Chapter 1342 Reindeer Sleigh (1/2)

Before his trip to Siberia, Li Du knew that the indigenous people of the Arctic were the Eskimos. That was what he had learned back in geography classes.

When he was preparing for the Arctic trip, he had read more about the locals. He realized that there were quite a few indigenous tribes across the Arctic. That area had been a habitat for humans for thousands of years.

Narrowly speaking, the Arctic region referred to the North Pole alone, where there were only a few people. However, the Arctic was commonly known as all the land within the Arctic Circle, including territories of Canada, the United States, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. All those countries had territorial claims in the North Pole area.

Looking at it this way, the population of the Arctic Circle was actually quite considerable. There were about four million people belonging to more than forty different tribes who all spoke different languages.

Because of the glaciers and the permanent icy layers, the regions in the Arctic were well connected at many points, enabling indigenous people to travel across the ice. Their language, culture, and traditions were intertwined, and there were many similarities.

In addition to the relatively well-known Eskimos, there were also Sami, Yupik, Chukchi, Yukagir, and Komi people in the Arctic. The Nenets and the Nganasan that Li Du had now bumped into were indigenous people as well.

Big Ivan and the two Nganasans interacted. The one who was speaking was always the man who stuttered. The woman never spoke a word and was always hiding behind the man.

The man introduced himself as Soutar Nasang and the woman was Gurichnaar. They were on their way out to the mainland to replenish some necessary supplies.

They had been floating around on the sea for a few days. Exhausted, they had covered themselves up with all their furs and fallen asleep. In the end, they were in bad luck when their boat knocked into The Hammerhead Shark. Brother Wolf had lost some focus and did not notice the small boat, which was destroyed in the collision.

Hearing Big Ivan's explanation, Sophie was shocked. ”They have been floating around the sea on that small boat for a few days? God, how could that little boat have survived the terrible conditions for so long?”

Big Ivan and Soutar Nasang exchanged a few more words. Then, Big Ivan explained, ”Their boat was small and good for sailing in shallow waters. They have been traveling on the glaciers and when the weather deteriorated, they hurried and changed the course.”

Their boat had been destroyed, but luckily for them, Li Du had picked them up. They would have to change the route of where they were headed, but fortunately, it was not a big detour and they wouldn't get too far off course.

The two newcomers were curious about everything on the ship. After having some refreshment in the form of cake and coffee, they felt more at ease and started to explore the ship.

After they had gone over every nook and cranny, Li Du pointed to a lifeboat and said, ”I will give that boat to you guys. If you take good care of it, it can be used for twenty years, much longer than the boat you had before.”

Big Ivan translated for Soutar Nasang. Once he learned that he would get a new boat, he was extremely happy and went forward to give the lifeboat a kiss.

The house of the Nganasan was not far away. After cruising for five hours, Soutar Nasang waved at the front of the ship, gesturing that they could stop there.

The Hammerhead Shark would not be able to dock without a pier. Fortunately, they had lifeboats and kayaks on the ship and the two could get onshore with the small boat.

Brother Wolf went to anchor the vessel, and Li Du sent several people to accompany Soutar Nasang.

They had settled everything on the boat. Soutar Nasang and his wife had gone out to buy oil, candles, clothes, spices and other daily supplies. Those items were plentiful on the ship, and Li Du generously offered some to the couple and sent everything to the shore in the boat.

The couple was very happy and addressed Li Du as 'Talade'. Big Ivan explained that in the Nganasan language, it meant 'God-like'.

Li Du laughed heartily. The two of them were very interesting.