Beadle's Boy's Library of Sport, Story, and Adventure, No. 37 — page 8: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

POLO OT a an eg as ee ne ; - et a ee as - - / , 2 - — i eee of which was already nearly burned through, rolled away from it. Confused and half mad- dened with the sufferings it endured from the injury to its half-scorched eyeballs, the monster turned its head from side to side, and kept rais- ing one of its paws, as if it were striving to re- move the cause of its trouble. At that moment the crack of Knuckle’s gun was heard, and a twitch of the creature’s body indicated that it had been struck. The bullet had passed:slantingly through one of its haunches, and the animal now started along the rocky descent, making off as fast as it could go. Yonkitt and his two companions stood ready half-way up the hight to plant some more bul- lets in its body, but the animal concealed itself in'the hollows of the rocks neur this part of the descent. A search was made for the beast, Tom now assisting, and a few minutes later, the brute was again seen dashing down the path, some distance ahead. The four pursuers followed it, now and then firing, but apparently, without effect, for, asa eneral thing, seafaring men are not very good ots. In the excitement of the chase, the pursuers a for atime that they were leaving their little house unguarded behind them. Not until they were two miles from it, did they pause. “We'll not find that bear to-night,” said Knuckle, ‘he’s disappeared somewhere amon the rocks on the beach. We'd better sheer o now, and git back toour— Hello! flukes and thunders!” The sudden exclamation was caused by a broad gleam of lurid light far behind the zr < at do you think it is?’ cried Nye. The four stood looking at each other in dis- may. ‘The high rocks between us and the fire hide a good deal of it from us,” said Tom; ‘‘ but I’m afraid it’s our house.” ‘* Let’s hope not,” said Knuckle, ‘ let’s hope not. It’s a bad time now, with winter on us, to lose our comfortable quarters. By the etarnal tadpole!” added Knuckle, beating his breast. ‘What a lubber I was to leave the place un- watched even for so short a time!” ‘« You think then it has been set on fire?” said Nye. “Sart’inly; it couldn’t have happened t’other- wise. In my rr them ay is at the bottom of it. But let’s hope that it ain’t our house, arter all—ay, ay, let’s hope so.” The party hurried in the direction of the flames, which were now shooting up, lighting land, sky and sea. Finally they were near enough to obtain an unobstructed view, which set all further doubts at rest. It was their house which was on fire, and which was now nearly burned to the ground! No person was to be seen near the dwelling, but some uimaux soon came, having been attracted by the glare of the flames. Arriving close to the remains of their dwell- ing, the four sailors stood looking disconsolately at the smoking embers. Everything the house had contained—pro- visions, planks, bedding and many other useful articles were destroyed! The Esquimaux who came up now stood talk- ing excitedly among themselves. onkitt questioned them, but they could tell him nothing as to the cause of the calamity. They s cted, with the sailors, that 1t was the work of the Indians. “Of course,” said Knuckle, ‘‘ we are not sar- tin on that p’int. The stove-pipe may have tumbled down and caused the Bre One thing is sart’in, which is that we are now houseless, and winter on us, as it is already the beginnin’ of October. The cave would be cold quarters, and we can’t think of livin’ there until we are ushed to it, to say nothin’ of there being hard- y — enough there to last us for two weeks.” Not far off stood Ingluk, the Esquimaux girl, ‘who had accompanied her people to the ‘ Her dark eyes were fixed earnestly upon Nye, and she finally turned and said something to her companions. The guttural voices of these sons of the North were now heard as they col- - ‘lected about the seamen. ‘*They say we must come and live with them. i hey very so we n0 rape Will try to make us nontort, “exgiiaimed onkitt. ‘God bless their ’ily hearts!” cried Knuckle. *‘ They are sart’inly very kind arter the suspi- cions we had against ’em some days ago.” ~ henge Old Tar Knuckle and His Boy C Yonkitt looked a little uneasy. ‘* Rsquimaux much afraid of Injun,” he said. ‘*T know it; well, we ain’t asked ’em to help us fight them lubbers,” said the fourth mate. ‘* Nao, but if Injum burn house, Injun burn for revenge, and one of Esquimaux say white men better go away from here !” ‘Go away?’ cried Knuckle. ‘I should like to know where we can go to! No, Yonkitt, we can’t leave this part of the coast, seeing as it is here that Captain Stone will come for us!” “Only one ap ey say we better go away,” remarked Yonkitt. ‘‘ Which one is it, for the Lord’s sake?” cried the fourth mate. ‘‘Okotook—bim fat one dere,” said tbe in- reter, indicating the one alluded to with a ‘‘Him husband of woman Him jealous te nod of his head. whose baby you give molass to. of you !” ‘* Jealous?’ roared Knuckle, ‘‘ Yes, for squaw been berry kind to you— smile on you—say you have big mouth!” ‘* What has that to do with it?” “She like big mouth. Okotook ’fraid she like too much,” Knuckle pulled a plug of tobacco from his pocket, and bit off a good part of it, Then he gave both legs a jerk as if something in Yon- kitt’s remark had caused them to *‘ kink.” “Well,” he said, drawing a long breath, ‘‘there’s nothing surprisin’ in your statement, Yonkitt, arter all, The fair sect always did take to me, and its presumbable that they al- ways will, One thing, bows’ever issure, which ‘is that, no matter bow much Okotook’s wife may take to me, I'll sartinly never take to her !” CHAPTER VIII. A PERILOUS WALRUS HUNT. CLOUDS passed over the moon, and snow be- gan to fall as the sailors walked with the Esqui- maux toward their village. On reaching it, the party was divided and sent to different huts. ' Okotook was careful to have Knuckle domes- ticated in the one the furthest removed from the domicile occupied by his wife and daughter. Ingluk managed things so that Nye should have his quarters in the but with her, while Yonkitt and Husler were placed in a bouse adjoining. Ingluk spread out one of her own fur coats for Nye to lie upon, and covered him warmly —_ comfortably with some bear and fox- skins. After he fell asleep, and when ber father her mother and the little round baby bad also drop- ped off, the girl long sat up, silently watching the handsome American boy. Meanwhile Knuckle, in the further hut, was having a rather warm time of it. A large fat elderly squaw, rolled round and round in a wadding of warm skins, lay on one side of him, smoking lustily, and on bis other side, was her son, an enormous youth weighing nearly two hundred. **T don’t object to ile in a nat’ral way,” thought Knuckle, ‘‘but when I’m squeezed in atween two living ile-casks, which has jist had their fill of blubber, things is different. These critters have sea-room enough, without jam- ming up against me, and blast my tarry Cupids if (11 put up with it!” So saying Knuckle thrust out an elbow on each side of him, and commenced to push each of his bedfellows with it in the small of the back. The Esquimaux are sound sleepers. These two only grunted without awaking as Runckle continued to push. Having shoved them almost out of the tent, the fourth mate rolled over upon his back and was soon in a deep slumber. He was awakened toward morning by a pon- derous weight upon bis breast, and he perccived that the heavy youth now lay across him, still sound asleep. ‘* Marciful codfish!” cried Knuckle, “ git off, won’t ye?” But the sleeper never budged. Upon which, rolling ovet with some difficulty under this heavy weight, the old sailor rose quickly to his knees, hoisting the Esquimaux so vigorously with his posteriors that the youth turned a summerset over his head, his heels striking the skins and frame of the hut so forcibly as to bring down the structure. Half smothered cries from the occupants now betokened that all were awake; in fact the three were completely envelo and entangled among the fallen skins. med and confused on be thus suddenly awakened, the Esqui- maux, kicking and floundering about, got astride of the fourth mate. L$ nel hums. ‘* Ay, ay! now, what are you about?’ roared Knuckle. ‘ Git off, will ye? Git off, won’r ye! Git <ff, CAN'T ye?” And each time he spoke, he dealt the twain a vigorous punch in the ribs with his fist. At last the three disengaged themselves from the skins. The Esquimaux whom Knuckle had capsized supposed that he bad knocked down the tent by whirling over in bis sleep. ‘* Etarnal finbacks!” cried the old sailor, ‘you don’t catch me sleepin’ in that lubberly contrivance again!” Yonkitt had now come up. The Esquimaux as they set about repairing the hut, kept up an incessant chatter. ‘What are they saying Yonkitt?” inquired the old tar. ‘*They are not fluding fault with me? “Yes. Say they not s‘eep with you any more. Too much ‘punch’ ijn ribs!” ‘““As if they didn’t desarve it! Why, bless my eyes! I dreamed that : whale was a-top of me, and when I woke i found I wasn’t far out of my reckonin’.” “They say you must ge in odder hut; must make for yourself. I tell em berry well. We make hut for ourselves. Den we can all be togedder. Dey say dey go on walrus hunt fto- day, and you can go wid dem and git skins and Lone for making big hut.” “It'll sartinly be an outlandish consarn, but I’m parfectly willing to try it, arter last night’s experience,’ ost of the Esquimaux of the little settle- ment were now «wake. Here and there, near some of the tenis, were uprens poles, with a cross-stick on top. Many of the women brought out pots, with iron hooks, and with sticks made a fire. They did not light the fagots with matches, but procured fire by turning a stick swiftly a in a hole made in a piece of plank, by means of which they ignited some timber which they bad ready for that purpose. Pieces of blubber and seal’s flesh were cut into strips, and mixed with licben (dry moss) were put into some of the pots for a stew, Knuckle shook his head, and at once applied a hand to his nose. ‘*Perliteness requires me to thank your Skeemos,” he said to Yonkitt, ‘‘for the break- fast they are gettin’ ready for us, but you can tell ’em that I'd sooner be b’iled in one of their ts than eat it! No, we'll go up to the cave in the Lookcut Rock for our meal.” A few minutes later, however, Ingluk came up with a pan containing something that emitted a savory odor, her mother following behind with a large chunk of meat attached to the end of a spear. nye and Hasler were now with Knuckle, «nd to the former Ingluk, smiling, presented the pan, while her mother eagerly thrust the meat ov the spear toward the old tar, ‘Your sarvent, madam,” said Knuckle, making his best bow, ‘‘ but may I ventur’ to inquire as to the snimal to which that ’ere meat, by good rights belongs?’ Yonkitt put the question for h’m, and the answer was that it came from a bear they had killed on the previous night. In fact, by further questioning, it was discovered that the bear killed was the very one which the fourth mate and his companions had beén in pursui: of. The pan presented by Ingluk to Nye, con- teined a stew, prepared by the damsel hers], from the same bear. The sailors having a good appetite, made au excellent meal with the assistance of some sen- biscuit, which Yonkitt chanced to bave in bis coat-pocket. After breakfast the Esquimaux were ready to start on the walrus hunt, which was tuo furnish Knuckle and his party with skins enough for the making of a‘large tent. Thres of the light boats or kajaks, which were kept on spiles driven into the ground near some of the huts, were raised and carried to the water. The sailors embarked in one, and four Esqui- maux were in each of the others. Youkitt, from a few spears in the boat, passed one to the fourth mate. There was also acoil of walrus- hide rope in the craft, attached to a shorter spear, ““Good weepons,” said Knuckle, “‘ but I think I'd prefar our own, as we are more used to ’em. We must bring our boat up to the shore along- side of the settlement as soon as we bave finished to-day’s hunt. Using their paddles, the crews of the boats were soon on their way. At length they entered a bay between lofty rocks. Suddenly the Esquimaux stopped paddling, — (e(0) JOOKS € (El) m