Fast in the Ice: Adventures in the Polar Regions
Page 9
CHAPTER NINE.
A VISIT TO THE ESKIMOS--WONDERFUL DOINGS--A MYSTERY.
The proceedings of this sledge party were so interesting that I givethem in the words of Tom Gregory's journal:
"_Sunday_.--We have indeed cause to rejoice and to thank God for Hismercies this morning. Last night we shot a bear, and the captain isaway with the carcass of it to our poor scurvy-smitten friends in the_Hope_. This Sunday will be a real day of rest for me and Sam Baker,though our resting-place is a very queer one. After the captain leftus, we looked about for a convenient place to encamp, and only a fewyards from the spot where we killed the bear we found the ruins of anold Eskimo hut made partly of stones, partly of ice. We set to work topatch it up with snow, and made it perfectly air-tight in about twohours.
"Into this we carried our bear-skins and things, spread them on thesnowy floor, put a lump of bear's fat into our tin travelling lamp, andprepared supper. We were not particular about the cookery. We cut acouple of huge slices off our bear's ham, half roasted them over thelamp, and began. It was cut, roast, and come again, for the next hourand a half. I positively never knew what hunger was until I came tothis savage country! And I certainly never before had any idea of howmuch I could eat at one sitting!
"This hearty supper was washed down with a swig of melted snow-water.We had some coffee with us, but were too tired to infuse it. Then weblocked up the door with snow, rolled our bear-skins round us, and weresound asleep in five minutes.
"Lucky for us that we were so careful to stop up every hole with snow,for, during the night the wind rose and it became so intensely cold thatBaker and I could scarcely keep each other warm enough to sleep, tiredthough we were. At this moment my fingers are so stiff that they willhardly hold the pencil with which I write, and the gale is blowing sofuriously outside that we dare not open the door. This door, by theway, is only a hole big enough to creep through. The captain cannottravel to-day. He knows we are safe, so I will not expect him. I havebrought my small Testament with me. It has hitherto been my constanttravelling companion. I am thus provided with mental food. But, intruth, I shall not want much of that for the next twelve hours. Rest!rest! rest! is what we require. No one can imagine how a man can enjoyrest, after he has been for many months exposed to constant, exhausting,heart-breaking toil, with the thermometer _always_ below zero, and withnothing but salt food to keep him alive.
"_Tuesday night_.--Here we are at last--among the Eskimos! and what aqueer set they are, to be sure. All fat and fur! They look as broad asthey are long. They wear short fox and seal-skin coats, or shirts, withhoods to then; no trousers, but long boots, that come up and meet thecoats. Women, men, and babies, all dressed alike, or nearly so. Theonly difference is that the women's boots are longer and wider thanthose of the men. But I forgot--yes, there is one other difference; thewomen have _tails_ to their coats; the men have none! Real tails--notlike the broad skirts of our dress-coats, but long, narrow tails,something like the tail of a cow, with a broadish flap at the end of it.This they evidently look upon as a handsome ornament, for I observethat when they go off on a journey, each woman buttons her tail up toher waist, to keep it out of the way, and when she returns she unbuttonsit, and comes into camp with her tail flowing gracefully behind her!
"We had a terrible journey of it down here. The captain returned to uson Monday morning early, and the next two days we spent struggling overthe hummocks and out upon the floes. It was so cold that the wind cutinto our very marrow. We have all had our faces frozen, more or less,but not badly. Baker will have an ugly spot on the end of his nose forsome weeks to come. It is getting black now, and as the nose itself isbright red and much swelled, his appearance is not improved. Ifoolishly tried to eat a little snow yesterday morning, and theconsequence is that my lips are sore and bloody. On Monday afternoonthe dogs and sledge went head over heels into a deep rut in the ice, andit cost us two hours to get them out again. Luckily no damage was done,although the captain was on the sledge at the time.
"We had almost despaired of finding the village when we came upon asledge track that led us straight up to it. I shall never forget thebeauty of the scene on our arrival. The sky was lighted up with themost beautiful aurora I have yet seen in these regions. Stars spangledthe sky in millions. Great ice-bergs rose in wild confusion in thedistance, and all along the shore for a few hundred yards were clustersof snow-huts. They looked exactly like bee-hives. I have seen many astrange house, but the strangest of all is certainly a house of snow!To-day I was fortunate enough to see one built. It was done veryneatly. The hard snow was cut into slabs with a wooden knife. Thesewere piled one above another in regular order, and cemented with snow--as bricks are with lime. The form of the wall was circular, and theslabs were so shaped that they sloped inwards, thus forming a dome, orlarge bee-hive, with a key-stone slab in the top to keep all firm. Ahole was then cut in the side for a door--just large enough to admit ofa man creeping through. In front of this door a porch or passage ofsnow was built. The only way of getting into the hut is by creeping onhands and knees along the passage. A hole was also cut in the roof,into which was inserted a piece of clear ice, to serve for a window.
"The natives received us with wild surprise, and I found my old friends,the walrus-hunters, among them. They were remarkably friendly. Onestout, middle-aged fellow invited us to his hut. I am now seated in itbeside the Eskimo's wife, who would be a good-looking woman if she werenot so fat, dirty, and oily! But we cannot expect people living in thisfashion, and in such a country, to be very clean. Although the hut iswhite outside, it is by no means white inside. They cook all their foodover an oil-lamp, which also serves to heat the place; and it iswonderful how warm a house of snow becomes. The cold outside is sogreat as to prevent the walls melting inside. Besides Myouk, our host,and his wife, there are two of the man's sisters, two lads, two girls,and a baby in the hut. Also six dogs. The whole of them--men, women,children, and dogs, are as fat as they can be, for they have beensuccessful in walrus-hunting of late. No wonder that the perspirationis running down my face! The natives feel the heat, too, for they areall half-naked--the baby entirely so; but they seem to like it!
"What a chattering, to be sure! I am trying to take notes, and Myouk'swife is staring at me with her mouth wide open. It is a wonder she canopen her eyes at all, her cheeks are so fat. The captain is trying, bythe language of signs, to get our host to understand that we are much inwant of fresh meat. Sam Baker is making himself agreeable to the youngpeople, and the plan he has hit upon to amuse them is to show them hiswatch, and let them hear it tick. Truly, I have seldom seen a happierfamily group than this Eskimo household, under their snowy roof!
"There is to be a grand walrus-hunt to-morrow. We shall accompany them,and see whether our endurance on a long march, and our powers with therifle, cannot impress them with some respect for us. At present theyhave not much. They seem to think us a pale-faced set of helplesscreatures.
"_Wednesday night_.--We have just returned from the hunt; and atremendous hunt it was! Six walrus and two bears have been killed, andthe whole village is wild with delight. Cooking is going on in everyhut. But they have no patience. Nearly everyone is munching away at alump of raw walrus flesh. All their faces are more or less greasy andbloody. Even Myouk's baby--though not able to speak--is choking itselfwith a long, stringy piece of blubber. The dogs, too, have got theirshare. An Eskimo's chief happiness seems to be in eating, and I cannotwonder at it, for the poor creatures have hard work to get food, andthey are often on the verge of starvation.
"What a dirty set they are! I shall never forget the appearance ofMyouk's hut when we entered it this evening after returning from thehunt. The man's wife had made the wick of her stone lamp as long aspossible in order to cook a large supper. There were fifteen peoplecrowded together in this hive of snow, and the heat had induced them tothrow off the greater part of their clothing. Every hand had a greasyl
ump of bear or walrus meat in it; every mouth was in full occupation,and every fat face, of man, woman, and child, was beaming with delightand covered with dirt and oil!
"The captain and I looked at each other and smiled as we entered, andSam Baker laughed outright. This set all the natives laughing, too. Wedid not much relish the idea of supping and sleeping in such a place--but necessity has no law. We were hungry as hawks, desperately tired,and the temperature outside is 35 degrees below zero. The first duty ofthe night is now over. We have supped. The natives will continue toeat the greater part of the night. They eat till they fall asleep; ifthey chance to awake they eat again. Half of them are asleep now, andsnoring. The other half are eating slowly, for they are nearly full.The heat and smell are awful! I am perspiring at every pore. We havetaken off as much of our clothes as decency will permit. Sam has on apair of trousers--nothing more. I am in the same state! There islittle room, as may be supposed. We have to lie huddled up as we bestcan, and a strange sight we are as the red light of the flaring lampfalls on us. At this moment Myouk's wife is cutting a fresh steak. Theyoungest boy is sound asleep with a lump of fat between his teeth. Thecaptain is also sound, with his legs sprawling over the limbs of half adozen slumbering natives. He is using the baby as a pillow. It iscurious to think that these poor creatures always live in this way.Sometimes feasting, sometimes starving. Freezing out on the floes;stewing under their roofs of snow. Usually fat; for the most partjolly; always dirty!
"It is sad, too, to think of this; for it is a low condition for humanbeings to live in. They seem to have no religion at all. Certainlynone that is worthy of the name. I am much puzzled when I think of thedifficulties in the way of introducing Christianity among these northernEskimos. No missionary could exist in such a climate and in suchcircumstances. It is with the utmost difficulty that hardy seamen canhold out for a year, even with a ship-load of comforts. But this is toodeep a subject to write about to-night! I can't keep my eyes open. Iwill, therefore, close my note-book and lie down to sleep--perhaps to besuffocated! I hope not!"
Accordingly, our young friend the doctor did lie down to sleep, and gotthrough the night without being suffocated. Indeed, he slept so soundlythat Captain Harvey could scarcely rouse him next morning.
"Hallo! Tom! Tom!" cried he loudly, at the same time shaking hisnephew's arm violently.
"Aye, eh!" and a tremendous yawn from Tom. "What now, uncle? Time torise, is it? Where am I?"
"Time to rise!" replied the captain, laughing. "I should think it is.Why, it's past eleven in the forenoon. The stars are bright and the skyclear. The aurora, too, is shining. Come, get up! The natives are alloutside watching Sam while he packs our sledge. The ladies are goingabout the camp whisking their tails and whacking their babies in greatglee, for it is not every day they enjoy such a feed as they had lastnight."
In half an hour they were ready. The whole village turned out to seethem start. Myouk, with his wife Oomia, and the baby, and his sonMeetek, accompanied them to Refuge Harbour. Oomia's baby was part ofherself. She could not move without it! It was always naked, but beingstuffed into the hood of its mother's fur-coat, it seemed always warm.
"I say, Tom, what's that up in the sky?" said Captain Harvey suddenly,after they had been driving for a couple of hours. "It's the strangestlooking thing I ever did see."
"So it is," replied Gregory, gazing intently at the object in question,which seemed high up in the air. "It can't be a comet, because it givesno light."
"Perhaps not, but it has got a tail, that's a fact," said Baker, in avoice of surprise. "Who ever heard of a dark, four-cornered star with atail? If I had seen it in daylight, and in Merry England, I would havesaid it was a kite!"
"A kite! nonsense," cried the captain; "what in the world _can_ it be?"
Reader, you shall find that out in the next chapter.