Frederick R. Bechdolt

“ By the time that last cargo was aboard and stowed away and tallied off, all hands on the Nunivak—from the fust mate to the rawest sailor that we had shanghaied —was speckylatin' about them brass buttons. The talk went round and round the ship.
But there was not much time for speckylatin' that evenin', for there was too much floatin' ice to make a man feel comfortable when he is ready for the homeward voyage. So we weighed anchor, and we sailed away to the west'ard, with the next change of course to be for the south'ard and the Golden Gate. ”

“ They believed us white men was a kind of gods. I figger it that the explorers that perished up beyond Coronation Gulf must of run afoul of thet tribe in the old days—or mebbe before that when men was huntin' for the Northwest Passage. For these Eskimo had come down from the north-east, where they had lived always.
“Now while the chief was tellin' this, he had his eyes fixed on my shirt; and the shirt was fastened at the top with a brass button that I had took from my store of tradin' trinkets. And when he had done, he up and asked me about the button. ”

“ I had give him thet brass button. And now it was up to me to give him the things thet the totem stood for.
“Well, we trapped and we hunted the whales. Us two together. We went out, him in the stern with the steerin' oar and me in the bow with the harpoon and the lance. And many's the close call we had in them waters. But we got much bone and we stored it. And we went over the ice fields to lands thet no white man had ever see; and there we found rare furs, until we had enough to make us rich down in God's country. ”

“ But a native is curious. Ye have to give him something thet he can see and handle to make him understand the other things which he cannot see. A Siwash does not know anything about his gods unless he has a totem for to look at. Ye understand me? And when I come to talk with this Eskimo of power among men and riches and all that, I had to have some kind of a sign to show him—somethin' like a totem is to a Siwash. And here was this brass button thet he had been a-lookin' at and askin' about. So I made thet button out to be a totem. ”

“ Only the cabin passage for the Eskimo; there might be some roar over that from the mates. When I said as much, he shook his head.
“Why do ye stick for that?” I asked him. “And what does this here brass button mean anyhow?”
“When we've fixed up our deal,” he says, “and have got the stuff on board, I'll tell ye-the hull of it. But that takes a long time. I'll say this to ye now: it is fair and above board. I pass my word on that. And I have furs cached three days sailin' from here that will make your eyes hang out when ye see them.” ”

“ I done as the natives done. Caribou and the salmon and ptarmagin was good enough for me; and berries to keep my blood thin. I spent a year up on the Porcupine; and I trapped. I sold my furs to the companies and I made a good grub stake.
“I was dressin' like a native now, and my beard was down to my waist. I had pretty nigh forgot the sound of my own language; and there was months when I did not even talk to an Indian. And there I got my idee of how to lay hold of my gold. It was not layin' in the ground for me; but there was rich furs, and they meant big money.
“Them furs meant big money ”

“ I was a-goin' to pin the button on him and he would help me. And thet was all there would be to it, too,—fool him, jest as white men have done with natives many times before.
“So we made the bargain, with me havin' thet idee. And I put the button on his parka. And the men of the tribe, they brought me food and made me comfortable; and I got my winter's grub and got an igloo built for me when the snow come; and got furs to lay on—and all without so much as turnin' a hand. And the ice pack froze solid over the Arctic; and the long night come. ”

“ And I could not help likin' him better after he had spun his yarn. For there is not many men will keep their word with a savage.
So, durin' the balance of the voyage, I done what I could to see thet the Eskimo had things the way he wanted. It was not hard. It did not take much to satisfy him. He used to stand on deck, and watch the mates as they ordered the crew around. And it seemed to make him feel good.
One day we steamed into the Golden Gate; and then of course there come a time when I had my hands full, seein' thet the crew was paid off, the cargo unloaded, and a hundred other things. ”

“ The winter went by; and many a time I wondered how them two was gettin' along. And often I speckylated on how Chisholm was keepin' his bargain. But I got no word from either one of them; and they sort of went out of my mind. Then one spring day the Nunivak was ready to sail into the North once more. We had the crew on board and everything ship-shape, and I was settin' in the cabin. The fust mate come down.
“Man on deck wants to see ye, sir,” says he.
I asked who the man was and he laughed. “Tell him to come down,” says I. And a minute arterwards, there stood the big Eskimo in the cabin. ”

“ Taller and better lookin'; and they spoke a different tongue. And none of them had ever seen a white man.
“They crowded around me and they made a big wonderment over me. I was like a king among them. I was able to make them understand a few words of the Eskimo tongue which the natives speak around Herschel Island;. ”