this fat Eskimo, tied in -such an absurd knot to keep the back of his -neck cool, was too much for Joe, who went off -into howls of laughter, which were answered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span> -by cries from within. Hurrying thither, Joe -saw the fat on fire on the stove, the feet of -Atchoo and her older child protruding from -beneath his lower bunk, while in the upper -one lay Harry in a worse gale of laughter than -he. Joe put out the burning fat, prodded -Atchoo and her youngster from beneath his -bunk, and by the time he had found out who -was burned and how much, and attended to -them by binding the wounds with moist cooking -soda, he and Harry had sobered down a -bit and learned the cause of the disaster.</p> - -<p>It was a good while before the Eskimos -were willing to come into the galley again, -and Joe profited by it by having them set up -housekeeping in the forecastle while aboard -ship. They did no more white man’s cooking -for some time, and doughnuts were especially -avoided, but they were so fond of them that -Harluk finally induced Atchoo to try her luck -again. That day Harry beckoned Joe to look -in on the forecastle. There was Atchoo frying -doughnuts, indeed, but she put them into -the fat, turned them, and took them out on -the tip end of Harluk’s favorite seal spear, -which was at least six feet long.</p> - -<p>With the exception of using modern harpoons -and killing their whales directly, when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span> -possible, with the bomb gun, the boys and -their assistants followed Eskimo methods with -great success. The whales are particularly -unsuspicious when in the ice, and the killing -of them was usually attended with little excitement -or danger. They did not attempt -to do anything with the blubber, as the distance -they would have to haul it from the -open leads to the ship was too great. The -bone of these smaller whales was not so good -either as that of those which come later in -the open water, but it was nevertheless of -much value, and footed up a thousand pounds -or so to each catch. Thus the value of the -stores aboard ship increased quite rapidly, and -by the first of June half a dozen whales had -added twelve or fifteen thousand dollars’ worth -of bone to the credit of the adventurers. -They had paid the Eskimos a satisfactory -amount of trade goods for their share, as well -as the meat and blubber, and the little community -was quite literally rolling in Eskimo -wealth. Joe was afraid that prosperity would -give them ideas above work, as it does some -other more civilized people, but it did not -seem to. They did not work for the returns -alone, but out of loyalty and admiration for -their white friends.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span></p> - -<p>The sun now skimmed the northern horizon -without setting, and daylight was once more -continuous. Gulls, terns, and ducks in clouds -came along the edge of the ice, working -northward, and the weather was warm and -springlike. To the first gull seen the Eskimos -sang a greeting. Just as young people the -world over apostrophize the first star they -see at night, and wish on it in the more or -less firm belief that their wish will be granted, -so the Eskimos sang a greeting to this first -gull:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Now yakaro, now yakaro,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Too loo kotaro.”</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Gull, gull, bring me good luck.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>On warm days the snow melted with great -rapidity under this continuous sunshine, and -the brown tundra soon began to show between -the drifts. Yet the ice held firm, except that -narrow leads opened here and there, and there -was no hope that the ship would be able to -get off for more than a month, in fact nearly -two, and it would be that time also before any -ships could come in from below.</p> - -<p>In this ice whaling the entire Eskimo community -had participated, yet such is the familiarity -of the Eskimo with the world of ice -that no serious accident had happened to any<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span> -one of them. It was not that conditions -were not often dangerous as well as uncomfortable, -but that the native instinct seemed -always to find a way out of difficulty. Pickalye’s -two daughters, fine, strong young girls, -were out on the ice one day many miles from -land, with a team of four dogs and a sled, -bringing in blubber from a whale that had -been killed out there. A sudden violent snowstorm -came up, and they were in great danger -of being driven out into the pack and -frozen to death. They lost the direction and -were obliged to abandon the sled, but each -girl fastened two of the dogs by their traces -to her own girdle and let them go as they -pleased. The result was, that the homing instinct -of the dogs brought them safe to land, -after many hours in the blizzard. They made -the traces fast to their girdles that the dogs -might not break away and escape in case they -fell on the rough ice and were obliged to let -go their grip on the lashings.</p> - -<p>The natives gave Harry the nickname of -“the whale walker,” because one day he was -on an ice cake near the open lead with a -bomb gun, watching out for a whale that had -been seen heading up the lead. The whale -came up just beside him, and before he could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> -fire, rolled against the cake and capsized it. -Harry sprang for the only available dry spot, -the whale’s back near his tail, and running -hastily from that dangerous weapon up along -the black length, sprang from his head to another -cake of ice, reaching it before the lazy -leviathan had made up his mind that anything -out of the common was happening. -Then he turned and discharged the gun into -the whale’s neck, breaking it at one shot. -This whale was a particularly large one, with -a tremendous spread of flukes, and Pickalye -was so impressed with this that he ran toward -the other villagers shouting,—</p> - -<p>“Come and see! Come and see! Our -brother who walks on whales has killed the -one with the biggest feet in the ocean.”</p> - -<p>After the ice whaling was practically over -the village held a feast, a sort of thanksgiving, -at which each man who had struck a -whale gave to everybody else as many dinner -parties as he had killed whales. Each of -these was followed by games, in which the -chief was blanket tossing. A large walrus -hide was suspended horizontally three feet -high by ropes, which ran to springy but stout -poles of driftwood, thirty feet away. These -gave additional spring to the walrus-hide blanket,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span> -around which stood a dozen adults lifting -on the edges. All the people came in their -best clothes, and the prominent whale catchers -had a smear of black on the left cheek as -large as one’s finger. This was a special mark -of distinction. The ancient wife of Kroo, the -head man, was the first to be honored, and -she climbed into the centre of the blanket with -surprising agility. Beginning, she gave a leap -in the air, then as she came down, the spring -of the walrus-hide ropes on the driftwood -poles, supplemented by two dozen lusty arms, -sent her high in the air again. Up and down -she went, kicking and waving her arms amid -cries of exultation and pleasure, and ceased -only with utter exhaustion. Half a dozen -girls rushed for her place, but all gave way to -the most agile, who first reached the centre of -the hide. Thus the sport went on, each following -in turn, until all who wished had been -tossed.</p> - -<p>Pickalye, fat and simple-minded, was one -of the experts at this game. He would take -a sealskin poke and use it like a skipping-rope -in the air, and the great sport of the contest -came in the sidewise yanks which the crowd -gave the hide as he leaped, in an attempt -to upset him. This was often successful, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span> -when he came down on some one’s head, -wrong side up, as he generally did before the -game was over, there was great laughter.</p> - -<p>They danced by the light of the midnight -sun to the music of tom-toms, the musicians -being sheltered from the cold wind by an -umiak turned on its side. They had wrestling -matches, in which the winner had to hold the -ring until beaten or exhausted, all remaining -as long as they had breath or strength. -The feast finally ended in a grand football -game on the sea ice, at the close of which the -best-dressed player on each side was ducked in -a water-hole.</p> - -<p>The delicacies at these feasts were whales’ -flukes and blackskin. The blackskin, the -outer epidermis of the whale, is best liked -when frozen, and then has a flavor something -like that of muskmelon. The melting of the -snows had made the winter igloos uninhabitable, -and they were now living in their summer -topeks,—cotton tents bought of the whalemen -and traders. There was much open water -in the sea, and southerly winds were beginning -to crowd the main polar pack ice back toward -the north. The ice within the arm of the -headland where the ship lay was beginning to -show many signs of weakening, and the boys<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span> -began to look forward anxiously to the time -when they should get up steam on the engines -and try to push southward. They decided -it was not wise to do this until the way -was fully clear, and meanwhile they kept good -lookout for a final whale. They were quite -proud of their work during the winter and -spring, as well they might be: six heads of -bone were worth at the lowest estimate twelve -thousand dollars; there were furs, principally -white bearskins, to the value of two thousand -dollars, reckoning very conservatively; -and a few dollars’ worth of walrus ivory completed -the list. They had used a small proportion -of the stores and a reasonable amount -of the trade goods left behind. They felt -that it was a pretty good showing for two -boys. Moreover, Harry had a monograph on -the habits of the bowhead whale, gleaned -from his own experience and the knowledge -of the Eskimos, which he felt ought to add -value to his report to Mr. Adams. How far -away that other world which he had left only a -year before seemed! His father and mother—and -Maisie; had they given him up for -lost? A great longing for home and friends -and civilization came over Harry with these -thoughts,—that homesick longing which is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span> -like death itself, and which sometimes kills -when he whom it attacks cannot find relief in -action, cannot take some step, however slight, -in the wished-for direction. He went to Joe -with tears in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“For God’s sake, Joe,” he cried, “let us -get out of this. I want my home and my -father and mother so that I can’t think nor -sit still. Can’t we start up the engines and -push out of this rotten ice? Once in the leads -we could work south.”</p> - -<p>Beyond a doubt homesickness is infectious. -He had no sooner spoken than Joe began to -show symptoms of the malady.</p> - -<p>“Home?” he said. “Of course we’re going -home. We’ll clear away this snow and -ice from the deck and get ready for a start as -soon as we can. A little more thaw would let -us out.”</p> - -<p>They called the Eskimos to their aid, and -began to work with feverish haste. The ice -igloo, which had been their protection for so -long, but which was now no longer needed, -was chopped apart and thrown overboard. -They took soundings alongside, and found the -ship still aground, but thought perhaps that -under a full head of steam they could work -her off. They sounded the wells and found<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span> -she did not leak. They went over the machinery -carefully and made sure that it was -all ready for use, so far as they could tell -from their studies of the previous winter. -The thought of really moving toward home -filled them with a wild exhilaration, and they -hardly ate or slept for three days.</p> - -<p>In the midst of all this fever of preparation -Pickalye, fat and foolish, came aboard and -told them that they must wait. There was a -great storm coming; his bear bite had told -him so. They must not try to move before it -had passed, else they would meet trouble. A -bear had bitten him badly in the leg three -years before. Since then, whenever there was -a big storm coming, the spirit of the bear came -and bit his leg again. It was biting it now. -Therefore this was a warning, and he would -like something from a bottle to rub his leg -with.</p> - -<p>Joe furnished the liniment, and the work -went on. Nevertheless, two hours afterward -the wind blew up suddenly from the south, -and increased in violence rapidly, bringing -snow with it. The Eskimos went ashore, nor -could they be prevailed upon to remain aboard -ship. Their belief in the power of prophecy -of Pickalye’s bear-bitten leg was strong, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span> -they were familiar with these swift, terrible -spring storms. At midnight, though the sun -was well above the horizon, the clouds were -so thick that it became quite dark. The boys -felt the shoreward ice pressing against the -side of the ship. The vessel quivered and -tugged at her anchor chain. The ice was -going out. They looked over the side and, -to their astonishment, found that it seemed to -be dropping on the ship’s side. That is, she -stood up higher out of the ice than she had -before. Joe pointed this out to Harry; and -when they were back in the galley, where -they could hear each other, he told what he -thought the reason for it.</p> - -<p>“The gale,” he said, “is pushing the ice -northward so fast that it is making low tide -on the shore. I think the Bowhead is sliding -along the bottom, dragging her anchor, pushed -by the ice.”</p> - -<p>They could distinctly feel the shouldering -crush of the ice and the scraping as the vessel -slid along. With much labor and difficulty -they put the other anchor overboard and let -go a good length of chain cable. Nevertheless, -they drifted outward for some hours, -slowly but surely. Then there came a lull -in the gale. It became light again, and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span> -wind went down rapidly. The sun struggled -through the clouds that still flew overhead, -and showed them that, to their astonishment, -they had drifted and dragged the two anchors -out well by the headland. To the northward -they could see in occasional flashes of sunlight -the surf leaping high on the main Arctic -pack, driven back on itself, miles out. They -were dangerously near the headland, but the -wind was offshore, and a heavy floe lay between -them and it, apparently grounded firmly -at the shore end. The ship swung free in -water deep enough to float her, and the open -lead showed as far to the southward as the -eye could see. Joe shouted with exultation, -and Harry fairly danced for joy.</p> - -<p>“Hurrah!” he shouted. “We can steam -south as soon as we can get the fires up. Set -a signal for the Eskimos to come out and help -us. Then let’s get below and fire up.”</p> - -<p>The signal was set, and ten minutes later -both boys were busy below putting a fire -under the boiler and getting everything in -readiness for departure. It was unaccustomed -work, and though they had often planned it -together, there were many things over which -they hesitated and were a little in doubt. -Thus the time passed rapidly, and though a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span> -black smoke now poured from the Bowhead’s -funnel, there was little steam on. Two hours -the boys were below before they realized it, -and Joe finally said with some uneasiness,—</p> - -<p>“Wonder why those fellows don’t come -aboard?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t know,” said Harry. “You watch -that steam gauge and I’ll go on deck and -see if they are coming. Is that their boat -alongside?”</p> - -<p>Something bumped and grated along the -Bowhead’s side. Harry started for the deck. -Then something struck the ship again, this -time hard enough to jar it from stem to stern. -Joe followed Harry up the ladder. As they -reached the deck the most astonishing change -met their eyes. The treacherous Arctic gale -had veered to the north and was blowing -again with unexampled fury. Where had -been open water for miles the Arctic pack was -now crowding down upon them. The first -scouts of ice were already bumping their sides, -and the roar of the wind through the rigging -seemed like hoarse shouts of derision at the -thought that a ship might escape its fury. -They had swung up alongside the shore pack, -which stood firm, and already the seaward ice -was crushing against them. Working in the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span> -depths of the fire-room, they had sensed nothing -of this change, and now the realization -of it came upon them with stunning force.</p> - -<p>Joe was the first to rouse from his stupefaction. -“Go forward,” he said, “into the -chain locker. Knock the shackling pins out -of both those cables and let them run overboard. -Then come down into the engine-room -with me.”</p> - -<p>Harry did as he was bidden in a sort of -dream, the plunge from bright hope to chill -fear was so great. In the engine-room he -found Joe, sweating.</p> - -<p>“We can’t do it,” he cried. “If the Eskimos -had only come to us, we would have -been all right; but two of us cannot fire, and -run the engine, and steer ship, all at the same -time, even if we could get out of the grip of -the ice. I’m afraid we’re done for.”</p> - -<p>Even as he spoke the ship staggered. The -ice had crashed against her with such force that -both boys were thrown from their feet. Joe -stopped the engines, which had been turning -slowly.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we’re done for,” he repeated, -and took his way to the deck, followed by -Harry. The scene that met them there was -one never to be forgotten. No man may<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span> -stand in the forefront of the onrush of the -Arctic pack and forget it. Cakes of ice leaped -like wolves on its forward edge. Behind them -crushed the solid phalanx of the sea, white, -resistless, terrible. The wolf cakes sprang at -the ship, and bit at it. They leaped upon the -solid shore floe, and climbed one another’s -shoulders there, and always just behind them -came the forward impulse of that great white -sea of ice. The touch of this main pack -crumpled the shore floe. It crushed the Bowhead’s -staunch sides as if they had been eggshells. -The decks burst from beneath with -the pressure, the tall masts toppled and fell, -and the wreck, crashing and grinding into -the shore ice, became but a formless part of -the ridge that the pack pushed up in front of -it as it moved majestically shoreward. Mightily, -foot by foot, it moved. Ice cakes burst -with the roar of artillery, snapped like rifles, -and the rumble of floe on floe was like the -onrushing hoof-beats of a million cavalry. -The cohorts of the ever-victorious Frost King -were in full charge. Higher and higher piled -this ridge of onslaught, nearer and nearer the -shore it pushed, and the once staunch ship -was rolled and pounded to chaff under the -hoof-beats of its white horses.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span></p> - -<p>Out of the white turmoil of death and terror -it is hard to tell how the two boys escaped. -Certainly neither of them knew. There was -a confused recollection of planks bursting -beneath their feet, of spars that, falling, mercifully -spared them, of leaping and scrambling -from toppling cakes to unsteady, crumbling -ridges, of the howling of winds in their ears, -and the sting of brine on their faces. Then -they were being pulled and hauled and hustled -across the heaving shore floe by Kroo and -Harluk and others, who had rushed to their -rescue and endangered their own lives to help -their friends. Panting, exhausted, both in -body and nerves, they lay in the little tents -and listened to the howl of the gale.</p> - -<p>They were safe; but the ship and its contents, -their furs, their whalebone, and all their -dear and valuable possessions, were being -rolled and hammered in the mass of broken -ice that the great Arctic pack was still crushing -and piling shoreward.</p> - -<p>Yet they did not give way to grief or repining. -Nothing could show the manly spirit -and self-reliance which their lonely life had -bred in them more than this. They were -calm, even serene, thankful for their lives, -and confident that, having been spared those,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span> -they would yet be able to win their way back -to civilization with honor, if not with fortune.</p> - -<p>It cured their homesickness, too. Nothing -is so good for this as a batch of real and present -trouble and physical discomfort. Physical -weariness, a moderate amount of hunger, -and something with which to battle, along -with a feeling that you can overcome it, will -make any real man satisfied with his lot. I -know this sounds like a paradox; but just try -it, as Harry and Joe did.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<span class="smaller">IN THE ENEMY’S POWER</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>There are no tides on the Arctic coast as we -of the temperate zones know tides. In calm -weather the rise and fall of the sea is scarcely -noticeable. In time of southerly storm, however, -the wind and ice carry the water out -across the shallow sea, and when the winds -rage from the north they crowd it back again -upon the land. Hence, with the rush of the -ice pack to the shore there came a small tidal -wave, with the result that the pack and the -shore ice, crowded and crumpled together, -were carried far up on the land. With the -subsiding of the gale two days later, the receding -waters left this great ridge piled there -thirty to fifty feet high, a monument to the -brave ship that it had wrecked, and to the -power of the primeval Arctic forces. Scattered -through this rough ridge were the remnants -of the wreck. Here a mast protruded, -there a shattered plank of the hull, but to -find anything of use to the wrecked Crusoes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span> -was difficult. When the ice melted, as it -would in part during the brief summer, more -might be revealed, but for now they were dependent -on the hospitality of their Eskimo -friends.</p> - -<p>Right royally was this hospitality exercised. -The boys had reached shore with only the -clothes on their backs, but, thanks to the -trade supplies which they had earned in their -whaling, the Eskimos were rich beyond the -dreams of Eskimo avarice. They had food -supplies of all sorts, clothing, blankets, and -calico in plenty, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, -cooking utensils. Out of all these they outfitted -the boys, even giving them an extra -tent of their own in which they might set -up their own housekeeping. To be sure the -disaster was a bonanza in a way to the men -of the ice. The broken timbers and spars -of the staunch vessel would furnish fuel and -wood for them for a long time to come, any -iron which they might find as the ice melted -would be eagerly seized upon, and they might -even hope, as the summer proceeded, to get -much in the way of food supplies. Yet their -hospitality was in no wise tinged by this. -The custom of sharing prosperity with all has -come down to the tribes from time immemorial,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span> -and is never questioned except by the outlaw -“highbinders.” The boys, aided by their -dusky friends, searched long and diligently, -and were finally rewarded by finding a portion -of the galley. This was buried in the top -of the ridge half a mile from where the disaster -had occurred and a mile from the place -where other portions of the ship, the spars -and one mast, protruded. Such is the rending -and disintegrating force of the floes grinding -one on another.</p> - -<p>In this portion of the galley they found -the chest which contained the ship’s log and -other papers, including Harry’s report of the -conditions of the whaling, some extra paper, -and his entire camera outfit. There also was -Joe’s journal of the events of the trip to date. -They were overjoyed at this, but search as -they would, nothing further of value turned -up. The hull below decks seemed to have -been carried down in the crush and sunk; at -any rate, they never saw it more. Two busy -weeks passed thus, and they were not altogether -unhappy. They had seemingly lost -all chance of returning with wealth, but their -lives were spared and the summer was at hand, -when ships would surely appear and rescue -them. They talked this matter over together<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span> -and with Harluk and Kroo. The ships, said -Harluk wisely, would be late in that summer, -if they came at all. He knew this, because -each storm had ended in a wind from -the north which brought the pack in. He -had noticed that when the storms began this -way, they kept it up through the summer. -The main pack was very heavy, and was -crowded up against the shore now. It might -not move for weeks. If there did come a -southerly blow and carry it off for a day or -two, the wind would end up in the north and -bring it back. The boys had seen.</p> - -<p>Harluk indicated the mighty ridge of ice -alongshore with a sweep of the hand, and -Kroo nodded confirmation of this. The boys -looked at each other.</p> - -<p>“Then,” said Harry, “if the ships cannot -come to us, we shall have to go to the ships. -They will surely be at Point Hope, and if we -go there we shall meet them.”</p> - -<p>“Of course they will,” agreed Joe. “Father -will be up here on a ship of some sort. He -will be anxious to see if there is possible news -of us. He is a whaler, and he will not go -out of the business just because one ship is -lost. We will go to Point Hope. How long -will it take, Kroo?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span></p> - -<p>Kroo meditated. “When the ice is gone,” -he said, “s’pose take umiak. Not blow too -much, you catch Point Hope in twenty -sleeps. S’pose blow a good deal, no can tell.”</p> - -<p>“But if the ice stays, we will have to go -overland,” replied Joe. “How long will that -take with a good dog team?”</p> - -<p>Kroo’s answer to this was “Ticharro pejuk?” -which is a sort of Eskimo “How do -I know?” There was some snow left in -places, and they might follow the coast on -the ice for a good way. At Cape Beaufort -they would have to make a turn inland, as no -one could pass Lisburne heights on the coast. -There were mountains and there would be -much soft tundra. It was a good deal of an -undertaking. He could not tell. It was better -to stay till the sea opened.</p> - -<p>Thus reasoned Kroo and Harluk, and the -others gave assent to this, but the boys were -not to be moved. There was nothing for them -to stay for now, and they were determined to -go, even if the trip was to be a hard one. The -Eskimos said little more. They knew if the -boys had decided to go, go they would, and in -their own way. A team of three dogs was -picked, the best in the village, their goods -were packed on the sled,—food enough to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span> -last for weeks, rifles and ammunition, blankets, -and their little tent.</p> - -<p>The parting was hard. The two boys had -not realized before how much attached they -were to these brave, gentle, kindly friends; -and as for the Eskimos, they were like children -about to be deprived of their parents. -The village wept, and at the last moment -Harluk declared that he would not let his -brothers go alone. He would travel with -them to Point Hope, guide them on their journey, -and then come back to his wife and -children. Atchoo embraced him and bade -him go, and Kroo came gravely forward to -Harry and made him an address in Eskimo -that was quite flowery, and the purport of -which was that he wished Harry to become -his brother, to which Harry cheerfully assented, -assuring him that he was the brother -of them all, and wrung his hand, thinking -the matter was to end there.</p> - -<p>Not so. Kroo took from his poke his ancient -ivory pipe, carved from a walrus tusk -to represent the body and flukes of a whale, -its stem cunningly fashioned of whalebone. -He held this toward the sun with one hand, -pointed at Harry with the other, and solemnly -recited something which sounded like poetry<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span> -but which had few words which Harry could -understand. It seemed like an ancient ritual. -Then he passed the pipe to Harry and -looked at him expectantly. Harry looked at -Joe in some dismay. He did not know what -ceremony demanded of him in return. But -the ever resourceful Joe pulled from his own -pocket a briarwood pipe with imitation amber -mouthpiece and German silver mountings, -quite a pretty pipe.</p> - -<p>“That belongs to the mate,” he said, “but -I guess he won’t mind. I found it in the -cabin one day, and it has been in my pocket -ever since. Hurry up, he’s looking anxious. -Recite him something or other.”</p> - -<p>Kroo was indeed looking anxious, and -Harry hastened to imitate him so far as he -could. He held his pipe up to the sun, -pointed at Kroo, and recited with all the elocutionary -power he could muster:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">“Hickory, dickory, dock,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The mouse ran up the clock,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The clock struck one,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And down she run,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Hickory, dickory, dock.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>He looked at Joe with nervous eye as he did -this, but Joe was solemn as a deacon, never -moving a muscle. Kroo and the other villagers<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span> -seemed much impressed with the Mother -Goose rhyme, no doubt thinking it an incantation -of much power, and the incident was -happily ended with the transfer of the pipe -and another hearty handshake.</p> - -<p>Thus they bade good-by to their friends, -and with Harluk in the lead and the dogs -tugging at the loaded sled, took their way -down the coast on the ice. For the first few -days travel was not difficult, and they made -good progress. They were inured to Arctic -weather, and the mildness of spring and the -thought that they were headed toward home, -even though defeated and impoverished, filled -them with exhilaration. In three days they -made something over sixty miles, taking them -well below Point Lay and promising an exceptionally -quick trip. The Arctic pack was -still glued to the shore, and the travel over -it was safe. After the third night’s sleep, -however, they found an unexpected obstacle. -The river known to the Eskimos as the Kukpowrak -enters the sea here, flowing far from -the interior and flooded by the spring thaw, -a rushing torrent. It was impossible to ford -this river, and its warmer waters had opened -the sea ice for a broad space as far out as the -eye could see. It effectually blocked their<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span> -further passage. Harluk wished, Eskimo fashion, -to sit down by the bank of this river and -wait till the snows were fully melted. Then -the floods would fall as suddenly as they had -risen, and they would be able to ford it.</p> - -<p>“How long will that be?” asked Joe.</p> - -<p>Harluk meditated, and then answered with -the vague and irritating “Ticharro pejuk.”</p> - -<p>“Ten sleeps?” said Joe; “twenty sleeps?” -but the answer was still “Ticharro pejuk,” -and it was evident that Harluk himself did -not know. To attempt to pass the river -mouth on the ice was a doubtful thing at that -season. At any time a wind from the south -might send the floes out to sea, and those on -them would be lost.</p> - -<p>It was possible that by proceeding up river -they might find an ice jam on which they -could cross, and after thinking the matter -over for half a day, Joe decided that it would -be wise to go upstream for a considerable -distance in the hope of finding a passage. -There was still snow in many places on the -banks, and they took advantage of this where -possible. In other places the sled did not -go badly over the tundra moss, yet travel was -much slower than on the ice, and in thirty-six -hours they had hardly made fifteen miles.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span> -They found dwarf willows and alders, scarce -three feet high, plentiful along the banks of -this river, and flocks of ptarmigan in these -so tame that they would not rise at a rifle-shot. -They killed many of these, and with plenty -of willow wood for fire, lived well. Yet it -was anxious work, and, as they proceeded, -much more difficult; moreover, twenty miles -from the coast they entered a height of -land, almost a mountain range, through which -the river broke in a series of falls. Here in -three days’ struggle through ravines and up -limestone slopes they hardly made ten miles. -At the top they found better going, but here -the river seemed to trend more to the east, -and they had the humiliation of working -away from their destination in spite of their -labor.</p> - -<p>“Confound it,” said Joe ruefully, as they -camped late one afternoon, “we’d have done -better to start before it began to thaw at all. -Then it would be a straight trip on the ice and -nothing to bother us but cold, and that’s no -great harm.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see much use in this,” replied -Harry, weary and somewhat discouraged. -“We might follow up this river a hundred -miles. Seems as if we had gone most as far<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span> -as that already, and still there is no chance -to cross. We’ll have to do as Harluk says, -sit down and wait for the water to run out.”</p> - -<p>“I think we’ll camp here for a day,” said -Joe. “The dogs are tired and so am I. Besides, -we are almost out of dog feed. If we -watch out, we may get a caribou. There -were tracks back there. I’d like some deer -meat myself.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;" id="illus12"> -<img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="550" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CAMP ON THE TUNDRA</p> -</div> - -<p>The northernmost deer of the American -continent is the caribou, sometimes called the -American reindeer. He differs from the -Asiatic reindeer mainly in size and length of -limb, the caribou being taller and larger. -Otherwise, physically, they are much alike, -live on the same food, and have the same -general appearance. But while the Siberian -deer is easily domesticated and is bred and handled -in vast herds by the natives, the American -type is wild and untamable. He loves -the barren wastes of the far north, and every -summer migrates to the northernmost shores, -even passing on to the unexplored islands -off the coast in the Arctic sea. Here he -roams and feeds until the fierce gales of winter -drive him south to the first shelter of the -low clumps of firs and birches which mark -the limits of the barren grounds. Hardy,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span> -restless creatures, the caribou often wander in -immense herds, following a leader as sheep -do. The Eskimos hunt them in summer -when they approach the Arctic shores, and -know their habits well, taking particular advantage -of their curiosity. The hunter sits -down among the rocks when a herd is in -sight and imitates their hoarse bellow. Some -of the herd will surely draw near to see -what this motionless object is. Round and -round it they circle, approaching nearer and -nearer, until one is within reach of the hunter’s -weapon. Sometimes the herd will run -the gauntlet of a line of hunters just because -one stupid animal has gone that way in his -attempt to escape, and the rest are determined -to follow his lead. At such times the Eskimo -hunters lay in large stocks of meat -and furs and consider themselves wealthy, -for the hide of the caribou makes splendid -clothing for them. It is very light and impenetrable -to the wind, and no garment so -successfully resists the Arctic cold as this. -The Eskimo uses the hide, tanned, for thongs -for nets and lines. A split shinbone makes -a good bone knife, and fish-hooks and spears -are made from the horns, while the tendons -of certain muscles make fine and strong thread<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span> -for sewing with the bone needle. Hence, as -with the walrus and seal, the whole animal is -utilized. The caribou has a great hoof, split -nearly to the hock, which spreads and enables -the animal to travel in soft snow or boggy -tundra, where an ordinary deer would sink.</p> - -<p>This hoof, too, is sharp, and gives the animal -a firm footing on ice. It is also a weapon -of defense far more formidable than the horns. -A blow from it is like that of an axe, and woe -to the hunter who comes within reach of the -fore hoofs of a wounded and desperate caribou. -Thus shod the caribou can travel faster -on the ice than any other animal, and, when -at bay, can slay a wolf with one well-directed -blow of its hoof. Yet the animal is so stupid -and timid that it rarely uses this weapon, and -then oftener in a blind struggle than with -intent to do harm. Such are the deer of the -barren grounds, which Harluk and the two -boys set forth to hunt.</p> - -<p>Harry and Joe had repeating rifles, but -Harluk was armed only with his ivory-headed -spear, tipped with a triangular steel point. -With this in hand he led them, first, to a pinnacle -of limestone, about three miles away. -The tundra was bare and brown, patched here -and there with snowdrifts, and undulating to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span> -the southward in a sort of rolling prairie. -Behind them and on either hand were the -rough peaks of the height of land which they -had gained the day before,—a scene bare, -desolate, but fascinating, a bit of primeval -chaos left over in the making of the world. -Standing on this summit, Harluk scanned the -horizon to the east and south, and finally -pointed due east in silence. Joe and Harry -looked carefully. They saw slowly moving -dots on the plain some miles away. These -had not been there a moment before. As -they watched, others appeared, as if out of -the ground.</p> - -<p>A herd of caribou was rounding a low hill -at a swinging trot. By and by there were -perhaps forty in sight, traveling northwest at -a quite rapid rate, as if fleeing before something.</p> - -<p>“Kile,” said Harluk, and putting his head -down, he started north at a good rate of speed, -evidently bound on intercepting them. The -Eskimo is not a good runner, but he is persistent. -Harluk plunged on, falling over his -own feet, but scrambling up again, leaving -dents in the soft tundra moss, and still keeping -up the pace, which bade fair in the end -to wind Joe and Harry, until he reached a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span> -place that suited him in what seemed to be -the path of the advancing herd. It was a -wide, shallow valley between two low limestone -hills. It was dotted here and there with scattered -boulders, and the ground was rough -with broken rock chinked with deer moss. -Harluk placed the boys behind boulders at -the extreme right and left of this valley, and -bade them wait motionless until deer came -near enough to shoot. He himself hastily -built a little circular inclosure of stone in -which he could crouch unobserved.</p> - -<p>A half hour passed, during which there was -no sign. The sun was low, and Harry shivered, -sitting motionless in the chill of the -valley. A snow-bunting came flitting along -and lighted fearlessly beside him, and the next -moment a great snowy owl swept over the -ridge and down upon the snow-bunting, which -wriggled between Harry’s feet for protection. -The owl glared at him fiercely for a moment -with great round eyes, then slipped into the -air again, and vanished down the valley. As -Harry watched him, he saw branching antlers, -and a caribou came around the curve, followed -by more and more, feeding and wandering -toward him. He sat rigid, his eyes fixed upon -them like a dog at the point. They nibbled<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span> -at the gray moss, unconscious of danger, but -lifted their heads and gazed in surprise as a -most discordant bellow came from the circle -of stone where Harluk lay hidden. Their -manner changed in a moment from shambling -and slouchy to alert, upheaded, and vigilant. -They pawed the earth and sniffed suspiciously, -then began to move toward Harluk’s -stone fort. Their heads were high, their -muzzles thrust forward, and they trod with -dainty alertness where before they had shambled. -Out of the tail of his eye Harry could -see Harluk’s hand and fur-clad arm waving -grotesquely above the stones. It was this -that had held the attention of the herd and -toward which their curiosity was leading them. -Within twenty minutes the whole herd were -circling about the little inclosure of stone, -drawing nearer and nearer to the hand that -waved above it. They were within gunshot -of either Harry or Joe now, but neither might -shoot lest he endanger Harluk. Moreover, -neither boy had shot deer before, and the -sight of forty of these great creatures within -gunshot had given both the buck fever. -Harry found himself shaking as with the -palsy, and had an almost irresistible desire to -throw his gun in the air and halloo.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span></p> - -<p>The deer were very near Harluk now, and -his beckoning arm had shrunken to the tip -of his mitten, now lifted a little, then slowly -withdrawn. The deer fairly crowded forward -to look for it. As their muzzles appeared -over the stones, Harluk leaped to his feet with -a tremendous yell. The effect was to paralyze -the herd for a second. They stamped and -snorted, but stood firm while Harluk lunged -with his spear full at the shoulder of the -nearest. The shaft went home, and the deer -sank to the ground transfixed to the heart. -Immediately there was a tremendous stampede -among the deer. The stupid creatures rushed -this way and that, colliding with one another -in a paroxysm of terror, then started down -the valley again in the direction whence they -had come. In this sudden confusion a caribou -was knocked fairly from his feet, falling -against Harluk from behind and tripping him. -He scrambled to his feet again with a rush -and carried Harluk clinging mechanically to -his back, too surprised to do anything else. -As the herd clattered by, Harry saw Joe -spring to his feet and begin to jump up and -down, wave his rifle in the air, and halloo. -He shouted to him to quit that and shoot, -and then it came to him that he was doing<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span> -precisely the same thing, nor did he seem to -be able to stop, even when he was conscious -of it, until the herd was well by him.</p> - -<p>Such is the effect of the buck fever. In -its delirium people are sometimes conscious -that they are acting absurdly, but do not -have the power to stop it.</p> - -<p>By the time the herd was so far down the -valley that it was nearly out of gunshot, Harry -and Joe had come to sufficiently to do some -wild shooting. This had no effect but to -bring an equally wild yell from Harluk, who -rolled from his perch at the whistling of the -bullets and abandoned his quarry. Of the -forty caribou among which they had been for -a half hour or more, they had secured but -one. However, they had enough meat for the -present, and they divided up the animal and -started back for the camp with it on their -shoulders.</p> - -<p>They reached the spot where they had -camped before the hunt, and stared and -rubbed their eyes with many exclamations of -astonishment and alarm. There was no trace -of tent, sled, or dogs. All had vanished. -They threw down their burdens and looked -at one another.</p> - -<p>“Are you sure this is the place?” asked -Harry.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span></p> - -<p>In reply, Harluk nodded his head vehemently, -and Joe pointed in silence to the heavy -stones they had used in place of tent-pegs. -They still made a quadrilateral which marked -the spot, but there was nothing more.</p> - -<p>“What are we going to do?” faltered -Harry. For a moment he felt as if the ghost -people of the Nunatak were not so unreal -after all. He thought he saw the same -feeling reflected in Harluk’s face, and the -fantastic loneliness of the country seemed -to impress itself upon him more than ever. -It was like a bad dream, in which, all things -being unreal, nothing was too strange to -happen.</p> - -<p>Joe broke the spell with sturdy common -sense. “I’ll tell you what we are going to -do,” he said. “Here’s deer meat in plenty, -and I’ve got matches in my pocket. We’re -going to cook some venison and have a square -meal. Then we’ll hunt for tracks. I don’t -believe anybody could get away with that outfit -without leaving a trail behind. You and -Harluk cut some steaks off that rump while -I get wood.”</p> - -<p>The two turned to the carcass of the deer, -while Joe started down the bank and round a -jutting corner of cliff, toward some willow<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span> -shrubs. As he passed down along the side of -the cliff, he had a strange feeling that some -one was looking sharply at him, and turned -just in time to see a face at his elbow,—the -same evil, half-white face that he had seen in -the night at Icy Cape, when he was struck on -the head with the piece of ice. He gave a -cry of astonishment and alarm, but was seized -and tripped from behind, and any further -outcry stopped by a blanket being bound -tightly over his head. In spite of his struggles, -he was effectually gagged, bound, and -carried behind a projection of the cliff.</p> - -<p>Harry heard this cry of Joe’s, and answered -it, thinking it was a call. Then, getting no -reply, he went on with his very simple preparations -for the meal. These done, he went in -search of Joe. He could not see him among -the willows. He called and got no answer. -The ghostly loneliness of the Arctic came over -him with telling force. Was Joe, too, to disappear -and leave no trace behind?</p> - -<p>“Joe!” he shouted; “Joe!” and the cliffs -across the Kukpowrak answered with mocking -echoes; that was all. Then he turned, and -he, too, was seized by three men, who had -stealthily approached him from behind. He -was bound and silenced as Joe had been, but<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span> -not before he had shouted twice for Harluk -at the top of his lungs.</p> - -<p>One of the men who had captured him -swore at this in good round English; then, -leaving one to guard Harry, two of them -hastened to the camp with rifles, but Harluk -the wise had followed Harry empty handed, -seen his capture, fled back to the camp, and -with both Joe’s and Harry’s rifles was scurrying -across the tundra in the direction of the -sea, as fast as his Eskimo legs could carry him. -Fired upon, he dropped behind a boulder, and -pumped such a fusillade of shots back at his -two would-be captors that one of them dropped -his rifle with a cry of pain, put his hand to his -leg, and went hopping off toward shelter in a -hurry. The other followed; but just before -he reached safety he threw up his hands, and -plunged heavily forward on his face. Harluk’s -last shot had caught him under the left -shoulder blade and passed through his heart.</p> - -<p>The Eskimo gave a yell of triumph and -defiance, and then fled on, with his two rifles, -over the ridge and out of sight; nor did the -enemy make any attempt to follow him. Had -they done so, they might have seen that, after -he had placed a good safe distance behind -him, he climbed the highest peak near by,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span> -and sat there, motionless, watching for hours. -Then he carefully picked his way back, keeping -in shelter as much as possible, still clinging -to his two rifles, one of which held a few -cartridges. The magazine of the other was -full.</p> - -<p>Of the party which had captured Joe and -Harry, the evil-faced half-white man, who had -sworn in English, seemed to be the leader. -He took his way back to those who were -guarding Joe and Harry, and bade them take -the gags from their mouths and the bonds -from their feet. Harry no sooner found his -tongue free than he used it.</p> - -<p>“Look here,” he sputtered; “what does -this mean? Why have you attacked us? -We have done you no harm.”</p> - -<p>The half-breed smiled an evil smile, and -pointed at his eye. Harry remembered the -fight in the snow igloo, the blow with which -he had closed his opponent’s eye, and now he -remembered the face.</p> - -<p>“Bimeby plenty sorry,” the half-breed said. -“No fire ghost come now.”</p> - -<p>Harry and Joe were led back to the camping-spot. -There lay the body of the dead; -and as the half-breed looked at it he scowled -and looked at his own roughly bandaged limb,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span> -which caused him to limp painfully. He -pointed at the corpse and then at the two -prisoners.</p> - -<p>“One dead now,” he said; “bimeby two -dead.” Then he laughed a mirthless laugh.</p> - -<p>Strongly guarded by five fierce-looking outlaws -with rifles, there was no reasonable chance -of escape, even when the lashings were taken -from their hands as well, and the two boys -submitted to being loaded with the venison -they had shot, and marched on up river. A -quarter of a mile away they found their dog -team harnessed into the sled and their belongings -securely packed upon it, guarded by a -single outlaw. Here, too, was another team -of four dogs and a sled, and traces of several -days’ camping. It was evident that in coming -up the Kukpowrak they had marched right -into the camp of the outlaw Ankuts who had -personated the ghost wolves, and whom they, -with the lucky aid of their impromptu fire -spirit, had so signally defeated. Now the -tables were turned; but they were totally unprepared -for the further surprise that was in -store for them. That was to come many days -afterward, however.</p> - -<p>The Ankuts cooked venison here and made -a meal. The chief outlaw bound up his wound<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>[247]</span> -more carefully, and though it was slight, -insisted on riding as they went on up river. -This overweighted the sleds, and the boys -were forced to shoulder part of the load. -Indeed, they soon found that, though they -were not treated harshly, their position was -much that of slaves, and they were so closely -watched that escape seemed impossible without -great risk of being shot down in the -attempt. Thus for two days they followed -the course of the Kukpowrak, then they bore -off to the left across a nearly level table-land -a day’s journey.</p> - -<p>There was no sign of human being on this -three days’ march; bare tundra and gray -limestone or blue slate rocks made the scene -one of peculiar desolation, yet, though neither -the highbinders nor the boys knew it, a -solitary figure kept watch of all their movements -and was never far behind them. All -the savage hunter had been roused in Harluk, -and he trailed the band with the vindictive -persistency of an Apache brave. He lived -on an occasional ground squirrel or small bird -knocked over among scrub willows, and kept -his precious ammunition for more deadly -use. It had been well for the highbinders -if they had reckoned more carefully with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>[248]</span> -Harluk. He had seen his comrade Konwa -dead. He had seen one of the enemy fall -by his own hand. Henceforward the gentle -and timid Eskimo was changed into a bold, -aggressive, cunning, and bloodthirsty fighting -man. The highbinders were to hear -from Harluk again.</p> - -<p>At the end of the third day’s journey they -came to a scene of wild and singular beauty. -The table-land opened out into an oval -valley rimmed at the further end with abrupt, -sharp-pointed hills, at the base of which -another river flowed northward. This valley, -to the surprise of the boys, seemed a bit out -of another world. In it was no snow, and -the grass was already tall. Moreover, there -the willows grew to a much greater height -than elsewhere, and were already pale green -with young leaves. Compared with the gray, -bare, Arctic desolation through which they -had traveled, it was like a bit of paradise.</p> - -<p>Harry, tired out and discouraged, groaned -at the sight of this beauty spot. “What’s -the matter with you?” asked Joe.</p> - -<p>“It makes me homesick,” said Harry. -“It reminds me of the marshes down by the -Fore River in early May. It’s like home.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I guess it’s likely to be home for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>[249]</span> -us for a while,” said Joe philosophically. -“It looks as if the highbinders made it their -headquarters. See all the igloos down there, -and the people, too!”</p> - -<p>They noted many good sized stone igloos, -chinked with deer moss, at their right as they -wound down into the valley, and a small stream, -which seemed to issue from the ground near -by. It seemed as if little clouds of steam -rose from this stream, especially at its source, -and at sight of it Joe gave an exclamation of -appreciation. “I know about this now,” he -said; “it’s one of those hot springs I’ve heard -the Eskimos tell about as being inland here. -That is why the willows are so tall and everything -so forward. It keeps the place warmed -up the year round.”</p> - -<p>But it was little of the brightness and -beauty of this little warm-weather oasis in the -bleak surroundings that the boys were to see. -They were ordered to drop their burdens on -reaching the igloos, and presently conducted -to one of the strongest built and least prepossessing -of them. Once within this, the -low entrance was blocked with stone and -they were left to themselves.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>[250]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /> -<span class="smaller">“THE FEAST OF THE OLD SEAL’S HEAD”</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The igloo in which Joe and Harry were -confined was unlighted except by sundry -chinks in the stones through which rays of -light pierced the gloom. These showed, as -soon as their eyes had become accustomed -to the semi-darkness, the customary raised -bench at one side covered with some ancient -deerskins for a couch, a stone blubber lamp, -a stone fireplace in the centre, where charred -willow twigs showed that some one had once -used it, and nothing more. Yet so weary were -the boys with their day’s toil that they threw -themselves on this questionable couch and -soon slept the sleep of utter fatigue. Some -hours later they roused refreshed, and were -greeted by a cautious “’St! ’st!” from the -blocked entrance. Stepping quickly there, -Joe, saw through an opening in the stones a -good-natured Eskimo face that lighted up -with a smile at sight of him.</p> - -<p>“Here,” it said in Eskimo. “Plenty eat. -By and by have trouble.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>[251]</span></p> - -<p>A fur-clad arm thrust what looked to be a -bundle of grass through the aperture in the -stones, and the Eskimo hurried away. Joe -opened this bundle and found in it several -small white fish, just warm from the fire and -cooked without salt, yet appetizing to the -hungry boys, who made a meal of them forthwith. -Nevertheless, though it was evident -that they had a friend, his words were far -from reassuring, and the boys speculated -much as to what was to happen to them. -Through the chinks in their rough stone -prison they managed to see a good deal that -was going on in the little village, and it did -not take them long to guess something of its -ways of life. It was evident that it was a -highbinder stronghold, and that a band of a -dozen or so of these marauders lorded it over -the rest of the community, which seemed to -consist of a dozen more Eskimos, one or two -men, but mainly women and boys and girls. -They saw these latter bring fish from the -river and firewood from along its banks, one -or two women cooking, boys and girls doing -menial service at the bidding of the Ankuts, -who stalked among them with airs of superiority -that were comical. Not so comical was -their brutality to their youthful slaves, whom<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>[252]</span> -they did not hesitate to strike or kick brutally -at little provocation. These seemed to be in -a state of abject submission to their oppressors, -and the sight made the blood of the -boys hot with indignation, not unmixed with -apprehension as to their own treatment in -the near future. They discussed the situation, -and tried to make plans for an escape, but it -did not seem that this could be attempted immediately. -To get out of their stone prison -would be an easy matter, but once free, the -chances of further escape from among the -band of well-armed men who surrounded them -would be slight, indeed. They must wait a -more favorable opportunity, reserving the -chances of a dash for a last resort.</p> - -<p>As they talked and watched, they heard -low moans of pain that came from a near-by -igloo, and a wail of “Ah-nu-<em>nah</em>! Ah-nu-<em>nah</em>!” -(Sick! Sick!) This was repeated at -intervals and seemed to grow louder. By -and by a boy issued from this igloo and -went with seeming reluctance to another one -some distance away, whence he issued with -one of the Ankuts. The two came back to -the first igloo, and the wizard took up his position -in the open space directly in front of -it. This was in plain view of the boys, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253"></a>[253]</span> -they watched further proceedings with much -interest.</p> - -<p>Soon the Eskimo boy appeared again, bringing -a couple of white fox skins. These he -laid at the feet of the wizard, who regarded -them contemptuously for a moment and then -spurned them with his foot. The boy retired -again, and after a longer time reappeared -with several small ermine pelts. These he -added to the fox skins and waited. The -wizard shook his head, but the boy also shook -his despondently, saying “Naume” (No -more).</p> - -<p>This seemed to satisfy the wizard that he -was receiving all that he could get in payment -for his services, and he finally picked up the -pelts and laid them behind him. The boy -reentered the igloo and came out leading an -old woman, whose wails of “Ah-nu-<em>nah</em>!” -were louder as they reached the spot where -stood the wizard. She pressed both hands to -her head, as if that were in great pain, and -crouched before the Ankut, who was immediately -transformed from an immobile and -haughty personage into a sort of wild skirt -dancer. He whirled about the old woman in -a circle, and from his clothes somewhere appeared -a couple of great knives with which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>[254]</span> -he juggled in an astonishing manner, tossing -and catching them deftly, and surrounding -himself with a circle of flashing steel. Harry -gave an exclamation of astonishment at this. -It was so little like the clumsy and awkward -manner of the every-day Eskimo. A crowd -of people had surrounded the group, and -gazed with wonder and awe on this performance, -scattering like leaves in the wind when -the dancing juggler of knives swung too near -them. The wizard soon began to howl and -clap his hands to his own head, still in some -mysterious manner keeping the knives whirling. -The sick woman had forgotten her own -pain in wonder at this exhibition, and sat -mute and open-mouthed. Suddenly the wizard -shouted, “Come out, spirit! Leave the -woman’s head and come out!” He whirled -up to the side of the sick woman before she -could recover from her astonishment, slipped -one of the knives out of sight again in his -own clothes and with the other made a slash -that cut deep into her temple, and pretended -to draw something from the wound. This -he held up in the sight of the surrounding -crowd.</p> - -<p>It was a curious, brown, many-legged worm, -such as are found in rotten wood, and which<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>[255]</span> -no doubt infest the tundra moss, or might -have been obtained from driftwood from the -sources of the Kukpowrak, which has its rise -far inland in the timber line. The crowd -murmured with astonishment at this, the wizard -retired to his igloo with his fox and ermine -pelts, and only the boy remained, sitting -in stolid grief beside the old woman, who lay -where she had dropped at the slash of the -knife. It had cut deeper than the wizard -perhaps intended. Certainly he had cured -her headache, for she was dead.</p> - -<p>The barbarous cruelties of the Ankuts, in -their attempts to deal with the sick, are beyond -description, and the boys had seen only -one of the least, but they turned away, sick -at heart, and willing to believe that the little -oasis in the midst of the barren wastes was -anything but an Eden to those who must live -there under the cruel rule of the pretended -wizards.</p> - -<p>It seemed, however, that they were soon to -be released from their confinement. When -they again looked out, they saw that the body -of the old woman had been removed, and -there was a considerable stir among the inhabitants -of the little village. In the open -within the circle of igloos sat the Ankuts,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>[256]</span> -cross-legged, each with a rifle in his lap and -a big knife at his hand. About them, at a -respectful distance, stood the others of the -community: two men, dejected and spiritless -looking chaps, among whom Joe thought -he recognized his friend of the fishes, three -women, and six or seven boys and girls. All -had the indifferent and apathetic air of slaves, -which they were. As they looked, the boys -saw two of the Ankuts approaching, and a -moment after the stones which blocked the -entrance of their prison were removed and -they were bidden to come out. The two Ankuts -marched them to the circle and stood by -them.</p> - -<p>Harry had a singular feeling of weakness -in the knees in this march, a wild desire to -put out across the hills at top speed coupled -with this feeling that his legs might give way -under him at any moment. Somehow he had -not feared these men before, but now things -looked ominous. He glanced at Joe, who was -watching him narrowly. Joe walked erect -and defiant.</p> - -<p>“Whatever you do,” said Joe, “don’t let -them see that you are afraid of them. Put -on a bold front; it may help us.”</p> - -<p>So Harry braced himself and tried to get<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>[257]</span> -the limp feeling out of his knees, and hoped -he succeeded in looking brave and cool. It -was evident that they were before a sort of -self-constituted board of judges. The evil-faced -half-breed seemed to be the head of -these, at once chief judge and prosecuting -attorney. He spoke somewhat at length, always -referring to Harry and Joe as “our -white brothers.” He told of their interference -between the Eskimos at Icy Cape and -the “ghost wolves of the Nunatak.” Such -interference with the Nunatak people, who -were the fathers of wizards, he explained, -was deserving of punishment. He told how -the two had battled with the Ankuts in the -snow igloo and outside, that night. How -they had driven them away with fire spirits, -robbed them of their bearskins, and otherwise -ill-treated them. Such actions were deserving -of punishment. He told how one of -their comrades had fallen before the rifle of -Harluk when the Ankuts had captured the -two. For this also, he argued, they were deserving -of punishment. The slayer of the -Ankut was not there. Then these, his friends, -must answer for his misdeed. This is the -barbarous idea of atonement the world over.</p> - -<p>To all these statements the other Ankuts<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>[258]</span> -solemnly wagged their heads and chorused: -“It is so.” Especially were they vigorous -in their wagging when the half-breed said: -“They are deserving of punishment.”</p> - -<p>“And yet,” continued the half-breed with -a malicious smile, “the white men are our -brothers. They, too, are wizards. They work -with spirits of fire, and they rob the Innuit, -the people, even as we do.”</p> - -<p>“It is not so,” broke in Joe fiercely. “We -do not rob the people. Instead, we trade with -them, and give them good things in exchange. -We are the friends of the people, as you well -know. We are truly their brothers, as you -call us in derision. But have a care. The -white men are very many. They are more -than the grass in summer in number. They -are very wise, and can see far. Have a care -how you punish us. The great chief of the -white men will know of it, and will send his -thunder ships to punish you, if you do us -harm. If you do not set us free, there shall -be no more Ankuts among the tribes. The -great white chief will see to that.”</p> - -<p>Thus spake Joe, indignantly and fearlessly. -Harry thought him very handsome as he stood -erect and thus poured out defiance at his armed -enemies; but he could not help wondering<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>[259]</span> -what the effect would be and whether such -talk was wise. He was surprised to see the apparent -change in attitude of the Ankuts after -it was made. They looked at one another in -silence. Then the half-breed spoke again.</p> - -<p>“What my white brother says may be true. -Yet the white chief is a long way off, and -the Ankuts are very near, if they choose to -punish. Still, a feast is better than a fight. -What say you?” he said to the other Ankuts, -looking from one to another with his -evil smile still on his face. “Shall our white -brothers suffer punishment, or shall we bid -them to a feast?”</p> - -<p>The same smile seemed to run around the -circle of Ankut faces, and they all wagged -their heads vigorously. “It shall be a feast!” -they affirmed in unison, and there was something -sinister in their satisfaction in this -change of programme.</p> - -<p>Harry poked Joe with his elbow. “Great -Scott!” he said in a low tone, “but we are -pulling out of this in great luck.”</p> - -<p>His knees ceased to feel weak under him, -and he had great admiration for Joe’s boldness, -which had seemingly brought this happy -change about. But Joe did not altogether -share his delight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>[260]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know about this,” he replied in -an equal undertone. “They don’t look very -feasty.”</p> - -<p>It was a fact that they did not, nor did the -listening drudges who stood outside the circle. -A certain wide-eyed horror seemed to pierce -their stolidity and apathy, and their faces, as -they looked at the boys, showed it. The two -wizards who had brought them out conducted -them back to the igloo with much ceremony.</p> - -<p>“Our brothers will rest here,” they said, -“while the feast is prepared for them. It will -be a great feast,—and there will be nothing -but the bones left when it is over.”</p> - -<p>Joe and Harry entered the igloo and sat -down on the bench. The doorway was not -blocked again, but the two Ankuts stood just -outside, rifle in hand, as if on guard. A little -later one of the Eskimo servants appeared -bearing on a flat slate stone the head of an -old seal. This he placed on the floor in the -middle of the igloo, looking appealingly at -the boys, but hastening away without a word. -Then two Ankuts appeared, each leading by -the leash three heavy-chested, wide-jawed dogs -that snarled and fought one another as they -came. These six dogs were hurriedly released -at the igloo door and driven in. Then the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>[261]</span> -Ankuts again blocked the entrance with the -heavy, flat slate stones, making it much more -secure than before; so secure, in fact, that escape -from within would be well-nigh impossible. -Then one of them cried out in a loud, -jeering voice:—</p> - -<p>“This is the feast, O white men, to which -you are bidden,—the feast of the old seal’s -head. Eat and be merry,—and there shall -be nothing but bones left.”</p> - -<p>The sound of retreating footsteps was -drowned in the snarling and scrambling of -the six wolf dogs, already fighting in a -blurred mass in the centre of the igloo over -the old seal’s head.</p> - -<p>The Eskimo wolf dog that one sees in -Arctic Alaska is quite different from the Eskimo -dog of the Yukon and the lower mining -camps on the great northwest possession. The -latter are more often mongrels, interbred with -all sorts of dogs from civilization, and lack -much of the robust fierceness of the Arctic -type. On the desolate northern shores the -pure type is much like the gray wolf, and is -no doubt a descendant from him, sometimes -intermixed with latter-day blood from the -same source. Indeed, it used to be no uncommon -thing in the Eskimo villages to see a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>[262]</span> -captured wolf tied to a stake in the village -and used for breeding purposes. The usual -color is a dingy gray black; sometimes almost -pure black, as is the occasional wolf. These -dogs are large, very agile, and have a jaw -that is full of great teeth and as strong as -iron. Ordinarily, when well fed, they are not -vicious; oftentimes they are even frolicsome, -like the civilized dog; yet such is the strength -of their iron jaws that even a playful nip -from them is a serious matter, and hence the -Eskimos never encourage them to sportiveness. -Neither do white men who have once -experienced a grip from those jaws. Their -wolf blood, while making them hardy and -strong, gives them an understrain of fierceness -which is apt to make them dangerous neighbors, -especially when hungry. Their fights -among themselves are tremendous and bloody, -and at such times a man who would separate -them must enter the combat armed with a -heavy weapon capable of laying one out at a -blow. Otherwise his own life is in danger. -It was six magnificent specimens of this type -that were walled into the igloo with the boys -and were already battling fiercely at the feast -of the old seal’s head. Purposely left unfed -since the boys arrived, they were in a ferocious<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>[263]</span> -mood. Joe and Harry drew together and tried -hard to make themselves very small against -the wall at the farthest corner of the igloo. -As yet the dogs paid no attention to them, -and after the seal skull had been well polished -and the battle subsided, they still were unmolested. -Yet the intent of their captors was -evident. Such is the cruel custom that has -come down in the traditions of the Ankuts -of Eskimo land from time immemorial. The -enemy of the wizards is put to the feast of -the old seal’s head. If he survives, he, too, -is a wizard, and wins the equal respect of the -tribe. If he is not a wizard, in very truth, -his polished bones are all that remain when -the igloo is opened and the famished wolf -dogs are taken out.</p> - -<p>Harry had felt fear and discouragement -before in the midst of his strange adventures -in this strange land, yet never had terror -possessed him so completely as now. In the -gloom of the igloo he could see the glare of -the eyes of the savage creatures as they -crouched on the floor, half lazily, yet half -ready for a spring, and he expected every -moment that one would attack him. This he -well knew would be the signal for a rush from -them all, for the instinct of the wolf pack is<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>[264]</span> -strong even in the most docile Eskimo dog, -and when one fights they all do. He could -feel the quiver of Joe’s elbow where it touched -his as they shrank to the igloo wall side by -side, and knew that his consciousness of the -danger was equal to his own. Yet though -filled with a dumb terror of what was to come, -neither lost his self-control. Their hardy, -independent life, the dangers and disasters -which they had already faced, had bred in each -the courage of strong men, the self-reliance -of pioneers, and, though their case was desperate, -neither was willing to think that it was -hopeless. Quietly Joe was feeling with one -hand along the rough stones of their prison. -By and by he found something, and passed it -over to Harry without a word. It was a long, -angular piece of the slaty rock, something -like a rude stone hatchet. Such a weapon -might save a man’s life. Yet it could save -but one. The man who wielded it might escape -in the mêlée which was liable to come -at any moment. It was a slim chance, but it -was all there was. The weaponless man would -be torn to pieces. Harry felt the devotion and -courageous self-sacrifice which could make -this priceless gift to a friend at such a moment, -and his heart swelled within him as he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>[265]</span> -clasped Joe’s hand in the dim light. He tried -not to take this rude weapon, but Joe pressed -it on him, and after a little he consented, -mentally resolved that he would wield it in -Joe’s defense in preference to his own. It is -such deeds and such resolves that try the -temper of men’s souls and prove them truly -noble.</p> - -<p>Time passed, how slowly only those who -have faced similar terrors can tell. Moments -seemed to stretch out into hours that in turn -became an eternity. It seemed to Harry as -if he were growing numb with waiting, and -he had wild thoughts of forcing the attack -with his primitive weapon. He even suggested -it to Joe, who promptly vetoed the -idea. Their low voices seemed to rouse the -dogs and make them more uneasy, and they -said no more. By and by, in the passing of -what seemed weeks, they began to hear sounds -from outside. It was a low murmuring, which -grew louder into sounds of hilarity. There -seemed to be shouts and laughter and the rude -music of tom-toms. The Ankuts were feasting -in celebration of the cruel death which -they thought might be already coming to -their enemies. About this time both pricked -up their ears with a vague feeling of hope.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>[266]</span> -Somebody or something was scratching and -working at the wall of the igloo outside,—the -wall directly behind them and toward the -low bluffs that rimmed the little valley. The -change from dull expectation of calamity to -a thought of hope sent a thrill of energy -through each. Yet there was renewed danger -in it, too, for the sound roused the wolf dogs, -and made them more restless. They began -to growl and move uneasily about. It was an -ominous moment. Then there was the scraping -of a stone, and a bar of light shone into -the gloom of the igloo, bringing with it a -voice,—the voice of Harluk. It was tremulous -with excitement and apprehension.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my brothers,” it cried, “are you -there?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes,” answered Joe. “Quick! Something -to fight with.”</p> - -<p>The need was indeed great, for the six wolf -dogs were already crouching and snarling. -Another moment would bring the conflict -which they so feared. Quick as a wink -Harluk’s hand was thrust through the aperture -with his sheevee, his long knife, in it. -Joe snatched this with a cry of delight. It -was long, heavy, and keen,—an admirable -weapon for a fight to the death at close quarters.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>[267]</span> -The flash of this knife in their faces -had its effect on the pack. They drew back -and hesitated. In their lives they had learned -well the prowess of a man with a weapon in -his hands; and the wolf dog of the tribes is -as wise as he is fearless.</p> - -<p>Joe took a single step, coolly, toward them. -“Help Harluk,” he said briefly to Harry; -“I’ll keep these devils at bay. But for God’s -sake, hurry!”</p> - -<p>There was no need of this admonition. -Harluk and Harry pried and tugged desperately -at the stones. They came slowly, but -surely. The pack were bounding over one -another now on the far side of the igloo, -lashing themselves into a fury of onslaught.</p> - -<p>“Quick, my brothers!” cried Harluk. “It -is big enough.”</p> - -<p>Harry looked at Joe. Moments were precious, -yet still the pack hesitated, awed partly -by the flash of the big knife, partly by his -cool and constant gaze. “Go!” cried Joe. -“I’ll follow you.”</p> - -<p>Harry plunged through the narrow opening -with a great thrill of delight as he felt himself -in the outer air. As he disappeared from the -igloo, the pack surged forward, but Joe had -been waiting for this. He met the foremost<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>[268]</span> -with a reach of the long knife full in the -breast. With a howl of pain that was his -death cry, the brute turned, biting the animal -next to him in his agony, and starting a fight -among themselves, which took their attention -from Joe for a moment. Deftly and quickly -he backed through the opening, keeping his -eye upon the whirling pack, and holding the -bloody knife still in readiness for instant use. -A moment and he was safe outside, where -he found Harluk and Harry, each with a rifle -cocked and ready in his defense.</p> - -<p>Without a word Harluk passed his rifle to -Joe and hurriedly thrust the stones back into -the wall of the igloo, shutting in the struggling -and bloody pack. They were safe from -this danger, but outside a new one menaced -them. The hilarity among the dozen well-armed -Ankuts was rapidly approaching a -state of frenzy. A chief item of their feast -was a peculiar liquor made by steeping toadstools -in water, which produces what is known -to the whalers as a “toadstool drunk.” This -potion first induces an ordinary sort of intoxication, -but this soon passes into a sort -of fury, in which its victims seem possessed -with a demoniacal strength and ferocity. -Under its influence the Ankuts were far more<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>[269]</span> -to be feared than before. Hiding behind the -igloo, the three watched them carefully. As -yet they had no suspicion that their prisoners -were escaping, and after a little Harluk -touched each of his friends. “Come,” he -said quietly, and they followed where he led.</p> - -<p>To make the situation clear, we must go -back to Harluk’s previous movements. He -had followed the band of Ankuts warily on -their way to the stronghold with their prisoners. -Not once had he lost sight of them, not -once had they suspected that he followed. -He had not been sure, however, in which -igloo the boys were confined until he had -seen them taken out for the trial and then -escorted again to the prison. He had seen -the wolf dogs shut in with them, and knew -that he must act at once if he would rescue -them. The beginning of the Ankut feast had -favored this, as well as the lay of the land. -From the low bluffs a narrow ridge ran down -nearly to the igloo. This gave him shelter -in his approach, and it was behind this that -he led the boys away from the igloo, but -only for a little way. Then, still sheltered -by the intervening rise of ground, he turned -and led them down to the bank of the stream -of warm water, just where it emptied into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>[270]</span> -larger river. Here was an umiak, turned bottom -side up on the bank, with a couple of -paddles beside it. As they stooped to lift -this umiak into the water, there was a wild -howl from the direction of the village.</p> - -<p>“Hurry, my brothers!” cried Harluk; -“they are coming.”</p> - -<p>There was now a tremendous uproar, and -the Ankuts were seen tearing down the slope -toward them at full speed. They hurriedly -pushed off, and Joe and Harluk seized paddles -and sent the light boat spinning out into -the stream. There was the sound of shots -and the spattering of bullets around them as -they did so. The Ankuts had opened fire. -Harry reached for a rifle and Joe nodded to -him.</p> - -<p>“See if you can’t stop some of that,” he -said. “Plug that white-faced one, if you can.”</p> - -<p>Harry hesitated a second. He had never -before attempted the life of a fellow creature. -Then something stung his left arm. One of -the Eskimo shots had grazed him. His hesitation -vanished in a second, and he fired -coolly at the foremost Ankut. The man -stumbled and fell headlong.</p> - -<p>“Good!” cried Joe. “You poked him. -Give ’em another.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>[271]</span></p> - -<p>Again Harry fired, and another Ankut -spun round like a top and rolled in a heap. -Had not the toadstool poison been working in -the Ankut veins, they would have been more -cautious, and it would no doubt have gone -hard with the three, but in their drunken -frenzy the wizards came right on, firing a wild -fusillade and yelling at the top of their lungs. -They ran faster than Joe and Harluk could -paddle, and drew steadily nearer. Two shots -pierced the skin boat, and the water began to -come into it. Joe laid down his paddle and -took up the other rifle.</p> - -<p>“We’ll fight it out right here,” he said.</p> - -<p>The interchange of shots grew more rapid. -Two more Ankuts fell, and even their crazy -ferocity began to waver before so well-directed -a fire. The umiak was a third full of water -now, and Harluk turned its prow back toward -the shore. There was an ugly gleam in Harluk’s -eye, and he gritted his strong white -teeth together, and now and then snapped -them as a dog might. The Ankuts hesitated -and stopped. Then an unexpected thing -happened. Two shots came from behind -them, and a fifth wizard sank to the ground.</p> - -<p>“Nagouruk!” yelled Harluk, in his own -language. “Kill some more; I come!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>[272]</span></p> - -<p>The two Eskimo men whom Harry and Joe -had seen treated as slaves had slipped up to -the dead Ankuts, taken their rifles, and joined -the fray. The Ankuts were bewildered. -Drunk as they were, they realized that the -tide was turned against them. Five of their -number were already dead, and shots were -coming upon them from seemingly all sides. -They wavered. The bow of the umiak struck -the bank and Harluk, with a yell, sprang -from it and ran toward the wizards. His -big knife flashed in his hand, and he yelled -in a berserker rage. The stumbling, shambling -run of the coast native was no longer -his. He seemed to bound like a panther toward -his prey. The apotheosis of the timid -Eskimo had come, and he was a barbaric war -god, glorying in the fray.</p> - -<p>Cowards always at heart, the Ankuts turned -and fled across the tundra toward the hills, -pursued by shots from Joe’s and Harry’s rifles -and those of the two village Eskimos. All -but the white-faced half-breed. He stood his -ground and reserved his fire as Harluk approached. -His lip curled in that evil smile, -and he leveled his rifle coolly. Harluk was -face to face with doom.</p> - -<p>Yet he never hesitated, but leaped on,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>[273]</span> -shouting his defiance and swinging the big -knife, yet red with the blood of the wolf -dog. At ten feet the half-breed pressed the -trigger. Surely Harluk’s amulet was potent -that day, for the cartridge failed to explode. -The half-breed cursed, snatched at the lever, -then cursed again, for that, too, failed to -work. The cartridge was jammed. Then he -clubbed the rifle and swung it full at Harluk’s -head. The Eskimo yelled derisively, -ducked, and sent the big knife home to the -heart of the chief of the Ankuts. His blood -mingled with that of the wolf dog that had -been less fierce and vindictive than he.</p> - -<p>A moment Harluk stood over him with the -dripping knife in hand, then turned with Joe -and Harry to the pursuit of the other Ankuts; -but fear added to their toadstool frenzy -lent them speed, and they disappeared over -the hills, plunging through the soft tundra -moss. The battle was over.</p> - -<p>Harry sat down on the battlefield, feeling -faint and sick. The horror of carnage was on -him. True, they had fought in self-defense, -and the Ankuts richly deserved death, yet the -sight of men slain with his own hand filled -him with remorse, and he felt for a time that -his own safety was dearly bought. The sting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>[274]</span> -in his arm, unnoticed during the excitement -of the battle, came back and turned his -thoughts away from this after a moment. He -examined it. The Ankut bullet had cut a slit -in the fleshy part and passed on, doing little -damage. He bandaged it as best he could, -and, though Joe was solicitous, declared it -was nothing.</p> - -<p>The Eskimos came flocking about, and their -gratitude at their deliverance was so great that -he felt better. After all, great good had surely -come to these poor people, and he felt that -the traditions of his nation justified a war of -emancipation. That was the way Joe put it, -and he was no doubt right. They buried the -dead wizards in the unfrozen earth, not far -from the hot spring, and then ate a hearty -meal, prepared for them by the grateful Eskimo -women.</p> - -<p>Not until then did they remember the wolf -dogs shut up in what had been their prison. -Harluk and the two Eskimo men released -them from the igloo, nor did they, at Joe’s -orders, attempt to either harm or tie them up. -He said that he had no wish for revenge on -them, but he did not care to have such animals -around, and in this Harry agreed with him. -Some time afterward the two Eskimos reported<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>[275]</span> -to Joe that the other dogs had also -vanished. No doubt they had joined the fugitives, -and the dominant wolf blood would -again make a wild pack of them. It was -really a serious matter, but somehow the boys -did not care. They found the presence of an -Eskimo dog of any sort very distasteful to -them.</p> - -<p>For some days they waited in the Ankut -stronghold, keeping watch lest the enemy -return, but seeing no signs of them. Harluk -declared that they probably would not. They -had received such a trouncing, and the odds -were so much against them, that they would -no doubt go on either to some other outlaw -rendezvous, or else take up peaceful life with -some Eskimo community for a while. This -is the way of the defeated Ankut. And now, -rested and recuperated, the problem of further -action came up, and was discussed in a council -of the whole. To travel across the fast -softening tundra toward Point Hope, without -dogs, was a difficult, if not impossible, matter, -and they decided not to try it. By this time -the ice must be out of the sea, and there was -a chance of a ship. Their wisest course would -be to proceed again to the coast. This would -not be difficult. There were two umiaks at<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>[276]</span> -the village. They patched the one riddled by -Ankut bullets, and, loading their belongings -into the two, the whole community set gayly -forth downstream. To the Eskimos who had -been held in subjection it was a happy deliverance, -and their gentle natures brightened -up wonderfully at the thought of escape. -They would not allow either the boys or -Harluk to do any work. They paddled, prepared -meals, made camp, and showed their -gratitude in a hundred ways, till they bade -fair to spoil their deliverers.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>[277]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br /> -<span class="smaller">“THE VILLAGE WHERE NO ONE LIVES”</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The sudden summer was upon the Arctic, -and in the days that followed the boys, in -spite of their homesickness and anxiety in regard -to the future, reveled in it. The tundra -grew green, and seemed almost in a night to -be spangled with countless flowers. Once, -at camp, Joe wandered back into a grassy -meadow, and found Harry there before him. -Tears were running down his cheeks, but they -were happy tears.</p> - -<p>“Look, Joe!” he cried. “Come and see -our old friend here. Oh, how good it is!”</p> - -<p>The meadow was blue in patches with myosotis,—forget-me-nots,—and -among them a -yellow bumble-bee was buzzing and bustling -in busy way, just as contentedly fussy and self-important -as he would have been among the -buttercups two thousand miles south. Down -on his knees beside this messenger went Joe, -with tears in his own eyes and thoughts of -the Nantucket meadows of his childhood.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>[278]</span></p> - -<p>“And oh!” cried Joe. “Here’s another -one. See!” This other one was a little brown -butterfly that flitted gayly along in the warm -breeze. Thus the two worshiped these spirits -of sunshine, translated to their desolate -northern wilderness for its brief summer festival. -The snow-buntings and Arctic sparrows, -already happy with nests and eggs, sang rapturously, -and the ground squirrels sat at the -mouths of their burrows and wrinkled their -rat-like noses at the voyagers. It was a happy -season, coming so soon after struggle, death, -and disaster. The Eskimo boys and girls had -lost that look of stolid misery which their -life under the rule of the highbinders had -given them, and blossomed into joyous, playful -children. Even the river seemed to dance -and dimple along its shallows.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the daintiest spirit, the most chastely -exquisite creature of the whole Arctic summer, -is the little bird known to the naturalists as -the hyperborean snowflake. Verily, a snowflake -it is as it flits through the rosy glow of -misty mornings over the tundra bog so richly -carpeted with purple, yellow, and white. Here, -in a fairy garden, grow the purple primrose, -the golden cowslip, and the white-cupped -dryas, and here flits and sings its dainty<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>[279]</span> -song the snowflake bird. Its plumage is as -pure as a newly opened lily, the spotless white -showing more perfectly by contrast with the -jet-black bill and wing tips. At the edge of -its snowy tail are two black dots. All else -is a fluttering flake of purest snow, and it -seemed to the boys as if in it summer had -transformed the frost-flakes into a living, -breathing spirit of melody.</p> - -<p>Thus for many days they glided along the -placid shallows of this winding river, content -in freedom, sunshine, and bits of summer, that -reminded them of home. Yet by and by -Harry became uneasy.</p> - -<p>“Joe,” he said one day, “it seems to me -we have traveled far enough to reach the sea. -Where do you suppose this river empties? -Its course winds so that it is hard to say just -which way it carries us, though, to be sure, the -general direction is northerly, but don’t you -think it is pretty well to the east of north?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what is worrying me,” confessed -Joe. “In the nature of things we must -come out north of our old camp at Icy Cape, -but I had hoped for no great distance north -of that. Yet no man knows what river’s headwaters -we struck. I hope it is not the Colville. -That would land us a couple of hundred<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280"></a>[280]</span> -miles to the east of Point Barrow, and -unless we had phenomenal luck we’d have to -winter up here again.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t do it,” cried Harry hotly. -“I’d sooner turn and tramp south across the -tundra. We’d at least be headed toward -home, and every mile we made would be sure -gain.”</p> - -<p>Thus anxiety came to them again, and they -began to watch with care the general direction -in which they were floating. It proved to be, -as near as they could guess, northeast.</p> - -<p>“This won’t do,” said Joe, “northeast is -the trend of the coast up here; we’re not getting -much nearer the sea. However, we’ll -hold on a few days longer.”</p> - -<p>Neither Harluk nor the other Eskimos -could help their knowledge of the river. The -Eskimo knows the coast well and the streams -for a few miles back of it. Beyond that, except -in particular instances, the land is unknown -to him. After another week, and just -as they were about decided to camp and -make a land reconnoissance to the westward, -their stream took a turn to the northwest and -they paddled on merrily. The course lay -through low bluffs that bordered the river on -either hand, and in these bluffs, one day, Harry<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281"></a>[281]</span> -noted strata of dark stone. They landed, -out of curiosity, and examined these black -veins.</p> - -<p>“Why, it’s coal!” exclaimed Harry in -astonishment; and so it was,—a sort of semi-bituminous -coal that is not so very different -from cannel coal. The low bluffs were full -of it in veins varying from a few inches wide -to eight or ten feet. There was enough coal -in sight to supply a city, with the promise of -countless thousand tons in the veins beneath -the surface. “Coal,” he explained to Harluk -and the other Eskimos who had gathered -about them, much interested by their enthusiasm, -“to burn, makes fire, like wood.”</p> - -<p>At this the men of the ice shook their -heads incredulously. It was time for the midday -meal, and Harry essayed to show them -that he was right. He built a good fire of -willow wood and piled bits of the black stones -on it, but it would not ignite that way, and -his Eskimo friends wagged their heads and -murmured “Kukowillow,” which is an Eskimo -word which may be freely translated “big -fool.” Here Joe came to his rescue. He -carefully built a cylindrical oven of the larger -blocks that had fallen from the bluff, and -started a snapping wood fire in it. Little by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282"></a>[282]</span> -little he added fine coal to this, and was soon -gratified to find it ignited. The Eskimos -looked on, with smiling incredulity at first, -then with wonder, but as the fire grew and began -to consume the oven itself, they calmly -withdrew from the burning black stones. It -was magic, and the stones did not really burn. -Joe had only made them think so. Harluk -knew he was a great wizard. He had seen -his performances at Icy Cape, and this was -another one. It was all very well for wizards -to burn stones, but the Eskimos knew better -than to try it.</p> - -<p>This was the Eskimo solution of the matter. -The coal measures of northern Alaska extend -from the coast near Cape Lisburne eastward -far into the interior. The rivers that run -to the sea cut through them and expose vast -quantities of the precious fuel. On the seashore -at Cape Sabine the coal falls from the -bluffs under the action of the frost, and may -be picked up by the ton. With a little ingenuity -this coal may be made to burn and -give heat even by very primitive methods, yet -the tribes freeze, and eat uncooked food, with -these vast reservoirs of warmth untouched -beneath their feet. They have seen it burn -in the stoves and under the boilers of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283"></a>[283]</span> -whaleships, yet they take no advantage of it. -Some have tried to burn it in the open, and -failing, were convinced that only the white -man’s magic could make use of it. Others -have found heat enough in blubber and driftwood -or willow twigs, and do not care to try -to utilize the more difficult fuel.</p> - -<p>Some days later, they found their little river -flowing gently into an arm of the sea which -Joe, climbing a bluff and taking a survey, -declared to be Wainwright Inlet. Harluk, -too, recognized the place, and said that the -river which they had traversed was the Koo -of the tribes. Just north of them was Point -Belcher, and Harluk pointed out, on the other -side of the inlet, a place which he called -“Nunaria,” otherwise “The Village where -No One Lives.”</p> - -<p>The story of this “Village where No One -Lives,” of the events which led up to its settlement -and abandonment, is one of the most -extraordinary which the Arctic has yet revealed. -The annals of New Bedford whaling -contain the first part of it. The traditions -of the coast tribes reveal the latter part, the -wild and tragic sequel. These last Harluk -knew well, for the tale has come to be an -epic, related about the blubber lamp during<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284"></a>[284]</span> -the winter night, when the bitter wind blows -without, and the Nunatak people are abroad -and shout down the smoke-hole.</p> - -<p>This is the story compiled from both -sources:—</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1871, forty or more -splendid ships, the pick of the New Bedford -fleet, were following the whales along this ice-bound -coast. The pursuit had been one of -more than common difficulty. The ice was -everywhere, and again and again, even in -midsummer, the ships had been in great danger -from it. Boats were crushed by the -shifting floes, and before September was fairly -in, three staunch ships, the brig Comet, the -barks Roman and Ashawonks, had been -wrecked and their crews transferred to other -vessels. The season was at an end, and the -situation of the remaining ships one of grave -peril, for the ice was closing rapidly around -them and it seemed impossible to work out -of it. There were not provisions enough to -winter the crews, and frequent and serious -consultations were held by the captains. By -way of precaution, men were set to work building -up the gunwales of the boats that they -might better resist the waves, and they were -sheathed with copper to keep the ice from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285"></a>[285]</span> -harming them. An expedition of three boats -was now sent down the coast to see how far -the ice extended. This returned and reported -that it was utterly impracticable to get any -of the main fleet out; that the Arctic and -another vessel were in clear water below the -fields which extended to the south of Blossom -Shoals, eighty miles below the imprisoned -crafts; and that five more vessels, now fast -in this lower ice, were likely to get out soon. -The leader also reported, what every man -knew, that these free vessels would lie by and -wait to aid their imprisoned comrades. It is -a part of the whaleman’s creed to stand by -his mates. To remain with the imprisoned -ships was to perish with them, and they decided -to abandon them.</p> - -<p>It was a sad day. The signals for departure,—flags -at the masthead, union down,—were -set, and with heavy hearts they entered their -boats and pulled away, a mournful flotilla. -Women and children, families of the captains, -were there, and the keen north wind blew over -the frozen sea, chilling the unfortunate fugitives -to the marrow. At night they camped -on the beach, turning the boats bottom upward -and covering them with sails, making -a comfortable refuge for the women and children.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286"></a>[286]</span> -The rest found shelter as best they -might.</p> - -<p>“On the second day out,” says one who -took part in the expedition, “the boats -reached Blossom Shoals, and there spied the -rescue vessels lying five miles out from the -shore and behind a long tongue of ice that -stretched like a great peninsula ten miles -farther down the coast. Around this point -they were obliged to pull before they could -get aboard. The wind blew a gale, the sea -threatened the little crafts with instant annihilation, -but still the hazardous journey must -be performed, and there was no time to be -lost in setting about it. The boats started -on their almost hopeless voyage, the women -and children stifling their fears as best they -could. On rounding this tongue of ice, they -encountered the full force of the southwest -gale, and a sea that would have made the -stoutest ship tremble. In this fearful sea -the whaleboats were tossed about like corks. -They shipped quantities of water from every -wave that struck them, and all hands bailing -could hardly keep them afloat. Everybody -was soaked with freezing brine, and all the -bread and flour aboard was spoiled. The -strength of the gale was such that the Arctic,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287"></a>[287]</span> -after getting her portion of the refugees -aboard, parted her cable and lost her port -anchor, but brought up again with the starboard -one, which held until the little fleet was -ready to sail. By the second day all were -distributed among the seven vessels, from two -to three hundred souls each,—a total of 1219 -refugees. They set sail, and reached Honolulu -in safety.”</p> - -<p>Thirty-four staunch vessels were thus abandoned -to their fate, and only one, The Minerva, -was released in safety the next summer -from the grip of the frost king. More than -a million dollars was abandoned to the ice and -the Eskimos, and ruin brought home to many -a fine old New Bedford shipping concern.</p> - -<p>The sullen winter set in. The ice closed -rigidly about the doomed ships scattered along -the coast from Point Belcher to Blossom Shoals, -and a wild carnival of loot began for the natives -of the north coast. News seems to spread -in strange ways in the Arctic. The Eskimo -tells much, yet he learns more by the observation -of his fellows. Most of all, however, he -seems to have an instinct which is more subtle -still; and the tribes learned the news in all -these ways. To the place of great riches traveled -all who had the means of travel. From<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288"></a>[288]</span> -the bleak coast east to the mouth of the Mackenzie, -from the sandy peninsula of Point Hope -and from points between, each community saw -another pack up and move, and hitched up -their dogs and followed, knowing well that -the prize for such a journey at such a time of -year must be great, else it would not be attempted. -By the time the winter sun ceases -to rise in the southward, but merely lights the -southern sky with a rosy glow at what should -be noon, three thousand Eskimos had assembled -and begun to build the greatest Eskimo -village known to history.</p> - -<p>The skin topeks were set up. Caves in the -bluff became dwellings. Where the wind had -swept the ledges bare, they quarried rough -stone and built igloos of these, chinked with -reindeer moss and banked with snow for -warmth. Many of them, too, began to dismantle -the ships and build rude cabins of the -wood and sails. Such were the nondescript -abodes of the new village, and here they settled -down in the darkness and terrible cold -of the Arctic midnight, content, for near at -hand were provisions and loot such as had -never been dreamed of in the wildest flights -of Eskimo imagination. The looting went on -continuously and peacefully, at first, for there<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289"></a>[289]</span> -was more than enough for all. The village became -crowded with cabin fittings, wrecked deck -houses, spars, ropes, sails, and all the metallic -paraphernalia of a full-rigged ship. In the -holds they broke into the flour barrels and -scattered the contents about in willful play, -for they knew nothing of the value of flour. -Hard bread they prized, but flour was then to -them a thing of no meaning, and there are -aged Eskimos alive to this day who will tell -with sorrow how they wasted the precious -stuff, throwing it at one another and setting -it adrift down the wind in glee.</p> - -<p>The ivory, they prized, the oil, and especially -the whalebone, which they eagerly appropriated -and took ashore, hiding much of it as -well as they could from one another. Later, -when all had been taken from the ships and -trouble and distrust had come, the villagers -began looting from each other.</p> - -<p>But at first all went well. With plenty of the -prized hard-tack, with meat in barrels, with oil -in great profusion, and wood and iron galore, -it seemed as if the Eskimo millennium was at -hand, and that the tribes might live in peace -and plenty here for a long time to come and—who -knows?—out of their prosperity found -a permanent city and develop a higher scheme<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290"></a>[290]</span> -of Eskimo civilization than they had hitherto -known. Yet it was not to be, and the very -plenty that might have been their upbuilding -became their undoing. The serpent of envy -entered their below-zero Eden, and set tribe -against tribe and family against family. Men -began to quarrel over articles of loot aboard -ship. There was not room to stow their wealth -in the igloos, and the women and children -fought over what was outside.</p> - -<p>The supply of liquor had been in the main -destroyed, but on one or two ships this had -been overlooked in the haste of leaving, and -after a time it was discovered. It was not very -much among three thousand Eskimos, but a -little liquor goes a long way among these hardy -men of the north, and once this began to get -in its work among them, no man can describe -the extraordinary scenes which ensued. Tribal -animosity which had been dulled by plenty -and a common object grew keen again, and -the men of one village fought with those of -another until sometimes a whole tribe was -wiped out. As the wild orgy increased and -the supply of liquor gave out, they broke into -the ships’ medicine chests, and tinctures and -solutions of deadly drugs were used with fatal -effect.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291"></a>[291]</span></p> - -<p>The horror lasted until the spring sun was -well above the southern horizon, and scarcely -half the people of the new city were left to see -him rise. These were half-clad, and emaciated -by the terrible deeds and mishaps of the -winter. The dogs, neglected and unfed, had -gone “molokully”—crazy—with the cold -and hunger, and were roaming the waste of -snow, or were mercifully dead. The remnant -of the people had no means and were in no -condition to travel, yet travel they must. The -daze of their orgy was over, and the place was -become a place of horrors to them. Dead lay -in every igloo, and in Eskimo land an igloo in -which some one has died is henceforth a place -of evil, and no man must take shelter there.</p> - -<p>There were no doubt stores and material -enough left in and about the vessels that were -unburned to support the people remaining in -comfort for a long time to come, and could -they have had a chance to recuperate, they -still might have made a village unique in size -and prosperity, but they would have none -of it.</p> - -<p>Silently and in terror the remnant of the -tribes scattered and hastened to their former -homes, but only a part ever reached them. -Sick and emaciated, their dogs dead or scattered,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292"></a>[292]</span> -the journey was one of hardship long to -be remembered, and the miles were marked -with the bones of those that fell by the way.</p> - -<p>This is the story of “Nunaria,” a place of -ghosts and of the dead. To this day no Eskimo -will willingly enter its precincts. The -ice and gales of winter, the frosts and thaws -of spring, the deluges of rain and the grass of -summer, work hard to obliterate it, yet still it -may be found, and its ruin tells the tale of one -brief winter of too much plenty, and the evil -effect of a sudden plethora of the good things -of civilization and city life on the Innuit. -With him, as with the rest of us, self-control -is not easily learned where abstemiousness is -continually forced. It takes a far greater -man to stand sudden great prosperity than it -does to survive lean years and narrow opportunities. -Harluk expressed this in one brief -Eskimo phrase. “Amalucktu amalucktu, peluk,” -he said. “Too much plenty is no good.”</p> - -<p>There is a brief sequel to the story. The -next spring an enterprising trader brought up -in his ship a three-holed bidarka from Unalaska. -When the ship was stopped by the -ice, he manned the bidarka, and went on, -paddled by two men. He reached the village -of death through the narrow leads opening<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_293"></a>[293]</span> -in the pack. Here he found no living thing -save the foxes and crows making revel among -the bodies of the dead. But he found much -store of whalebone and ivory,—so much that -he reaped a harvest and was able to visit the -capitals of Europe in the style of a bonanza -king. Yet, after all, what he got was not the -half of the store the ships had accumulated -during their summer cruise. What had become -of the balance? Let us see.</p> - -<p>Harluk would not join Harry and Joe in -their exploration of Nunaria. It sufficed for -him to point it out from the bluff opposite. -They set out alone. Strange sights met their -eyes in this village. Traces of former topeks -could be found here and there by the white -bones, which showed in the grass. Others -built of stone had partly fallen in, but still -in part retained their shape. From one of -these a white fox bounded, and, on looking -within, they found a litter of young foxes -snuggled within the remnants of some ancient -fur garments, among the bones of the man -that had worn them. Here an arm bone was -stretched out through the tundra grass, as if -reaching up for aid. There a white skull -grinned at them from the dark corner of a -tumbled heap of rocks which had been a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_294"></a>[294]</span> -home of the ancient village. They found the -brass cover of a ship’s binnacle over the ashes -of a long-abandoned fire. The dark and -mouldy remnants of an uneaten meal were in -this strange pot, showing to what base uses -the tribes had put the ship’s instruments. -Scattered about in inconceivable confusion -that time could not obliterate were the useless -fragments of the loot of the ships,—rotten -ropes, decayed canvas, rusty iron, blocks, and -wooden wreckage of all sorts, grown with -tundra moss, half buried in waving grass, yet -visible still in dismal disorder. There were -many spots, very many, where this grass was -longer and greener than the rest, and they -knew that underneath were the bones of the -dead of that dread winter of too much plenty.</p> - -<p>In one of the igloos they found a couple of -splendid walrus tusks, half hidden in a corner, -and in two others single slabs of whalebone, -still but little harmed by the weather -and the passage of time.</p> - -<p>“Queer there isn’t more of this stuff,” said -Harry, as he kicked out the slab of whalebone -from the dark and grewsome hole.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think so,” replied Joe. “Of -course the traders and whalemen knew of the -place and carried off all they could find.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_295"></a>[295]</span> -They never got half that was on the ships, -though. I imagine the natives never brought -it off, but that it was burned or sunk with -the vessels.”</p> - -<p>“Hum,” said Harry. “But it might pay -us to look pretty closely.”</p> - -<p>Joe looked at him with a new thought in -his eye. “Do you think so?” he said, meditatively.</p> - -<p>“Why not?” asked Harry in reply, and -they continued their search. Yet they found -nothing more of value among the igloos or -on the tundra. It was after they had given -up the search and were on their way back -along the low bluff that they made a further -discovery.</p> - -<p>“Harluk told about part of the village that -lived in what he called a ‘kitekook.’ What -sort of an igloo is that?”</p> - -<p>“That’s so,” replied Joe; “I had forgotten. -Why, ‘kitekook’ is the Point Hope word -for cave. We haven’t seen any caves yet. -They would be in the bluff, seems to me.”</p> - -<p>For a long time they searched the bluff -without finding anything. The disintegrating -forces of frost and thaw each spring -change the face of all Arctic cliffs. Crumbled -by the frost and torn off by the water, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_296"></a>[296]</span> -warm weather often brings the fronts down in -little landslides. The streams gully through -them and cut them away so that the face of -nature often changes greatly in a single year. -The low bluffs along the inlet showed many -marks of this violence. By and by Joe, -scrambling along the débris at the foot of -the bluff, gave a shout to Harry, farther on. -“Here’s a wolf’s den, or a cave, or something,” -he said. “Come and see it.”</p> - -<p>The wolf’s den was a hole in the bluff, half -smothered in the débris which had fallen and -obscured it. There was hardly room to crawl -in, but Joe managed it, while Harry waited -outside in some excitement. In a moment -Joe called out:—</p> - -<p>“Here,” he said in a smothered voice; -“take this.”</p> - -<p>A splendid slab of whalebone was passed -up through the hole. After a time Joe followed -it, much besmeared with dirt, but with -a radiant face.</p> - -<p>“I think we’ve made a find, this time,” he -said excitedly. “That is one of the ‘kitekooks,’ -and it is chock-a-block with the finest -bone you ever saw.”</p> - -<p>The slab which he had passed out was, indeed, -a beauty, and was worth many dollars.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_297"></a>[297]</span> -They proceeded with the hunt with great enthusiasm -and found several other “kitekooks” -well stored with bone. Joe’s eyes snapped -with excitement.</p> - -<p>“There’s fifty thousand dollars’ worth of -splendid bone stowed right in this cliff,” he -said, “and it has been waiting for us for -twenty-five years. The people who came here -that summer after cleaned up what was in -the other igloos, but they never found this. -Probably there had been a landslide that -spring and blocked the caves. The Eskimos -could not be hired to come here, and only -they knew about it. It’s a bonanza! Hurrah! -this will pay for the loss of the Bowhead, -twice over.”</p> - -<p>Harry examined the five caves that they -found, and decided that Joe’s estimate of the -value of their find was a very conservative -one. To him it seemed nearly double that, -and after excitedly figuring the probable value, -Joe was inclined to agree with him. It was -certain that they had found a fortune, and the -only question was as to how they might realize -on it. The bone was worth that in San -Francisco, to be sure, but they were a long -way from San Francisco, and the problem of -getting there themselves was still a great one.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_298"></a>[298]</span> -Their great hope was that Captain Nickerson -would be on the coast again with a vessel and -would find them that summer. They decided -to keep the presence of the bone a profound -secret even from Harluk and his fellows. -They returned to the camp and said very little -about what they had seen. Harluk thought -this reasonable.</p> - -<p>“None but wizards,” he declared solemnly, -“might unharmed visit a place of ghosts, and -he saw that they even were wise enough not -to talk about it.”</p> - -<p>This find in the Village where No One -Lives kept the boys chained to the locality, -much to the sorrow of the Eskimos, who -wished to get farther away from it. There -were plenty of fish in the inlet, and wild ducks -were tame and present in great flocks. They -lived well, but they did not like to be so near -the place of ghosts. But the boys were firm. -It was midsummer, and just about the right -time of year for ships to be off that coast, and -they did not wish to leave their find. They -decided that the bone must stay where it was -until they could take it out and place it on a -ship of their own, and they would better wait -right there on the chance of such a ship. -Thus they lingered on, week after week, in a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_299"></a>[299]</span> -vain hope. No ship came. As a matter of -fact, it was one of those seasons that Harluk -and Kroo had predicted, when the Arctic pack -hugs the coast and it is difficult and often -impossible for ships to get beyond Blossom -Shoals.</p> - -<p>All too soon the brief summer waned, and -their hopes waned with it. While they hesitated, -the heavy sea ice pressed in nearer the -coast and cut off any possible chance of a -ship. The ducks flew away, the river froze -over, and there was mush ice all along the -coast where the pack had not frozen to the -shore. The cold was coming on exceptionally -early, and they were much dejected over -the prospect. The wind blew keen from the -north, and snow whitened the once blooming -tundra. The winter was upon them before -they knew it, so rapidly does it come in that -land of ice.</p> - -<p>In the midst of this trouble Harluk came -to them with a face of good news.</p> - -<p>“My brothers,” he said, “good luck is -surely coming to us. The dogs have come -back.”</p> - -<p>Eight or ten gaunt dogs were eagerly -snatching at food that the Eskimos threw to -them; then, their hunger satisfied, they allowed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_300"></a>[300]</span> -themselves to be tied up, and lay down -by the topek doors in contentment.</p> - -<p>The Eskimo dog grows very fond of the -people with whom he is brought up, and never -forgets them, no matter how long separated. -Thus, though he runs away and sometimes -roams wild over the tundra for months, he is -almost sure finally to find his way back to the -friends of his puppyhood. It was what had -now happened.</p> - -<p>Some hours afterward Joe found Harry -gazing moodily at the icy sea with tears in his -eyes. It was not the cutting wind that had -put them there and Joe knew it. He laid his -hand gently on his friend’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Cheer up, old fellow,” he said, trying to -smile and making hard work of it. “Cheer -up, the worst is yet to come.”</p> - -<p>“I should say the worst was here,” replied -Harry dejectedly. “It’s almost winter again -and we are farther from home than ever. We -haven’t any ship for a refuge this time, -either.”</p> - -<p>“I know it,” said Joe, “and we’ve got to -get out of this right now. We’ll have to -leave our bone behind, but that has been -safe there a good many years, and I guess it -will stay one more. At any rate, we’ll risk<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_301"></a>[301]</span> -it. What do you say, old chap, if we go -south?”</p> - -<p>“What do you say if we have a little excursion -to the moon?” said Harry bitterly; -“the one seems as likely as the other.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think you ought to feel that -way,” replied Joe. “The tundra and the rivers -are frozen, the dogs have come back, and I -have a plan. We will not attempt to find a -ship. I doubt if one is up as far as this this -year. Nor will we try to meet one at Lisburne, -the chances are too slim. We will pack -up and start straight south. The traveling -is good. The north wind will be at our backs, -and we are used to the cold. It seems a bold -scheme, but it has been done before. Funston -made the trip north and back to the -relief of shipwrecked whalers in the dead of -winter, some years ago. He was no better -fitted than we to endure the cold and the -hardships. Come into the topek a minute and -I’ll show you something.”</p> - -<p>In the topek Joe unfolded the chart of -northern Alaska, which was among the papers -saved from the wreck of the Bowhead. He -showed Harry the distance almost due south -to the Yukon River, not five hundred miles. -There they should strike the well-traveled<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_302"></a>[302]</span> -Yukon winter trail from St. Michael to Dawson -City and find civilized men. The very -thought of it made them both wild, so weary -were they grown of barbarism and the frozen -wilderness.</p> - -<p>“Strong and well as we are, with a good -dog team,” said Joe, “we ought to be good -for fifteen miles a day, even in poor traveling. -Let us call it a hundred miles a week. It -should take us not over five weeks to reach -the Yukon. Then with a good trail we can -go either to Dawson City or St. Michael. In -any case, it means that we get out and get -home. It is now September. If we could -reach St. Michael before the last of November, -we might catch a late steamer for San -Francisco or Seattle. At any rate, we would -be among white men. It is better than staying -on this coast for another winter, which is -just what we’ll have to do unless we start.”</p> - -<p>It was rather a desperate venture, but -neither was willing to live Eskimo fashion on -Eskimo food for another eight months of terrible -cold. It made their hearts sick to think -of it. On the other hand, the thought of -heading toward home, with a chance of reaching -it, set the blood leaping in their veins -again, and they went about preparation with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_303"></a>[303]</span> -feverish haste. Fortune favored them, as it -does the brave. The very next day a school -of belated beluga came puffing and plunging -alongshore headed south through the mush -ice, looking like a foam-crested wave as they -rolled along.</p> - -<p>The Eskimos seized this opportunity with -keen delight, and Harry and Joe joined in -the hunting. The beluga is the stupid little -white whale of the Arctic, fifteen or twenty -feet long and white as milk. The whole community -hastened out on the floes and in the -umiaks on the seaward side of the school. -Here, suddenly, they attacked them with -shouting and shooting, with beating of paddles -and thrusts of lances. A part of the -school got away, but a dozen or more were -shot, lanced, or driven ashore, where they -stranded in shallow water and were easily -killed. It was a feast in store for the natives -and provision laid up for the winter, but it -meant much more for the boys. The flesh -of the beluga is not bad eating for man or -beast, and it furnished supplies for themselves -and dogs, sufficient to undertake the trip.</p> - -<p>They were not long in getting away. The -gratitude of the natives still held good, and -they could have anything they wished. They<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_304"></a>[304]</span> -took five of the strongest dogs and a good -sled. They loaded this with beluga meat, furs, -a slab or two of whalebone slipped slyly in, -“for a sample,” as Joe said, ammunition, -their papers, and the two repeating rifles. -They did not ask Harluk to accompany them. -Such a trip meant taking him from his wife -and children for a long time, and he was perhaps -needed for their support. He and his -Eskimo friends would work down the coast to -Icy Cape and join the little village there.</p> - -<p>Good-bys were said with genuine sorrow -on both sides, and the boys set their faces -to the south, toward new and stranger adventures.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_305"></a>[305]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII<br /> -<span class="smaller">IN THE HEART OF BLIZZARDS</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>Joe estimated that they made their fifteen -miles the first day. The tundra was smooth, -and had just snow enough for good traveling. -The next, the dogs, unused to their masters, -balked, and they hardly did five, to their -great vexation. The day after was better, -and with patience and firmness they taught -the animals that they must obey. Then some -rough traveling bothered them. Still they -got on, and at the end of the first week they -had probably eighty miles to their credit. -They were hopeful, and planned to do more -the next, but they made Sunday a day of rest.</p> - -<p>It was a solemn thing, this cutting loose -from friends and supplies and braving the -unknown interior, and it made them thoughtful -of observances that they had neglected in -igloo and topek. Harry took from his inner -pocket the little Bible that he had carried -all through the trip, and, opening its pages, -stained with Bering Sea water, at random,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_306"></a>[306]</span> -found the book of Psalms. He read aloud -to Joe, and the simple grandeur of thought -and eloquent beauty of phrase steadied and -heartened them both. Then they talked long -of their home and friends, and, resting in the -shelter of their tent while the dogs lay content -in the snow outside, felt that the observance -of the day had been worthy, and -a wise thing. They made it their custom -thereafter. Yet in all this talk of home Harry -never mentioned Maisie to Joe. But that is -not saying he did not think of her.</p> - -<p>The fourth day of the next week carried -them over a range of hills to a second, higher -table-land. They had been helped in their -journey by a river, on whose level, snow-covered -ice they worked southward at a good rate -of speed. Its course seemed fairly direct, and -they made in speed what they lost by not going -in a straight line. The four days must -have added nearly another fifty miles to their -journey, and Joe was jubilant. He began to -predict that they would reach the Yukon in -good season, and get out by steamer from St. -Michael that fall.</p> - -<p>The very next morning they waked cold, -in spite of their furs, and found a gray and -sunless dawn, across which a keen north wind<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_307"></a>[307]</span> -sang. They hitched up and pressed on, but -the sky grew grayer, and soon the world was -a whirling mass of snow. They drifted before -this wind for a mile or two, the snow getting -deeper, and their progress slower every moment. -Soon it was half knee deep, and the -load began to be heavy for the dogs. Now and -then they looked up at the boys wistfully, as -if wondering why they did not seek shelter. -For two hours they struggled on, not so much -because they wished to as that on the level -plain there seemed to be no cover.</p> - -<p>By and by Harry began to wonder if he -was dreaming. The snow under foot seemed -to be trodden and the walking easier. Then he -began to have what he thought were fleeting -glimpses of shadowy forms that surrounded -them, yet never came near enough to be really -seen. He spoke of this to Joe, who had been -plugging along in a sort of weary daze behind -the sled while Harry led the way for the dogs.</p> - -<p>Joe waked up at this, and together they -examined the ground. There certainly were -countless tracks of hoofs under foot, though -the rapidly falling snow blotted them out -very soon.</p> - -<p>“They are caribou tracks,” said Harry.</p> - -<p>“But where are the caribou?” asked Joe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_308"></a>[308]</span></p> - -<p>“All about us,” replied Harry. “I keep -thinking I see them, but the snow is so thick -and blinding that I can’t be sure. See!”</p> - -<p>They had stopped during this consultation, -and, looking directly back, they could see dim -antlered forms that divided as they approached, -and went to the left and right of them, passing -on into the blur of snow. An immense -herd of caribou, perhaps miles long, was -drifting before the gale, and by some strange -chance had inclosed them within itself. The -animals, stupid, and dazed by the snow, paid -little attention to them, but pressed aimlessly -on, as if blown by the storm. It was a strange -experience, this being the centre of an invisible -herd that made a path for them in the -wilderness of snow. It lasted for another -hour, and yet they had hardly a glimpse of -the deer. It came to an end when they -reached a broad gully that marked the course -of a stream. In the shelter of the bank of -this the snow had drifted deep, and here the -tracks swerved and left them in the snow.</p> - -<p>“We’d better camp here,” said Joe. -“We’ve had enough for one day, and here -is a good spot.”</p> - -<p>The weary dogs dropped panting at the -word, but Joe took a rifle from the sled.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_309"></a>[309]</span></p> - -<p>“It seems a shame,” he said, “after they’ve -broken a path for us for hours, but I want -one of those caribou.”</p> - -<p>He stepped back a few rods into the fog -of the storm, and in a moment a single shot -sounded. After making the dogs fast, Harry -went back to him. A fine buck lay dead -with a bullet through his heart.</p> - -<p>“I could have had more,” said Joe, “but -one is all we can carry with our other luggage.”</p> - -<p>As they stood, two gray, shaggy forms -sprang out of the storm, and would have -fallen upon the dead caribou, but seeing the -boys they hesitated and drew back with red -tongues hanging from between their gleaming -white teeth. A shot from the rifle laid one -low, and the other vanished like a flash. They -were gray wolves, which always hang about -the flank of the caribou herds and fall upon -the weak or wounded. Half frozen as the -boys were, they skinned and cut up the caribou -the first thing. Then in the shelter of the -gulley they set up their tent, and with their -meat and sled-load inside it banked it deep in -the drift. For the dogs they dug a snow igloo -and made them fast to the sled, with which -they blocked the entrance to it. Thus the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_310"></a>[310]</span> -dogs, well fed on deer meat, had shelter sufficient -for their needs in spite of the blizzard. -They themselves were snug in the little tent -banked deep in the drift. There was no -chance to get wood for fuel, but here they -learned the wisdom of Harluk, who had insisted -that they make a part of their load a -seal poke of blubber and a rude lamp. With -this they toasted caribou steak, and it added -to the warmth of their den.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus13"> -<img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="700" height="550" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">TOILING ON THROUGH THE DRIFTS</p> -</div> - -<p>The storm continued for a week, the third -since their departure, and when it broke and -they struggled on through the deep drifts, -they at once realized that their progress must -be slow indeed. Yet, after all, they made -about ten miles a day by patient toil, one -going ahead and breaking a road for the -dogs, the other following the sled and helping -it along. They had ten days of beautiful -weather, too, and at their end they guessed -that they had made, altogether, nearly two -hundred miles south. It was early October -now, with the Arctic winter well upon them, -yet they did not suffer from the cold, so well -had they learned Eskimo methods of defense -against it. To their great delight, about this -time they began to find timber. It was small, -it is true, and consisted of scattered clumps<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_311"></a>[311]</span> -of little birches and alders, with here and -there a pigmy fir. They danced and shouted -about this first fir till the dogs no doubt -thought them “molokully.” It seemed like an -outpost of the home land of trees, real trees! -They had seen none for a year and a half, -and were fairly homesick for timber. They -had wood now for their cooking, yet the timber -was a hindrance to them. The wind-swept -and hardened snow gave way under its protection -to soft and fluffy drifts, which made -the traveling far more difficult. And about -this time they caught another storm. A genuine -blizzard, this was, with some fall of snow, -but mainly wind and cold.</p> - -<p>They were obliged to camp, as before, nor -did the gale let up for three weeks. It was -maddening, but there was no help for it. -These terrific Arctic gales sometimes last for -literal months, and they were fortunate to -escape as they did.</p> - -<p>They fed the dogs lightly during their enforced -leisure, but even thus their provisions -began to run low, and they were anxious. -It began to look as if it would be months -instead of weeks before they reached the -Yukon, yet they were not discouraged. It -was better to steadily, though slowly, progress<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_312"></a>[312]</span> -toward home than to wait in inaction. When -fair weather came, Joe decided that they -must hunt before going farther. This they -did for two days steadily, plunging round -through the waist-deep snow, with a fox, a -white owl, and several ptarmigan as the result, -just about what they ate during that time. -This was not worth while, and they struggled -south again, with the fast lowering sun as a -guide. Another week passed with slow progress, -but the timber got thicker and ptarmigan -became plentiful. There was hardly need -to shoot these. They were tame enough to -be knocked over with a stick.</p> - -<p>It was weary work, and the last of their -supplies was gone when they came out on a -low bluff, the bank of a considerable river. -Below them, on the river ice, was a winding -mark through the snow. It might be a caribou -trail, and they plunged eagerly down -to it.</p> - -<p>There were the footprints of moccasins and -marks of a sled!</p> - -<p>Harry felt much as he thought Robinson -Crusoe must have when he saw the famous -footprints in the sand. They had been so -long without seeing human beings that it -seemed as if the country must be utterly uninhabited,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_313"></a>[313]</span> -but this proved something different. -They turned and followed this trail up river. -Then they rounded a bluff, saw smoke and -heard the barking of many dogs, and from -a cluster of timber huts a group appeared, -and a man came to greet them.</p> - -<p>“Nagouruk, nagouruk,” shouted Joe, and -greeted him in Eskimo, to which the other -replied hesitatingly in a few words of the -same language. Others, men, women, and -children, poured out of the village and received -the two adventurers hospitably.</p> - -<p>“We’ll camp with these people for a while,” -said Joe. “We must till we can get provisions -enough to move on.”</p> - -<p>Harry assented. Indeed, both boys were -heartily tired of their struggle against the -odds of snow and fast approaching darkness. -They were assigned an empty igloo, but preferred -to build one of their own out of wood, -brush, and snow, which had the merit of -being clean. Their new-found friends were -generous, had plentiful supplies of dried fish -and frozen meat, and the boys lingered with -them at first to rest. Later, the midwinter -blizzards made it impossible for them to -travel.</p> - -<p>The inland Indians of northern Alaska are<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_314"></a>[314]</span> -few, but scattered villages of them may be -found along the larger rivers. They are much -like the Eskimos in their habits and dress, -but are taller and of stronger build. Their -dialect is different in many respects from that -of their cousins of the coast, yet they have -many words in common, and meet in trade -often enough to be able to talk to one another. -The boys learned that the river on which they -dwelt flowed into the sea to the westward, -and were convinced from their chart that they -had reached the headwaters of the Kowak, -which empties into Kotzebue Sound. When -they talked of going on, the Indians told them -it would be impossible. The snows, they -said, were very deep, which the boys knew -to be true. The country to the south was -one of rugged mountains, which they would -be unable to cross. Besides, they argued, -what was the need? As soon as any one -could travel in the spring, they themselves -were going down river to meet the tribes of -the great sandspit at the meeting of rivers -with the sea. Thither, they said, came all -the tribes of the coast to meet those of the -rivers and exchange goods. Sometimes, too, -ships appeared, and they would perhaps find -white men there.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_315"></a>[315]</span></p> - -<p>Thus, still baffled, the two waited doggedly -for the spring, hopeful still, not giving way -to useless repinings, yet very weary of the -bonds of frost that held them fast. The Indians -lived a simple life, not so very different -from that of their Eskimo friends. They -kept their igloos in severe weather. When it -was mild, they trapped red and white foxes, -wolverines, and ermine, and kept a keen eye -out for caribou, whose coming meant a feast -and many hides for traffic in the spring trading-meet, -to which they looked forward. The -sun vanished and came again. The winter -solstice passed, and day by day he rode a little -higher in the southern sky. February came -and March, with its wild gales, and the flying -snow that drifted back and forth across -the country in clouds that obscured the sun -at noon, and sometimes wrapped the igloos -deep beneath its whelming white volumes, -again drifted away from them and left them -half bare to the keen winds; then April -with its mild air, a sun that left them little -night and settled the snow till it was as hard -as a floor where packed in solid drifts. The -Indians prospered, and the boys shared their -prosperity. Early in April a great herd of -caribou shambled by the village, and the whole<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_316"></a>[316]</span> -community turned out to slaughter them. -Never had they killed so many deer; indeed, -far more were shot than could be properly -attended to, and many were left to the wolves. -There was little hunting to this. The stupid -caribou, running hither and thither, were shot -down with repeating rifles, which are as plentiful -among the wild tribes of Alaska as among -civilized hunters. Then the herd, so great -that the slaughter seemed in no wise to diminish -it, passed on.</p> - -<p>“Our white visitors,” said the head man of -the village, “have brought good fortune with -them. There shall be a feast.”</p> - -<p>“Look here,” said Harry to Joe privately, -on hearing this; “you don’t suppose this is -any seal’s head business, this one, do you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” said Joe, “this is to be a real -banquet, I think.”</p> - -<p>A real banquet it was, indeed. The largest -igloo in the village was the scene, everybody -in the place was present, and the amount of -deer meat eaten was astonishing. Then there -followed an entertainment in the nature of -private theatricals. Each hunter in turn gave -a description of the most exciting event in -his life, suiting the action to the word, and -making of it an exceedingly interesting and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_317"></a>[317]</span> -dramatic recital. Humorous scenes in every-day -life, and amusing mishaps in hunting and -fishing, were also acted out in realistic fashion, -and brought shouts of laughter from all.</p> - -<p>The crowning number in the entertainment, -however, was a cake walk done by the boys, -who blackened their faces with soot and gave -the burlesque with much spirit. They were -called upon to repeat this until they were -obliged to quit from sheer weariness, and then -they laughed themselves out of breath at the -queer antics of their friends, who began immediately -to imitate this novel form of entertainment. -It was the first really hearty laugh -they had had for a long time, and it did them -both a world of good.</p> - -<p>Then came the start down river, and the -bustle of preparation, together with the homeward -thought, put them in great spirits. Half -a dozen sleds, each with its team of dogs, -were piled high with provisions, caribou hides, -fox, ermine, and wolverine pelts, and the -whole community started down the stream on -the hard settled snow. The boys computed -that they had a journey of two hundred miles -ahead of them, taking into account the windings -of the river, and that their destination -was the sandspit at Hotham Inlet. The Indians<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_318"></a>[318]</span> -verified this on being shown the chart, -and seemed to have a good understanding of -a map. They moved by leisurely stages, -stopping often for a day or two to rest or on -account of bad weather. Yet the weather -in the main was delightful, varying between -the freezing-point and perhaps zero or a little -below, with a dry air and mainly a bright sun -that made it a pleasure to be alive. In traveling, -the head man of the village led, over -the hard crust, or breaking a path through -softer snow on rude snowshoes. His own -team and sled followed, then another team -with a man or boy leading, and so on. The -women and children strung along between -the teams where the snow was soft, or on -either side where it was hard. The dogs were -intelligent and well trained, and the work of -guiding them thus in single file was not difficult.</p> - -<p>Early May found them a hundred miles -toward their destination, and here, in one -day, many interesting things happened. They -had found their two slabs of whalebone, -brought from the Arctic coast, of great value -to them in trade. They had split one of -these into small strips and peddled them out -in barter to the men of the tribe, who coveted<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_319"></a>[319]</span> -whalebone, and were as eager as stage Yankees -for a trade. They had bought with this, -among other things, two pair of rude snowshoes, -and on the day I speak of, while the -tribe rested, they started down river on an -exploring trip. It was warm and bright, and -thawed a little in the sun in sheltered nooks.</p> - -<p>The Kowak in its middle course winds -among cliffs, carving its way through high -bluffs on one side, leaving alluvial stretches -of level flats at the base of other heights -opposite. From one of these sheer bluffs, -facing the south, wind and sun had taken the -snow, and as they approached they saw sticking -from the dark soil of its surface white -objects like weather-worn logs of driftwood.</p> - -<p>“Funny!” said Joe; “they look like bones, -those logs. See, there are some that look like -the knuckle-bone of a ham, and there are -others like rib-bones.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Harry, taking up the simile, -“and there are two that stick out of the -frozen mud like an elephant’s tusks, only they -are curved too much and about fifteen feet -long. Let’s get nearer.”</p> - -<p>As they approached, their interest gave way -to wonder. The seeming bones were bones -in very truth, piled fantastically and protruding<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_320"></a>[320]</span> -in strange profusion. Harry climbed by -knobs and steps of bone part way up the -bluff and shouted down to Joe.</p> - -<p>“These are tusks, mastodon tusks, sticking -right out of the bank, and here is a bit of the -skull sticking out with shreds of hide and hair -on it. There must be a whole one frozen into -the bluff here.”</p> - -<p>Joe climbed up and viewed the remains with -him. It really seemed as if, concealed in the -frozen mud behind the great tusks, the whole -creature might be preserved, in cold storage -as one might say, kept during the long centuries, -and exposed by the crumbling of the -bluff during the rush of the river torrent -in spring. An astonishing number of bones -were in this place, all of the mastodon, and -the only explanation seemed to be that in the -forgotten ages when the frozen zone was a -warm one and the mastodon roamed there in -large numbers, this ground must have been -a deep bog, in which many of the creatures -became mired and were in a great measure -preserved, as peat preserves things. The -boys settled it in this way to their own satisfaction, -at least.</p> - -<p>“Come on,” cried Joe, in exuberance of -spirits, “let’s ride the elephant.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_321"></a>[321]</span></p> - -<p>“Ride the mastodon, you mean,” replied -Harry; and each scrambled for a tusk. “Get -up!” cried Harry, “cooning” along to the -tip of his tusk. “Get up old fellow and give -us a ride. Great Scott, he’s moving!”</p> - -<p>The tusks of the mastodon, moving together, -dipped gently and easily downward -and both boys shot off them into space.</p> - -<p>It was a matter of twenty feet to the soft -snow, and they plunged into it out of sight.</p> - -<p>Behind them came the great tusks, hundreds -of pounds of weathered ivory, plunging -through the snow nearer the base of the -cliff. They missed the two by a little, but -they missed them. Harry felt himself smothered -in a whirl of snow, then falling again for -a short distance, and finally brought up on a -soft turf, where he lay for a moment half dazed -by the thud with which he struck. Then he -scrambled to his feet and looked around. He -was in a low-roofed, wide cavern, dusky with a -greenish pale twilight. Joe was sitting up on -the ground by his side, rubbing his elbow and -leg alternately and looking foolish, as no doubt -he felt.</p> - -<p>“Where are we, anyway?” asked Joe, and -the query was pertinent if the answer which -he got was not.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_322"></a>[322]</span></p> - -<p>“Riding the elephant,” replied Harry, with -a rueful grin.</p> - -<p>Over their heads, ten feet away in the snow -roof through which they had come, were four -holes which let in the nebulous twilight by -which they saw. They and the mastodon -tusks had come that way. To get back was -another matter.</p> - -<p>They looked about with much curiosity not -untempered with dismay. They were beneath -the crust of an enormous drift that the winter -storms had whirled over the mastodon cliff. -Under their feet was a mixture of mud and -bones from the cliff, carpeted with grass and -moss. Around them grew willows. The slender -top branches of these had been caught by -the first damp snow of early autumn and bent -beneath it till they twined, holding the bulk -of it up. This had frozen there and the succeeding -snows had piled above it, leaving the -place free, an ideal natural cold frame for the -shrubs and grass of the bottom land. These -appreciated the shelter, and feeling the thrill -of spring in their dark world, were already -putting forth young green leaves. Up and -down stream the cavern extended indefinitely. -On one side it ended abruptly against the -cliff, on the other it tapered down to the river<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_323"></a>[323]</span> -ice, already worn thin on its edge and beginning -to thaw.</p> - -<p>For an hour they wandered back and forth -in this strange cavern, their eyes becoming accustomed -to the darkness. It was fortunate -that this had not happened a few weeks later. -Then the freshening flood of the river would -no doubt have drowned them like rats in a -hole. Now they were free—to wait for the -flood, unless they could get out. But both -boys were Yankees, and there is always a way -out of a scrape, though it sometimes takes a -Yankee to find it. Joe suggested that they -climb the stubby willows and thence dig their -way up, but his plan failed, for he could not get -footing enough to get through the snow. Instead, -he fell again to the bottom and rubbed -his other leg. Harry suggested the plan that -ultimately succeeded. With his knife he cut -stout willow stakes and sharpened them at the -end. Then walking toward the ice till they -were blocked by the low roof, they began to -dig a tunnel slanting upward and outward. It -was a long dig through frozen crust and layers -of damp snow, but they finally emerged -like ground squirrels in the spring, and found -the glare of the sun on the snow quite blinding.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_324"></a>[324]</span></p> - -<p>That night in camp the head man of the -tribe came to the boys to trade. He wanted -more whalebone, and he offered them things -which they had not seen before. These were -rough ornaments of green jade, some mere -bits of stone, others rudely chipped into -shapes. One of these was a rude image of -Buddha such as Harry had seen in Chinese -collections. Harry marveled at this greatly, -but the Indian could give no explanation concerning -it except that his father had got it in -trade from a coast native. By what strange -mutations this had come from its Oriental fatherland -may never be known, but the north -has its routes of trade as have other regions. -Things go from hand to hand among the tribes, -and this had probably passed in centuries of -time through Tartar tribes to the Chuckchis, -over to the Diomedes, down the coast to Hotham -Inlet, and up the river to the father of -the head man. Now it was on its way back -to the sea, and may ultimately reach its fatherland -by circumnavigating the globe. Who -knows?</p> - -<p>It was while examining these jade ornaments -that Harry noted something else that -gave him a start of surprise. He thought at -first it was a yellow and dirty image of a seal<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_325"></a>[325]</span> -carved from a walrus tooth, such as he had -bought at the Diomedes as a curio and lost in -the sinking of the Bowhead. He picked this -up carelessly and was astonished at its weight. -He put the point of his knife to it and it left -a clear, dull yellow streak. Then he passed it -to Joe without a word.</p> - -<p>It was a two ounce nugget of pure gold, -hammered or carved into that rude semblance -of a seal which is the delight of the Eskimo -image maker. Joe’s eyes snapped at sight -of it and he bought it forthwith, though he -had to give a good deal of bone for it. The -head man had seen his eyes snap when Harry -handed it to him, and made him pay accordingly.</p> - -<p>The head man could not tell whence this -little image of pure gold came except that he -had got it in trade from a man of the coast -tribes who came in to the sandspit to trade -from along the coast to the south. Like the -jade Buddha, it might have passed from hand -to hand for a long distance.</p> - -<p>As they continued their journey, another -tribe joined them, coming down a tributary -of the Kowak; then others came, and soon -the little expedition was a large one, steadily -and leisurely progressing down river. It was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_326"></a>[326]</span> -toward the end of May. The days were long -and warm; indeed, there was no night, for -though the sun set for a few hours each day, -only a gentle twilight marked his absence. The -tributaries from the hills were running free -of ice and threatened to flood the surface of -the river, which was still solid. Signs of the -spring break-up were numerous, and when the -little army reached a long winding canyon -among abrupt hills, there was much discussion -whether they should continue on the ice or -take to the banks. The easy but unsafe route -of the main river ice was decided upon, and -they entered between the hills and pressed -on. They traveled rapidly now, and there was -much uneasiness among the Indians, who -seemed to fear something from behind. The -ice was solid in the main, yet in spots it was -flooded, and the increase in volume and rush -of the water beneath had worn holes through -it in other places. They pressed on with -all the speed they could command, watchful -always of the menace from behind.</p> - -<p>It was on the second day that it came. -They were between perpendicular bluffs, difficult -if not impossible to climb, when a shout -went up from those in the rear. As if at a -signal, every one stopped and listened. Far<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_327"></a>[327]</span> -behind them could be heard a dull sound, -faint, yet ominous. Somehow it reminded -Harry of a still spring night when he had been -boating late on the Charles River, and had -heard across the water the steady hum of electric -cars, speeding hither and thither in the -city, a vibrant undertone like the quivering of -tense wires in a gale.</p> - -<p>A shout went from one end of the long -line of sledges to the other. “Emik kile! -Emik kile! Gur!” it said. “The water is -coming! The water is coming! Go!”</p> - -<p>At the word dogs and men, women and -children, sprang from listening immobility -into intense action. The dogs surged against -their collars, and the sleds bounded forward. -The men, shouting, ran beside them, urging -them on with whip and voice. Mothers caught -their smaller children to their shoulders, the -older ones scampered beside them, and all -rushed forward down the river, fleeing from -that menacing hum, which was drowned for -the moment by their own uproar. On they -went, splashing across the flooded places, -daring the thin edges of the water-holes, unmindful -of the danger under foot, thinking -only of what was bearing down upon them, -still miles behind. As they plunged on, they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_328"></a>[328]</span> -scanned the rude cliffs anxiously for a gully -or a break that would give them passage to -the upland, but they found none. Little need -to lash the dogs; their own instinct told them -the danger only too well. Their tawny sides -panted, and their tongues hung from their -dripping jaws.</p> - -<p>A half mile, and still no escape to the right -or the left. The women and children kept up -with wonderful endurance, yet the pace was -telling on them, and the weaker already lagged -behind.</p> - -<p>They had ceased to shout and urge one another -on now. The race for life took all their -breath. Out of the unknown distance behind -them the low vibrant hum had increased to a -grinding roar, in which there were sounds like -cannon-shots,—the bursting of the ice under -the pressure of the oncoming flood. Just -ahead of Harry a youngster stumbled, then -sprang to his feet, limping badly. The fall -had wrenched his ankle, and he could no -longer run. Harry hesitated for a second. -There was an indescribable terror of that -mighty uproar thrilling through him. What -was the life of a little Indian boy to him? -But it was only for a second, this hesitation. -Then with a gasp of shame at the thought,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_329"></a>[329]</span> -he snatched the youngster to his shoulder, -and ran on, panting for breath, his nerves -quivering with the bodily fear which no man -can avoid, yet strong in the determination -that his manhood should not fail in the crisis.</p> - -<p>The roar of the flood suddenly grew louder -yet, and he looked behind as he fled. Round -a bend in the river he caught a glimpse -of what was coming. The ice sprang into -the air in great cakes, that were caught by a -white wall behind and crushed into whirling -rubble. It did not seem to come fast, this -great white wall of ice and foam, yet it gained -on them rapidly. In this look behind he saw -Joe. He was near the end of the line of -flight, helping along an Indian grandmother, -who bore in her arms her little granddaughter, -while the mother with a babe stumbled along -at her side, her black eyes wide with terror. -Their dogs with the loaded sled had outrun -them both in this wild race.</p> - -<p>Cries of encouragement sounded ahead once -more. Those in the front of flight had seen -a gully in the bluffs through which they -might escape. Harry saw them turn toward -this, and he stumbled and gasped along under -his burden with renewed hope. Dogs and -men foremost in the race leaped into this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_330"></a>[330]</span> -gully and scrambled upward. He was near it -now, running in a sort of bad dream, with the -tremendous crushing roar of the flood seeming -to whelm him in its waves of sound. Cannon -boomed in this uproar, volleys of musketry -pulsed through it, and the steady hoof-beats -of the white horse cavalry of the flood rolled -deafeningly on. Now he was at the bank, -and plunging up it, too weak to do anything -more than drop with his burden at the safety -line. He was among the last to reach safety, -but Joe was behind him.</p> - -<p>The Indian mother with her babe was at -the edge of the ice. Twenty feet behind -them were Joe and the older woman and the -child. Behind them again, not a dozen rods -away, rolled the great white wave in the forefront -of the flood. The river ice swelled to -meet this wave. It rounded up, bulged, burst, -and was tossed in the air in huge cakes, -springing a dozen feet upward, engulfed in -the white seething wall as they came down. -In front of this the grandmother fell, sending -the girl rolling ahead of her on the ice. Joe -snatched up the child, turned as if to help -the woman, and then the ice lifted under him, -sending him spinning toward the bank. A -moment and the ice burst beneath his feet.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_331"></a>[331]</span> -A great cake rose and tossed him up, still -clinging to the child, and then he was half -smothered, bruised, and soaked in a whirl of -ice-cold water, and sank and rose on the edge -of the flood, washed into the eddy that whirled -in the gully, and still he clung half unconsciously -to the child.</p> - -<p>It was the little one’s father that pulled -him out, with Harry a good second, yet distanced -by paternal love. The flood was roaring -through the canyon, breaking its fierce -way to the sea, but the careless travelers were -safe from its tumult; all but the old grandmother, -whose devotion to the child had cost -her her life. She had found the death that -is so common to the Eskimo and the other -folk of the wild north,—to vanish into the -white arms of the flood, or go out to sea with -the ice.</p> - -<p>They traveled on by land, over melting -snow, and across ravines in which splashed -torrents. The Kowak was open to the sea, -and summer navigation had begun.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_332"></a>[332]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE MEETING OF TRIBES</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The Kirghis and Tartars of eastern Europe -and Central Asia have held annual trading -fairs from a time beyond which record does -not go. Their restless progenitors, moving -eastward, took the custom with them to the -shores of the northern Pacific, northeast to -Bering Sea and the limits of Siberia, and -with them it must have crossed the narrow -ice-ridden straits and found a resting-place in -Arctic America. The great sandspit between -Hotham Inlet and the waters of the ocean, at -the head of Kotzebue Sound, has been the -scene of this meeting for no one knows how -many centuries. When the chinook winds -melt the snows, and the Arctic ice pack retreats -northward from Bering Sea and the straits, -thither the tribes flock from hundreds of miles -in all directions. Down the Kowak, the -Selawik, and the Noatak rivers from the far -interior come the taller, more distinctly Indian-featured -men of the mountain fastnesses<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_333"></a>[333]</span> -and scant timber, bringing jade from their -mysterious hills, and fox, ermine, wolverine, -and caribou pelts. From Point Hope and the -coast far to the north come the squat tribes -of the sea line with their ivory, blubber, -whalebone, and white bearskins. From the -Diomedes and East Cape sail the dwellers on -the straits, their umiaks built up with skins on -the sides, that the rush of waves may not -whelm them in mid sea, their wives and children -at the paddle, and their leathern sails -spread to the favoring gale. From King’s -Island, rocky eyrie to the south, where they -dwell in huts perched like swallows’ nests on -the side of sheer cliffs, come others, while -even the far shore of Norton Sound sends its -contingent.</p> - -<p>Wives, children, dogs, boats, sleds, and all -earthly possessions they bring, leaving nothing -behind but the winter igloo with its entrance -gaping lonely where barbaric life had swarmed. -They set up their topeks on the sandspit, -which, for eleven months in the year so desolate -and bare, now seethes with life. They -visit back and forth. They exchange news -of the berg-battered coast and the snow-smothered -interior, and they trade. Hunting -and fishing and trapping is business with an<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_334"></a>[334]</span> -Eskimo; trade is his dissipation. During the -weeks of this annual fair, things pass from -hand to hand, and come back and are traded -over again, in the pure joy of bargaining. -Not only inanimate objects pass current, but -the tribesmen, in the exuberance of barter, -sell their dogs, their children, and sometimes -their wives. It is a mad carnival of exchange.</p> - -<p>The spirit of barter was in the air, and the -boys found themselves entering keenly into -it, yet with an eye to the future rather than -for the purposes of mere trade. Their future -travel must be by water, and they wanted an -umiak, but those who had them also wanted -them. They found one that belonged to a -Point Hope man, however, that could be -bought, but not at the price which they could -pay. In vain they offered caribou hides, -wolverine pelts, and almost everything they -had. The price was not sufficient, and they -would have given up had the eye of the Eskimo -not lighted on the jade Buddha. Harry -noted his interest in this, and the Yankee in -him rose up.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus14"> -<img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="700" height="450" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ESKIMO FAMILY TRAVELING</p> -</div> - -<p>He vowed that the bit of green stone was -priceless and could not be parted with on any -account. The Eskimo offered various articles -for it. Harry would not sell. The owner<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_335"></a>[335]</span> -increased the price. Harry turned his back -with much indifference. He remembered the -lesson of his trading with the little people of -the Diomedes. How long ago that seemed! -But the recollection of it was still there. Joe -looked on this with much interest, well concealed. -He had failed to buy the umiak. If -Harry could do it, he was glad, but it would -not do to show his gladness. At length, baffled, -after offering everything but what the -boys wanted, the Point Hope man went away. -Joe laughed at Harry, who was chagrined. -But the next day the Eskimo came back, bearing -the umiak, which was a small one, upside -down on his shoulders. He staggered beneath -its weight, and it so nearly covered him that -only his feet appeared. It had a ludicrous -appearance of walking by itself. He emerged -from beneath this and laid it at Harry’s feet.</p> - -<p>“Will the white men give me the little -stone for this?” he asked. With wonder in -his heart Harry waited a moment, not to seem -to yield too easily. Then he passed over the -bit of jade and placed his hand on the umiak. -The bargain was completed.</p> - -<p>Thus it is with the Innuit. He is a shrewd -trader, yet, sometimes, for no explainable -reason, will give his all for a bauble, and in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_336"></a>[336]</span> -this he is perhaps not so very different from -white men, after all. This peculiar trade left -the boys with much merchandise still on their -hands, and with this they bought trade goods -and supplies for the furtherance of their -journey. They sold their dogs and sled, and -prepared for a boat trip to Bering Straits, -where they might find ships. Failing in this, -they planned to work south along the coast. -Under no conditions would they go north. -They had had enough of that.</p> - -<p>About this time they took an inventory of -their possessions. They had a tent, umiak, -rifles, and ammunition, flour, sugar, salt, -matches, and clothes rather the worse for -wear, but new muckalucks. They had a few -battered kitchen utensils, sufficient for rough -camp housekeeping, a little dried fish, and -some caribou meat, but not much. They had -also vigorous health, courage, and a great -desire to get home, and they planned to make -a start soon, but while they planned things -happened.</p> - -<p>As may be imagined, among such a horde -of barbarians from strange villages all was -not law and order. At first the excitement -of trading and the novelty of the situation -kept everybody busy, but by and by barter<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_337"></a>[337]</span> -got to be an old story. Contests and games -became prevalent, trials of strength in wrestling, -shooting-matches, blanket-tossing, in -which if no one volunteered to be tossed they -went out and caught some one, who was tossed -whether he needed it or not. Barbarians are -like children, and those who lost at the games -were not always good-natured. But the sport -of all others at this meet seemed to be football. -Not the Rugby game, but a sort of -go-as-you-please match, in which a few started, -then newcomers joined the weaker side, till -hundreds swept back and forth across the -tundra, sometimes for many hours. There -were no rules to this game; it was simply get -the ball back any way you could, and some of -these ways proved to be rough indeed. Yet -all these things caused only minor fracases -and individual discontent. There was another -matter which threatened to make things more -serious, and in fact did so. That was the -making of “hootch.”</p> - -<p>If you mix flour and water and let it ferment, -then distill the mixture by means of a -rude apparatus, the result is “hootch.” Probably -the coast natives learned this method -from some renegade white man; then the -business spread. It came to the sandspit<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_338"></a>[338]</span> -that summer, and, as a result, old single-barreled -shotguns were in great demand. If -you take one of these and put the butt of the -barrel in a good hot fire, the block becomes -unbrazed from the breech and the barrel is a -tube. It serves as the worm of a primitive -still. Many of these machines were set up in -the topeks on the sandspit, and the resultant -hilarity became noticeable long before the boys -discovered its cause. They foresaw trouble, -but they could do nothing to prevent it. They -did remonstrate with old Panik, the head man -of the tribe with which they had come down -river, and toward whom they had very friendly -feelings. Indeed, since the kindness of the -village to the boys had been in part repaid -by their help in saving the youngsters from -the river ice, there had been strong bonds of -brotherhood between them all.</p> - -<p>Panik had become infected with the desire -to make the new drink, and had paid many -skins to a Chuckchis for the old gun. He -built a small fire at his topek door, and while -Harry argued with him he thrust the butt of -the barrel into it with a cheerful grin.</p> - -<p>“You shall drink with me,” he said. “The -new drink is very good.” And then there was -an explosion, and Panik sank to the ground<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_339"></a>[339]</span> -without a cry. The old gun was loaded, and -the heat of the fire had discharged it. The -chief was dead, and Harry and Joe were much -pained and horrified by the accident.</p> - -<p>They helped bury him with much ceremony -and genuine sorrow, but the matter did not -end here. The Indian is more vindictive -than the Eskimo, and the relatives of the old -chief took up the matter. They blamed the -Chuckchis who had sold the gun, even intimated -that he had loaded it purposely, and -they demanded either his life in return, or the -payment of a large amount of goods. The -Chuckchis, as I have said before, are a truculent -and warlike people, and this one resolutely -and scornfully refused reparation. Then -there was a fight, and the Chuckchis killed -one of Panik’s relatives with his own hand.</p> - -<p>The feud thus begun spread rapidly, the -hootch adding fuel to the flames, and in -twenty-four hours the camp was a pandemonium. -All took sides, though few knew just -why, or with whom, and a wild free fight -ensued. Eskimos, maddened with the vile -liquor, ran amuck, killing whatever came -within reach, until they were themselves killed, -and life was nowhere safe for a moment.</p> - -<p>It was of no use for the boys to interfere,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_340"></a>[340]</span> -and they soon saw that their only safety lay -in flight. This agreed with their plans to get -away as soon as possible, and they were fortunate -in having a boat and sufficient outfit. -Accordingly they quietly loaded the umiak, -bade good-by to such of the villagers as -were sober and they could reach without danger, -and were about to embark when the Point -Hope man who had sold them the umiak -appeared. He was tipsy, like most everybody -else, and in quarrelsome mood. He laid his -hand on the umiak and demanded it back, -saying that he was not satisfied with the terms -of the trade. It was of no use to reason with -him; he was not in a condition to understand -things. Behind him came other Eskimos, -also armed and equally tipsy, and matters -looked decidedly unpleasant. It seemed as -if they would have to fight to retain their -property.</p> - -<p>Joe took the matter in hand. “Stand by,” -he said, “ready to shove off; I’ll reason with -this fellow.” He beckoned the Eskimo back -a step from the water, and the other followed -with a satisfied leer. Probably no one can be -so insolent in the eyes of a white man as a -half-drunken barbarian when he thinks he is -safe in the abuse of power.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_341"></a>[341]</span></p> - -<p>“You say the umiak is yours?” said Joe, -quite humbly. Harry’s blood began to boil -at this submissive tone, but he held his tongue.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied the Eskimo, stepping nearer -to Joe threateningly, “it is mine, and you -must—ugh!”</p> - -<p>Joe had suddenly caught a wrestling grip -on him, and before the tipsy man of the ice -knew what had happened, he was swung into -the air and sent whirling into the shallow -water of Kotzebue Sound, gun and all. Joe -sprang to the umiak. “Shove off!” he said -sharply, and putting his own shoulder to the -light boat, with Harry’s help it slid into deep -water while Joe sprang aboard. A roar of -laughter went up from the crowd on shore as -the discomfited Eskimo staggered to his feet, -and tried in vain to use his wet gun on the -fast receding boat. Then a moment after, -the mood of the crowd changed, and they -began to shoot, but none of the shots took -effect. The wind was at their backs, and -under steady strokes of the paddle the umiak -was soon out of shooting distance. The last -the two boys saw of the great trading fair -at Hotham Inlet was a group of their former -companions standing on the beach shooting -at them. The last they heard was the uproar<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_342"></a>[342]</span> -of drunken riot and occasional rifle-shots as -the land blurred in the distance behind them. -They were free once more, headed south, and -the dancing waters of Kotzebue Sound flashed -around them as they spread their deerskin -sail before the freshening breeze.</p> - -<p>“We are well out of that,” said Joe, -glancing to windward with a sailor-man’s eye, -“but I don’t exactly like the looks of the -weather.”</p> - -<p>Harry noted the gathering clouds to northward, -the discontent in the voice of the wind -overhead, and agreed with him. The shallow -waters of the sound were already leaping in -a jumble of waves, from whose white caps -the wind-snatched spindrift swept to leeward. -Their light boat danced along like an eggshell -before the wind, safe as yet, but with it -he well knew they could go only with the -gale. They were bound to sail before it. -After all, what matter? That was the direction -in which they wished to go, and the -harder it blew the faster they would go. So -while Joe stood by the steering paddle, Harry -busied himself in making all snug aboard, -and tried not to fret about the weather.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the weather was fretting all -about him. An hour, two hours passed, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_343"></a>[343]</span> -what had been a little blow grew into a big -one. The skin boat, light as a cork, fairly -flew before it. Often it seemed to skip from -wave to wave, taxing Joe’s skill at the steering -paddle to the uttermost to keep it head -on. To turn sidewise to the wind and sea was -to be rolled over and over in the icy waters -and be lost. Yet Joe kept her straight. Now -and then some invisible force seemed to drag -the cockleshell down, and a rush of foam -came aboard, but she rose again, and Harry -bailed out before the next volume of water -could come in. It was wet and exciting -work, but still neither boy lost his head, and -still they kept afloat. There was a hissing -roar in the waters and a howl of the wind -overhead that made it difficult to hear one’s -own voice even when shouting, but a nod of -the head or a look of the eye was enough -for a command from the skipper, and Harry -obeyed promptly and steadily. Never had he -admired Joe so before. The sturdy young -whaleman seemed to glow with power as he -sat erect in the stern of the umiak, his cap -gone and his long hair blown about his set, -watchful face, his will dominating the elements -and shaping their fury to his purpose.</p> - -<p>On they drove through a period of time<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_344"></a>[344]</span> -that seemed endless. There was no night -to fall, else Harry was sure that it would have -come and gone, and still Joe steered, erect -and immobile as the Sphinx, while Harry -bailed till he felt as if all the waters of Kotzebue -Sound must have come into the boat -and been thrown out again. His very arms -were numb with weariness and the chill of -it. How long a period five hours is can be -known only by those who have passed it in -physical discomfort and with great danger -continually threatening, yet even such a period -passes. Five hours, ten miles an hour at the -very least, they were making a record passage -of the sound, yet the lowering clouds and -the mist blown from tempestuous waves gave -them no glimpse of any land.</p> - -<p>Once Harry thought he could hear a dull -booming sound, like the roar of cannon, but -he could not be sure. The strain was telling -on him, he knew, and he laid it to fancy. -Then after a time he forgot it, for they seemed -to enter a stretch of tremendous cross seas, -seas which fairly leaped into the umiak and -filled it faster than he could bail out. He -worked with the tremendous energy of despair, -and then the tumult ceased more quickly -than it had arisen. The boat seemed gliding<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_345"></a>[345]</span> -into still waters, and the booming roar grew -very loud, for it sounded from behind, down -the wind. He looked at Joe and saw his face -lose its look of grim determination for the -first time since the wind had begun to blow. -Joe nodded his head over his left shoulder, -and as Harry looked, a trailing cloud of mist -lifted and showed a rugged cliff, in the shelter -of which they were.</p> - -<p>The umiak had made port, where, they -knew not; it was enough that it was a haven -of refuge. The boat glided gently up to -a shelving beach and touched. Harry attempted -to spring out, and fell sprawling to -the earth, which he embraced, partly because -he was so glad to see it, but mainly because -his legs were so cramped and numb that he -could not use them. When he scrambled to -his feet, he found Joe limping painfully out, -much like an old man, so great had been the -strain of his vigil, so cold the water that had -deluged him. They set up the tent in a -sheltered nook, and Harry made a fire from -driftwood, which was plentiful. He had -matches in a waterproof safe in his pocket, -else their plight had been worse, for everything -in the boat was wet through and had -been for hours. They made a meal of what<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_346"></a>[346]</span> -they had, the last of their caribou meat and -some dried fish, put great driftwood logs on -the fire in front of their tent door, turned in -beneath the canvas in its grateful warmth, -and slept for hours and hours, utterly exhausted.</p> - -<p>The storm continued for two days more, in -which they did little except keep warm and -pile driftwood on their fire, drying out their -supplies as best they might. These were in -sad shape. The flour was nearly spoiled, the -sugar and salt melted and mixed, and the -bulk of their matches soaked. These last -they dried with much care, and made some of -them serviceable again, but the most of their -provisions were practically ruined.</p> - -<p>When the storm broke, they climbed the -hills behind them and looked about. Then -their wonder was great. The umiak had been -driven to the one harbor on that rocky shore, -the one spot for miles to the east or west -where they could land in safety. Had they -come to the land a dozen furlongs either side -of it, the surf must inevitably have overturned -their frail boat and drowned them in -the undertow. The discovery chilled them at -first,—death had been so very near, so seemingly -inevitable. Then it heartened them<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_347"></a>[347]</span> -greatly. They felt that the watchful care -of Providence was over them still, and that -its aid was ever present, however great the -unknown dangers about them.</p> - -<p>Descending the hills again, they took their -rifles and began to explore the little inlet, -following it back into the hills, and keeping -a sharp outlook for game, which they sadly -needed. They found nothing but a snow-bunting -or two, too small to shoot except in -extremity, and a sort of gray Arctic hawk, -which promised to be but poor eating. Probably -there would be ptarmigans back farther, -but they did not see any. At the head of the -inlet they found a brawling stream which descended -from the hills over mica-schist ledges -and along sands that sparkled with yellow -mica. Harry sighted this mica as he stooped -to drink from the stream, and scooped up a -handful of it with eagerness. He called to -Joe, and both examined it closely, but it was -plainly mica.</p> - -<p>“What did you expect it was?” asked -Joe.</p> - -<p>“Well,” replied Harry, “the same as you, -judging from the way you rushed up when -you saw me scoop it up.”</p> - -<p>Then they both laughed, and Joe took the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_348"></a>[348]</span> -yellow seal from his pocket and looked at it -lovingly. “It was down this way somewhere -that this came from,” he said. “What we’ve -got here is fool’s gold, though.”</p> - -<p>“So it is,” said Harry. “All the same, a -mica-schist country is liable to be gold-bearing. -We had a course in mineralogy at the -prep school, and I learned about such things. -What do you say if we prospect for a day?”</p> - -<p>They would better have been hunting. -They knew that, but the gold fever is a strange -thing. The germs of it had been planted -in their systems by the purchase of the singular -nugget from the old Kowak River chief; -now the sight of some mica in a stream had -stirred the dormant microbes into action.</p> - -<p>They tore back to camp and brought the -umiak paddle to use as a rude shovel. They -had nothing better. Harry also brought their -one pan. Hunger was not to be thought of, -home and civilization could wait; they had -the gold fever. There is surely something -in the Alaskan air that makes men peculiarly -susceptible to this disease. During the last -fifteen years a hundred thousand men have -left home and friends, lucrative positions, all -the comforts of “God’s country,” and risked -fortune, health, and life because of this burning<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_349"></a>[349]</span> -fever in their veins. Where one has -succeeded thousands have failed, yet still they -throng to the wild north, driven by the insatiable -thirst for sudden wealth. Though -the boys did not know it, the crest of this -wave of hardy immigrants, wild fortune-seekers, -and adventurers was already surging -toward them from the south, and had nearly -reached the wild coast that harbored them. -Perhaps its enthusiasm had preceded them in -the air. Anyway, they had the gold fever.</p> - -<p>They dug the sparkling micaceous sand -from the banks of the little creek, and Harry -panned it, as the miners say. He filled the -pan with it, added water, and by whirling and -shaking the pan and flipping the water over -the sides of it, he washed out all the lighter -particles. As he reached the bottom, he proceeded -more carefully, and both boys watched -the result with eagerness. To “pan gold” -well is not easy and requires much practice, -but almost any one can with a trial or two -pan it roughly. As the last of the sand was -washed away by the whirling water, Harry -set up a shout.</p> - -<p>“Black sand!” he said. “We’ve got -black sand!”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” said Joe, much disappointed.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_350"></a>[350]</span> -“What of it? It isn’t black sand we want, -it’s gold.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Harry excitedly, “but that’s -a sign. The black sand always comes with -the gold in placer mines. Wait till I wash -this sand away.”</p> - -<p>He whirled the pan with great care, and -the heavy sand gradually disappeared. Then -the boys looked at each other and shook -hands. In the bottom of the pan lay several -yellow flecks. Gold without a doubt, but -not much of it. As a matter of fact, their -discovery amounted to very little. Scarcely -a stream in the Rocky Mountains, from Central -America to Cape Lisburne, but in it you -may find these occasional flecks of gold. To -find it in paying quantities is altogether -another matter, as many a gray-bearded prospector -has learned after years of toil and -rough life. But the boys were too young and -inexperienced to realize this. They thought -that fortune was verily within their grasp. -They prospected up and down the stream, and -never realized that they had not eaten dinner -and were very hungry.</p> - -<p>Yet wherever they went they found nothing -but these faint prospects, and after long -hours, fatigue and hunger finally asserted<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_351"></a>[351]</span> -themselves and they started back for camp. -As they tramped, weary and disappointed, -they came round a bend in the creek and -Joe’s eyes lighted up. There on the water’s -edge, strolling along a clay bottom thinly -strewn with micaceous sand, were three ptarmigans, -picking up bits of gravel for the good -of their crops, as such birds do. They looked -large and plump in the eyes of two hungry -boys.</p> - -<p>“Lie low,” whispered Joe, “and we’ll have -one of those birds.”</p> - -<p>They watched them eagerly from behind a -sheltering mound on the bank. The birds -pecked leisurely for a while, then went toward -the bank and settled contentedly beneath -some dwarf willows in the sun. Paddle in -hand, Joe slipped noiselessly forward, got behind -the clump of willows, crept round it, and -with a sudden blow of the paddle laid out a -ptarmigan. The others flew.</p> - -<p>“There!” said Joe. “Here’s a good bite -for dinner. Let’s hurry back.”</p> - -<p>With renewed energy they hustled back to -the camp, three quarters of a mile away, and -soon had the ptarmigan broiling over a good -fire. They made some rude flapjacks with -the remnants of their spoiled flour, and ate the -bird pretty nearly bones and all.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_352"></a>[352]</span></p> - -<p>“There,” said Harry, “I feel better. Pity -we did not have the rifle along. We could -have had the two others. However, they’re up -there somewhere and will do for another -meal. Wonder what these fellows find to -eat.”</p> - -<p>He picked up the crop of the ptarmigan -and opened it with his knife. “Buds, bugs, -and gravel,” he said. “Not a very tempting -diet, but we may have to come to it ourselves. -Hello, what’s this?”</p> - -<p>In the gravel in the bird’s crop were three -or four pebbles, not much larger than grains -of rice, but flattened and yellow. They examined -these with growing excitement.</p> - -<p>“It’s gold!” exclaimed Harry. “It’s gold! -we’ve been prospecting in the wrong places.”</p> - -<p>“I should say we had,” said Joe, giggling -somewhat hysterically; “but we can’t kill -ptarmigans enough to make a gold mine.”</p> - -<p>“No, no,” cried Harry, too much in earnest -to appreciate a joke. “It’s the clay bottom. -The birds picked up the nuggets there. Gold -sinks through sand in the stream just as it -does in the pan. We should have gone down -to ‘bed rock,’ as the miners say. There’s -where it is. Come on back!”</p> - -<p>The sun had swung low to set behind the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_353"></a>[353]</span> -northern cliffs, and it lacked but two hours of -midnight. But there would be no darkness -in that latitude in late June, and forgetting -fatigue, they hurried back to the spot which -they now called Ptarmigan Bend. Here a -bed of stiff clay seemed to underlie the bed -of the stream, leading down to a mica-schist -ledge over which the waters rippled as if from -an artificial pond.</p> - -<p>From the edge of this little lagoon they -scraped sand and pebbles, getting well down -into the clay with the now frayed and worn -paddle. The clay flowed from the pan in a -muddy stream, the sand easily followed, and -they scraped out the larger gravel with care, -panning the sand beneath it again. Then -they set down the pan and shook hands with -each other once more.</p> - -<p>In the bottom of the pan were a dozen of -the flat nuggets such as had been in the -ptarmigan’s crop, and one large one, the size -of a large bean! They were on bed rock -surely, and the gold that had tantalized them -for a time seemed about to yield itself up in -quantity.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_354"></a>[354]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<span class="smaller">STAKING OUT A FORTUNE</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The red sun sank behind the northern cliffs, -hid there three hours, and slanted eastward -and upward again, and still the boys toiled -on, oblivious. Panful after panful of the -sand they scraped from the clay bottom, now -in the edge of the stream, now back toward -the tundra, and always they found gold. At -length their rude paddle-shovel was worn to a -frazzled stick and they themselves were in not -much better condition, but in Harry’s worn -bandana handkerchief was a store of coarse -and fine gold and nuggets that was quite -heavy.</p> - -<p>Fatigue will finally, however, get the better -even of the gold fever, and along in -mid-morning, pale and hollow-eyed, quite exhausted -with toil and excitement, but triumphant, -they stumbled down to camp and -turned in, too tired to eat,—indeed, there was -little but damaged flour that they could eat. -They slept ten hours without stirring, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_355"></a>[355]</span> -the sun was low in the northwest when they -awoke.</p> - -<p>Joe rubbed his eyes open and sat up. He -found Harry, the bandana in his lap, poring -over the store of gold.</p> - -<p>“Gold,” said Harry, “is worth about sixteen -dollars to the ounce, as the miners reckon -it. I should say we had about three ounces -here. Forty-eight dollars,—not bad for a -first day’s work!”</p> - -<p>“Um-m, no,” said Joe; “but I wish you’d -take part of it and go down to the store and -buy some provisions. I’m hungry.”</p> - -<p>Harry looked at him. Was Joe daft? -But no, Joe was the saner of the two.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got gold,” Joe continued, “and -we’ve got grit,—at least some of mine’s -left, though not much, but what we haven’t -got is grub. Seems to me the next thing to -look out for is something to eat. The gold -will wait a day for us, but there is something -inside me that says the other won’t. We’d -better go prospecting for food this time.”</p> - -<p>Harry put his hand on his stomach. “Joe,” -he said, “I declare you are right. You generally -are. Fact is, I was so crazy over this -yellow stuff in the handkerchief that I had forgotten -everything else. We’ll hunt to-day.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_356"></a>[356]</span></p> - -<p>They made a sorry breakfast of some heavy -cakes made from the last of the spoiled flour, -then took their rifles and went down toward -the sea. The cakes were heavy within them, -but their hearts were light. They ranged -through a little gully seaward and to the east, -seeking for ptarmigans but finding none. -They might have hunted for the other two up -at Ptarmigan Bend, but each felt that it would -not do. The moment they sighted the diggings -it was probable that they would fall to -mining again, and they knew this and kept -away. Through the gully they reached the -shore, a narrow strip of pebbly beach at the -foot of rough cliffs, and here in long rows, -sitting on their eggs on the narrow ledges, -they found scores of puffins. They are stupid -little fellows, sitting bolt upright on -greenish, blotched eggs that are not unlike -those of the crow, but larger. The flesh of -the puffin is not bad eating when one is hungry, -and the boys found these so tame that they -hardly flew at a rifle-shot. In half an hour -they had a dozen, and tramped back to camp, -well satisfied that they need not starve. By -the time two birds were cooked and eaten the -sun was behind the cliffs, and the gray of the -Arctic midnight was over all. They sprang<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_357"></a>[357]</span> -to their feet refreshed and about to plan to -resume digging, when Joe held up his hand -with a look of consternation on his face. A -long unheard but familiar sound came to the -ears of both boys, and Harry’s face reflected -the dismay that was in Joe’s.</p> - -<p>The sound was the rhythmic click of oars -in rowlocks, and it came up the placid waters -of the inlet from the sea.</p> - -<p>A few days before, how gladly they would -have heard that sound. Oars in rowlocks -meant white men. Eskimos and Indians paddle. -Each stepped to his rifle and saw that -it was loaded, and then they stood ready to -defend their claim against all comers. So -quickly does a white man distrust another -when there is gold at stake.</p> - -<p>A moment, and a boat came round the -bend, a rude boat, built of rough boards and -well loaded, but with only one occupant. -This seemed to be an oldish man, a white -man, roughly dressed. He rowed steadily -but wearily, without looking up. By and by -the bow of the boat struck the beach not far -away, and the man turned his head over his -shoulder toward the bow and seemed to speak -to the air. Then he nodded his head, stepped -out, drew his boat up a little, and came toward -them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_358"></a>[358]</span></p> - -<p>“Morning, gents!” he said. “How you -finding it?”</p> - -<p>The boys put down their rifles and greeted -him cordially. They had nothing to fear from -this little unarmed man who limped as he -walked. After all it was good to see a white -man, and his coming presaged much for their -safe return to civilization.</p> - -<p>“You’re not miners,” he said, after looking -them over keenly.</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Joe, “not exactly. We’re -whalemen. We were wrecked up on the Arctic -coast about two years ago, and we’re working -our way back to civilization.”</p> - -<p>“Want to know!” exclaimed the other. -“Well, you’re most to it now. Civilization -is working right this way pretty fast, that is, -if you’ve a mind to call it that.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by that?” asked Joe -in wonder.</p> - -<p>“Mean?” replied the little man. “I mean -that there’s sixty thousand people up in this -country at this minute, only none of ’em have -got quite up to here except me. They’re -piling into Nome as fast as the steamers can -bring them, and they’re spreading over the -country as fast as horse and foot will take -them. It’s the biggest rush the Alaska diggings -ever saw.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_359"></a>[359]</span></p> - -<p>“Nome!” queried Joe. “Where’s that?”</p> - -<p>The little man looked at him a moment. -“Oh, I forgot,” he said. “You’ve been away -two or three years, and it all happened since -then. Nome is about two hundred miles -south of this by sea. I’ve just rowed in from -there. They found beach diggings there a -year ago that were mighty rich, and the whole -earth piled up there this spring. You can’t -get a foot of ground anywhere down there -for fifty miles. It’s all staked. I came in -there late last fall and couldn’t get anything -then. Got a notion in my head that there was -good ground north here and started across -tundra in the winter. Froze my feet and -had to crawl back on my hands and knees. -Started out again this spring with this boat. -Paid a hundred dollars for it. Rowed alongshore -as far as Cape Prince of Wales. Father-in-law -got aboard the boat there, and he’s -been sitting in the bow ever since telling me -where to row. He directed me here. Father-in-law -has been dead these ten years.”</p> - -<p>Joe and Harry looked at each other, and -the little man noted it and smiled sadly.</p> - -<p>“I know,” he said, “it sounds queer. Well, -it <em>is</em> queer. Course ’tain’t so, but it seems so. -Ain’t nobody there, it’s jest my notion. A<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_360"></a>[360]</span> -man gets queer up in this country if he’s too -much alone. I reckon it’s a sign, though, -and I’m going to find something good. Now, -I’m hungry. Will you eat with me? My -name’s Blenship, what’s yourn?”</p> - -<p>The boys helped Blenship get his outfit -ashore, assured that they had found a friend. -He had a pick, two shovels, two regular gold -pans, a queer machine something like a baby’s -wooden cradle which he called a rocker, and -a good quantity of civilized provisions and -utensils, besides a camp outfit. The boat -was heavily loaded, and it was a wonder to -them how he had made the long trip in it in -safety. This he could not tell much about. -He had simply “followed directions.” He -had “sour dough” bread of his own cooking, -and it did not take him long to broil -some ham in a little spider. Then he invited -the boys to fall to with him, and they were -not shy about doing it. What if they had -just eaten puffin? Real bread and ham! It -made them ravenous.</p> - -<p>After the meal they told Blenship of their -discovery. His eyes glistened at sight of the -nuggets, but he did not seem much surprised.</p> - -<p>“Just as I expected,” he said. “I’ve come -at the right time for you, though. You want<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_361"></a>[361]</span> -to stake that ground right away, and then -I’ll stake what’s left. We can’t be too -quick about it, either. You may see forty -men coming over the hill at any minute. If -you got all this with a wooden stick and a -bread pan, there’s stuff enough there for all -of us. Wait a minute, though, let’s see what -father-in-law says.”</p> - -<p>He stepped down to his boat for a moment, -then came back.</p> - -<p>“Father-in-law is gone,” he said. “Couldn’t -raise him anywhere. Guess this is the place -he meant for me to come to. No need of his -staying round, long as the job’s done. Now -let’s stake that ground, then we’ll be safe. -You are entitled to five claims. One of you -is the discoverer. He can stake discovery -claim and number one above and number one -below; then the other can have one above -him and one below him. That’s all you are -good for. Then I come in with one above -and one below, and I’ve got powers of attorney -enough in my pocket to stake all the -rest of the creek. Got about forty men to -give me powers of attorney when I left on -this trip. They get half of each claim I stake -for them. I get the other half, which ain’t so -bad in this case. Come on.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_362"></a>[362]</span></p> - -<p>They worked steadily for several days, -cutting and shaping stakes from driftwood, -measuring distances carefully with Blenship’s -fifty-foot tape, posting location notices, and -now and then stopping to prospect a locality. -Blenship always went down to “bed rock” -for his prospects. He handled a pan with -the marvelous skill of an old timer, and his -eyes always glistened at the result.</p> - -<p>“Boys,” he declared one day enthusiastically, -“this is the richest creek the world ever -saw, I believe. I want you to elect me recorder -of this district. We’ll call it the Arctic District, -and I have a notion that I’d like to call -this ‘Candle Creek,’ ’cause its prospects are -so bright. Then I’ll record the claims duly, -and we’ll be all registered and can hold everything -according to law. What do you say?”</p> - -<p>The boys were only too glad to thus find a -mentor and friend, and cheerfully agreed to -everything. An Alaska mining claim, according -to United States law, consists of twenty -acres, generally laid out in a parallelogram, -330 feet each side of the creek, making a -width of 660 in all. Their five claims meant -a hundred acres, and, if even moderately rich, -were a fortune. In the end they had the -entire creek staked from source to mouth, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_363"></a>[363]</span> -number of powers of attorney which Blenship -produced being prodigious.</p> - -<p>In spite of the hard work, perhaps because -they were living well on civilized food, they -never seemed to tire, and were as frisky as -young colts. Ten days had passed, and never -a sign of the invasion of prospectors which -Blenship had so confidently predicted. Since -the father-in-law episode the little man had -given no signs of his “queerness,” unless this -story of thousands to the south were one. On -the other hand, he seemed very sane and -shrewd, and kindly in all ways. He shared -his provisions in return for help in staking -his numerous claims, and the boys could see -that his advice was friendly and worth following. -The day the last stake was driven he insisted -that they celebrate, and got up a bountiful -meal with his own hand, making a bread -pudding with real raisins from his stores, which -filled the boys with unalloyed delight.</p> - -<p>“There!” he said, as he lighted his pipe -after the meal was finished, “now we’re fixed. -If old Tom Lane comes up here and wants the -earth, he can have it, but he’ll have to pay -good for it. You and I could work those -claims and take out a few hundred dollars’ -worth of gold a day until the ground freezes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_364"></a>[364]</span> -up, and then we wouldn’t more’n pay our -expenses up here and back and the cost of -living. That isn’t the way money is made -in the mining business. You just stake the -claims and hold on to them until the man -comes along who has the millions to work ’em -in a big way. There’s several of those men -up in Nome already, but the king of them all -is old Tom Lane. He’s got his men out spying -round all over the country, and it won’t be -long before one of them drops on to this place. -Then we’ll drive a bargain that’ll make the -old man’s eyes stick out. Meantime I’ll just -show you boys how to build and work a rocker, -and we’ll get out a few hundred a day and -wait developments.”</p> - -<p>Blenship showed them how to handle the -rocker that very day, and left them at Ptarmigan -Bend gleefully running sand through -it while he prospected his various claims more -thoroughly.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus15"> -<img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="700" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">PROSPECTOR AND HIS OUTFIT</p> -</div> - -<p>A miner’s rocker is ingenious in its simplicity. -It is generally a wooden box, having -a rough sieve-like hopper at the top, and an -inclined plane of canvas within. You shovel -the sand into the hopper, then pour in water -and rock gently. The water washes the sand -down along the inclined plane, where riffles<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_365"></a>[365]</span> -catch the heavy gold, while the sand washes -over and out at the bottom. It is a simple -matter to work this, though, like the gold -pan, its perfect manipulation requires much -skill and judgment. At the end of an hour -the boys made their first clean-up, and were -delighted at the amount of gold that lay yellow -in the riffles. They worked thus with -great glee till Blenship returned, long past -the supper hour. He inspected the results, -and even he was roused to enthusiasm at the -quantity of gold that they had.</p> - -<p>“I declare,” said he, “it’s about ten -ounces, and most all small nuggets. Probably -as much more fine gold went right through. -You’ve been rocking too hard. A rocker is -like a woman; you’ve got to humor her or -she won’t work well. Let me try the tailings.”</p> - -<p>He panned the heap of sand that had gone -through the rocker, and showed them the fine -gold still left in it.</p> - -<p>“You only got about half on’t,” he said. -“Geewhillikins! but that little pond is a -pocket for you. There’s a young million right -in a few rods, or I miss my guess. I’ve got -some rich spots upstream myself, but they ain’t -in it with this one. I’d like to try some sluicing -on that. It would be dead easy. You<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_366"></a>[366]</span> -could dam the creek at that little gap up above -and get at all this clay bottom, and have plenty -of water for the sluice. How would it do for -me to go into partnership with you boys for -a time, and we try this thing? Reckon we could -fix up some kind of a trade, couldn’t we?”</p> - -<p>“What do you think?” said Joe to Harry.</p> - -<p>“I think,” answered Harry, “that Mr. -Blenship is more than kind to us. I for one -will heartily accede to any agreement that he -wants to make.”</p> - -<p>“And so will I,” Joe assented warmly.</p> - -<p>“Listen to that, now,” said Blenship in -mock despair. “Here I was planning to -drive a hard bargain with them, and they put -me on my honor. Anything I want to do! -Humph! Well, this is what I propose. Suppose -we get to work and sluice here at Partridge -Bend. You give me a hundred dollars -a day every day of actual sluicing, as general -manager; you take the rest. If you ain’t -suited at the end of the first three days, we’ll -call the bargain off.”</p> - -<p>“Agreed!” said Harry. “Agreed!” said -Joe, and they set to work.</p> - -<p>They blocked the stream with stones, and -stuffed tundra moss into the crevices, then -piled turf over the whole. With the pick<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_367"></a>[367]</span> -they hewed a gully in the mica-schist ledge -that dammed the little pond and let the water -out. Then they knocked Blenship’s boat to -pieces and made a rude sluice with the boards. -This they braced upon driftwood logs set on -the right slant for sluicing. Blenship, skillful -as a woodsman with his axe, hewed more -sluice timber out of driftwood logs, and finally -the structure was complete. There were still -no signs of other prospectors, and the boys -began to think Blenship’s story of the thousands -in the country just south of them must -be another delusion of his.</p> - -<p>Finally, everything was complete. Blenship -showed them how to shovel into the -sluice so that enough but not too much dirt -should be present in it, and then turned on -the water. For two hours the boys swung -the shovels lustily, and found it very fatiguing -work indeed. Blenship managed the flow of -the water so that it should work to the best -advantage during this time. Then when the -boys were thoroughly weary he shut it off -and called a halt. Joe and Harry rested on -their shovels, puffing.</p> - -<p>“Time to clean up,” he said. “Now -we’ll see whether I’m worth a hundred dollars -a day or not.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_368"></a>[368]</span></p> - -<p>With water in his gold pan he washed the -remaining sand from riffle to riffle, and finally -collected the gold in a yellow heap in the pan -at the bottom of the sluice. It was quite a -little heap, and Blenship weighed it, pan and -all, in his hand, thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>“Reckon there’s about three pounds of -it,” he said coolly. “Say seven hundred -dollars.”</p> - -<p>Joe and Harry looked over his shoulder -with bulging eyes. Seven hundred dollars! -Two hours’ sluicing! Neither before had -realized the full import of their good fortune. -If they could do that in two hours,—in a -day, a week, a month! Their heads whirled. -And then all three started.</p> - -<p>A shadow had fallen across the pan.</p> - -<p>Blenship whirled sullenly and savagely, -reaching toward his hip with an instinctive -movement, though no weapon hung there. -Then he laughed.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s you, Griscome, is it? Be’n -expecting some of you fellows this ten days. -Come to camp and have a bite with us?”</p> - -<p>“No, thanks,” said the other, a tall man -in a blue shirt, stout boots, and a slouch -hat, “my outfit’s back here. Pretty good -clean-up for a little work.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_369"></a>[369]</span></p> - -<p>“That’s so,” replied Blenship. “And that -ain’t all. The whole creek’s like that from -top to bottom, and it’s staked from bottom -to top, and recorded. I’m the recorder. -We’d ’a’ staked the benches, only the powers -of attorney give out. Better stake ’em, -they’re likely good.”</p> - -<p>“Much obliged,” said the other. “Guess -I will. So long.”</p> - -<p>He went out of sight over the hill in long, -swift strides.</p> - -<p>“What are the benches?” asked Joe. -“Will he stake them? Who is he?”</p> - -<p>“One at a time, young feller,” said Blenship. -“He is one of Pap Lane’s men. The -benches are the hillside claims. He may -stake ’em, but I doubt it. He won’t wait. -He’ll light out across tundra as fast as his -horse can carry him, and tell his boss about -this. Meanwhile we can wait, and we might -as well get what’s coming to us. If one of -you boys will try and handle that water, I’ll -show you how to shovel.”</p> - -<p>Joe thought himself a good deal of a man, -but he could not keep up with the other in -shoveling. He hung sturdily to his task, -however, and for three hours more shoveled -wet sand and clayey gravel into the sluice<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_370"></a>[370]</span> -while Harry regulated the water according -to occasional directions from Blenship. The -latter instructed Joe in the best methods of -scraping bed rock, and showed him how the -best of the gold was liable to lie in the little -hollows of the clay, and be missed by an inexperienced -hand. At the end of three hours -Blenship ordered a cessation of work once -more, much to Joe’s relief, for five hours of -labor with the shovel had thoroughly exhausted -him. He lay back on the tundra while Harry -and Blenship cleaned up. The result showed -Blenship’s superior skill in mining, and the -longer run. It was nearly double the other.</p> - -<p>“Guess we’ll call it a day’s work,” said he. -“Pretty near two thousand dollars. Have I -earned my hundred?”</p> - -<p>The boys thought he had indeed, and -pressed him to take more for his share, but -he resolutely refused. In the tent he took -from his outfit a pair of miner’s scales and -weighed out his wages carefully, putting them -in a little chamois bag in his bosom. The -balance he turned over to the boys, and they -stowed it in the bandana with what they -already had.</p> - -<p>“You see,” said Blenship, “the better -showing your little pocket makes in the next<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_371"></a>[371]</span> -ten days, the better price the whole creek will -bring when Pap Lane or the Alaska Commercial -Company or some of those fellows come -up here to buy it.”</p> - -<p>“But why should we sell?” asked Joe.</p> - -<p>“Young feller,” said Blenship, “don’t you -make no mistake. If you can sell out your -share of this creek at a good price, you -do it. You’ve got a little spot that’s -mighty rich. The rest of your claim may -not pay for the labor of working it. Two -months from now it will be frozen up, and -will stay so for nine months more. A man -with a million behind him can take this creek -and work it to advantage. You and I might -peck at it for ten years and then not get a -living out of it. If you get a good chance, -sell.”</p> - -<p>As if in proof of what Blenship said, the -next day it rained, the swelling waters carried -out their rude dam, and it was three days -more before they got it repaired and began -sluicing again. Yet when they did, they took -out three thousand in a single day. The -next day it was only a thousand, because they -had used up part of their ground and had -to move their sluices, which took time. But -on the third they found a hollow in the clay<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_372"></a>[372]</span> -bottom that was a veritable treasure house, -and yielded up over five thousand dollars in -fine gold and nuggets.</p> - -<p>That morning three men came over the -hills with packs on their backs. They camped -near by and examined the notices with much -disgust. It did not please them that the -whole creek was staked.</p> - -<p>Blenship greeted them jovially, showed -them his records in proof of the validity of -the claims, and advised them to stake the -benches, which they did. They prospected -these and found a certain amount of gold -there. Others came, on foot and with pack-horses,—evidently -the story had spread. The -place began to assume quite a mining-camp -air. Meanwhile Blenship and his lieutenants -worked on industriously. They were questioned -much, but not otherwise disturbed. -The newcomers were as yet too busy prospecting -and staking ground for themselves.</p> - -<p>One day Harry dropped his shovel with a -start. The long roar of a steam whistle -sounded from the sea. A steamer! How it -brought back memories of the Bowhead, now -scattered in ruin along the Arctic shore, and -through her the home thought again. Suppose -Captain Nickerson should be aboard.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_373"></a>[373]</span> -Perhaps he was bound north once more in -search of them. The bustle of the new camp -and the glamour of the greed of gold slipped -from him like a garment, and his soul soared -from it, free, back to the home fireside and -his father and mother. The voice of Blenship -recalled him.</p> - -<p>“Come on, boy,” he said kindly; “let’s -keep her a-going. I reckon that’s old Pap -Lane come up in his steamer to see about this -new strike. We want to have a good clean-up -just going on when he strikes camp.”</p> - -<p>An hour later Blenship stood by his tent -door talking with a square-shouldered, resolute-looking -man of perhaps sixty. His hair -was gray, but there was no stoop in his figure -and he seemed in the prime of forceful -life.</p> - -<p>“Pshaw! Blenship,” he was saying, “you -have no business to stake all this creek. Even -discovery would only entitle you to three -claims, and you must have twenty. You’ll -have to pull up and let my boys go in.”</p> - -<p>“Nearer forty claims than twenty,” Blenship -declared coolly, “and every one of them -staked on a good power of attorney from -good hard-headed men in Nome. If you try -to cut them out, they’ll fight you, every one<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_374"></a>[374]</span> -of them, and you know what that means in -the Alaska courts. No, sir, those claims are -legally staked, on the square, and I propose -to hold ’em.”</p> - -<p>“But you can’t stake except on an actual -discovery of gold,” continued the big man. -“Do you mean to say you have found prospects -on every one of them?”</p> - -<p>“Colonel,” said Blenship, “you come with -me and see.”</p> - -<p>The two were gone two hours and came -back, still arguing the matter.</p> - -<p>“All the same,” said the big man, “it’s -only prospects, and the ground is more than -likely to be spotted. What I want to see is -actual outcome of gold from it before I consider -any such preposterous price for a controlling -interest in it.”</p> - -<p>“You do, do you, colonel?” queried Blenship -calmly. “Well, just step this way.”</p> - -<p>Blenship stepped down toward the sluices -where Harry and Joe stood, as had been -quietly planned by the wily little man.</p> - -<p>“Colonel,” said he, “these are Mr. Nickerson -and Mr. Desmond, discoverers of Candle -Creek diggings, the richest in the known -world. Boys, this is Colonel Lane, of California, -now of Nome. He’s also about the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_375"></a>[375]</span> -richest in the known world, but, like Julius -Cæsar or whoever it was, he’s looking for -more mining-fields to conquer. Gentlemen, -show Mr. Lane what’s in the riffles.”</p> - -<p>The boys stepped aside and Colonel Lane -stepped up to the sluice boxes. He looked -from riffle to riffle without a word. It was -the result of a full half day’s shoveling, and -fate had been kind to them.</p> - -<p>The big man looked long in silence, then -he whistled. But in a second he chuckled.</p> - -<p>“Blenship,” he said, “I wouldn’t have -thought it of you. You salted the sluice -boxes. You’ve put in all the gold you had -in camp when you heard me coming.”</p> - -<p>“Oh-h-h!” exclaimed Blenship, with scorn, -“all the gold we have in camp! You must -think we are pretty slow miners. Boys, come -down to the tent and open the poke for him.”</p> - -<p>With trembling hands Harry drew out the -bag of dust and nuggets from its hiding-place -and opened it. The colonel looked long into -this bag, lifted it, and then whistled softly for -the second time.</p> - -<p>“Why, confound it!” said he. “There’s -a good twelve thousand dollars there. Do -you mean to say you got it out of that little -mud-hole you are working out there?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_376"></a>[376]</span></p> - -<p>“All on’t, colonel, all on’t. That’s the -richest bank—mud-bank—I’ve seen yet, and -I’ve been in placer mining all my life. Now, -colonel, come out here and talk with me. -There’s no man in this world can handle this -creek the way you can. It’s the biggest -thing the country ever saw. Come out back -while I argue with you.”</p> - -<p>The two walked back on the tundra together, -and Harry tied up the poke and put -it in its hiding-place again. Joe, weary with -his morning’s work, sat down in the tent, but -Harry wandered outside. His thoughts were -still of home and the people there. He had -heard the steamer whistle again, why he did -not know. Home was not so very far away -now, he felt that, but the thought made him -only the more homesick. He noted some men -coming up the creek, seemingly strangers, but -strangers were plentiful there now. Probably -these were more people from the ship coming -up to join those who were with Colonel -Lane. There was a big man a little ahead of -the group, and Harry did not notice that as -he approached he looked earnestly at him -and almost broke into a run. The great man -rushed up to him, took him by the shoulders, -and turned him round, looking him square in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_377"></a>[377]</span> -the face, then let out a roar that echoed from -the surrounding hills.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="illus16"> -<img src="images/illus16.jpg" width="700" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SLUICING AT CANDLE CREEK</p> -</div> - -<p>“It’s him!” he bellowed. “It’s him! Great -jumping Jehoshaphat, it’s him! I knew he’d -turn up. You couldn’t lose him. Didn’t -I see him go overboard in the straits in a -livin’ gale of wind and come back bringing -a Yukon goose with him? It’s the seven-time -winner, cap. But where’s Joe?”</p> - -<p>Joe answered for himself, rushing out of -the tent and flying by the great boatswain -of the Bowhead,—for who else would it be?—into -his father’s arms. A moment later -Harry was gripping Captain Nickerson’s hand -with one of his, the big boatswain’s with the -other, and laughing and crying and talking -all at once, while Mr. Jones, the taciturn first -mate stood by, erect and solemn, and seeming -to look as if all this waste of words was a -very wrong thing. When the two boys were -released from the hands of Captain Nickerson -and the boatswain, the first mate extended his, -and though his face twitched with emotion all -he said was, “How d’ do. Glad.” Evidently -Mr. Jones’s characteristics had lost nothing in -two years.</p> - -<p>Captain Nickerson was grayer, and there -were lines of care about his eyes that had not<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_378"></a>[378]</span> -been there before. But these seemed to slip -away as the boys told their story and he -realized that he had them both back again, -sound and hearty. Mr. Adams had fitted out -another ship for him the following spring and -he had made a trip north, but the ice had -been very bad and he got no certain news of -the boys, yet somehow neither he nor the -folks at home had been willing to give them -up for lost. Therefore he had come up again -this summer, whaling, but determined to lose -no chance to get news of them. By chance -he had found at Point Hope the native from -whom they had bought the umiak. He had -told him how two white men who might be -the missing ones had been at the Hotham -Inlet trading fair and gone south across the -bay. He had followed on the slender clue, -had sighted Lane’s steamer, and landed. And -so they talked on, oblivious of all except that -they were reunited again after so long a time. -Harry and Joe forgot their gold, and the -captain, full of news from home for them, -asked nothing about their present condition.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Blenship and the colonel, arguing -earnestly back on the tundra, had noticed -the commotion.</p> - -<p>“Who are those people?” asked the big -man.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_379"></a>[379]</span></p> - -<p>Blenship did not know, but he was not -going to let a little matter of ignorance spoil -a good bargain. “Those,” said he, “must be -the wealthy friends of my partners from the -States. They’ve been expecting some people -up on their own steamer, exploring. I reckon -they’ll be glad to see how well the boys have -done.”</p> - -<p>“Look here, Blenship,” said the colonel -hastily, “I reckon I’ll have to take your figures -on this trade. You are empowered to act -for your partners, aren’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, colonel, certainly,” replied -Blenship, with a twinkle in his eye.</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s a bargain, then,” declared the -colonel. “Shake hands on it.”</p> - -<p>The two shook hands solemnly and hastened -back to the tent. Mutual introductions followed, -then Blenship spoke. “I’ve sold the -creek, boys,” he said, “and the colonel has -driven a hard bargain with me, but I reckon -we’ll all have to stand by it. In the first -place he gets my rights in all the claims I’ve -staked, and that’s most of the creek, for fifty -thousand dollars. Ain’t that right, colonel?” -The big man nodded. “Next he buys a controlling -interest in discovery claim and the -two above and below, belonging to you two<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_380"></a>[380]</span> -boys, fifty-one per cent. of the five claims, for -just a hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, -cash and notes, you to retain forty-nine -per cent. interest in them all and to receive -that proportion of the net earnings, the proper -share of expenses being taken out. Reckon -he’ll stick you bad on them expenses.”</p> - -<p>“Look here,” said Captain Nickerson. -“What’s all this?”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said Blenship, “I thought you -knew.” The colonel was shaking his fist at -Blenship, but he pretended not to notice it. -“Show him the poke, man!” he said to -Harry.</p> - -<p>Harry drew the gold from its hiding-place -and untied the neck of the sack once more. -The big boatswain waited just long enough -to see this gold, then he bolted from the tent. -Outside they could hear him slapping his -great leg with a noise like the report of a -pistol and gurgling something about seven-time -winners, but within they were too much -interested in the story of the placer discoveries -to heed.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_381"></a>[381]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV<br /> -<span class="smaller">HOME AGAIN</span></h2> - -</div> - -<p>The boys slept that night in clean linen on -board the Maisie Adams, Captain Nickerson’s -new ship. What a thump Harry’s heart -gave when he saw the name on the stern and -realized who it was that had come to rescue -him! A thought that had been vaguely his -for long, a desire that had been but a blush -deep down in his heart, grew to a dominant -purpose in a moment, then. Maisie’s clear -gray eyes shone out of memory with a new -light in them, and the thought of home-coming -thrilled him with an ecstasy more potent -than ever before.</p> - -<p>The next day the final papers in the mining -deal were passed on board Colonel Lane’s -steamer, a splendid vessel, the T. H. Lane, -named for himself. It is thus that the pioneer -of the present day exploits the far regions -of the earth. He comes with an army at his -command, with every resource that steam and -modern invention and unlimited capital can<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_382"></a>[382]</span> -furnish, and at the nod of his head cities -spring up, great industries flourish, almost in -a day.</p> - -<p>What pleased Captain Nickerson more than -anything else in the adventures which Joe -and Harry related to him was the story of -the finding of the stores of whalebone at the -village of Nunaria. His own father had been -an officer in the unfortunate fleet, and the -finding of the bone seemed to come to him as -a fitting inheritance. But before he sailed -north to make the discovery good he turned -the vessel’s prow toward Nome, and there -transferred the boys to one of the numerous -steamers ready to sail for Seattle. The two -should bear home the news of their own -good fortune,—home to the waiting, anxious -mothers in the east. And so they parted, and -the boys, steaming south on a staunch vessel, -gazed with tears in their eyes on the smoke -of the Maisie Adams, which bore resolutely -north again toward the straits and the fascinating, -mysterious, dangerous region where -they had been the captives of the frost for -two long, eventful years. It may as well be -said here that Captain Nickerson found the -long lost bone without difficulty, and on his -way south stopped at the little village of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_383"></a>[383]</span> -Point Lay, where he found Harluk and Kroo -living frugally and contentedly. Before he -sailed away he rewarded the gentle friends of -the two boys with stores and supplies that -made them far richer than they had ever -dreamed of being.</p> - -<p>Seattle and civilization in very truth came -next. How the city had grown, and what a -pleasure there was in its bustle, the roar of -traffic, and the throngs of well-dressed, busy -men and women in its streets. Here they -stopped only long enough to replenish their -wardrobes, bettered already somewhat by the -“slop chest” of the Maisie Adams, but still -far from what they should be, and to send two -telegrams to the people at home. They followed -the messages on the first train for the -east, and now let us leave them, flying across -country as fast as steam can carry them, and -see how matters stand at Quincy Point.</p> - -<p>Like Captain Nickerson, Mr. Desmond had -grown grayer in the years that had passed. -To take up the débris of a broken fortune -and out of it build a new one is no easy -task. He had toiled faithfully, yet only a -very slender success had thus far rewarded -him. There was depression in his line of -business, and the limited capital which the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_384"></a>[384]</span> -downfall of the house had left him made it -uphill work. Yet it was not so much the -business cares as anxiety as to the fate of his -only son that weighed most upon him. He -had never for a moment given him up for -lost, yet when the first summer passed without -news of the absent ones the stoop came into -his shoulders again, and the lines of care -deepened on his face. More and more he had -come to depend on the simple, cheery faith of -Mrs. Desmond, whose hope and trust in the -watchful care of Divine Providence had never -for a moment seemed to waver. What it had -cost her to keep up this cheery calm, no one -but a wife and mother can tell. It is upon -the good women of the world that these -burdens come, and right nobly do they bear -them.</p> - -<p>It was on a bright day at the last of August -that Mr. Desmond received that telegram at -his office, gave the clerks a half holiday as a -slight token of thanksgiving, and came down -on the noon train. Mrs. Desmond met him -at the door.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Frank?” she said. “Aren’t -you well?”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes,” replied Mr. Desmond, casting -about for a way to break the good news to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_385"></a>[385]</span> -her gently; as if news could be broken, or -good news ever needed it! “Why, yes, I’m -more than well, I”—And then Mrs. Desmond -took him by the shoulders and looked -once in his face, and knew.</p> - -<p>“Who can deceive a lover?” said one of -the wise ones of old, and these two were lovers -still and always would be. The father had -brought the happy story in his face, and when -he clasped his wife in his arms and told it in -words, it was the second telling.</p> - -<p>I’ve said something in this story about the -rapidity with which news travels in Eskimo -land, but you ought to see it go in a New -England village. It flutters with the pigeons -from house-top to house-top. It comes to the -doorstep with the morning’s milk, before you -are up, and the expressman leaves it with a -package at eight at night. You may start -the story ahead of you and then follow it -down street on a bicycle, but it will leave you -a poor second at the far end of the town. -Thus it became known before sunset that -Harry Desmond, whom everybody thought -had been lost in the Arctic, was on his way -home, alive and well, and great was the rejoicing -thereat. Everybody seemed to take -especial pride in the safe return of the young<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_386"></a>[386]</span> -man, and the Adamses were in quite a flutter -of excitement about it.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it splendid?” said Mrs. Adams to -Maisie. “I feel as if Harry quite belonged -to us since he pulled you out of the water -that day nearly three years ago. He must be -almost a grown man now, and you’ve grown -up quite a bit yourself. How the time does -fly!”</p> - -<p>Maisie had indeed grown up quite a bit. -The change from girlhood to young womanhood, -which seems to come so suddenly with -the lengthening of the skirt and the doing -up of the hair, had come to her, and the -coupling of her name so intimately with Harry’s -sent a swift flush mantling her round -cheek. Harry had been her playmate and -friend since early childhood, and now he was -coming back grown up, and she was grown -up too. She felt her cheeks burn under her -mother’s kindly scrutiny, and she hastened to -change the subject, but the thought of Harry -came back now and then, and the color with it.</p> - -<p>Harry’s father and Mr. Adams met the two -boys in Boston, but Joe left immediately on -the train for the Cape. His mother was waiting -for him, he knew, and the thought would -brook no delay. Mrs. Desmond waited for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_387"></a>[387]</span> -Harry at the house. She knew that if she -came to the station, she could not help laughing -and crying over him at once, and the reticence -of the New England blood bade her -avoid the chance of a scene. Queer thing, -the New England blood,—sensitive, full of -pathos and lire and enthusiasm, all masked -beneath the cool steel of seeming indifference. -All the neighbors saw her meet him at the -door quite sedately; none of them saw the -passion of mother love revealed after the door -was shut, nor would she have had them see it -for worlds.</p> - -<p>Harry sat for a long time with his strong -brown hands clasped tight in his mother’s -slender white ones. Now she wondered at his -height and manly strength, again flushed with -secret pride at the new look of character and -decision in his face, and vowed that she had -lost her boy after all,—he was a man now. -He told them in brief the story of his adventures, -but said nothing of the placer mine and -the bargain with Colonel Lane. Somehow he -wanted to wait on that, to keep it till the last.</p> - -<p>“How has the business gone, father,” he -asked after a while. “Did you manage without -me in the office?”</p> - -<p>“Not over well,” replied his father soberly.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_388"></a>[388]</span> -“It has been a long hard pull on very little -capital. Still, we are getting on.”</p> - -<p>Harry noted again the gray in his father’s -hair and the lines of patient determination -about the mouth that had not been there when -he went away, and felt his heart thrill with joy -at the thought that he had come back amply -able to help him. He knew now that he had -not cared for the money for its own sake. He -had enjoyed the excitement of getting it. He -had been glad that he and Joe could go to college -together; they had planned that on the -way home, and he felt now that he realized the -value of a college education as he had never -done before. But here was a better use for -money than all that. He could lift the burden -that his father had borne so patiently and put -the family back where it had been before the -business disaster. This was a greater happiness -yet in his home-coming.</p> - -<p>“Would fifty thousand dollars help you, -father?” he asked quietly.</p> - -<p>“It would indeed, my boy,” replied his -father, smiling rather sadly, “but I don’t see -where I am to get it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I do,” said Harry triumphantly. -“I’ve some things up my sleeve, as the boys -say, that I haven’t said anything about yet.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_389"></a>[389]</span> -I wanted them for the last. In the first place, -though, here’s a little present from the Arctic -for you and mother. Wait till I open my grip.”</p> - -<p>His hands trembled as he pulled out the -bandana handkerchief and opened it, just -as they had when he did the same thing for -Colonel Lane up at Candle Creek.</p> - -<p>“Why, my son,” said his father in astonishment, -“what’s this?”</p> - -<p>“Gold, daddy, gold!” shouted Harry, dancing -round the two in his excitement and delight. -“Just a little souvenir that I mined up -in the Arctic with my own hands. We got out -twelve thousand, Joe and I. That’s only a -little of it, but I thought it would make a nice -thing for a present when I got home. There’s -about a thousand there. I’ve got notes for -the rest.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Harry!” ejaculated his mother, her -eyes gleaming with delight in her son’s success. -“Don’t tear around so. The neighbors -will think the house is afire.”</p> - -<p>“And so it will be in a minute, mother. -That isn’t half of it. Look at this, and this.” -He threw down two long envelopes filled with -documents. “There’s notes of Colonel Lane, -the millionaire mining magnate of California, -for about seventy thousand dollars, and there’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_390"></a>[390]</span> -the papers that show I am a quarter owner in -the richest placer mine in all Alaska.”</p> - -<p>His father’s eyes gleamed as he looked carefully -at these papers, and Harry gave his -mother a hug that he must surely have learned -of the polar bears up at Point Lay.</p> - -<p>“Mother,” he said, “when I was a little -fellow” (you would have thought him at least -thirty now to hear that, though not to see him), -“you used to fry doughnuts for me and make -one that was like a man. I want you to fry -me two now, big ones, and make ’em twins. -That’s Joe and me up at Candle Creek.”</p> - -<p>Harry caught up his mother in his arms and -danced a wild whirl about the room, finally -seating her breathless and laughing on the -sofa, while his father looked on with pride in -his face and two tears shining on his cheeks. -No one but he knew what a load the tidings of -good fortune had lifted from his shoulders. -With ample capital he would show the business -world what the house of Desmond could do. -The stoop was out of his shoulders again and -Harry knew it, and would have gone through -every hardship of the two years again for the -sight.</p> - -<p>Supper was announced before they had -done talking over this glorious news, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_391"></a>[391]</span> -Harry was not so excited but that he did full -justice to home cooking. In the evening -there came a ring at the doorbell, and Mr. -and Mrs. Adams came in—and Maisie.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Mr. Adams said, “you went away -a boy and you have come back a man grown. -If being lost in the Arctic for two years or so -will give people such size and rugged health -as that, I should advise it for lots of them.”</p> - -<p>Harry blushed and stammered at the sight -of Maisie. She had grown up too, he thought, -and how lovely she was! As for Maisie, she -was cordially glad to see him, but as demure -about it as the most proper young lady should -be. Only when she went away she glanced -up at him shyly and said,—</p> - -<p>“Did you bring me that aurora borealis -that you promised me the last thing when -you went away?”</p> - -<p>Then indeed Harry found his tongue, -though he blushed in the saying. “You are -like the aurora yourself. Come sailing with -me to-morrow, will you not?”</p> - -<p>Maisie blushed too, as who would not at so -direct a compliment from a handsome, broad-shouldered -young man.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, thank you,” she answered. “I’d -like to very much. Shall it be at ten? Your<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_392"></a>[392]</span> -knockabout is down at the boat-house. Good-night.” -And as she tripped daintily down -the broad walk to the street, Harry wondered -what need there was of street lamps when she -was out.</p> - -<p>During the evening Mr. Adams asked him -if he was ready to make that report concerning -the whaling in Bering Sea and the -Arctic, and was much pleased when Harry -handed him quite a pile of manuscript, some -of it written in pencil, and all stained with -salt water.</p> - -<p>“I’ll put this in better shape in a day or -two,” he said. “It contains all I could find -out about the subject, and I think is accurate.”</p> - -<p>“Well, well,” exclaimed Mr. Adams, “this -looks good. The company is already formed -and ready to start business. They will be glad -to get this;” and he tucked it under his arm -just as it was, saying it bore greater evidence -of reliability in that shape, and he wanted to -show it to the directors without change.</p> - -<p>“Let us see,” he said, “you were to have -a salary of twenty dollars a month for this -work, and you have been gone practically -thirty months. I will see that a check for six -hundred dollars is made out to you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_393"></a>[393]</span></p> - -<p>Harry had another thrill of pleasure at -this. It was not the money so much, but he -felt that to have won Mr. Adams’s approval -in this way was worth while. He determined -privately that Joe should have half. He had -certainly helped him earn it.</p> - -<p>The next day was one of those rarely perfect -days that often come to New England in -early September. The warmth of summer -still lingers in the air, but there is with it too -the glow and exhilaration of autumn. A -faint breeze blew in from the west and lifted -the August haze till distant objects stood -out clear and sharp in outline,—a glorious -day.</p> - -<p>It was quite a bit before ten when Harry -called for Maisie, but she was all ready, and -chatted demurely of many things as they -walked down the well-remembered path to the -boat-house. There Griggs, the ancient ferryman, -greeted Harry with a whoop, much like -that he had raised two years and a half before -in answer to his shout for assistance.</p> - -<p>“W-e-ll, I swanny!” he exclaimed. “But -I’m glad to see ye. Allus knew you’d get back -somehow. How you have growed, though! -Well, well! this is like old times, ain’t it? -Ain’t been a day go by but I think how you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_394"></a>[394]</span> -swum for the young lady here, an’ I pulled -you both out. How be ye?”</p> - -<p>Harry shook hands with Griggs cordially, -and noted that the old man had not changed -a particle in the time that had passed.</p> - -<p>“Kept the boat all ready for ye ever since,” -said Griggs. “S’pected you’d be along some -day and want a sail in her. Here she is.”</p> - -<p>There she was, indeed, with every line and -cleat in place, and Harry felt as if greeting an -old friend as he helped Maisie in and hoisted -the sail. The little boat glided gently down -the river, and out into the wider waters of the -bay. As Harry looked about and noted every -object in the familiar scene, it seemed to him -as if he had hardly been away a day instead -of two years and a half, as if the home life -only was real, and all the strange things that -had happened to him had been but a dream. -Yet when he looked at Maisie and found her -grown up to the verge of young womanhood, -he felt as if he had been away for years and -years, and hardly knew the dainty lady who -sat on the windward side and trimmed ship -as a good sailor should. He was thoughtful -and silent until Maisie looked up at him -roguishly, and said,—</p> - -<p>“Well, why don’t you tell me all about it?<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_395"></a>[395]</span> -It must be something very serious that keeps -you silent so long. You used to chatter fast -enough. Is it an Eskimo young lady?”</p> - -<p>Harry laughed. “I’ve seen Eskimo young -ladies,” he said, “though I wasn’t thinking -of them at just that moment. Some of them -are quite pretty, too,”—Maisie pouted a bit -at this,—“though they don’t dress in what -you would call good taste.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me about them, tell me all about -everything,” said Maisie, and Harry, nothing -loth, launched into stories of his adventures, -and the strange sights he had seen, that lasted -till it was time they were home for lunch. -He was modest in relating his own share in -the dangers and excitements, but Maisie saw -through this and gave him perhaps a larger -share of credit than he deserved. How strong -and handsome he was, she thought. Of course -he had been brave and noble, and now her -eyes filled with sudden tears, and again shone -with excitement and admiration, as he told of -being lost in the Arctic pack, battling with -the highbinders, and being chased by the -river ice on the Kowak.</p> - -<p>And so this modern Desdemona listened to -her sun-bronzed Othello until the boat had -swung gently back with the tide almost opposite -the cottages at Germantown.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_396"></a>[396]</span></p> - -<p>There Harry finished the tale, and Maisie -noted that they were almost back again, with -a sigh. A sudden impulse seized her.</p> - -<p>“Let me take the boat in to the landing,” -she said. “There isn’t much wind.”</p> - -<p>She slipped quickly to the stern and seated -herself the other side of the tiller. The boat -was lazing along with the helm amidships and -there was no need for Harry to move. Maisie’s -hand dropped beside his, and with a sudden -masterful impulse he laid his own over it.</p> - -<p>And Maisie? She looked up at him with -those clear, cool, beautiful eyes, and he -said— But I shan’t tell you what he said. -It is no affair of ours, and nobody was supposed -to know it for a time, except, indeed, -their own fathers and mothers, who, of course, -vowed that the young people were altogether -too young for such plans, and then gave their -blessing.</p> - -<p>Nobody was supposed to know, but it is -funny how news will travel in a New England -village, and the fact is, all this occurred right -opposite the cottages, and as likely as not -some one was using a field-glass at that very -moment.</p> - -<p>At any rate, the knockabout sailed herself -for several minutes right across the place<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_397"></a>[397]</span> -where Harry plunged in to save Maisie once, -and only the kindness of fate and a very light -wind prevented them from being in danger of -another ducking.</p> - -<p>Griggs, the old ferryman, was not so very -far away either, and he looked at them with a -very knowing smile as they walked soberly up -the path to the house. So perhaps <em>he</em> told, -but I am not going to.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG ICE WHALERS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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