Julian W. Bilby

“ A head man and his wife, it seemed, had come this long distance on behalf of their son, a lad of about fifteen, a promising young hunter of marriageable age, who desired to find a wife. No girl in his own tribe had taken his fancy, but the family had heard of a likely bride in the Middle Coast tribe, and had come to see her and her people. She had the reputation of being clever at all household duties, docile and pleasing in manner, with eyes like sloes and hair as glossy black as the raven’s wing. ”

“ Rocks, wood, earth, water, sun, moon, stars, fire, fog, icebergs, plants, all animals, all creeping things, and even hunting implements, have spirits which never die. The Tarnuk, or soul of a man, has the shape of a man, but is about one inch in height, and is to be discovered in the hand of a conjuror or in that of a new-born babe. The soul of a bear is like a bear; that of a walrus like a walrus; but the soul of a deer resembles a spider, and that of a salmon, a man! The souls of rocks are like sturdy, thickset men; the soul of the earth looks like a piece of liver. ”

“ Then the chief Angakut squats upon the floor, with his arms and legs bound by a length of light hide line. The lamps are pressed down to burn so dimly that it is all but dark. The rest of the folk also sit about the floor with their heads bowed, so that none may stare at the conjuror’s face. He begins his incantations, rocking to and fro and uttering sounds that seem incredible for a human throat to compass. He works himself into a state of insensibility (but not before his familiar spirit has undone the knots and released him from his bonds.) ”

“ The air soon reeks—the tight-packed assemblage of unwashed humanity, the stench of seal oil and blubber, the strong odours from the pot and the exhalations of garments spread out on the racks to dry, all contribute to the malodorous atmosphere. But what of that to those accustomed to nothing else, to whom the whole means warmth and plenty and the nearness of his own, in the frozen immensity of the awful arctic world without? ”

“ The heavy work is done by the hale and hearty, who leave only the lighter tasks, such as the tending of the lamps and the minding of the house, to the older folk. Womanlike all the world over, the crones love to get together and indulge in unlimited gossip. All the women, indeed, pay a constant round of visits, and gathering, now here, now there, sit about smiling and gossiping, as is their wont from the tropics to the pole.
The Eskimo are a genial, jovial, peaceable people, among whom quarrelling is a crime, and he or she who disturbs the general peace is a villain of the deepest dye. ”

“ The hunter must at all costs gain and keep the ascendancy over his dogs. The thief has his head forced hard back with the mouth wide open, and the man smashes out the two long upper fangs with the back of his hunting knife. That bit of violence completes this part of Youngster’s spartan education.
He graduates by learning how to smell for seal holes in the ice, how to tackle a bear, how to defend himself, how to guard the tent or igloo, how to brave every extreme of bitter weather. When an Eskimo dog knows all this he becomes a valuable asset to his master. ”

“ A beak like cold steel driven deep into a dog’s flank just as he is engulfing a particularly delicious morsel, tends to make him choke. He does so in fact, and his feathered aggressor, striking hard now at his nose, snatches the lump of meat from him in the very act of flapping and floating off to safety in mid air. The dog, disgusted and disappointed beyond expression, sits down and howls maledictions on thieves in general and ravens in particular, to the remotest of their generations.
No one loves the raven. The hunter uses every art to catch him, but generally in vain. ”

“ The old men and women potter about, visiting each other. The crones occupy themselves teaching the younger women how things were best done in their day, and the granfers fight their own battles over again and exploit their own adventures, as they listen to the talk of the younger men—the tales of more recent feats accomplished, perils survived, and clever captures achieved. As the bright day wanes to that short twilight which is the arctic summer night, the men fetch their blankets from the tents, roll themselves up in them under the shelter of some boulder, and sleep in the open air. ”

“ A shout summons every other hunter within sight, and quicker than it takes to tell, there is a concourse of fur-clad figures, the seal is cut open, and a rib, dripping with the fresh, hot blood, is presented to each by way of an invigorating snack. The carcase is soon skewered together again by means of the long ivory pins carried by the hunter, and loaded on to the sled, when the successful “outfit,” bidding a cheery adieu to the others, strikes off then and there for home, rejoicing in the thought of fresh supplies of meat and blubber, and another skin added to the family stores. ”

“ The crew, with ice saws or blasting powder, quickly make a space in the ice, like a temporary dock, large enough to warp her into, where she can lie snug while the savage floes grind and crash against each other without. Woe to the ship caught between them ere such a refuge can be made! No vessel that ever adventured in the polar seas could stand the awful grip. There would be a rending of the stoutest timbers, groans of a ship in agony, a lift and a quiver, and as the floes swung apart on the black swell below, the brave creature, mangled, rent, and stove in, would plunge to her bitter grave. ”

“ He is unceremoniously dragged along on his back, bumping over the rough ice, hating everything and everybody, thinking life not a bit worth living and that the bottom of his world has fallen out. He is rudely brought to! The leader of the team knows what to do. Like a parent spanking a naughty child, the leader sails in, and with many a forceful shake and many a shrewd nip at every tender point, he forces Puppy to take his rightful station in the team and do his best to pull. As he goes back to his own position at the head the Leader just passes word along to the rest to follow his example. ”

“ There is none of the home life of the permanent village. The men and boys are away all day long, and the women spend all their time preparing and drying the [90] skins and keeping the cooking pot going. Water is obtained either from the snow lying deep on the surface of the ice, or from ice from the nearest berg. From early morning till late at night the camp resounds with the crack of whips, the shouts of the dog-team drivers, the gruff voices of men and the shrill voices of boys, as they drive hither and thither, quartering the expanse of the sealing grounds in search of the blow holes. ”

“ Lest the foregoing account of the white and frozen village should convey too dazzling an idea of such a settlement, it should be remembered that the snow all round and about is trampled up, and incredibly defiled by all the refuse of a community who have no ideas at all about sanitation and seemly surroundings. Hence there is an appearance of dirt and squalor wherever the Eskimo encamp, and these little congeries of human beings contrive quite effectually to blot and mar the pure immensity of the snow-white northern landscape. ”

“ It is a puzzle how they survive the winter, when everything is frozen solid, and the very spots which thaw under the sudden warmth of an arctic spring and allow them to swarm out in their malignant millions are iron-bound as the rocks themselves for the greater part of the year. So formidable are these insects that man himself has sometimes fallen a victim to their onslaught. On one occasion, a polar bear was crossing a swamp on the prowl, when he was attacked by mosquitoes. ”

“ As often as the people come up and accuse themselves of wrongdoing, he betakes himself to the beach, to tell Sedna, and returns with forgiveness.
It will be readily understood that it is of great value in the hard fight for existence in the arctic that a spirit of hope and cheerfulness should be maintained. No one knows this better than the commander of an arctic or antarctic expedition, or than the head of a trading station! It is quite essential that the Eskimo village should make itself a centre of jollity and comfort to the returning hunters, and to travellers on the trail. ”

“ A final heroic effort might yet bring them to safety!
With a yell of encouragement to the exhausted son, and renewed vigour in his wielding of the whip, the hunter pressed on. The wolves, realising that their prey was actually escaping, redoubled their efforts to close in upon the sled. It dashed round the point only in the nick of time. The dogs in camp beyond, scenting what was afoot, instantly rushed out to give battle to the wolves. The pack, perceiving that the odds were now heavily against them, snarled viciously, turned coward tails, and vanished.... ”

“ For weeks on end it has been one long, glorious day, when the sun has scarcely set an hour. The weather is hot and the sky is blue. Arctic flowers and arctic heather gem the short turf; streams and cascades fill the valleys with the unwonted music of running water. ”

“ The heaven and hell of Eskimo conception are gross and material. Heaven is a land of warmth and sunshine, with good hunting, absence of storms and hard seasons, and plenty of fat seals in its ice-free sea. Hell is the dark and bitter abode of the submarine Sedna, the enemy of man, who engineers bad weather and times of scarcity. ”

“ Baffin Land, bathed in its icy waters, is far more barren than Greenland, where it does not touch. Possibly Grinnell Land is immune from its influence. It is, nevertheless, quite possible for a dense plant life to flourish—under certain conditions of climate, altitude and situation—deep within the Arctic Circle, where even the tundra, a wilderness of snow in the winter, becomes an impassable fever-haunted, mosquito ridden, torrid, flower decked swamp in the summer. ”

“ As soon, then, as he decides the tupik is really empty, he gives one short, deep note, well understood by the others dogs, signifying that the coast is clear. Then he bounces at the tent wall, bursts through it, and snatching the first big mouthful of meat he can get, beats a discreet retreat, leaving the others like thoughtless children to do the work and get themselves into the required mess. They rush in, of course, make hay of the tent, and kick up a tremendous uproar, giving themselves away to the whole village. It does not take long for the natives to cope with the situation. ”

“ Sedna was inconsolable. She had the horror of a very human girl at her strange mate, and could by no means make his land her home and his people hers. The legend has it that the Loon provided for her as an ordinary hunter would have done; but she was wild and homesick, and passed her days bewailing, as lone and desolate an exiled maiden as ever cried, “Woe, woe!”
(Sedna’s disillusionment is a note in the story wholly coarse to European ideas. The Eskimos are a people without prudery. A perfectly natural incident on the journey revealed that the lover was a bird.) ”

“ Presently a gull, sweeping by on the endless search for food, spies these dainties, and descrying no sign of foe or danger, swoops ever nearer and nearer, until at last it alights on top of the igloo for a brief second, seizes a morsel and wheels off again. Nothing untoward having occurred, the bird grows bolder, returns, and finally settles down to the feast outspread in that tempting spot. ”

“ The Eskimo freely write letters to their friends and hand them over for delivery to anyone taking a journey in the desired direction. The letters always reach their destination, because the postman at his first sleeping place invariably reads them all through from first to last; so that if, as often happens, one or two should get lost, the addressee receives the missive by word of mouth; and incidentally the postman knows everybody’s business and is altogether the most glorious gossip who could ever drop in and enliven the circle round the igloo lamp of a winter’s night. ”

“ Bear hunting, again, is pursued by the Eskimo with no less zest than that of the seal or deer. It forms quite a subject by itself, and calls for some description of its own customs, methods, and superstitions.
The bear is much respected by the Eskimo for his intelligence and cunning, and his strength. Indeed, they consider him second only, among the creatures of the wild, to man himself. It is for this reason that they so often choose for their “tongak,” or guardian familiar, the spirit of a bear. ”

“ The stewpot is taken from the slings and set in front of the mistress of the igloo. The sturdy men and children crowd round her and each one is served with a generous piece of sealmeat. They hold it in their hands to eat. Each bronzed or wind-blackened face glows with enjoyment and contentment in the homely lamplight, and an atmosphere of unfeigned goodwill and cheer dominates the little group. The hungry folk whose husbands and fathers have not been successful all day simply distribute themselves through the [101] village, and share the food of the lucky. ”

“ No food is borne on the sled, for the hunter depends [86] upon himself for his dinner. The duty of the boys is to watch the sled, to mind the dogs, and see they do not fight or stampede, to study the conditions of the ice, the signs of the weather, the habits of animals, to note their calls and movements and how to imitate them, to take careful notice of the topography of the country and make mental drawings of it to serve as charts and maps, to read the stars, and, generally to endeavour to become skilled and successful hunters themselves. ”