mRYESMTH 536 SOUTH CLARK STREET CHICAGO TO THE LIBRARY OF FOR REFERENCE USE OF INSTRUCTORS AND STUDENTS. SINGLE COPIES WILL BE SENT TO YOUR ADDRESS POSTPAID ON RECEIPT OF PRICE $_ Special prices on library orders. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Duke University Libraries ■ https://archive.org/details/eskimostories01smit I a.7n Nij>su o felEW Y©RfC LONDON Copyright , iqo2 By Mary E. E. Smith Made in U. S. A. JUN 2 6 1924 C. & 373**1 c/ ^ ni BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION f O BSERVATION teaches that the growth and happiness of a child are dependent upon the quality and variety of his experiences. This is true not only for those experiences which are his primarily, but also for those which become his through another, transferred in person or through the medium of picture, song, or story. To satisfy the child’s needs, the experi- ences entertained must vary with his growth, and the knowledge gained through them must be such as naturally relates itself to the whole. An acquaintance with the life and environment of primitive man seems particularly useful to the child during his early school years. Between him and the child of the race there is much in common. The necessity for food, shelter, and clothing forces man into the struggle for existence, and primarily occupies his thoughts and controls his actions. The child recognizes this necessity, his own most conscious desires arising from nature’s first demands. The means by which he, himself, is fed, housed, and clothed are so numerous and complex as to require a wide range of experience to secure even approximate comprehension. In primitive life the processes from demand to supply are suffi- ciently few and simple for the immature mind to follow and consider somewhat intelligently, as to the wisdom or unwisdom of the methods used in production. The habit of seeing things “from beginning to end” grows into the power to see “the end from the beginning.” The ability to realize the whole while con- templating detail is one which distinguishes the artist from the artisan, and without which no man can rightly estimate the rela- tive value of his labors. It seemed advisable to select for this work the life of the more primitive Eskimo rather than that of the mongrel type pro- duced by semi-civilization. To unify and to avoid the confusion arising from contradictory impressions, the stories are limited in their portrayal of life and nature to one locality. In order that the children may become familiar with the people, the land, and the animals, there are repeated and varied presentations of the same facts. Continual effort has been made to lead the child beyond the [3] 105008 4 BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION point of curiosity into the realm of understanding, where alone true sympathy is born. It is hardly possible that he will fail to compare the conditions under which these people exist with his own environment, and through the comparison be led to a con- sideration of economic values, obtaining thereby an increased respect for the dignity of labor, and greater appreciation of its hard-wrought products. The dependence of life upon life for physical sustenance has been repeatedly emphasized, it being the intention to keep the child face to face with fact, but not to brutalize. It is no easy task to demonstrate the law of necessity and cultivate the sentiment of humanity in close relation, but in all doubtful cases it seemed legitimate to offer the preservation of the higher life as sufficient atonement for the sacrifice of the lower. The stories are intended to enrich the child’s store of knowl- edge, and also to aid him in becoming an intelligent reader, but these are only secondary considerations. Information and ability should serve as means to an end, that end being the perfecting of character, and the choice of both material and expression has been determined by the desire to select only that which should best assist this work. During the preparation of the stories various books have been consulted and drawn upon for basic material, but special acknowl- edgment is due “ My Arctic Journal,” by Josephine D. Peary, and “ The Children of the Cold,” by Frederick Schwatka. The former volume contains a most interesting account of an arctic journey written by a woman who braved the rigors of a winter in North Greenland, and by her skillful labors, tact, and good cheer, was of incalculable assistance not only to her husband, Lieutenant Peary, but to the entire party of men who, in the succeeding spring, made the great inland ice journey of 1892. It is hoped that these “ Eskimo Stories ” will do for the chil- dren what the books of Mrs. Peary and Mr. Schwatka have done for the grown folks. The author acknowledges her appreciation of the valuable suggestions made by Miss Olof Krarer, who read the book in manuscript, and whose interesting autobiography appears at the close of the volume under the title, “The Story of a Real Eskimo.” Mary Estella E. Smith. Chicago, June /y, IQ02. THE TABLE OF CONTENTS By Way of Introduction . A List of Full-Page Plates The Northland .... Summer in the Northland The Northland People How the Eskimos Live The Reindeer .... The Eskimo’s House The Walrus Northern Lights Wolves A Funny Stove .... Eskimo Dogs Hungry Dogs Runaway Dogs .... A Long Journey .... Rolling Down Hill The Seals Icebergs PAGE 3 9 1 1 1 2 H 16 17 19 20 22 24 26 2 7 28 30 3 1 33 35 37 [ 5 ] 6 THE TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE The White Bear 39 A Little Northland Girl 40 Agoo hack’s Baby Brother 42 The M USK Ox 46 Agoonack’s Mother 48 Watching for a Seal . 49 Dressed to go Hunting 51 Inside the House 53 How Ikwa made a Stove 56 The Mother Bear and her Babies 57 An Eskimo Game 59 How Kyo and Magda helped Build the House . 61 How the Eskimos make Use of the Walrus . . 66 How Skins are Cleaned 68 Tack-Whang! Tack-Whang! 71 Feeding the Dogs 73 How Ikwa Bores a Hole 75 The Ice Sleds 77 Toolooah 78 The New Baby . . 82 Learning to Shoot 83 How Nipsu Learns to Drive Dogs 84 Things Ikwa makes from Bone and Ivory ... 86 Shooting at Reindeer Antlers 88 Agoonack and her Baby Sledge 90 The Immoosi 95 THE TABLE OF CONTENTS 7 PAGE Playing Musk Ox 96 The Eskimo and the Bear 99 Ikwa’s Bear Story 100 How Agoonack Made Her Doll 102 Noo-gloo-took 106 Floating Out on the Sea 108 The Lean, Hungry Bear 114 Ikwa Making an Iron Knife 117 No Soap, No Towels, No Water . . . . . .122 The Air 127 June 128 The Tent 129 The Birds 131 The Snow Bunting 133 Bright and Dainty Flowers 135 The Whale 136 The Family Tupec 138 Making a Needle of Iron 140 Mr. Fox 143 Eider Ducks 146 The Second Nest 148 Ikwa’s Rain Coat 149 Ikwa’s Boat 150 Gathering Flowers for Food 153 Hunting Birds’ Eggs ........... 156 Playing Together 157 8 THE TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE What the Eskimos Get from the Whale . . . .158 The Dovekie 160 Moving Day 162 The Oomiaksoak of the White Man 164 Winter is Coming Again 171 Gathering Moss 172 Good-By! 174 A Pronouncing Index .... 176 The Story of a Real Eskimo . .... 177 Suggestions to Teachers .... .... 184 A LIST OF FULL-PAGE PLATES PAGE “I am Nipsn ” Frontispiece “ The days are dark as night" io “ They have all the colors of the rainboiv" 2j “See how the dogs jump ” 2g “ Over they go , pcllmell down the hill" j.f “ My mother carries me in her hood" “I'll have a sledge , and dogs to drive, Across the fields of snow" ^5 “Kyo and Magda are Agoonack’s older brothers" 62 “Then the father came in for supper" 6j “Mane is cleaning a skin ” 69 The game of “ shooting the antlers ” 8g “ The little dog goes jump ! jump ! jump ! The little sledge goes bump ! bump ! bump ! ” pj “They came to a place where hummocks of snow rose above the ice" 109 Getting a seal, which gives the fat, to make the oil 125 It may take Mane years to make this needle 142 “In his little canoe, far out on the wave, He is master of all, his heart is so brave ” 152 “ She stirs and stirs with that big bone spoon ” ...... 755 “The Inn aits go out to the Kabloonahs' ship" 165 f 9 1 The days are dark as night. The sea is covered with ice. [ IO] ESKIMO STORIES THE NORTHLAND There is a Northland far away. The Northland winters are long. They are very cold. The sun does not shine for many, many months. The days are dark as night. The land lies deep beneath the heaps of drifted snow. Th e sea is covered with ice. Wild winds whistle and moan above the ice and snow. I 2 ESKIMO STORIES There are no trees on land. There are no ships at sea. This is the land of the Frost King bold, Where snowdrifts are hiding, a thousand years old, And icebergs are growing mountain high, And all winter long there’s no sun in the sky, And its cold, cold, cold. SUMMER IN THE NORTHLAND The Northland summers are short. The sun shines all day and all night. It cannot melt the snow and ice. Snowdrifts he among the rocks. Ice cakes float upon the sea. ESKIMO STORIES 13 "The sun shines all day and all night ” There are no tall trees in this land, but small bushes grow here and there. Pretty mosses creep over the earth and over the rocks. Tiny flowers peep out, and the grass is soft and green. Would you like to live in this land? Some people do. H ESKIMO STORIES THE NORTHLAND PEOPLE H ere are some Northland peo- ple. They call them- selves Innuits. We call them Eskimos. H ow short and fat they look in their funny clothes ! What straight, black hair they have ! H ow dark their faces are ! See how small and black “ How dark their faces are!” their eyes are! These Eskimos cannot read and write. They can do many things that you and I cannot. They make all the clothes they wear. ESKIMO STORIES 15 They get the food they eat. They build the homes in which they live. They make t h tools with which they work. They m a k e weapons and net ‘ What straight , black hair they have!” for catching animals. They make sledges to travel on land, and boats to ride on the sea. They make harnesses and whips. Almost everything an Eskimo uses has been made with his own hands. i6 ESKIMO STORIES It takes him a long time to do this. He is a patient worker. The Eskimos live in small villages. o They like to stay near the sea, but must often go far inland to hunt. In summer they get close to some stream so as to have fresh water to drink. HOW THE ESKIMOS LIVE The Eskimos dress in the skins of animals. They live in huts and tents. In winter their food is the flesh of animals. They sometimes eat oil made from the fat of the seal, the whale, or the walrus. In summer they catch birds and fishes. The women and children hunt birds’ eggs. They get berries and small plants. ESKIMO STORIES Food is plentiful in summer, but on cold winter days the animals hide themselves. Then papa Eskimo hunts and hunts, but finds nothing, and everybody goes cold and hungry. THE REINDEER I am the swift-footed reindeer. I live in the land of ice and snow. Do you see my beautiful, branching horns? They are large and strong. Look at my hairy coat, so thick and warm. i8 ESKIMO STORIES I do not feel the cold. There are people who want my coat. They will not get it. I can run swiftly; I go bounding over the snow. The dogs cannot hurt me. If they come too near, I use my horns. I can kick, too. What do you think I eat i I scrape away the snow. I get down to the earth. A little plant grows there. Men call it a lichen. It is good food for a hungry deer. Llckens In summer there are small bushes with little berries growing on them. I like berries. I like buds, and twigs, too. Sometimes I eat the whole bush. ESKIMO STORIES 19 Oh, food is plentiful in summer, but in the cold winter time I am often hungry. Sometimes I am so hungry that I eat the snow. Think of that ! THE ESKIMO’S HOUSE ^ Do you think this is a playhouse ? It is a real house. Th is is an Eskimo’s winter home. It is made of snow. The Eskimo built it in one day. He cut big blocks out of the snow. 20 ESKIMO STORIES He put them together. The man worked carefully. At last the house was finished. There is a hole in one side. It is just large enough to crawl through. That is the door. What a queer little house with its queer little door ! How can people live in it? But they do. THE WALRUS Did you ever see me before? I am the walrus. I am a large animal. I am as large as an elephant. I have tusks like an elephant. ESKIMO STORIES 2 I "I have tusks like an elephant ” I live in the water. When I want to breathe I put my head out. I often come upon the shore. I like to lie there and sun myself. I like to he upon the ice, too. I am very strong. I can make holes in the thickest ice. I am a swift swimmer, and I get my food from the sea. The fish had better keep away from me. 22 ESKIMO STORIES There are some queer two-legged creatures that try to catch me. They live on land, and come to sea in boats. These creatures carry sharp spears, and when they see me they cry, “Awick! awick!” I think that means “Walrus! walrus!” Whenever I see those spears, or hear the cry “Awick! awick!” I’m away in a hurry. Ah ! they must be wise creatures to catch me. NORTHERN LIGHTS Do you see those lights in the sky? The N orthland people see them often. Sometimes on winter nights those lights cover all the sky. We see them only in the north. So we call them Northern Lights. 24 ESKIMO STORIES They are very beautiful. Sometimes they have all the colors of the rainbow. They make red, and blue, and green colors on the snow. Those lights do not come from the sun. They do not come from the moon. They are not lights from a rainbow. No one knows where they come from. WOLVES We are wolves. There are many of us in the Northland. We have long, white fur. We have sharp teeth and swift feet. People must look out for us. We do not find enough to eat. We get very hungry. ESKIMO STORIES 25 “ We are bold and fierce ” Then we are bold and fierce. We are not afraid of men. If we scent flesh we howl loud and long. “Ow-w-w-w! ow-w-w-w!” That is to call other wolves. They hear! they come ! With flying feet and open mouths, they leap over the snow. M en and animals, look out for yourselves now ! We are starving — we are fierce — we must have food ! food ! 26 ESKIMO STORIES A FUNNY STOVE The Eskimo's stove H ere is the Eskimo’s stove. It is only a lamp. What a funny stove ! What a funny lamp ! The oil is walrus fat. When burning, it makes a thick, heavy smoke. The bowl is made out of a flat stone. The wick is made of moss. This little stove is very useful to the Eskimos. "The bowl is made out of a flat stone" COoks their food. It warms and lights their dark little huts. It d ries their wet clothing. Over it they melt snow to get drinking water. Oh! these people think it is a fine stove. They would not know how to live without it. ESKIMO STORIES 27 ESKIMO DOGS We are Eskimo dogs. We are strong little fellows. We pull heavy loads. We go on long journeys. We travel many miles without rest. We go many hours without food. Sometimes we have no food for days. We get very tired and hungry. “ We get very tired and hungry ” 28 ESKIMO STORIES Then we bark, “Bow-wow, bow-wow”; we snarl, “A-r-r-r, a-r-r-r.” H ow glad we are when the journey is ended. H ow good it seems to have food again, and to lie down for a long rest. HUNGRY DOGS See how the dogs jump and bark around that pole! Do you know why they do so? Their harness hangs from the top of it. The dogs are very hungry. The harness is made of walrus hide. They like to eat walrus hide. Oh, if they could get that harness! But the boys are careful they shall not. It takes much work to make a harness. ' ' .... II ■ ' I , .. ^QWAROy^ ow> j '° 2 _ “ See how the dogs jump 30 ESKIMO STORIES RUNAWAY DOGS These boys are trying to catch the dogs. They want to harness them to the long sledge. But the dogs do not want to be harnessed. Shall they let the dogs have it to eat? Oh, no! They hang it at the very top of the long pole. Even the biggest dog cannot reach it. “Bow-wow-wow-wow, a-r-r-r, a-r-r-r.” “ Trying to catch the dogs v ESKIMO STORIES They know that means a journey. See how they run and jump! The big dog is leader. The boys will try to catch him first. When that is done there is no more trouble. The other dogs know that if their leader is brought to the harness, they must follow. But now they are all on the run. They do not want to be caught. Bow-wow, bow-wow ! What work these dogs are making! A LONG JOURNEY These Eskimos are going to the sea. It is far away. They will ride on this sledge, and these dogs will draw them. ESKIMO STORIES “ They will ride on this sledge" They call the clogs their mi kies. They call the sledge their kamutee. Their mikies are all harnessed. They do not run and jump now. They stand very still and wait for the mas- ter’s word. Now the men get on; the driver speaks to his dogs, and they are off. ESKIMO STORIES 33 Heigh, oh ! Away they go, Men on the sledge, Dogs on the snow. ROLLING DOWN HILL What do you think these boys are doing? They are having a race down hill. Oh, such fun ! They double themselves into a ball, and begin to roll. Over and over they go, pellmell down the hill. Their hairy coats catch the snow, and they look like rolling snowballs until they reach the bottom. Then their arms and legs shoot out, and they are boys again. “ Over they go, pellmell down the hill ESKIMO STORIES 35 The little Eskimos like to do this, even when there is no one to race with. They think it jolly fun. THE SEALS Do you know what we are? We are seals. We live in the Northland. We are covered with soft fur. See what queer hands we have. They are called flippers. These flippers help us to swim. See what queer hands we have 36 ESKIMO STORIES We live in the water, but we are not fish. A part of the time we stay on the shore, or on the floating ice. If th ere is clanger, into the water we slip. Under our fur is a thick covering of fat. That is why we keep warm in the coldest water. I am a mother seal. Before the baby seals come I crawl up through a hole in the ice. There is deep snow above me. That is just what I want. I work round and round on the ice under the snow until I have made a snug little house. There my baby seals live until they are old enough for the water. What beautiful little creatures they are ! Their fur is soft, and as white as snow. ESKIMO STORIES 37 H ow I watch and care for them ! They grow, and grow, and grow, and men never know they are there. ICEBERGS An iceberg is a mountain of ice. There are many icebergs in the Northland. In summer they float upon the sea, but winter locks them in the ice. 38 ESKIMO STORIES Icebergs are beautiful things. They catch the tints of the earth, the shy, the sea, and the clouds. Sometimes they are silvery white, and sparkle like diamonds. Sometimes they blaze with all the colors of the rainbow. Sometimes they look blue and cold, as they really are. Icebergs take many forms. One seems a marble palace, with slen- } ,, der pillars and arched doorways. One is a white cottage, with gabled roof. Others look like huge and snowy ships as they pass slowly out to sea. ‘ wMte coitage " Oh, what wonderful things icebergs are! ESKIMO STORIES 39 THE WHITE BEAR I am a white bear. I live in the Northland. I am a big fellow. My fur is long and shaggy. "My fur is long and shaggy" I can walk on the ice and not slip. If I see a fish, I jump into the water and catch it. I can swim and dive. The cold water does not hurt me. Sometimes I float far out to sea on a block 40 ESKIMO STORIES Sometimes I climb to the top of the highest iceberg. Oh, I am a great fellow! but I have to keep on the watch. Men are always after my coat. Ha! ha! I am wise. I am strong. I am fierce. Let them follow me. I am not afraid of men. A LITTLE NORTHLAND GIRL Do you think I am a funny girl? I am a little Eskimo girl. My name is Agoonack. I live in the Northland. The winters here are very, very long. ESKIMO STORIES 41 "My name is Agoonack'' They are cold and dark. The ice is thick, and the snow is deep. I do not mind the cold. I wear thick, warm clothing. It is made out of the skins of animals. My father brought home the skins. My mother cleaned and made them soft. Out of them she cut and made clothes for me. My coat and trousers are deerskin. My stockings are made of bird skins, and I wear the soft feathers next my feet. Over these are deerskin leggings. 42 ESKIMO STORIES On my feet are little sealskin boots. These boots are called kamfks. I wear my kamiks when I walk in the snow. They will not wet through. My hood and mittens are deerskin, like my coat. They are trimmed all around with fox fur. I think it is a pretty suit of clothes. My mother made it all. AGOONACK’S BABY BROTHER H ow do you do? I am Nipsu, Agoonack’s baby brother. I am just three years old. I have never worn clothes, except a little shirt and cap. Most of the time I roll around the hut naked. mother carries me in her hood" 44 ESKIMO STORIES I do not mind the cold. When my mother takes me out of doors, she carries me in her hood. If I get too cold there, she slips me under her coat, next her back. There I cling close to her warm body. When I am a little older my mother will make me some clothes like papa’s. Won’t I be happy when I put on that suit? A big strong boy I’ll be, And hunting I will go. I’ll have a sledge, and dogs to drive Across the fields of snow. I’ll hunt upon the land, And hunt upon the sea. The fierce white bear, the walrus, too, Will be afraid of me. "I'll have a sledge , and dogs to drive , Across the fields of snow ” 4 6 ESKIMO STORIES “/ am the musk ox” THE MUSK OX Do you know me ? I am the musk ox. I am not as tall as the reindeer, but I am stronger. My coat is thicker, and my hair is longer. See what strong, flat horns I have. I know how to use those horns very well. ■ ESKIMO STORIES 47 The dogs dare not come too near me. I have a great voice. I can bellow so it sounds like thunder. Sometimes I shake the earth with my bel- lowing. I do not live alone. There are twenty of us, and we go in a herd. When men see us they cry, “Ooming~m.uk! ooming-muk ! ” They mean “ Musk oxen ! musk oxen ! ” When we hear that cry we are off, I can tell you. We are stronger than men, but they carry sharp arrows. Sometimes those arrows pierce our coats. We are going now for a long run. We will run, run, run, like the wind. Here I go. 48 ESKIMO STORIES AGOONACKS MOTHER This is Agoonack’s mother. Eler name is Mane. Mane sews very neatly. She makes all the clothes for her family. 1 1 keeps her busy. Mane is teaching " Mane sews very neutiy Agoonack to sew. Soon the little girl will be able to make her own clothes. H ow glad she will be to wear clothes made with her own hands. How glad M ane will be to have help with her sewing. H ere are some of the things they will make: a coat, stockings, trousers, mittens, leggings, kamiks. ESKIMO STORIES 49 He is watching for a seal WATCHING FOR A SEAL Do you see this Eskimo? He is waiting at a hole in the ice. H e has been waiting many hours. H e is watching for a seal. This man and his family are hungry. The seal’s flesh will make food for them all. Its soft fur will make him a good new coat. 50 ESKIMO STORIES The Eskimo’s hut is cold and dark. The seal’s fat will make oil to light and heat it. The bones will make new tools with which to work, and spears with which to hunt. The Eskimo’s wife can make from the bones a new knife with which to cut skins. She can make a bone needle with which to sew them. Th ere would also be sinews for thread. All these things the Eskimo will have if he catches a seal. That is why he sits so still through the cold, dark day. That is why he will not go home until he gets a seal. The seals do not know all this. If they did they would keep away from that hole. ESKIMO STORIES 5i DRESSED TO GO HUNTING H ere is Agoonack’s father. H is name is Ikwa. Ikwa is dressed to go hunting. Look at his thick, warm clothes. His coat is made of sealskin. The soft, glossy fur makes a beautiful coat. Ikwa calls this coat his netcheh. The netcheh has a hood which "Ikwa is dressed to go hunting" Ikwa pulls over his head when out of doors. Ikwa’s trousers are bearskin, and reach just below the knee. H is stockings are made of the rabbits’ fur. 52 ESKIMO STORIES Over these stockings Ikwa wears long seal- skin boots, which come up to his trousers. He calls these boots his kamiks. Sealskin does not wet through like other skins, so Ikwa’s feet are kept warm and dry when he has on these sealskin kamiks. Under his coat Ikwa wears a shirt made ol birdskins. He calls this shirt his ahtee. Th is ahtee is lined with soft feathers, and is worn next his body. Last of all, Ikwa puts on sealskin mittens. 1 hen he is dressed for a long tramp over the snow, or for a journey by sledge. Sometimes he must stay out all night. You or I would freeze. Ikwa does not. He has on his thick, warm clothes. ESKIMO STORIES 53 An Eskimo hut INSIDE THE HOUSE This hut is not like the one we saw before. Let us go inside and see how it is made. We must crawl through this tunnel. H ow dark it is ! There is a hole at the other end. That is the inside door. It is closed with skins. We can push them aside with our hands. H ere we are inside the hut. What a queer, dark place it is ! There is only one room. 54 ESKIMO STORIES That room is very small. The hut has no window. The walls are made of snow. The floor is made of snow. The family eat and sleep in this room. They work and dress here. The little children play and cry here. Sometimes the dogs get in. Sometimes all the big folks talk, all the little folks cry, and all the dogs bark at once. Then the hut is very full and very noisy. At one side of the room there is a bed. It is just a flat snow-bank built against the wall. The snow is packed hard and covered with thick skins. There are foxskins, and wolfskins, and bear- skins. ESKIMO STORIES 55 There are the skins of the musk ox and rein- deer. H ow would you like to sleep in such a bed as that ? The little Eskimo children think it is fine. They roll about, and play on it by day. They cuddle down to sleep in the warm furs by night. Of what do you dream, little Eskimo, Wrapped in skins on your bed of snow? Is it of bears, and wolves, and things; Of animals wild, which your father brings From over the land and over the sea, That clothed and fed his baby may be? Do you dream of these, little Eskimo, While fast asleep on your bed of snow? 56 ESKIMO STORIES HOW IKWA MADE A STOVE Once Ikwa took a fiat stone. He worked upon it hard and long. He ground and chipped the stone with a sharp tool, until at last it was hollow. Ikwa was glad, and took the hollow stone into his hut. He poured oil into it. Mane brought some moss. She put the moss into the oil. Then Ikwa struck two stones together. Th is made sparks of fire, which lit the moss. It blazed up. Ikwa and Mane were happy, for now they had both light and heat. They could see to do their work during the dark winter days. ESKIMO STORIES 57 They could warm their cold hut, and cook their food. When they came in out of the snow, they could dry their wet cloth- ing. They call the little dish, filled with burning oil and moss, their ikkimer. Oh, the ikkimer is of much use in the family. I lvWa and Mane do nOt “ They could dry their wet clot Zrin i. mind the labor it cost them to make it. THE MOTHER BEAR AND HER BABIES Who are you? I am a mother bear. These are my cubs. 53 ESKIMO STORIES The mother bear and her cubs We are hiding in this cave in the snow. It is a good place for an old bear and her babies. It is warmer here than it is outside. I have a thick fur coat. I do not feel the cold. My babies run about and play on the icy floor. Sometimes they cuddle close to me. ESKIMO STORIES 59 They get good warm milk to drink. Oh, how it makes them grow! Soon they will need other food. Then I will go out and get it for them. When they are old enough my little ones will go with me, and get food for themselves. Isn’t this a safe place for us all? We think we are well hidden. Men will not find us here. AN ESKIMO GAME Whack! whack! whack! Run! run! run! Whack! whack! run! run! Oh, such a whacking and running and scur- rying over the ice. 6o ESKIMO STORIES “ Running and scurrying over the ice" Each boy has a long stick. The stick is made of walrus bone. The ball they are driving about is made of ivory from the tusk of the walrus. I think the boys in this country would call the game shinny. Whack! whack! whack! how the ball is driven about, here and there and every- where 1 ESKIMO STORIES Run ! run ! run ! how the boys follow it back and forth across the ice ! Wh at fun the Kskimo boys have in this game ! HOW KYO AND MAGDA HELPED BUILD THE HOUSE Kyo and Magda are Agoonack’s older brothers. They are old enough to help with the work. They built most of the winter home. Their father cut out the big blocks of snow. Then he went away to do other work, and the boys began to build the foundation of the house. At first they worked very fast. Kyo and Magda are Agoonack' s older brothers ESKIMO STORIES 63 They thought they were doing fine work when all the blocks fell down. So they had to begin again. This time each block was placed slowly and carefully. It took them a long time. At last all the blocks were laid. The boys had built a low, round wall. This was the foundation of the snow house. Kyo and Magda pushed against it to see if it were strong. Not a block fell. Their father came. He thumped it all around, and found it strong. The boys were glad. They ran to tell Agoonack. Then they were all glad together. 6 4 ESKIMO STORIES The family call this hut their igloo. Kyo and Magda made a big snowbank inside. That was to be the bed. They packed the snow hard. Little Nipsu pounded it with his father’s snow stick. Agoonack and her mother brought in all the skins, and spread them on the floor and over the bed. They hung a big bearskin in front of the door. The boys brought in the big stone lamp. Their mother set it ablaze. Then the father came in for supper. His clothes were wet and he was cold. They all sat down around the lamp to eat and to get warm. Outside the wind pushed and whistled. “ Then the father came in for supper ” 66 ESKIMO STORIES The snow blew about the igloo. Jack Frost danced and snapped his icy fingers. Did they, who were inside, care ? No, for they had a new igloo, which was strong and warm. It would last them all winter. HOW THE ESKIMOS MAKE USE OF THE WALRUS The walrus has a tough, black hide. It is about an inch thick. Under this hide is a layer of fat a foot thick. The cold cannot get through this fat. That is why the walrus keeps warm in the An Eskimo knife for cutting walrus hide ESKIMO STORIES 67 “ Long sledges are made of walrus bones" The Eskimos use walrus hide for leather. They make harnesses of it. They cut it into pieces and feed it to their dogs. Sometimes they eat it themselves. They use the flesh of the walrus for food. From the fat they make oil. The bones are used in making many things. Some of them are used for tent poles. Others are used for the ribs of boats. Arrow and spearhead 68 ESKIMO STORIES CE Many of the long sledges are made of wal- rus bones. From the tusks of the walrus the Eskimos make knives, arrows, and spearheads, needles and needle- cases, toys, and many Other things. A toy made froirTw alrus tusks The tusks are harder than other bones. They are ivory. HOW SKINS ARE CLEANED Mane is hard at work. She is cleaning a skin. She is scraping it with a sharp, flat stone. “ Mane is cleaning a skin ” 70 ESKIMO STORIES It is not easy work, but Mane knows how to do it well. After the skin is scraped Mane will chew it to take out the grease. Then she will stretch it, and let it dry in the warm sun. When stretched, the skin is held in place by pegs driven into the ground. The next day she will scrape it again to make it soft. When all this has been done the skin is ready for use. Mane will make from it a coat, mittens, and perhaps some big warm shoes for Ikwa. What unpleasant work cleaning skins must be ! Are you not glad your mother does not have to do this kind of work? ESKIMO STORIES 7i “ These boys are playing a game ” TACK-WHANG! TACK-WHANG! T ack-whang ! tack-whang ! tack-whang ! See the arrows fly! Tack-whang! tack-whang! tack-whang! What is it all about? These boys are playing a game. 72 ESKIMO STORIES Do you see how they all shoot straight up- ward ? They are trying to see how many arrows they can send into the air before their first shot falls to the earth. Thud! thud! thud! hear the arrows strike! Each boy knows which belong to him. When his first arrow touches the ground, he must stop shooting. When all the arrows have fallen, those belong- ing to each boy are counted to see who has the greatest number. Then the game goes on. Sometimes the boys count only the arrows which stand upright in the snow. Sometimes only those are counted that strike the earth within a circle which is drawn upon the ground before the shooting begins. ESKIMO STORIES 73 The boys have great fun with this game. They grow very skilled in the use of their bows and arrows. Tack-whang! tack-whang! tack-whang! They are shooting again, and each boy is thinking: Arrows, arrows, arrows, Fly up into the air, And don’t you fall, You must not fall, Till all of you are there! FEEDING THE DOGS The dogs are almost starved. They have had no food for three days. The boys are feeding them now. 74 ESKIMO STORIES They feed the dogs, one at a time, inside the snow wall before the door of the hut. Kyo h as a piece of walrus meat, and chops off strips, which Magda throws to each dog as he is let in. All the doo;s are wild with hunger. If they were fed together there would be a terrible time. Some would fight each other, while the rest would eat all the meat. So they are fed, one by one, within this wall. Ikwa stands outside with the long whip, and makes each dog await his turn. Oh, dear, what a snarling and snapping there is ! They act like wolves; just as if they would eat each other. Poor dogs! just think how hungry they are! ESKIMO STORIES 75 HOW IKWA BORES A HOLE Do you know what Ikwa is doing? He is boring a hole in a piece of ivory. That is a drill he holds in his mouth. The drdl is held by a wooden mouthpiece. Ikwa holds the mouthpiece firmly between his teeth. You wonder what he is doing with that bow. I will tell you. The bowstring is twisted around the drill. When Ikwa pulls the bow, the string turns the drill. ‘ Ikwa is boring a in a piece of ivory ' 76 ESKIMO STORIES Sa he keeps pulling his bow, first to the right, then to the left. The drill keeps turning and turning; boring and boring a little round hole in the ivory. It is slow, hard work. Ikwa has bored many holes. He used to turn the drill with his fingers. That was very slow work. It made his fingers ache. So Ikwa tried to find a better way, and found it in the way we have just seen. Did you ever visit a factory? While there did you see the belts that turn the wheels? Ikwa never visited a factory. H e never saw a belt turning a wheel. But he makes a little bowstring turn a drill, just as big belts turn factory wheels. ESKIMO STORIES 77 THE ICE SLEDS Kyo and Magda have each a sled for coasting. The sleds are made out of big blocks of ice. Each boy made his own sled. It was hard work chopping the ice so as to make the blocks the right shape. Their father had no time, so the boys had to do it for themselves. After the blocks were cut they worked a long time to make them smooth. In some places they chipped off bits. Into cracks and hollows they poured water, which froze. At last each block was as smooth as the boys could make it. Then away they ran to try the new sleds. 78 ESKIMO STORIES The hill was just right for coasting. The boys have great fun with their ice sleds. It was hard work, but they are glad that they made them. TOOLOOAH I am the big dog Toolooah. When my master goes driving I lead the team. I think master made me leader because I hear what he says, and obey him. When he wishes me to go forward, to the right or to the left, he has only to speak and I go. I stop at the word, also. At first the other dogs did not like to have me lead them. ESKIMO STORIES 79 r i ^ k 7 - j Toolooah , />£,? leader They did a great deal of growling about it. The d og at my heels was leader before I was. He snapped and snarled, and the first time we started out he tried to lead. This was too much. Our master knows who is best able to do his work, and he gave me the place. 8o ESKIMO STORIES I could not pull with dogs biting my legs and each trying to go his own way. So I turned and gave the dog nearest me a whipping. He has not forgotten it. We are very good friends now. He and the other dogs understand they must not trouble me when I am working for master. They understand that I am leader, and we get along peacefully. We go on long, hard journeys. We draw heavy loads. Sometimes we travel over fields of snow as smooth as glass. Then we go like the wind. Sometimes our way is up hill and down hill, over hummocks of snow and cakes of ice. ESKIMO STORIES 81 Then we go carefully, I tell you. If we did not, what would become of master’s load. We lead a hard, hungry life. Many times we are so hungry we could eat one another. Of course that would never do. Many times we are so tired we could drop in the harness. Of course that would never do. So, whether we’re hungry or whether we’re tired, we must not stop, but go on and on to the journey’s end. Master has never given us a load that we did not bring safely home for him. Oh, I am glad that I am strong, and can understand, and know how to obey. It is a great thing to be able to lead. 82 ESKIMO STORIES THE NEW BABY Oh ! what do you think? There is a new baby in the home. It has come to live with Nipsu and Agoonack. It is very small and soft and round. Baby hasn’t any clothes on. Its mamma thinks it doesn’t need any. But she has a little bag. It is filled with soft, downy feathers. She is going to put baby into that. “ Little baby Eskimo " Olo, Olo, Olo, Little baby Eskimo, In your bag upon the wall, Softly sleep and do not fall. ESKIMO STORIES 83 "He is trying to send an arrow through the 7>ieat" LEARNING TO SHOOT Little Nipsu is learning to shoot. He has a tiny bow and some arrows. Nipsu’s mamma has put a bit of cooked meat into a crack in the wall. He is trying to send an arrow through the meat. 8 4 ESKIMO STORIES It is such a small piece. The arrows strike all around it and almost touch it. But that will not do. One must go through the meat. Then Nipsu may have it to eat. He is very hungry, and wants that bit of meat more than anything he can think of. So he will keep on shooting. Before long the meat will be his. HOW NIPSU LEARNS TO DRIVE DOGS Nipsu has eaten his meat. It was very good, but it did not last long, and now he is doing something else. Toolooah’s puppies are in the igloo. ESKIMO STORIES 85 Nipsu has a little harness for them, much like the one his father has for the big dogs. Nipsu puts the harness on the puppies, and drives them around the igloo, and some- times out of doors. At first they did not like to be tied up. They tugged at the straps and tried to get away. Then when Nipsu wanted them to go for- ward they would go backward, or side- ways, or turn around, or sit down. Now they have learned to go or stand still when their little master speaks. Sometimes they are hitched to the snow shovel, and draw it round the igloo. When they pass the door they do not try to run out as they once did. The puppies are being very well trained, and Nipsu is learning something also. 86 ESKIMO STORIES “ The dogs are hitched to the small sledge ” When they are both a little older, Ikwa will have the dogs hitched to the small sledge. Then he will take Nipsu out on the snow fields and teach him how to drive there. Ah ! won’t that be a great day for the boy and for the dogs? THINGS IKWA MAKES FROM BONE AND IVORY Ikwa is a skillful worker in bone and ivory. H e has made many things out of them. Some of these things are of great use to Ikwa and his family. ESKIMO STORIES 87 There are knives and spoons, and needles and needle-cases. There are arrows and spear- heads. . r . There are ice-picks and sledge- runners, and a snow shovel. An Eskuno oone spoon l There are some queer little images of • animals, and some Ikwa ' s ice ~ pick toys for the children to play with. Oh, I cannot tell you of all the things that Ikwa has made out of bone and ivory. H ere are the pictures of some of them. See how well he has done his work. Do you not think he has a great deal of patience ? A toy seal of ivory An Eskimo knife 88 ESKIMO STORIES SHOOTING AT REINDEER ANTLERS Kyo and Magda are out on the hill with some other boys. They are having a great time. Before the boys began to play they brought some reindeer antlers. They placed these in a row across the hill not far from the bottom. They left spaces between the antlers for the sleds to pass through. Then the boys went to the top of the hill. Each one had his bow and arrows. They get on their sleds, and when they start down hill begin to shoot. Each boy tries to see how many antlers he can strike down before coming to the bottom of the hill. The game of “ shooting the antlers ” 90 ESKIMO STORIES The boy who can strike the greatest number wins the game. This play is fine sport for the Eskimo boys. They learn to manage their bows and arrows with great skill. AGOONACK AND HER BABY SLEDGE Agoonack takes long rides over the ice and the snow fields. She drives a dog and rides on a small sledge. She calls the dog her mikie, and the sledge her mickininy kamutee. Mickininy kamutee means baby sledge. Ikwa made the baby sledge for Agoonack. Sometimes, when he and the boys have been hunting, they have had a great load to bring home. ESKIMO STORIES 91 The long sledge would be quite full with the animals they had caught, and the tools and weapons they had taken with them. Then some one must walk, and if they were far from home they took turns. It took a long time to get home in this way. So Ikwa has made a small sledge, and has taught Agoonack to use it. Now when he and the boys go out and are to have a big load to bring home, she fol- lows and brings a part of that load on the mickimny kamutee. Shall I tell you how Ikwa made the sledge? Perhaps you think he used wood. The sledge was made from bones and strips of sealskin 92 ESKIMO STORIES Not so; Ikwa never had any wood except pieces of driftwood from an old shipwreck, and some small pieces given him by white men who long ago visited the Northland. Oh, no, Ikwa did not use wood in making the baby sledge. He took bones and bound them together. He bound them with strips of sealskin. The sledge, when finished, was strong and firm. Then Ikwa made a harness out of sealskin. One day he told Agoonack to put on her warm clothes and come out with him. The boys had caught one of the dogs and had hitched him to the little sledge. Ikwa threw a wolfskin over it and told Agoo- nack to jump on. Then he taught her to drive. At first Agoonack managed very badly. ‘ The Utile dog goes jump! jump! jump! The little sledge goes bump! bump! bump!” 94 ESKIMO STORIES She was often upset in the snowdrifts. But each time she tried again, harder than ever to do as her father did when he drove. She had gone often with Ikwa on sledge jour- neys over the snow fields. Th en she had thought it great fun to drive. Now she found it was also great work. But before many days Agoonack could drive quite as well as her brothers. Then her father said she might go with them hereafter, and help bring home the loads. Sometimes the traveling is rough. The little dog goes jump! jump! jump! The little sledge goes bump! bump! bump! But the little girl keeps on her way until she has brought safely home the things papa has given her. Isn’t it good to be able to do that? ESKIMO STORIES 95 THE IMMOOSI Th is dish was made from the horn of a musk ox. Ikwa made it. He cut off the flat part of the horn that grows near “ They call it their immoosi " the head. He put the piece into a kettle to boil. When it was soft Ikwa took it out and scraped it until it was quite thin. Th en he bent the piece into this shape. It makes a very good dish. It holds nearly a quart of soup. Ikwa made a toy dish like this one for the children to play with. They call it their immoosi. They play a queer game with it. 96 ESKIMO STORIES Their mother pours a little soup into the immoosi. One of the children gives it a twirl to make the dish spin. Then they all stand very still and wait. They watch to see toward which one the handle points when the dish stops. That one may eat the soup. Isn’t this a funny game? PLAYING MUSK OX The boys have been having great sport. They are out in the field back of the igloo. They have been playing a joke on the dogs. Kyo and Magda begged their mother to let them take a musk-ox robe from their bed in the igloo. ESKIMO STORIES 97 She said they might, so they got it and stole out quietly while the hungry dogs were fighting over their breakfast. They ran as fast as they could to the field. They got under the skin and stretched it as far as they could. It hung down so only their feet could be seen. By this time the dogs had finished eating. They had had a good breakfast. They were good-natured now. "■The dogs jumped and yelped, a)id caught a* the dangling skin ” 9 8 ESKIMO STORIES All the boys but Kyo and Magda shouted “ Oom-ing-muk ! oom-ing-muk ! ” as loud as they could. That means “ Musk oxen ! musk oxen ! ” The dogs heard and pricked up their ears and sniffed the air. Then they came tearing wildly into the field. Kyo and Magda ran and bellowed, and acted as much like a real musk ox as boys could. The dogs jumped and yelped, and caught at the dangling skin. At last the boys were so tired they had to stand still. Then they threw off the robe. You should have seen the poor dogs. Their ears and tails drooped. They looked much ashamed, and slunk away. ESKIMO STORIES 99 They did not think it at all funny that the musk ox was not a real one. The next time they hear the boys call “Oom- ing-muk ! oom-ing-muk ! ” they will sniff the air twice before they start on the chase. THE ESKIMO AND THE BEAR Once a white bear was very hungry. He watched at a hole in the ice for a seal. An Eskimo came by and saw the bear. He, too, was after food. He caught and killed the white bear. He carried him home to his igloo. The great white skin made a bed for his babies. The flesh was food for him and his family. The bones gave him tools to work with. fOO ESKIMO STORIES Agoonack’s father has caught many bears. He tells the children wonderful stories about them. H ere is one of the stories he tells them. ikwa’s bear story ( This story will be most effective if read to the children by the teacher.) Oh, the white bear is wise. The white bear is fierce. The white bear is wise like Innuits. The white bear is fierce like bears. Once some Innuits saw a walrus. They were hungry Innuits. They wanted the walrus. They were wise Innuits. They came near the walrus. A white bear saw the walrus. H e was a lean white bear. ESKIMO STORIES IOI He wanted the walrus. H e was a fierce white bear. He would kill the walrus. H e was a wise white bear. He took ice in his arms and threw it upon the walrus. He killed the walrus. The fierce bear laughed when he killed the walrus. The Innuits saw the fierce bear laugh. The white bear was hungry. The Innuits were hungry. The white bear was fierce. The Innuits were wise. They killed the fierce white bear. They took home the fierce bear. They took home the fierce bear’s walrus. All the Innuits had meat. 102 ESKIMO STORIES All the Innuits laughed. Ikwa had meat. Ikwa laughed. Ikwa had first seen the white bear. So Ikwa had the white bear’s skin. Ikwa’s mickininies sleep on the fierce bear’s skin. The mickininies listen, and creep close to their mother. They are glad they are not alone. They are glad their father is near. HOW AGOONACK MADE HER DOLL Th is funny little creature is Agoonack’s doll. You musn’t laugh at it. Agoonack thinks it a fine doll, for she made it. ESKIMO STORIES i°3 Her father gave her some bits of sealskin, and her mother gave her some beads that had come in a ship from far away. Agoonack took these things and went to work. Among the pieces of sealskin she found one piece that was tanned. She used this for the doll’s face, because there was no hair on it. She sewed on two round black beads for eyes. Then she sewed a long white bead up and down for the nose, another cross- ways for the mouth, and two others, slanting, for eyebrows. Then Agoonack made a coat and some trousers out of a piece of reindeer fur which she found. Agoonack' s doll 104 ESKIMO STORIES She trimmed the coat and hood all around with an edging of black fur. Next she made a little pair of sealskin kamiks, like the ones she wears on her own feet. Then she made a tiny sealskin belt, and last of all a pair of wee fur mittens. Now what do you think Agoonack used for the inside of her doll ? She stuffed the little suit brimful of dry moss. Th en she sewed it up. Th e arms and legs stuck out beautifully. Oh, what a fine doll! It could almost stand alone. It had taken Agoonack a long time to make the doll. Sometimes she had grown very tired, and had thrown her work on the floor, and had said she didn’t want a doll. ESKIMO STORIES 105 Then her mother would say, “Nahme peeuk Agoonack!” and tell about the doll she had made when she was a little girl. Agoonack would go to work again. Now she has the doll to play with, and is so glad she kept working until it was done. All the little girls she knows have come to see her doll, and the doll has been taken to visit them. Each girl wanted a doll just like it, so Agoo- nack has tried to show them how she made hers. Some of them have finished their dolls, but none are quite so fine as Agoonack’s. That is because she worked hard and long. A toy bear made from ivory io6 ESKIMO STORIES NOO-GLOO-TOOK The men and boys are playing noo-gloo-took. They have hung from the center of the igloo a small ivory cylinder. To the lower end is tied a stone, or some other heavy thing, to keep it from swinging. The cylinder is pierced through and through with holes. Each player has a long, pointed stick. They all stand m a circle and one man shouts “ Yi ! yi ! ” Th en all begin jabbing at the little cylinder. The first one whose stick goes into a hole screams “Yi! yi!” again, and everybody stops. This lucky man is given a musk-ox robe, a sledge, a knife, or some other useful thing. Then the game goes on again. ESKIMO STORIES 107 How strange of these people to give and take, in a game, things that cost them months and months of weary labor! The children also play a game called noo- gloo-took. They use a piece of ivory full of round holes. Fastened to it by a string is a round pin just large enough to fit the holes in the ivory. The children hold the pin in their hands, and swing the other part round and round. As it goes whirling through the air, they try to catch it on the sharp point of the pm. But they only say “Yi! yi ! ” 4|j and try again. If they fail to do so the heavy ivory comes whack against their fingers. / The children's noo-gloo-tonk ESKIMO STORIES FLOATING OUT ON THE SEA Such a fearful thing happened to Kyo and Magda. One dark day there was no food in the home. Ikwa was mending his long sledge and could not leave until that was done. So he told the boys to go far out on the ice and hunt for pussy igloos. That is what he called the little seal houses. Perhaps the boys could get a young seal for dinner. Ikwa said he would follow with the dogs and the sledge to bring them and the seal home if they caught one. Kyo and Magda started out. They walked and walked. At 1 ast they came to a place where hum- mocks of snow rose above the ice. j-jov. ~ - ■ p^ROW ' They came to a place where hummocks of snow rose above the ice " I IO ESKIMO STORIES The boys had hunted seals with their father. They knew these were the seal houses. They got close to one and kept very still. if th e seals were away they might come back any moment. The boys had waited in silence for a long time, when Magda heard Kyo shout. The ice they were on had broken away from the mainland. ' [ A great gulf of water lay between them and the solid ice. They were slowly drifting out to sea. The boys ran to the edge of the ice, but there j was no way to get back. They called aloud again and again. Each time their voices came back to them. They then felt more alone and more fearful than before. ESKIMO STORIES T I I But they must not be still. It was growing colder and colder. The wind had risen, and flakes of snow were flying through the air. The boys had once been with their father when he was caught in a storm far away from home. They knew what to do now. They built an igloo. The sea dashed around them, and sometimes the water splashed over them. The ice rocked beneath their feet. But at last the snow house was finished and they crawled into it out of the storm. But the boys could not stay there long. They kept going out to look about, hoping each time to see some one coming to get them. I I 2 ESKIMO STORIES But no one came. They were now in the open sea, and drifting farther and farther from home. Suddenly the wind changed, and the ice on which they stood also changed its course. Now all about them came great blocks of ice, rolling, crashing, and splashing in the foaming water. Sometimes these blocks crashed into the one on which they stood, so that the boys thought they would be thrown into the sea. But look! what was that in the distance? w as it the great ice field ? Yes, they were surely being driven towards the land. Oh ! oh ! oh ! They were getting nearer and nearer. ESKIMO STORIES 1 1 3 At last they were very close to shore, and Kyo said they must get over the rest of the way themselves. The wind might change again any moment, so they must jump across, on the cakes of ice. So they started — jump! jump! jump! H ow the cakes of ice swayed and tipped and slipped under their feet ! Oh, how good it seemed to be safe once more ! Now they would run home as fast as they could. But off in the distance, calling to them, they saw their father. He was coming to meet them. Oh, do you not think they were glad to see him ? ESKIMO STORIES 1 14 THE LEAN, HUNGRY BEAR ( This story will be most effective if read to the children by the teacher.) One night a strange thing happened to Agoo- nack. She was snug in bed and half asleep. She was wrapped in the fierce bear’s skin. It was very still, and Agoonack thought she was all alone. Th en such a fearful thing happened. The fierce bear’s skin moved. Oh! oh! oh! it stood up. Arms and legs grew on it, and a tail. It had eyes and ears. It had a big mouth and a red tongue and sharp teeth. It was a bear! The bear looked at Agoonack. He laughed. ESKIMO STORIES He said, “Now I have you. You are a fat little girl. I am a lean, hungry bear. I will eat you. I will eat Nipsu, too. I will eat your father and mother. I will eat you all.” The bear opened his mouth very wide, and Agoonack saw way down his throat. Then he laughed again and said: “When I have eaten you all I’ll jump through the top of the igloo and smash it and run ESKIMO STORIES Oh, I’m such a lean, hungry bear! I will jump into all the igloos and eat all the mickinmies. Th en I will eat all the Innuits and smash all the igloos. And then I will run off and jump on an ice- berg and jump up into the sky and live with the great star bear. Ha! ha! ha! Oh, I am such a lean, hungry bear!” And Agoonack saw the bear’s teeth and felt his red tongue — and oh, how she screamed! — and what do you think? She didn’t see any bear, and there were her father and her mother and Nipsu, asleep beside her, and Nipsu had his foot in her face. That was the bear. Agoonack had been dreaming. ESKIMO STORIES "Ikwa is making a knife ” IKWA MAKING AN IRON KNIFE ( This story will be most effective if read to the childrezi by the teacherl) “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” Ikwa is making a knife. “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” goes the iron against the stone. “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” Th ree long years Ikwa has been working to make this knife. 1 1 8 ESKIMO STORIES “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” and it is not yet clone. “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” In three years more he may finish it. “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” and so he is work- ing away. Long, long ago some white men came in a ship to the Northland. The white men gave Ikwa a piece of rusty iron. They gave him also an old steel file. Ikwa looked at the iron. He looked at the file. Ah ! out of the iron he would make a long knife. Out of the file he would make a good chisel. He would cut the long knife from the iron with the good chisel he would make. ESKIMO STORIES So Ikwa took home the rusty iron and the old steel file the white men had given him. He showed them to Mane. He told her the things he would make of them. “Scrape! scrape! scrape!’’ went the file against a stone. He had begun to make a chisel from the file “Scrape! scrape! scrape!’’ little by little and day by day. “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” Months passed by. One day Ikwa looked at his file. Then he scraped no more. It had an edge, and it would cut. It was now a chisel. Then Ikwa got out the piece of rusty iron. Ikwa's iron knife I 20 ESKIMO STORIES He began to work upon it with the chisel he had made. “Chink ! chink ! chink ! ” went the steel against O the iron. “Chink! chink! chink!” it sang from day to day. A whole year passed by and then another year. At last one day that work, too, was ended. The knife was cut from the iron. It had thick, blunt edges. It was three long years since Ikwa began this work. Now he looked at it. He turned the knife over and over. He said: “Now I will sharpen the edge of my long knife.” “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” ESKIMO STORIES 121 The work has begun again. “Scrape! scrape! scrape!” Perhaps for three years more. Then some day Ikwa will look at the knife again. He will feel the long knife’s edge. It will be sharp. It will cut. The knife will be finished. Ikwa will go to Mane. He will show her the long knife made from the rusty iron white men had given him. Mane will take the knife. She will look at it. She will turn it over and over. She will run her fingers along its sharp edge. Then Mane will give the knife back to Ikwa. She will say to herself: 122 ESKIMO STORIES “The long knife is a good knife. Ikwa made it. Oh! Ikwa is wise, Ikwa is great. Other Innuits can make knives, but not like Ikwa’s good long knife.” And Mane will go back to her work proud and contented. NO SOAP, NO TOWELS, NO WATER O-o-o ! O-o-o! Nipsu and Agoonack are such dirty children. They do not know what it is to have a bath. They have no soap. They have no towels. During the long, cold winter there is no water in the whole Northland. ESKIMO STORIES The people melt snow to get water to a Agoonack and Nipsu help bring in sni each day. Th eir mother puts it in a pan over the stone lamp. After a while it melts and makes a very little water. If the children and their mother did not do this the family would have nothing to drink. But it takes much snow to make a little water, the long, long winter through. It takes much fire to melt the snow to make a little water, the long, long winter through. It takes much oil to feed the fire, to melt the snow, to make a little water, the long, long winter through. ESKIMO STORIES ices much fat to make the oil, to feed the fire, to melt the snow, to make a little water, the long, long winter through. It takes much work to get the fat, to make the oil, to feed the fire, to melt the snow, to make a little water, the long, long win- ter through. Do you think that Nipsu or Agoonack, or their mother, or anyone would use this water to wash in when it costs so much time and labor? No! No! That would seem a sin to them. They do not know how good it is to be clean, but they know how hard it is to get water. Once Agoonack and Nipsu saw their mamma wash baby’s face. She washed it with her tongue just as the mamma cats wash the kittens’ faces. Getting a seal , which gives the fat , to make the oil ESKIMO STORIES 1 26 The baby’s face grew almost white. It was a strange sight, and the children asked their mamma many questions. She told them that each of them had been washed in the same way. But this was long ago. The children’s faces are now quite brown with grease and dirt, and their mother’s face is still darker. H ow sad, not to know how to be clean ! No soap, no towels, no water. Poor people ! Suppose we were you, And you were we. But oh ! how dreadful That would be ! ESKIMO STORIES 127 If we were you, And you were we, Then we the unwashed Folks would be! THE AIR The air, the pure, cold air. How it works through the long Northland winters! The stinging, biting air. How much it does for these poor people! And no one need labor to get it. It pushes its way into foul little huts and drives out bad odors there. It creeps between suits of soiled clothing and leaves them less unclean. It reaches deep down into men’s lungs and touching dark blood makes it pure and red. 128 ESKIMO STORIES Oh, is it not good that these people have this keen, cold air to work for them ? Is it not good that it keeps them well and strong, even in foul homes and unclean bodies ? JUNE It is June. Summer has come. The sun shines all day and all night. The ice has melted in the streams. Green grass and pretty mosses grow everywhere. Little pink and white and yellow blossoms peep out at us. The birds have come back from the south, and are nesting upon the rocks. -Yeiiow blossoms Fishes dart to and fro in the clear water. % e { s » u * ESKIMO STORIES 129 The snow igloos are gone. Each family has a skin tent, or a little hut made of earth and stone. Women and children are out gathering moss. Boys are getting eggs from the nests on the rocks. Men are mending boats, or hunting, or fishing. There are many things to be done before the cold winter comes again. Everybody is busy. THE TENT H ere is an Eskimo tent. H ow would you like to live in a tent like this? It is made of the skins and bones of animals. The poles are walrus bones. The coverings are deerskins. 130 ESKIMO STORIES Ati Eskimo's summer ient The Eskimos use tents in summer. They take them whenever they move. When they live near the sea, they build boats and catch fish. Their tents are near. Sometimes, when they hunt, they go far inland. Their tents go, too. Eskimos must live where they can find food. If it is winter when they move, they build a new hut each time. ESKIMO STORIES 131 Not so in summer. They carry their tents with them. It takes much time and labor to make these tents, and they are carefully kept from summer to summer. THE BIRDS High up among the rocks there is still snow. It is a thousand years old. The sun cannot drive it away. Near the sea many places are warm and dry. Birds fly to and fro, and perch upon the rocks. Some are pluming their feathers and sunning themselves after a morning swim. Many are out in search of food. Others are nesting, while a few already have 132 ESKIMO STORIES young ones to care for. Most of the birds have been south during the long, cold winter, but a few brave the wind and storm the year round. Perhaps some of these very birds have gath- ered seeds in our own fields and gar- dens. “ Birds fly to and fro , and perch upoti the rocks ESKIMO STORIES i33 THE SNOW BUNTING H ow do you do! Don’t you know me? I am the snow bunting. In winter I wear a little brown upon my head and back. In summer I am dressed in white, with just a touch of black upon my wings and tail. I am so white some people call me “Snow- flake.” My food is the tiny seeds of plants and grasses. 134 ESKIMO STORIES My friends and I glean from field and wayside. Sometimes the seeds are few and far between. We do not mind. It takes but little to keep us well and happy. When cold winds sweep the land, and snows go whirling through the air, you find us out in the storm, singing with hearts of glee our sweetest songs. Oh, we are hardy birds! We like the cold. We like the snowy Northland. When other birds are far away In sunny lands where breezes play, We are tossed about o’er fields of snow, By all the icy winds that blow, Or live in twilight cold and dim, Sheltered beneath the icebergs grim. ESKIMO STORIES 1 35 BRIGHT AND DAINTY FLOWERS Oh, blossoms bright, oh, blossoms sweet, Nodding, trembling at my feet, In pink and yellow and purple and white, With faces a-tdt, all catching the light, Where do you come from, and how do you grow? The earth was but yesterday covered with snow. A Northland poppy Ah, yes, the ice and the snow were above, But the great sun sent us his message of love, And awakened us out of a winter’s long sleep, And whispered, “’Tis time a new birthday to keep.” So we lifted our faces once more to the light, Lo! winter was ended, the whole earth was bright, And now we just grow and grow and grow, And forget all about the ice and the snow. 136 ESKIMO STORIES “/ lash the sea until it foams" THE WHALE I am the whale. I am the largest animal on land or sea. See my tail. I can lift it way out of the water. I can crack it so loud men hear it far inland. Sometimes I lash the sea until it foams. I blow water high into the air, like smoke. ESKIMO STORIES 07 Perhaps you think I am a fish. I am not a fish. Fishes have cold blood. Mine is warm. Fishes cannot breathe out of the water. I cannot breathe in the water. When I am at the top I take a long, deep breath. Then I go down, down, down. When I need to breathe again, up I come. I can swim fast. I am a great animal. Men are always trying to catch me. But when I see them coming I say: “ Blow in the air , all men to scare ESKIMO STORIES 138 “Whale, whale, lash the sea with your tail. Blow in the air, all men to scare, Their boats upset! shun spear and net! Whale, whale, lash the sea with your tail.” THE FAMILY TUPEC Agoonack’s family have a new tent. They call it their tupec. They sleep in the tupec at night. They work there by day when it is stormy. The covering is made of sealskin. The poles are walrus bones. Agoonack’s father and brother got the things to make the tent. Agoonack and her mother cleaned the skins and sewed them together. It took all the family to set up the tupec. ESKIMO STORIES 09 When that was done they were much pleased. Sometimes the rain leaks through and wets them. Often the wind blows it to the ground. Then it must be set up again. But Agoonack and all the family think that no other home could be so good for sum- mer as the little brown tupec. A group of Eskimo tupecs o?i the shore in summer 140 ESKIMO STORIES MAKING A NEEDLE OF IRON Mane is making a needle. Ikwa has given her a piece of rusty iron. This rusty iron came from an old wrecked ship which he had discovered along the shore. Now Mane will work as hard as Ikwa, when he made his knife. “Scratch! scratch! scratch!” she is rubbing the iron against a stone. You ask, “ H ow will she ever make a needle from that piece of old iron?” I cannot tell, but Mane will surely make one. Like Ikwa’s knife, it may be months and years before the needle is ready for use, but sometime Mane will finish it. When finished, it will be very clumsy. Do you know what kind of thread Mane will use when she sews with this needle? ESKIMO STORIES 141 Eskimos get iron from the wrecks of ships From the side of the tupec there hangs a bundle of deerskins. The skins have been torn into long strips, like shoe-strings. The strips are thick and tough. When Mane sews with her iron needle she will have near her a bundle of these strips. Whenever a new thread is needed, she will draw from the bundle a long strip. J It may take Mane years to make this needle ESKIMO STORIES H3 You see it needs a great clumsy needle to sew with such thick, tough threads. So Mane is making her needle. “Scratch! scratch! scratch!” It may take her years to make it. But Mane is going to do it. “Scratch! scratch! scratch!” Sometime she will finish the needle. “Scratch! scratch! scratch!” And then how well it will sew for her! “Scratch! scratch! scratch!” MR. FOX H ow do you do? I am Mr. Fox. I have a thick fur coat. My hair is soft and long. 1 44 ESKIMO STORIES is snow-white. I have a sharp nose, and I can smell meat afar off. My ears are sharp, and I can hear low sounds. See my bushy tail and slender legs. I run very swiftly. In spring my coat gets thin. The long hair falls out. In summer my hair is short and woolly. Some foxes have holes in the ground. I live in a fine cave among the rocks. 1 like to hunt. ESKIMO STORIES H5 I get my food from land and sea. I go fishing. I catch birds. I get eggs from the nests. Sometimes I find meat that men have gotten for food. I seize it, and run for my cave in the rocks before anyone can catch me. Th en I have a fine dinner. In summer the baby foxes come. Then Mrs. Fox has a busy time. The little foxes must be washed and fed. They must be kept from harm. I go everywhere in search of food. Mrs. Fox never goes far from her little ones. In time they are taught to get their own food. They learn to keep themselves out of danger. Oh! we are a wise and happy family. 146 ESKIMO STORIES “ We are water birds" EIDER DUCKS We are eider ducks. See our pretty feathers. Mine are reddish brown. My mate’s are black and white, and he has green legs. We go south in winter, but in summer we live in the Northland. Do you see our webbed feet? We are water birds. We love to swim and dive. We get our food from the water. ESKIMO STORIES H7 But our nest is on the land. We once had another nest. I had lined it with down from my breast to make it soft. I had laid eggs in the nest. Then I had pulled more down to cover them. I sat upon the eggs day and night. I kept them warm. I was waiting for baby ducks. My mate watched beside me. One day we saw some men. They came straight to us. They lifted me from my nest. They took out the soft bed I had made. They took out my eggs and went away. My mate and I were alone. We were much troubled. Why did those men do this ? 148 ESKIMO STORIES THE SECOND NEST We then made another nest. I pulled more down. There was not enough to line it, so my mate helped me. He plucked down from his own white breast. Now the nest is ready. I shall lay more eggs and sit again. When the little ducks come I shall take them to the water. They will be afraid, and will not go in. I shall have to get them on my back. Then into the water we will go. I shall dive down and leave them. How they will call to me! But they will not drown. They will have to swim. That is the way to teach them. ESKIMO STORIES 149 Soon they will swim as well as I. Then we shall have fine times. Th is is the way I talk to the ducklings the first time we go in : Quack! quack! quack! Downy ducks on mother’s back, All of you must sit just so, For into water now we go. Quack! quack! quack! '•o": IKWA’S RAIN COAT Ikwa has a rain coat. It is made of entrail skin. He took the skin from the entrails of a seal. Mane cleaned it and cut it into long strips. ESKIMO STORIES 150 Then she sewed the strips together. Here is I® a picture of the coat which Mane made. Ikwa wears it when he goes out in his boat. He does not mind the rain or the sea dashing over him. His good rain coat keeps him dry. IKWA’S BOAT This is Ikwa’s boat. He calls it his kayak The frame was Then it was made of walrus bones. with sealskin. A kayak ESKIMO STORIES 151 The top is covered, like the sides of the boat. A round hole is left in the center where Ikwa sits. The entrail-skin coat Mane made him comes down around this hole and is fastened tightly about it. What a funny paddle Ikwa uses! He holds it in the middle and dips it into the water, first on one side of the boat and then on the other. The Eskimo people do wonderful things in their kayaks, and are not drowned. Ikwa can dive into the water, turning his kayak over and come right side up without getting any water into the boat. In this little skin boat Ikwa glides through stormy seas and is not afraid. The kayak J paddle “/« his little canoe, far out on the wave , He is master of all , his heart is so brave ESKIMO STORIES *53 The winds are pushing like giants bold, The ocean roars like a monster old, But Ikwa fights with the winds and the sea; Great strength have they, wisdom has he. In his little canoe, far out on the wave, He is master of all, his heart is so brave. GATHERING FLOWERS f i ^ ■ \ FOR FOOD 1 ' i Nipsu and Agoonack often £ o with their mother to i i : % A * is, "A Ao gather flowers. ' 1 A £oonack knows where there is a great patch of purple ones. The blossoms are so pretty that Nipsu wants to keep them in his hands. Northland saxifrage 154 ESKIMO STORIES Mane and Agoonack put all they gather into a skin bag. When the bag is full they carry it home. Mane empties the flowers into a dish, and pours a little water over them. Then she lights the stone lamp and sets the dish of flowers over it to cook. What a sweet smell comes from those cook- ing flowers ! Nipsu and Agoonack can hardly wait until they are done. At last the mother takes the dish from the fire. It is so hot! and they are so hungry! She stirs and stirs with that big bone spoon, until the children are sure it is too cold. But Mane wants no tongue burned. Finally she puts the dish on the floor and sits down with them to eat. “ She stirs and stirs with that big bone spoon •56 ESKIMO STORIES Oh ! did ever anything taste so good as those cooked flowers? Nipsu and Agoonack think not. HUNTING BIRDS’ EGGS Kyo and Magda have been up on the rocks. They h ave been hunting birds’ eggs. They found many, and put them into a bag. The boys are taking the eggs home for their father’s supper. He will eat every one of them. Eskimo mothers and Eskimo children never get any eggs to eat. The hungry fathers and big brothers eat them all. When Kyo and Magda went out they took a bird net with them. ESKIMO STORIES '57 They succeeded in catching several birds, and have them in the bag with the eggs. Their mother will cook the birds for supper. The boys are very hungry. PLAYING TOGETHER All the children in the village are at play. They are out in the green fields back of the tupecs, and are playing sand-bag ball. They have a little sealskin bag partly filled with sand. It is much like our bean bag. The children are sending this back and forth through the air. Each child tries to strike it with the palm of the hand. If the bag falls to the ground the game ends. ESKIMO STORIES 158 Then all rest before beginning a new one. The little people often play this game. Now they have learned to be very skillful. Oh, how they shout ! What fun they are having! WHAT THE ESKIMOS GET FROM THE WHALE One day Ikwa and some other men caught a whale. It was too large to carry home. So they drew it upon the shore and divided it. They stripped off the skin. The outside was black and tough. The inside was covered with thick fat. Th is fat is called blubber. Sometimes it is two feet thick. ESKIMO STORIES i59 The whale is drawn upon the shore Eskimos never waste the blubber. It is of great use to them. They often use it for food. They get oil from it for their lamps. From one whale they get many barrels of oil. Agoonack and Nipsu are fond of blubber. All the children like it. They like to eat it, even when it is frozen. 11 i6o ESKIMO STORIES THE DOVEKIE This bird is called a dovekie. Its body is black. Its throat and breast are white. There are white stripes on the wings. Its feet and legs are bright red. Its feet are webbed, and it swims and dives like a duck. It gets food from the water, or along the shore where the waves wash little fishes upon the sand. The wings of the dovekie are small, but he moves swiftly through the air. I am a dovekie ESKIMO STORIES 1 6 1 This bird makes its nest in crevices in the rocks. It lays one or two bluish eggs about the size of a pigeon’s. Hundreds of dovekies flock together and perch upon the cliffs along the seashore. There they sit, their black and white coats and pretty red legs shining in the sun. They look like little soldiers guarding the sea. Those plump bodies and bright legs bring them a sad fate. Hungry men want their flesh for food. Women want the red skins that cover their legs. They fill these red skins with melted fat and give them to the children. Boys and girls eat them as you eat candy. They think the red sticks of fat are very fine. 162 ESKIMO STORIES MOVING DAY The family are moving. Ikwa has found a place where there are more fish in the streams and more birds on the rocks. So the family are going to that place. They have all their goods in the oomiak. The oomiak is a flat boat. When they can go by water they always move in the oomiak. Now the boat is quite full with the goods, the dogs, and the family. There is the tupec with the long poles. There are the tools, harnesses, and sledges. There are arrows and spears and bird nets and fish nets. There is the stone lamp and the water pan, and the pot in which Mane cooks. ESKIMO STORIES 163 ‘ ‘ Moving day ” Th ere are the bearskins and deerskins and sealskins which will be much needed next winter. Last of all, there are the dogs and the chil- dren, and Mane herself. Oh, it’s no easy task rowing the heavy old oomiak with the big load it carries. Mane is having hard work of it. Ikwa and Kyo and Magda are ahead in their kayaks, getting birds and fish for the family dinner. 164 ESKIMO STORIES So Mane must attend to this moving alone. Baby, Nipsu, and Agoonack are enjoying the day, but their mother is very tired. She will be glad when they are again on land, and settled in the new place Ikwa has found for them. I should think she would be; shouldn’t you? THE OOMIAKSOAK OF THE WHITE MAN ( This story will be ?nost effective if read to the childrefi by the teacher.) Oh, what do you think? Oh, what do you think ? A great ship has come to the Northland. The Eskimos call it an oomiaksoak. It is not like the oomiaks of Innuits. It is the oomiak of the white man. Eskimos call the white man a Kabloonah. 1 66 ESKIMO STORIES There are many Kabloonahs with the great oomiaksoak. The Kabloonahs call their oomiaksoak a ship. The I miu its go out to the Kabloonahs’ ship. They climb over its sides. The Kabloonahs are glad to see the Innuits. The Innuits have brought many skins. They have deerskins and bearskins and fox- skins and sealskins. The Kabloonahs take all the skins the Innuits have brought with them, and give in return strange, strange things. The Innuits look at these things. They turn them over and over. They ask the Kabloonahs many questions about them. At last the Innuits go away, taking the things they have gotten in return for the skins. ESKIMO STORIES 167 They paddle to shore as fast as they can. All the mothers and children, the grand- fathers and grandmothers, everybody who did not go out to the white man’s ship, is waiting for them there. Mane with the baby, Agoonack and Nipsu, Kyo and Magda, are all waiting for Ikwa. They press about him to hear and see all they can. Ikwa shows, one by one, the things he has gotten. H ere is a knife, a wonderful knife, two knives in one knife. It shines. It is sharp. Oh, how Mane could cut skins with this knife! She holds it in her hands. She turns it over and over. i68 ESKIMO STORIES She feels of its sharp, sharp edge. She asks Ikwa how old was the Kabloonah who gave him this knife. Ah, he must have lived many, many suns to have had time to make such a knife. Then Ikwa tells Mane that the Kabloonahs build big igloos in their country. Kabloonahs work together in the big igloos. They make many such knives in one day. At this Mane shakes her head and says, “Nahme! Nahme!” She means “No! No!” Ikwa is telling her a great story. But Ikwa says it is so, for the Kabloonah told him, and the Kabloonah knows. Mane says no more, but it is hard to believe. Next Ikwa shows some little shining things. They are small and slippery. ESKIMO STORIES 169 Mane keeps dropping them on the ground. But they are not lost. The children look out for that. What can they be? Each has a sharp point at one end and a wee hole at the other. Mane wonders and wonders. Then Ikwa tells her. They are needles. Oh! oh! oh! Mane has worked for years to make but one needle, and here are many. They are hers. She will sew with them. Oh ! oh ! oh ! And so it goes, until Ikwa has shown all the things the Kabloonahs have given him. At last everybody has seen everything that has come from the ship. ESKIMO STORIES Then the women and children begin to beg. They beg to be taken out to see the Kabloo- nahs and their great oomiaksoak. Ikwa tells Mane that the Kabloonahs do not want the koonahs and mickininies to come out to their oomiaksoak. Mane says they must go anyhow. I don’t know whether they will get there, but I am sure the Kabloonahs will all come on shore to see them. One of the Kabloonahs' boats ESKIMO STORIES 1 7i WINTER IS COMING AGAIN The summer is nearly over. Winter is coming. The sun is traveling southward. The birds will fly away to the Southland. The fishes will hide in caves, far below the ice. The wolves and foxes will seek shelter among the rocks. Even the great white bear will make for him- self a cave in the snow, where he may keep from freezing. The noisy streams and running brooks will be silent in their icy beds. The land will be in darkness. Cold winds will shriek and wail about it. Whirling snows will drift upon it. Ice will be everywhere. ESKIMO STORIES The great ocean itself will lie ice-locked to the shore. Oh, how cold and dreary it will be! Then, in all the Northland, there will be only the little stone lamp with its tiny blaze to give out light and heat until the great sun comes round again. GATHERING MOSS Nipsu and Agoonack have been gathering moss for the stone lamp. They have a great bagful here on the ground, and there is much more in the tent. The winter is long. It is cold and dark. It takes a great deal of moss to keep the lamp burning from sun to sun. ESKIMO STORIES 03 “ They roll the moss into strings for wicking" So each day the children go out and come home with their bag full. It is pleasant work gathering the soft moss. They roll the moss into strings for wicking. These strings are curled around in the lamp, and soaked with oik They know what a cheery blaze it will make through the cold, dark days to come. They are very happy in their work. 174 ESKIMO STORIES GOOD-BY ! Good-by, Nipsu! Good-by, Agoonack! We shall often think of our visit to your home. At first we did not like it here. We thought your country dreary, and your people strange. We like it better now. and hope to come again. Won’t you visit us sometime? We should like very much to have you. But we must be going. ESKIMO STORIES 05 We cannot stay, nor longer roam, Good-by! good-by! we journey home. A PRONOUNCING INDEX The following difficult words found in “ Eskimo Stories ” are spelled phonetically, as an aid in pronunciation : Agoonack {ag' goo nak ) ahtee {ah' tee) antlers {ant' lerz) awick ( a wik') chisel {chiz' el) crevices ( krev ' is ez) cylinder {sil' in der) dovekie {dim' ke) eider ( i ' der) entrail {en' trale) Eskimo {es' ki mo) igloo {ig' loo) ikkimer {ik' he mer) Ikwa {ik' wall) immoosi {ini' moo se) Innuits {in' new its) Kabloonah {kab loo' nah ) kamiks {kam' iks) kamutee {kam' mew te) kayaks {kay' aks) Kyo {ki ' o) lichen {li' ken) Magda {mag' dah) Mane {ma' ne) mickininy {mik' ki ni' ny) mikies {mik' iz) nahme peeuk {nah' me pee' uk) netcheh {net' che) Nipsu {nip' su) noo'-gloo-took olo {o' lo) oomiak {oo' me ak) oomiaksoak {oo' me ak' so ak) oom'-ing-muk sinews {sin' ews) sledges {slej' ez) Toolooah {tod loo ah) tough {tuf) tupecs {too’ peks) weapons {wep' onz) > [ 176 ] ESKIMO STORIES * 77 ^4 picture of Olof Krarer THE STORY OF A REAL ESKIMO ( This story should be read to the children before they begin reading the booh.) I WAS born on the east coast of Greenland, the least known to civilization, about one thousand miles north and a little west of Iceland. I am the youngest of eight children. As nearly as I can remember, my father’s house was on a low plain near the seashore. It sloped gently inland, and we could have seen a great way into the back country if it had not been for the great snowdrifts and masses of ice. When we looked off toward the ocean, we could not see very far, tor even in the warmest 1 78 ESKIMO STORIES season there was only a small space of open water, and beyond that the ice was all piled up in rough, broken masses. Our house was built of snow. It was round, perhaps sixteen feet across, and came to a point at the top. It was lined with fur on all sides, and was carpeted with a double thickness of fur. The door was a thick curtain of fur hung over the doorway, and was fastened by heating the upper part and letting the fur freeze into the wall. Outside of the door was a long, narrow passageway, just high enough for one of us little Eskimo people to stand up straight in. That would be about high enough for a child eight years old in this country ; and it was only wide enough for one person to go through at a time. If one wanted to go out and another wanted to come in at the same time one would have to back out of the passageway and let the other go first. This passageway was not straight, but turned to one side so as not to let the wind blow in. Our fireplace was in the center of the house. The bottom was a large flat stone with other stones piled about the edge to keep the fire from getting into the room. When we wanted to build a fire we would put some dried meat and bones on the stone ; then a little dry moss was put in, and then my father would take a flint and a whale’s tooth and strike fire upon the moss. Sometimes it took a long time to make it burn. After the fire started he would put some blubber upon it. Although it was so very cold, we would often be without a fire, for what we made the fire of was what we had to live on, and we could not always afford to burn it. Our fire did not warm the room very much. It was mostly to give light, so that it might be a little more cheerful in the room. When we had no fire it was very dark. My people live on seals, whales, walrus, and polar bears. Our food is eaten raw and frozen. We have only the salt ocean water, and if we had soft, fresh water we would not dare to use it, for it would be like poison to our flesh with the thermometer 8o° or 90° ESKIMO STORIES 179 below zero. So, when we eat, we take a piece of raw meat in one hand and a chunk of blubber in the other, and take a bite of each until it is eaten. Then we carefully rub the grease and fat all over our hands and face, and feel fine afterwards. My people have long hair, made dark by the smoke and grease. There was no chance to play and romp inside the snow-house. We just had to sit still with our arms folded. It was in this way that my arms came to have such a different shape from people’s arms in this country. Where their muscle is large and strong, I have but very little ; and instead of that, I have a large bunch of muscle on the upper side of my arms, and they are crooked so that I can never straighten them. Sometimes we used to get very tired in the dark snow-house and then we would try a little amusement. Two of us would sit down on the fur carpet, and looking into each others’ faces, guess who was the best looking. We had to guess at it, for we had no looking-glass in which to see our faces. The one whose face shone the most with the grease was called the prettiest. If at any time we grew tired of it all, and ventured to jump about and to play, we were in danger of being punished. When a child was naughty, mother would place a bone on the fire, leaving it there until it was hot enough for the grease to boil out. Then she would slap it on the child. She was not particular where she burned her child, except that she was careful not to touch the face. I can well remember what my last punishment was for. I had been playing with my little brother inside the snow-house, and getting very angry at him, threw him down and bit him on the back of the neck ; then my mother burned me on the same spot where I bit him. I did not bite him any more after that. But it was not always so that we had to stay in the snow-house. Once in a while father would come in and say it was not so cold as usual, and then we would have a chance to look around outside the snow-house. We never took long walks. There were some i8o ESKIMO STORIES steep, jagged rocks in sight of our village, and during the long daytime enough of the snow would melt off to leave the rocks bare in a few places. On these bare spots we would find a kind of brown moss, which we gathered and dried to light our fires with. The great event in our family life was the dog-sleigh ride. When father told us we could go we came as near dancing and clapping our hands for joy as Eskimo children ever do. But we did not have a fine cutter with large horses and shining bells. Sometimes the sled would be made of a wide piece of bone from the jaws of a whale, one end of which turned up like a runner. But more frequently it would be either a skin of some animal laid flat on the ground, or a great frozen fish cut open at the back and turned right over. I never saw such a fish in this country or in Iceland, so I cannot tell what kind of fish it was. Our sled was drawn by dogs of about the size of shepherd dogs. They have short, straight ears, and their noses are sharp and pointed. They are very strong and have heavy coats of long hair, which often drag upon the snow. They are usually of a dark gray color. Our dogs were very useful to us in other ways than drawing our sleighs, for they were very good to hunt. They helped to kill the polar bear, and to find the seal and walrus. Now, in order that you may understand our way of living better, I will explain that we have six months night in Greenland, and during that time nothing is seen of the sun. Then most of the time the beautiful northern lights may be seen dancing and leaping about. The white snow is always on the ground, so that even when the moon and northern lights were not seen, we could see to hunt around. Before and after the night-time there was about a month of twilight and this was the finest time of the year. We had then the best chance to hunt. In the long day we -had the hardest time, for then the sun shone out so brightly that we would be made snow-blind if we ventured far from home. The day was four months long, and if ESKIMO STORIES 1 8 1 we did not have food enough stored away in an ice cave to last us through, we would be in great danger of starving. The best time to hunt is when the ice breaks up. My people know when this is going to happen by the noise. There is a rumbling sound like distant thunder. Then the hunters get their spears, which are walrus tusks, and let out their dogs, and hurry to the place where the sound is heard. The polar bear hears the sound also, and hastens to the place, for it is there that he, too, must make a living. This is the only time that Eskimos ever dare attack a polar bear, for when he is going about alone and hungry he is very fierce and dangerous ; but when the ice breaks up the bear goes straight for the sound. This grows louder and louder until there is a mighty crash louder than thunder, and great walls of ice are thrown high in air, and a space of open water is to be seen. When the commotion ceases, my people crowd along the edge of the water. The bear is down on the ice watching for seals and walrus. The Eskimos gather around him in their dog-sledges, perhaps twenty or thirty of them ; there are about two in every sleigh, every one with a spear in his hand. The loose dogs run up to him and begin to worry him. If he makes a rush at the hunters in their sleighs the dog teams draw them swiftly away. The loose dogs keep on worrying the bear until he is furious with rage. Every little while a sweep of his big paw lays one of his enemies on the snow. The dogs crowd in and take hold wherever they can, until at last, after repeated struggles, he lies panting on the snow. Then the hunters try to kill him with their walrus tusks. No sooner are they sure that he is dying than they hasten to get a drink of warm blood. A long cut is made down the animal. The skin is pulled and pushed off with their hands. All hands feast upon the warm grease that is inside the animal, and after that they divide the meat and take it home. 182 ESKIMO STORIES Sometimes my father would tell us stories about his parents and grandparents, how long, long ago the first people came from Norway. But no one knew what Norway was like. Some said it was a great house somewhere ; others said it was the moon, and some said it was where the Good Spirit lived. The only relatives we knew about were father, mother, broth- ers and sisters, and grandparents. We knew nothing about uncles, aunts, and cousins. We lived in small hamlets of perhaps thirty or forty families. We had only one name each, just as you name animals in this country. My father’s name was Krauker, my name was Oluar. On arriving in Iceland I was baptized Olof Krarer. One thing had a great deal of interest for us all. When the sun shone out at the beginning of the daytime, it marked the first of the year, as New Year’s day marks the beginning of the year in this country. Then our parents would take out the sacks, each one of the family having one of their own. In each sack was a piece of bone for every first time that person had seen the sun. When ten bones were gathered, they would tie them into a bundle, for they had not words to count more than ten. In such a land was I born, in such a home was I brought up. In such pleasures I rejoiced until there were about fifteen bones in my sack. Then something happened which changed my whole life. Six tall men came to our village. They proved to be Iceland whalers who had been shipwrecked in a storm and who finally reached Greenland. When they returned to Iceland my father’s family went with them. If I was to go back to my race of people I would not be able to tell them about what I see and hear in this country. They have not the language to express the thought. They never saw a painting or a piano. Their wild ride songs are all they have that is anything like music. They have no church, no school, no doc- tor, lawyer, or merchant; no money, jewelry, or timepiece; not an axe, spade, or hammer; no knife, fork, or spoon; no bread, no cloth, ESKIMO STORIES 183 no wood ! I never saw as much wood in my part of the country as would make one little match. For a needle we use the tooth of a fish ; for thread, the sinews of a reindeer. Eskimos have no idea of a book. They eat when they are hungry and sleep when they are sleepy. They think, in their ignorance, they are the only people, and are consequently con- tented and happy. June 16, 1902. Olof Krarer. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS T HIS little book has not been written to make a “ reading book,” in the accepted meaning of the phrase ; yet it is hoped that the vocabulary and arrangement are such that it will be possible for children who have mastered the vocabulary of the average first readers to read “ Eskimo Stories” with interest. LANGUAGE WORK In certain lessons it will be well for the teacher to select the new or difficult words, write them upon the blackboard, and either develop them or have the children work them out phonetically. After this, allow them to take the book and read the story to them- selves before reading it aloud. Give them time to do this thor- oughly; until they can close their books and tell in their own words the whole or connected portions of the story. VISUALIZATION A valuable test in visualization is to ask each child what he saw while reading the lesson. PANTOMIME Children may read the story, and then different ones may act some portions while others interpret the parts enacted. DRAWING In stories where there is much action, children may read and then go to the blackboard and picture different portions. These exercises take time and patience, and the teacher may find they do not immediately result in as glib a repetition of words as the same time spent in word drill, but, if continued, they will result in an independence, a power to get and to express, that mere oral reading will never develop. [184] SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 185 Only when the printed word becomes transparent, when the child sees through it the thing it symbolizes, can he be said to read, and these tests make it impossible to hide mental blankness behind borrowed expression. ILLUSTRATIVE WORK The benefit to the child of allowing him to express in illustra- tive work the pictures he gets from the printed page, has been too well proven to need any defense here. Clay, paper, chalk, charcoal, and water colors — though the last is not so available — are used with success by many teachers. All illustrative work should be done large. Fine work in detail should not be encouraged. Specialists tell us that fine detail work is most detrimental to the development of young children, even those in normal condition. To insist on this work from those already deficient in eyesight or nerve force is criminal. With all children the first illustrative work is crude, and with many it con- tinues to be unintelligible to the uninterested. But poor results are often the index of mental or physical deficiencies, which patience and perseverance may partially obviate, if not overcome. The conscientious teacher will rejoice over interest and effort rather than over definite attainments. CLAY The children will be delighted to reproduce in clay the houses and people, the seals, the walrus, and other animals. In winter, snow houses may be built on the playground. PAPER CUTTING The animals, the people, the houses, and those portions of the stories in which there is much action, may be illustrated in paper cutting. Many teachers have found that by continued suggestion and encouragement little fingers become expert at tearing where scissors do not seem advisable. Where paper is not furnished. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 1 86 wrapping paper, even newspapers, may be used, though the latter is a poor substitute, the print and pictures preventing concentra- tion on the outline. Paper cutting should be both from pictures and from memory. BLACKBOARD DRAWING The blackboard seems particularly suited to the child’s needs for free movement and large work in illustration. The crayon should be used sideways, not on the point, so as to get the broad, soft stroke rather than the sharp outline. The lower part of the board may be kept spaced and numbered for daily use. The spaces should be, if possible, as much as two feet wide. It has been observed that the larger the spaces the better the pictures. Spacing and numbering may be done with wet chalk, which does not erase easily, or with a mixture of chalk and Le Page’s glue. CHARCOAL AND WHITE CRAYON ON PAPER Charcoal and blackboard crayon, used with the manila or gray paper, are particularly effective in working out snow scenes. The white chalk works on paper better if baked before using. The drawing, in order to most develop the child’s individuality and make him independent, should not usually be copied. The pictures in the book may be used suggestively and sometimes for repro- duction. Attempts to reproduce pictures will be most beneficial to the child if done by means of visualization. The teacher may ask the children to observe a picture care- fully, then to close the books and draw what they have seen. If any child is unable to make the main objects in the picture, or if his picture does not suggest the thought which the picture in the book does, have him look at the picture again and again. Very simple pictures should be used for this exercise so that the child may not be discouraged by the great difference between his own picture and that in the book, or obtain a low standard of approxi- mate attainment by attempting tasks too far beyond his ability. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 1 ^7 If any teacher feels that she cannot undertake the constant battle for tidiness which the use of these materials by little people necessitates, she should remember that many others who once experienced the same fears have long since rejoiced at the reward which followed persistent, courageous trial. SPECIAL SUGGESTIONS Although the teacher’s knowledge of the needs of her pupils can be the only guide to the work which is most profitable, the following special directions may be helpful to those who have not done this work in connection with the reading lessons : Page ii. Let the children picture on the blackboard their conception of a dreary land of ice and snow. Page ij. Allow them to study the picture and try to repro- duce it on the board from visualization. Pages 14.-13-16. The people mentioned may be modeled in clay and drawn. The teacher must explain that sea water is salt, that stream water is fresh, and that people cannot drink salt water. Pages 17-18. The reindeer may be cut from paper and drawn. Page 19. Model the house in clay ; cut or tear it from paper or draw it on the board. If the lesson is used in the winter, build the snow house in play time. Page 21. The walrus may be modeled in clay and drawn. Page 23. Allow the children to express their conception of northern lights in colored crayons. Page 23. Draw the wolves and cut them from paper. Page 26. The bowl of the stove may be modeled in clay. Page 27. Draw the dogs and cut them from paper. Page 29. This is a fine picture to observe and then describe with the book closed. Page 30. This is a good picture to reproduce on the board from visualization. Allow the children to picture on the board or with charcoal, as they like, the story of the runaway dogs. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 1 88 Page jj. Let some child show how the Eskimo boys double up before starting to roll down hill. Page jj. Seals may be modeled in clay, drawn, and cut from paper. The children will like to draw on the blackboard a little cave for baby seals under the snow. Page jj. Icebergs make a fine blackboard drawing. It might be well for the teacher to read the latter part of the lesson to the children and make a few soft strokes on the board suggestive of pillars and arched doorways, even if she cannot suggest a palace. Have language work on this lesson to see if the children are really picturing icebergs white as marble, or shining with the colors of the rainbow, or blue and cold. If the children are really “ seeing things ” they will tell them. Page jg. Cut the bear from paper and model in clay. Page 55. Read the verse at the bottom of page to the chil- dren. Have them describe the picture they see. Page j6. Let the children picture on the board, or with char- coal, Ikwa at work on the lamp. Page j 8. This picture is a good subject to reproduce from visualization. Pages 61-62-6J. This is a good lesson to illustrate with chalk or charcoal. Pages jj-j6. The teacher should illustrate the turning of the drill with a little bow made of string and a stick or a whalebone, using a pencil for a drill. Some child will be delighted to make the bow. Two children can pull it back and forth while the teacher steadies the turning pencil. It would be well also to illustrate the principle of the wheel and belt. Two spools on sticks, held by the children and turned by a piece of tape for a belt, will make the reference clear. Page 100. The repetition in Ikwa’s bear story is somewhat peculiar, but characteristic of the Eskimos. The words “ Innuits,’ meaning Eskimos, and “ mickininies,” meaning children, should be SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 189 explained. In order that the children may get a series of pictures from this lesson, the teacher should read the story aloud two 01 three times and then ask the children to tell what they saw while she read. If they have gotten several pictures in succession, they are ready to read the story themselves, first silently, then to the others. Explain to the children the custom among the Eskimos of dividing equally the animal’s flesh, and of giving his skin to the one who first saw him. Page 10 5. The teacher must explain that “Nahme peeuk ” means “ no good,” and that the Eskimos say that when they think a thing is not good, or when some one does wrong. Page 106. The teacher should endeavor to illustrate this les- son. Draw a cylinder with holes in it suspended by a string. Draw also a sharp-pointed spear. Question the children to see if they understand the game. Page 108. Different portions of this story are very suggestive for illustration, such as the snow house on the ice, the floating blocks on the sea, the boys jumping from block to block. Page iiej.. This is an excellent -lesson for the children to illus- trate by paper cutting and drawing. Pages 114.-115. The teacher should explain the meaning and the legend of the “star bears.” (See Judd’s “Classic Myths,” page 45.) Page 129. Tents may be folded in paper. Page ijj. These verses should be read to the children before they are asked to read them. The teacher should tell the children how the flowers spring up by thousands in places where the snow has melted. It will be well to ask them if they can see little blue and pink and yellow and white flowers nodding in the sun while she reads the verses. Page ijo. The teacher should explain to children that “ koo- nah ” means wife. * I -r AUG 5 my nr ! ‘ '** dfci* -« IfOV ? 4 JUL 1 ’29 QZi e onv AUC »6 1929 8 JAN - jjjfU2’32W'X Oec.6 ’32 fc rtF' Apr 4 ’ 35 T '^ 2 * 35 ' Jm16’36T SEP 1 IAN 1 8 ’31 QEC g ’ 3 ^ ’DEC 8 *29 DEC j g >29 08 « 2 Z READING R' * G .C- t — 572,214- s655e 105008 f . — Esidmn St or ip. 3 L ’ 372 : :!i4 * s655® . 105008 MHBm, ifiilii I 111 si f IP