Part 38 (1/2)

”We will make them help as bring it up here. I'll detail a party for that purpose.”

He now pointed off to the sh.o.r.e with the word _oomiak_, and, stepping up to one of the men, laid his hand on his shoulder, and made signs for him to go with us. The man, a stout, short fellow, seemed partly to comprehend his meaning, and rather reluctantly moved out from his fellows.

”We shall want as many as seven or eight of them,” remarked Wade.

”Form a ring around this one, then, while I get out another,” said Kit.

But the second one backed off as Kit approached him, gesticulating, and shouting, ”_Na-mick, na-mick!_” and, on Kit's laying his hand on his shoulder, he let out a ”straight left” with considerable _vim_.

”Donovan,” said Kit, ”take hold of him!”

Don made a rush, and, clutching one hand into his hair, shook him about, tripped him up, and held the point of the butcher-knife at his throat. The savage howled and begged. With a single effort Donovan set him on his feet, and thrust him into the ring. The third, fourth, and fifth man came out at a mere tap on the shoulder. But the sixth--a little dark fellow--jumped back when Kit stepped up to him, and struck with a rough dagger-shaped weapon made of a walrus-tusk. Indeed, it was a wonder he had not stabbed him; for the movement was remarkably quick and cat-like. Donovan sprang forward; but Kit caught his arm, and dealt him a blow with his fist that sent him reeling to the ground. Don seized him by the collar of his bear-skin smock, and, with a twitch and a kick, sent him spinning into the ring. Several of the remaining men had run to their tents, and now re-appeared with harpoons in their hands. Kit took his musket, and, walking up to one of them, struck the dart out of his hand with a tweak of the bayonet, and then walked him along to the ring.

”I guess seven will be enough,” said Wade.

”Well, keep round them,” replied Kit. ”Don't let 'em get away from us.

Ready! Forward, march!”

We turned to go down to the _oomiak_, and had proceeded a few steps, when some of the savages about the huts suddenly shouted ”_Ka-ka, ka-ka!_” In an instant their dogs, which had been growling and prowling about all the time, rushed after us, barking madly. Guard was a little behind us. They set upon him like hungry wolves. Such a barking and snarling! Kit and Wade, who formed the rear-guard, ran to the rescue. Wade laid on them with the b.u.t.t of his musket; while Kit, with his bayonet, gave several of the gaunt, wolfish curs thrusts which speedily changed their growls to yelps of agony. The savages cried out dismally. Exclamations of ”_Mickee!_” ”_Arkut mickee!_”

”_Parut mickee!_” besought us not to kill them. They had set them on to us, nevertheless. The dog riot suppressed, we moved on down to the sh.o.r.e. The _oomiak_ was then turned bottom up, and the mast which had supported their sails thrust under it transversely about ten feet back of the bows. This mast was a stick of yellow pine, from Labrador probably, about fifteen feet long. It projected four or five feet on each side,--far enough for them to take hold to carry the _oomiak_ on it. Wade ran out to our boat and brought one of the oars, which was thrust under, near the stern, in the same way. Kit then stationed six of the Huskies at the mast-pole forward, three on each side: the other he placed at the stern end of the scow. Weymouth took hold of one end of the paddle, and Donovan the other. Kit then made signs to the Huskies to lift at their pole. They raised it; and the sailors lifting the stern at the same time, and walking on, we had it fairly started.

It was pretty heavy, however. The Esquimaux soon began to pant; seeing which, we had them set it down and rest every thirty or forty rods.

We were near an hour getting back to their huts. They had worked well.

Their part of the load must have been somewhat over a hundred pounds per man, we thought.

”Better than n.i.g.g.e.rs; a great deal better,” Wade p.r.o.nounced them. ”I'm not sure that it wouldn't be a good plan to import them into the United States to work on our railroads.”

”For slaves, I suppose,” said Raed.

”No; not for slaves. Now that slavery is fairly abolished, I am not much in favor of its re-establishment. Take them down to work for fair wages. Should as lief have them as to have the Chinese, and risk it.”

”That makes me think,” Kit remarked, ”that I have read that some ethnologists think the Esquimaux are a branch of the Chinese nation.”

”You would send vessels like the cooly s.h.i.+ps up here to kidnap them, I suppose,” Raed observed. ”You could only carry them away by main force. They are too much attached to their bleak home to leave it voluntarily.”

”Well, what of that,” said Wade. ”Don't be so dreadfully afraid to have a little force used! If it would permanently better their condition, why not bring the whole nation of them farther south by force. A horde of ignorant savages like these don't always know what's best for them, by a long sight. If all these polar tribes could be brought down into a milder climate, it would be vastly better for them. So of the ignorant, brutish negroes of Africa: if they could be got out of their barbarous haunts, and brought up into the lat.i.tude of New York and Paris, it would be vastly better for them; and they might be made to do something useful in the world. Millions of hands are lying idle in Africa, which, under proper direction, might be turned to some account, and made to contribute both to the world's progress and their own happiness. But, of course, such savage tribes will never move of their own accord: it remains for more enlightened nations to move them.”

”That's an argument for the re-opening of the slave-trade, I presume,”

Raed remarked.

”Oh, no! You judge me too severely. I meant just what I said; nothing more.”

”If what Wade proposes could be done without violent usage, suffering, and injustice, I think it would be a great and good work,” said Kit.

”Well, in that I agree with you fully,” replied Raed; ”but the trouble would be to find a nation or a company that would deal justly and humanely with such savages.”

We let them rest an hour after bringing up the _oomiak_; then started them back to bring up our own boat, with our _spider_ and walrus-skins. This took till nearly six o'clock, evening. The walrus-skins were then unrolled, and spread out on the ground.