North-Pole Voyages Part 9

Concerning the conspiracy, Mr. Rock thus testified: Sipsu had for a long time counseled the tribe not to visit nor sell food to the white men, holding that they could not kill the bear, walrus, and seal, and would soon starve, and so all the coveted things would fall into Esquimo hands. Kalutunah, on the other hand, held that their "booms"--guns--could secure them any game, and that our poverty of food was owing to a dislike of work.

There had arisen, too, a jealousy about the presents we gave. Sipsu's let-alone policy caused his wife to complain that she only of the women was without even a needle. This drove him to a reluctant visit to us in which he got but little, so the matter was not bettered.

Besides this, the condition of apparent starvation, in which the visitors found us from time to time, finally gave popularity to Sipsu's position, and Kalutunah yielded to the older and stronger chief.

When Petersen and G.o.dfrey arrived at Netlik, Kalutunah went fifty miles to inform Sipsu at his home of the good occasion offered to kill them.

Sipsu was to lead the attack, and Kalutunah follow. The arrangement was as we have stated, but failed on account of Sipsu's fear of the "auleit"--pistol. Having failed, his chagrin and anger led to the hot pursuit, in which he intended to set the dogs upon our men. But this failed when he saw how near he must himself venture to the "_boom_."

This story agreed so well with what Petersen and G.o.dfrey saw and suspected that we fully believed it.

Mr. Rock left us in the morning, and that evening eleven natives, one of whom was Kalutunah, called upon us on their way from Akbat to Netlik.

The Angekok was full of talk and smiles. He gave us a quarter of a young bear, for which we gave him one of Petersen's hoop-iron knives. He was not pleased with it, for he had learned before the difference between iron and steel. He attempted to cut a piece of frozen liver with it and it bent. He then bent it in the form of a U, and threw it spitefully away, grunting, "No good." We satisfied him with a piece of wood to patch his sledge.

Among our guests were two widows having each a child. One of the little ones was stripped to the skin, and turned loose to root at liberty. It was three years old, and plainly the dirt upon its greasy skin had been acc.u.mulating just that length of time.

One of the hunters was attended by his wife and two children--a girl four, and boy seven years old.

The fat fires of the several families were soon in full blaze, which, added to the heat of nineteen persons, warmed our hut as it was never warmed before. The heat set the ceiling and walls dripping with the melted frost-work, and every thing was wet or made damp. Besides, the air became insufferable with bad odors. It was now Fort Misery.

But the frozen meat at which we had been nibbling was soon thrown aside for hot coffee, steaming stew, and thawed blubber. Strips of blubber varying from three inches to a foot in length and an inch thick circulate about the hut. Strips of bear and walrus also go round. These strips are seized with the fingers, the head is thrown back, and the mouth is opened, one end is thrust in a convenient distance, the teeth are closed, it is cut off at the lips, and the piece is swallowed quickly, with the least possible chewing, that dispatch may be made, and the process repeated. The seven-year-old boy stood against a post, astride a big chunk of walrus, naked to the waist, as all the guests were. He was sucking down in good style a strip of blubber, his face and hands besmeared with blood and fat, which ran in a purple stream off his chin, and from thence streamed over the s.h.i.+ning skin below. Our disconsolate widow supped apart, as usual, on her supply of sea-fowls.

Four, each about the size of a half-grown domestic hen, was all she appeared to be able to eat!

We all ate, and had enough. Then followed freedom of talk such as is wont to follow satisfied appet.i.tes, and jokes and songs went round.

G.o.dfrey amused the women and children with negro melodies, accompanied by a fancied banjo. Dr. Hayes and Kalutunah try to teach each other their languages. Bonsall looks on and helps. The chief is given "yes"

and "no," and taught what Esquimo word they stand for. He tries to p.r.o.nounce them, says "ee's" and "noe," and inquiringly says, "_tyma?_"

(right?) Dr. Hayes nods, "tyma" with an encouraging smile, at which the chief laughs at the "_doctee's_" badly p.r.o.nounced Esquimo.

They try to count, and the Angekok says "_une_" for one, strains hard at "too" for two, and fails utterly at the "th" in three.

The "doctee" tries the Esquimo one, gets patted on the back with "tyma!

tyma!" accompanied with merry laughs. The chief tries again, gets prompted by punches in the ribs, and significant commendation in twitches of his left ear.

Having reached ten, the Esquimo numerals are exhausted. Sontag, with the help of Petersen, questions one of the hunters about his people's astronomy. The result in part is as follows, and is very curious.

The heavenly bodies are the spirits of deceased Esquimo, or of some of the lower animals. The sun and moon, are brother and sister. The stars we call "the dipper" are reindeer. The stars of "Orion's belt" are hunters who have lost their way. The "Pleiades" are a pack of dogs in pursuit of a bear. The _aurora borealis_ is caused by the spirits at play with one another.

It has other teachings on the science of the heavens equally wise. But they are close observers of the movements of the stars. We went out at midnight to look after the dogs, and Petersen asked Kalutunah when they intended to go. He pointed to a star standing over Saunders Island, in the south. Pa.s.sing his finger slowly around to the west he pointed at another star, saying, "When that star gets where the other is we will start."

Our guests at last lay down to sleep, but we could not lie down near them nor allow them our blankets; so we watched out the night.

CHAPTER XVI.

DRUGGED ESQUIMO.

THE visitors left in the morning. We were now all well except Stephenson. Though we had just eaten and were refreshed, in a few days we might be starving, so we renewed our planning. To open a communication with the "Advance" seemed a necessity. Petersen volunteered to make another effort if he could have one companion.

Bonsall promptly answered, "I will be that companion," at which we all rejoiced, as he was the fittest man for the journey next to the Dane.

A dog-team and a sledge were an acquisition now most needed for the proposed enterprise. In a few days an old man came in whom we had never seen, belonging far up Whale Sound; then came a hunter from Akbat with his family. Of these men after much bartering we purchased four dogs.

Petersen commenced at once the manufacture of a sledge out of the wood left of the "Hope." All of his excellent skill was needed to make a serviceable article with his poor tools and materials.

On the twentieth of November the sledge was nearly finished, and a breakfast on our last piece of meat a.s.sured us that what was done for our rescue must be done soon. But G.o.d's hand was, as usual, opened to supply us; in the evening a fox was found in our trap. Stephenson, who had been cheered by our tea, received the last cup.

We were reduced to stone-moss, boiled in blubber, and coffee, and a short allowance of these, when two hunters left us three birds, on which we supped.

We were now out of food. The Esquimo had, most of them, gone north, owing to the failure of game at the south; soon all would be gone.

Further discussion led us to the conclusion that we must all return to the "Advance," and start soon unless we chose to die where we were. So we commenced preparations for the desperate enterprise.

To carry out this plan it was absolutely necessary to have two more dogs, for which we must trust to our Esquimo visitors. A sledge drawn by six dogs could convey our small outfit and poor invalid Stephenson. We purposed to direct our course straight for Northumberland Island, which we hoped to reach by lodging one night in a snow-hut. For each person there must be a pair of blankets. Our clothing was wholly insufficient for such a journey, so we set at work to improve it the best we could.

Our buffalo robes had been spread upon the stone breck for beds. They were of course frozen down; in some places solid ice of several inches'

thickness had acc.u.mulated, into which they were imbedded. When disengaged, as they had to be with much care and great labor, the under side was covered with closely adhering pebble-stones. The robes were hung up to dry before we could work upon them. We now slept on a double blanket spread on the stones and pebbles--a sleeping which refreshed us as little as our moss food.

We now, under the instructions of Petersen, cut up the buffalo robes and sewed them into garments to wear on our journey. We refreshed ourselves with frequent sips of coffee, of which, fortunately, we had a plenty, and made out one meal at night on walrus hide boiled or fried in oil, as we fancied. It was very tough eating.

At the close of the second day's tailoring four hunters came in from Akbat, with five women and seven children. We stowed them all away for the night, and gladly did so for the opportunity of purchasing forty-eight small birds, a small quant.i.ty of dried seal meat, and some dried seal intestines imperfectly cleansed; but better, if possible, was the purchase of two dogs. Our team of six was complete. The hand of the great Provider was plainly manifested.

The visitors were soon gone, but the four hunters came back the next day. They were bent on mischief. They stole, or tried to steal, whatever they saw, and seemed glad to annoy us. Unfortunately for us, close upon their heels came another party, from the south also, and equally bent on mischief. Among them was an old evil-eyed woman. Whatever she saw she coveted, and all that she could she stole. Going to her sledge as the party was about to start, we found a mixed collection of our articles, some of which could have been of no use to her. But we had missed two drinking cups which we could not find. We charged her with the theft, but she protested innocence. We threatened to search her sledge, and she straightway produced them, and, to conciliate us, threw down three sea-fowl. We were gladly thus conciliated.

The whole party became so troublesome that we were compelled to drive them away. The hunters lingered about, intending, we feared, to steal our dogs, two of which were purchased of them. We set a watch until they seemed to have left the vicinity, but no sooner was the sentinel's back turned than one of them and one of the dogs were seen scampering off together. Bonsall seized his rifle, and a sudden turn round a rock by the thief saved him from the salutation of an ounce of lead.

On the twenty-ninth of November we were ready for a start. Our outfit was meager enough. It consisted of eight blankets, a field lamp and kettle, two tin drinking cups, coffee for ten days, eight pounds of blubber, and two days' meat. This last consisted of sea-fowls boiled, boned, and cut into small pieces. They were frozen into a solid lump. We hoped to be at Northumberland Island in two days, and get fresh supplies.

The sled was taken out through the roof of the hut, loaded, and the load well secured, and poor Stephenson carried out and placed on top of it.

The dogs were then harnessed, and we moved away.

The thermometer was forty-four degrees below zero when we left the hut, but it was calm, and the moon shone with a splendid light. We were weary and ready to faint at the end of one hour, how then could we endure days of travel! The sledge was a poor one, the runners, the best our material afforded, were rough, and the dogs could not drag the sledge without two of us pushed, which we did in turn. We had thus gone about eight miles when Stephenson said he would walk. This we refused to let him do, knowing his extreme weakness. But soon after he slid off the sledge. Dr.

Hayes a.s.sisted him to rise, and supported his attempt to walk. He had thus gone about a mile when he fell and fainted.

Near us was an iceberg in whose side was a recess something like a grotto. Into this we bore our companion, and added to the shelter by piling up blocks of snow. The lamp was lighted to prepare him hot coffee. For some time he remained insensible, and when he came to himself he begged us to leave him and save ourselves. He could never, he said, reach the "Advance," and he might as well die then as at a later hour.

Go without Stephenson we would not. Go with him seemed impossible. In fact we were all too weary to take another step, so we concluded to camp. But this, after unloading our sledge and making some effort, we could not do. We had no strength to make a hut, and we were already bitten by the frost; so we resolved to repack the sledge and return to the hut.

All arrived at the hut that day, but how and exactly at what time we did not know, only that some were an hour behind others, and that several finished the journey by creeping on their hands and knees. We had just enough consciousness left to bring in our blankets and spread them on those we left on the breck, and to close up the hole in the roof. We then lay down and slept through uncounted hours.

When we awoke it was nearly noon. Though hungry, cold, and weak, we were not badly frost-bitten. The first desirable thing was a fire. The tinder-box with its fixings could not be found. The one having it in charge remembered it was used at the berg, and this we all knew, and that was all any one knew about it. Without this we could have no fire.

Never before in all our exigencies was such a feeling of despair expressed on our countenances. In this plight one in attempting to walk across the tent struck something with his foot. We all knew the tinder-box by its rattle. Our lamp was soon lighted, coffee was made, and half of our meat warmed. The other half was given to Petersen and Bonsall, who started immediately to go, as we had once before planned, to the brig, while the rest remained in the hut.

Dr. Hayes and Sontag accompanied them to the sh.o.r.e. The last words of the n.o.ble Petersen were: "If we ever reach the s.h.i.+p we will come back to you, or perish in the attempt, so sure as there is a G.o.d in heaven."

Four days pa.s.sed, after our companions left us, of acc.u.mulating misery.

The hut was colder than ever, and we were in utter darkness most of the time. Our food was now sc.r.a.ps of old hide, so hard that the dogs had refused it.

In this our condition of absolute starvation, three hunters, with each a dog-team, came to us from Netlik, one of whom was Kalutunah. They entered our hut with only two small pieces of meat in their hands, enough for a scanty meal for themselves. We appropriated one piece to ourselves without ceremony. The visitors frowned and protested, but this was not a moment with us for words. We soon satisfied, or seemed to satisfy, them by presents, and both pieces were soon steaming.

Dr. Hayes renewed his proposal for the Netlik people to carry us to the "Advance." Kalutunah refused curtly. Would they _let_ teams to us for that purpose? No! The spirit of the refusal was, We won't help you. We know you must starve, and we desire you to do so that we may possess your goods. It was evident they understood our desperate condition perfectly.