Part 40 (1/2)

Awak, A walrus.

Ka-ka! Go 'long! St-'boy!

Oomiak, A large boat.

Oomiak-sook, A s.h.i.+p.

Kannau-weet-ameg, A dart.

Kina? What is it? What's that?

Twau-ve! Begone! Leave!

CHAPTER XV.

Winter at Hand.--We hold a Serious Council.--”Cold! oh, how Cold!”--A Midnight Gun.--The Return of ”The Curlew.”--”A J'yful 'Casion.”--A Grand Distribution of Presents.--Good-by to the Husky Girls.--A Singular Savage Song.--We All get Sentimental.--Adieu to ”Isle Aktok.”--Homeward Bound.--We engage ”The Curlew” and her Captain for Another Year.

Aug. 11.--Water froze last night nearly half an inch of ice. It seemed like December in our home lat.i.tude. All day the sky was hazy and cold, with driving mists. The wind blew from the north and north-west almost continually. A fortnight had made a great change in the weather.

Summer seemed to be fast merging into winter. During the afternoon and evening we held a serious ”council of war;” for all hope of the return of ”The Curlew” was now well-nigh abandoned. After some discussion, it was voted to stay here on the island during the winter, rather than attempt either to get out of the straits in our boat, or reach Nain overland. During the morning _Shug-la-wina_ had come to our tent, and pointed to the _oomiak_ then off to the southward. We knew that it was to urge us to allow them to depart southward into Labrador. The question now arose with us, Should we allow them to go according to their habit? Raed thought we ought to let them go, and not subject them to the peril of a winter pa.s.sed here on the island; but Kit and Wade opposed this proposition _in toto_.

”Once on the mainland,” said Kit, ”and our control over them will cease. They would either desert us, or else be joined by numbers whom we should find it impossible to govern. Not an inch shall they budge from here while I stay.”

And in this view he was supported by Wade and the sailors. Indeed, I voted to keep them with us myself. To let them go seemed suicidal.

”But they may all starve here before spring,” Raed urged. ”That would be terrible!”

”Well, we must take measures to see that they don't starve,” replied Kit. ”Now's our chance to show them the advantages of our administration. To-morrow we must begin a regular autumnal hunt. Every seal and every bear, and such of the sea-fowl as have not already flown, we must capture for winter-store. We must keep them at it sharp. There's no need of starving, if we manage rightly. To-morrow we will begin a regular hunt,--send out hunting-parties every day.

Whatever is brought in we will take charge of, and deal out as they need.”

”In case they were like to starve, a lot of these worthless dogs could be killed for them to eat,” said Donovan. ”It wouldn't hurt my feelings to slaughter the whole pack of them.”

”It no need to come to that, if we manage rightly,” replied Kit.

Thus it was left. The only cause for immediate alarm was the ghastly fact, that we had only eleven cartridges remaining.

Toward evening it came on to snow. A dreary night settled down upon the island. But we lighted our Husky lamp [it would appear that they had procured a stone lamp from the Esquimaux], and made things as cheery as we could. For the past week we had given up sentinel-duty, save what Guard could do. There seemed no call for it. About ten we all lay down on our bear-skins, and, covering them over us, were soon comfortable. But, somehow, that night my head was full of dreams. I dreamed everything a fellow could well imagine, and a good many things no one ever could imagine awake. I went all over the stern experiences of the past two months. Again we were hunting bears in ”Mazard's Bay.”

Again we were tossing amid the ice. At that stage of my fancies, the dogs probably got to fighting; for suddenly I was back on our desolate isle. It was mid-winter; cold! oh, how cold! The island was a ma.s.s of ice. _Wutchee_ and _Wunchee_ had frozen: we were all freezing.

Suddenly one of the Company's s.h.i.+ps hove in sight, sailing over the ice-fields, and began a bombardment of our island. They had found us at last, and now were about to sh.e.l.l us out, together with our miserable subjects. How their heavy guns roared! Their sh.e.l.ls came dropping down with ruinous explosions. Then one came roaring into our tent. There was a moment of horrible suspense. The fuse tizzed.

_Bang!_ We were blown to atoms!

I started. It had waked me,--something had. The lamp gave a sickly light. Kit was getting up too; so was Wade. I was already on my feet, near where we had stacked our guns.

”Did you fire a musket?” Kit demanded.

”What did you fire at?” exclaimed Wade.

Raed was rousing up; so were the sailors. I hastily disavowed any shooting on my part.

”Well, what was _that_, then?”