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UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
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 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://archive.org/details/ourlittleeskimocOOwade 
 
ETU 
 
 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
THE 
 
 Little Cousin Series 
 
 (trade mark) 
 
 Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in 
 
 tint. Cloth, i2mo, -with decorative cover, 
 
 per volume, 60 cents 
 
 LIST OF TITLES 
 
 By Mary Hazelton Wade 
 
 (unless otherwise indicated) 
 
 Our Little African Cousin 
 Our Little Alaskan Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 Our Little Arabian Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little Armenian Cousin 
 Our Little Australian Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Brazilian Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 Our Little Brown Cousin 
 Our Little Canadian Cousin 
 
 By Elizabeth R. MacDonald 
 
 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 By Isaac Taylor Headland 
 
 Our Little Cuban Cousin 
 Our Little Dutch Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little Egyptian Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little English Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 Our Little French Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little German Cousin 
 Our Little Greek Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 L. C. PAGE 
 
 New England Building, 
 
 Our Little Hawaiian Cousin 
 Our Little Hindu Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 Our Little Hungarian Cousin 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Indian Cousin 
 Our Little Irish Cousin 
 Our Little Italian Cousin 
 Our Little Japanese Cousin 
 Our Little Jewish Cousin 
 Our Little Korean Cousin 
 
 By H. Lee M. Pike 
 Our Little Mexican Cousin 
 
 By Edward C. Butler 
 Our Little Norwegian Cousin 
 Our Little Panama Cousin 
 
 By H. Lee M. Pike 
 Our Little Persian Cousin 
 
 By E. C. Shedd 
 Our Little Philippine Cousin 
 Our Little Porto Rican Cousin 
 Our Little Russian Cousin 
 Our Little Scotch Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 Our Little Siamese Cousin 
 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Swedish Cousin 
 
 By Claire M. Coburn 
 Our Little Swiss Cousin 
 Our Little Turkish Cousin 
 
 £r COMPANY 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
; 
 
 f Our Little t 
 
 
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 M ■ 
 
 


 ETU I 
 
 * 
 
 Our Little Eskimo Cousin % 
 
 * 
 
 By 
 
 Mary Hazelton Wade 
 
 Illustrated by 
 
 L. J. Bridgman 
 
 4 5/v o^ 
 
 "* 
 
 v Boston 
 
 ^ L. C. Page df Company 
 
 4* PUBLISHERS 
 
Copyright, iQ02 
 L. C. Page & Company 
 
 (incorporated) 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 Published, June. 1902 
 
 Ninth Impression, April, 1909 
 Tenth Impression, March, 1910 
 
Preface 
 
 It is a very wonderful thing, when we stop 
 to think of it, that no matter where we are 
 placed in this great round world of ours, it 
 seems just right to us. 
 
 Far away in the frozen north, where the 
 lovely aurora borealis dances in the sky, where 
 the long sunless winter night stretches half- 
 way across the year, live a people who cannot 
 keep themselves alive without working very 
 hard. Yet they are happy and fun-loving. 
 They make pleasures for themselves. They 
 are patient and joyous in the midst of darkness 
 and storm. They do not think of complaining 
 at their hard lot, or that they do not live 
 where Nature is kinder and more generous. 
 
VI 
 
 Preface 
 
 We call them Eskimos. They belong to 
 another race than ours, — a different branch 
 of the great human family. They are yellow 
 and we are white, to be sure. But we know 
 that, no matter how far away any race of peo- 
 ple lives, and no matter how different these 
 people may be from us in looks and habits, 
 they and we belong to the same great family. 
 It includes every race and every colour, for we 
 are the children of one Father. 
 
 What a pleasure it is, therefore, to travel 
 from place to place and see more of the life 
 of others ! But suppose we cannot journey 
 with our bodies ; we need not stay at home 
 on that account. Let us use the wings of the 
 mind, and without trouble or expense visit 
 the hot lands and the cold, the yellow children 
 and the red. Let us know them and learn 
 what they can teach us. 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 
 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. 
 
 Baby Days o 
 
 II. 
 
 Mother and Child . 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 III. 
 
 Play -Days. 
 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 IV. 
 
 Dog Team and Sledge 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 V. 
 
 Kayak and Harpoon 
 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 VI. 
 
 The Seal Hunt. 
 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 VII. 
 
 Feast and Fun . 
 
 
 
 
 74 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Hard Times 
 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 IX. 
 
 An Eskimo Christmas 
 
 
 
 
 9i 
 
 X. 
 
 Summer Travels 
 
 
 
 
 97 
 
List of Illustrations 
 
 Etu . . . . . . . . Frotitispiece 
 
 " He who hits the greatest number wins the 
 
 game" . . . . . . . 31 
 
 "Etu had become quite skilful" . . -41 
 " Whizz ! sounds the harpoon as it speeds 
 
 from etu's shoulder " 67 
 
 " Etu stopped moving and lay quite still " . 89 
 "The blocks of snow were handed to them" 98 
 
ETU 
 
 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BABY DAYS. 
 
 A pair of very bright black eyes peered out 
 from the mother's hood that winter morning. 
 The thermometer, if there had been one, would 
 have shown the temperature to be seventy 
 degrees below the freezing point. 
 
 Yet baby Etu did not seem to care. He 
 was nestled so warmly in the heavy furs, and 
 felt so safe on his mother's broad back, that 
 he laughed and crowed in pure delight. 
 
 It was his first ride since he was born, and 
 there was so much to look at ! At least he 
 
 9 
 
io Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 thought so, though great sheets of snow 
 stretched outward to the frozen ocean, and 
 covered the land in every direction. The 
 twinkling stars gave the only light for Etu 
 to see by, yet it was daytime. It was that 
 part of the twenty-four hours when the baby's 
 people did their work ; and that must be 
 called day in Etu's far northern country, even 
 though darkness covers all the land. 
 
 For Etu lives in the frozen zone, on the 
 shores of northern Alaska, and during the 
 long winter of eight months the sun shows 
 his face very little above the horizon. 
 
 Here and there the snow looked as if it 
 had been raised into low mounds. Near 
 these mounds holes could be seen in the 
 ground, and pathways dug out between them. 
 There were no trees, no fences, no roads. 
 
 Where was the village, and where was the 
 baby's home? Those holes marked the en- 
 trances to the winter houses built by Etu's 
 
Baby Days II 
 
 father and his neighbours. The mounds were 
 the coverings of the houses. Great pits had 
 been dug in the earth, and lined with drift- 
 wood which had floated on to the shore. 
 Jaws of whales made the framework of the 
 roofs, these being covered with sods cut out 
 of the marshy plains in summer. Mother 
 Nature did the rest by protecting all with a 
 warm close blanket of snow. 
 
 At first it makes one shudder to think of 
 living in such homes during the long Arctic 
 winter. But the Eskimos are satisfied, and 
 feel so comfortable that they remove a great 
 part of their clothing while they are indoors. 
 The houses are made so snug that the sharp- 
 est winds cannot enter, and they cost nothing 
 but the labour of making them. 
 
 Etu's mother allowed him to stay out only 
 a few minutes this first time. She soon turned 
 toward home, and coming to her own doorway 
 crawled down through a long slanting tunnel 
 
12 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 in the ground, eight or ten feet long. When 
 she reached the end, she was obliged to stoop 
 even lower, for now she must pass upwards 
 through another passage. Lifting a trap-door, 
 she stepped at once into the middle of her 
 own home. 
 
 Why was there such a queer entrance ? Be- 
 cause the wind must be kept out at all haz- 
 ards. After all, it seemed easy and natural 
 enough to this woman who had never known 
 other and pleasanter hallways. 
 
 How close it seemed after the fresh cold air 
 outdoors ! There was a strong odour of smok- 
 ing oil. It was noisy, too, as other women 
 and children were moving around inside, for 
 the house was shared in common by several 
 families who were friendly to each other, and 
 enjoyed living together. 
 
 Etu's mother quickly took off her outer 
 coat of sealskin, and, lifting her baby out of 
 his warm nest, placed him on a platform which 
 
Baby Days 13 
 
 stretched along one side of the room. What 
 a round, smiling dumpling he was ! His face 
 was broad and flat, while his little nose looked 
 as though it had been punched inwards. His 
 bright eyes were quite narrow. 
 
 He wore a curious skin cap drawn tightly 
 over the top of his head. He must keep 
 this on night and day for a year, at least. 
 It would make his forehead taper upward, 
 and that is a mark of beauty among his 
 people. As soon as he was born, the top 
 of his head was pressed between his nurse's 
 hands, and the cap fitted on at once so that 
 his head might grow in the proper shape. 
 After that operation he was taken outdoors, 
 and rolled in the snow. I suppose that was 
 to get him used to the cold climate of his 
 birthplace. Don't you ? 
 
 Baby Etu's skin was much whiter than his 
 mother's, — very nearly as white, in fact, as 
 your own little brother's. Why has he changed 
 
14 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 so much since he has grown to be a big boy ? 
 Listen to the strange reason. 
 
 When our Eskimo cousin was born, there 
 was a small dark spot on his back. Day by 
 day it grew larger; the change came very 
 slowly, so slowly it could scarcely be noticed. 
 But at last the darker colour had spread over 
 the boy's whole body, till his skin was nearly 
 like that of his father and mother. 
 
 In course of time it would grow darker still, 
 because he did not wash himself. Please don't 
 be shocked. It \s so hard to get water in that 
 frozen land. Snow must first be melted, and 
 to do this heat is required. Heating requires 
 the burning of oil, and oil is very precious. 
 It is scarcely any wonder, therefore, that Etu 
 has not been taught to be cleanly in all ways. 
 
 The smoky air of the home during the long 
 winter months also made the boy's skin grow 
 darker. Sometimes during his babyhood his 
 mother would wash him as a mother cat washes 
 
Baby Days 15 
 
 her kittens, but that was all he has ever known 
 of the delights of a bath. The mother-love 
 made that pleasant, perhaps, but we cannot 
 envy him. 
 
 It was quite surprising to an Arctic explorer 
 some years ago, when he discovered the differ- 
 ence soap and warm water would make in an 
 Eskimo's appearance. 
 
 " Why, you are almost a white man," he 
 exclaimed, " your friends will think you have 
 been changed into another being by some 
 magical spell." And he laughed heartily when 
 he thought of the only magic being soap and 
 water. 
 
 Etu tumbled about on the sealskins which 
 covered the platform, watching his mother 
 while she trimmed the wick of the lamp. 
 What an odd-looking lamp it was ! It was 
 made of a crescent-shaped stone hollowed out. 
 Think of the labour of making it ! It must 
 have taken days, and even weeks, before the 
 
16 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 cavity was hollowed enough to hold the oil. 
 But Etu's people are such patient workers 
 they do not worry over the time they spend. 
 
 Moss was built up around the sides of the 
 lamp ; it served for the wick which spluttered 
 away as the oil burned and warmed the room. 
 A lump of seal fat, or blubber as it is called, 
 hung over the lamp. As it melted slowly in 
 the heat, it dripped down into the cavity and 
 furnished a steady supply of oil. 
 
 There were two other lamps burning in 
 Etu's home, for you must remember there was 
 a very large family living here. And these 
 queer lamps not only gave light and warmth 
 to all these people, but the cooking must also 
 be done over them. 
 
 Etu watched the light with blinking eyes 
 for a few moments, and then fell fast asleep. 
 Only think of it, he was nearly naked ! There 
 was no covering on his tiny body except 
 a short skirt of fur, — his arms and legs were 
 
Baby Days 17 
 
 quite bare, yet his loving mother did not hurry 
 to cover him over. He must get used to cold 
 while he was still small, so that when he grew 
 older he could bear exposure better. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 MOTHER AND CHILD. 
 
 The mother was proud that this first baby- 
 was a boy. She liked to dream of what a 
 great hunter he would become. In a few years 
 he would do his part to keep the wolf from 
 the door, in more senses than one. He would 
 bring home the seal, the walrus, now growing 
 so scarce, the grim white bear, and make many 
 a feast for his people. Oh, no, girls could 
 never do such things as these ! She was a 
 happy woman, indeed. 
 
 This Eskimo mother had a pleasant, sunny 
 face, even though the chin was tattooed with 
 three long lines from the mouth downwards. 
 She firmly believed that it would be looked 
 upon as a sign of goodness, when she reached 
 
 iS 
 
Mother and Child 19 
 
 the next world. It might help in bringing her 
 to heaven. 
 
 The work was done by her own hands and 
 must have been quite painful. The sinew of a 
 reindeer furnished the thread which she black- 
 ened with soot. Fastening it in her bone 
 needle, she drew it under and through the skin 
 till the lines were plainly marked. They would 
 stay that way as long as she lived. 
 
 She bustled about at her work without fuss 
 or hurry. More than once the children play- 
 ing in the room got in her way, but she did 
 not scold nor even look cross. Now and then 
 a hungry - looking dog poked his head up 
 through the doorway, only to be chased out 
 of sight again when discovered. As she 
 worked she joined in the laughter and talk 
 of the women. 
 
 Hark ! the sound of many feet could be 
 heard, and the women and children stopped 
 their chatter to welcome the men of the house- 
 
20 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 hold, who had been away on a bear hunt for 
 many hours. 
 
 "What luck? What luck?" all said at 
 once, but there was no story of brave fight- 
 ing to tell this night ; the long march over 
 the icy plains had met with no reward. But 
 there was no danger of starving at present, 
 for great dishes of smoking seal soup stood 
 ready for the hunters. 
 
 In a few minutes all the household were 
 squatting on the floor around the bowls. 
 They ate the delicious supper to their hearts' 
 content ; and how they did eat ! It seemed 
 as though their stomachs must be made of 
 elastic, for otherwise how were they able to 
 stow away such immense quantities of the 
 rich, fatty food ? 
 
 With Etu's people it is either a feast or 
 a famine all the time. They have no regular 
 time to eat, no such thing as breakfast, dinner, 
 and supper. If there is a good supply of 
 
Mother and Child 21 
 
 food on hand, they will keep on eating hour 
 after hour in a way to fill other people with 
 wonder. But if there is nothing in the larder 
 they are able to go several days without 
 eating; yet they seem to keep well and 
 strong. 
 
 All were satisfied at last, and baby Etu 
 waked up in time to be held and petted for 
 a while before bedtime. 
 
 His mother did not have any dishes to 
 wash, but before she could settle herself for 
 the night she had to arrange a net over the 
 seal-oil lamp, and spread her husband's wet 
 clothing in it to dry. She must rouse herself 
 during the night to watch and turn it from 
 time to time, for that is a woman's work, she 
 has been taught. 
 
 But where were all these people going to 
 stow themselves for sleeping ? There was no 
 sign of a bed in the whole house. That ques- 
 tion was easily settled, for a portion of the 
 
22 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 platform was set aside for each family. They 
 arranged their fur rugs upon it, and crept in 
 side by side. Then, taking off all their cloth- 
 ing, they buried themselves under the warm 
 covers. First in order lay the father of a 
 family, next came the mother, and close to her 
 the youngest child was always nestled. 
 
 Baby Etu slept, warm and safe, that night 
 and many afterward. Not once during the 
 long winter did he cry from colic. 
 
 As soon as he was able to sit up alone 
 his mother gave him lessons in what he 
 needed most, — strength of body, and ease 
 in moving every muscle. She would sit on 
 the floor or platform and stretch out her legs 
 in front of her. Then she would brace Etu 
 against her feet, and, holding his hands, would 
 bend his arms in every possible direction. 
 Now they must be stretched upwards, now 
 to the right, the left, behind him, and so on- 
 This would make him agile in hunting. 
 
Mother and Child 23 
 
 As soon as the baby could walk he began 
 to have other exercises for his legs, for he 
 must make a good runner and dancer, also. 
 
 As soon as Etu began to take more notice 
 of those around him, he received many pres- 
 ents of toys. There were animals carved out 
 of ivory, — tiny whales and walruses, baby 
 seals and reindeer. He could not break them 
 easily. They were fine things to press against 
 his aching gums when the first teeth pushed 
 themselves into sight. If he had been a girl 
 he would have had an ivory doll, with a little 
 dress of mouse skin, but, of course, a boy 
 would not care for such a plaything. It was 
 not to be thought of. 
 
 Soon the time came for his first suit of 
 clothes, and, oh, how many days of patient 
 work his mamma spent on those little gar- 
 ments ! 
 
 In the first place, there must be some long 
 stockings of reindeer skin, so made that the 
 
24 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 hairy side lay next his body. After that came 
 socks of the skin taken from eider-ducks. 
 And outside of all he must wear stout boots 
 of sealskin with soles of thick whale hide. He 
 must draw these up to his hips over his two 
 pairs of deerskin trousers, just as his father 
 and mother themselves did. His jacket was 
 made of reindeer skin, with a warm hood 
 fastened to it to draw over his head while 
 outdoors in the searching winds. It had no 
 buttons either before or behind, but fitted 
 quite loosely. 
 
 Some one asks : " How did he get into this 
 garment, since there were no openings except 
 for the neck and sleeves ? " He slipped it 
 down over his head, as American boys put 
 on their jerseys. The skin had been tanned 
 and stretched and softened so beautifully by 
 his mother that it was quite easy to do this. 
 
 The baby's jacket was shaped round ex- 
 actly like his father's, while his mother's had 
 
Mother and Child 25 
 
 a long pointed tail both in front and behind. 
 Besides this difference, her own jacket is al- 
 ways trimmed with a fringe of coloured beads 
 bought of the traders. This fringe reaches 
 around the neck, and also around both of the 
 tails. It is very beautiful, her neighbours all 
 declare. 
 
 It seems quite wonderful to us that Etu's 
 boots could be perfectly water-tight, although 
 they were home-made. This Eskimo mother 
 is such a fine seamstress with her coarse needle 
 and thread, that a drop of water cannot enter 
 the skin boots after her work is done. 
 
 When his first suit was entirely finished, 
 and Etu was dressed, he was ready for the 
 coldest weather. As soon as he could walk 
 easily, he had no more need to ride in the 
 warm hood on his mother's back. There 
 were times before this, however, when he cried 
 with the cold even in that snug place, and his 
 mother had been obliged to stop in her walk, 
 
26 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 loosen her jacket, and slip the baby inside of 
 all her clothing next to her own warm body. 
 After that the crying would stop, and Etu 
 would coo softly as the two went on their 
 way. 
 
 How many things had to be done before 
 the baby's suit was finished ! In the first 
 place, his papa must kill the animals which 
 furnished the warm skins. But when that was 
 done, his work was over. It was his wife's 
 turn now. She removed the skins from the 
 dead reindeer and seal, and stretched them out 
 to dry, with the hairy side toward the earth. 
 
 After a few days they were ready for her to 
 begin the hardest part of the task. They 
 must be scraped with a sharp knife until every 
 atom of flesh should be removed, as well as 
 the inner tough skin. Now they were flexible 
 enough for all the clothing except the stock- 
 ings, and these must be very soft indeed for 
 the tender baby feet. A piece of the skin of a 
 
Mother and Child 27 
 
 baby deer was chosen by the careful mother, 
 who next proceeded to chew it, inch by inch. 
 Her teeth were beautifully white and sharp, 
 but the work was done so carefully that no 
 hole, nor even mark, could be seen in the skin 
 when it was finished. 
 
 She was ready now to cut out the various 
 garments with her odd scissors, — but, after 
 all, it is wrong to call the queer knife she 
 uses by the name of scissors. She speaks of 
 it as an " oodlo," and it is useful in so many 
 ways, she really could not keep house without 
 it. It is shaped much like your mother's 
 meat-chopper. It is made of bone edged with 
 iron, and when Etu's mother cuts with it, she 
 moves it away from her in a way which looks 
 very awkward to us. It not only takes the 
 place of scissors, but is the hatchet, the knife, 
 and also scraper with which the flesh is re- 
 moved from the skins. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 PLAY-DAYS. 
 
 Month after month passed by with baby 
 Etu. The little round ball grew into a sturdy 
 boy, who delighted in rough plays outdoors, as 
 well as many indoor games, when the storms 
 raged too greatly for him to leave the house. 
 
 His mother never refused him anything 
 possible to get. He was never scolded or 
 punished, so it is no wonder he grew up kind 
 and honest and truthful. And laugh? Why, 
 you can't imagine how many things there are 
 for Eskimo children to laugh about. In that 
 cold and dreary land one would expect to see 
 long faces, and hear people constantly groan- 
 ing and complaining ; but, instead of that, 
 these people of the far north may be said to 
 
 38 
 
Play - Days 29 
 
 be ever "on the grin," as travellers there have 
 often expressed it. 
 
 And Etu was like the rest of his people. 
 He was always finding some new source of 
 fun and pleasure. When he was still a tiny- 
 baby, left to amuse himself on the platform 
 inside the house, he would watch for the dogs 
 to appear in the passageway, and throw his 
 ivory toys at them. Then he would laugh 
 and shake his sides as they dodged the play- 
 things and scampered away. 
 
 Sometimes one of the older children would 
 bring him a ball of snow or ice and teach him 
 to kick it into the air again and again, without 
 touching it with his hands, yet keeping it in 
 motion all the time. 
 
 When he grew older and braver he allowed 
 himself to be tossed up in the air in a blanket 
 of walrus hide. He must keep on his feet 
 all the time, and not tumble about in the 
 blanket. After awhile he could go almosf 
 
30 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 to the roof and back again, holding himself 
 as straight as a little soldier. 
 
 Of course he slid down-hill and had any 
 amount of sport, but the sled was generally 
 the seat of his own deerskin trousers. He 
 and his playmates liked to start from the top 
 of an icy hill, and vie with each other in 
 reaching the foot. 
 
 Sometimes the little fellows would double 
 themselves up so they looked like balls of fur, 
 then down the hill they would roll, over and 
 over, one after another. And when they reached 
 the bottom and jumped upon their feet, what a 
 shouting there would be as they shook them- 
 selves and brushed off the snow ! 
 
 Now that Etu is a big boy, he plays still 
 another game on the snowy hillsides. His 
 father has killed a great number of reindeer, 
 and the boy is allowed to have all the antlers 
 he wishes. When the boys want to play the 
 reindeer game, as we may call it, they set up 
 
" HE WHO HITS THE GREATEST NUMBER WINS THE GAME " 
 
Play -Days 31 
 
 the antlers in the snow, a short distance apart 
 from each other. Then they climb the hill 
 again, and, seating themselves on their sleds, 
 slide down past the antlers. They must steer 
 clear of them and reach the foot without run- 
 ning into a single one. At least, that is the 
 game, and the ones who do so successfully are 
 the winners. 
 
 But what kind of a sled do you think Etu 
 uses ? It is simply a cake of ice ; if you stop 
 to think a moment, you can imagine how 
 swiftly and smoothly it travels along. 
 
 There is a still different game of reindeer- 
 hunting which requires more skill. 
 
 This time Etu and his playfellows arm them- 
 selves with bows and arrows. As they coast 
 rapidly past the reindeer antlers, they shoot at 
 them and try to leave their arrows fixed in as 
 many as possible. Of course, he who hits the 
 greatest number wins the game. This is ex- 
 citing sport indeed, and Etu will go home 
 
32 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 afterward ready to eat such a quantity of 
 frozen seal blubber as to make the eyes 
 of any one but an Eskimo open wide with 
 wonder. 
 
 Eskimo, I just said ; but Etu does not call 
 himself by that name. He will tell you that 
 he is one of the Innuits, as his father has 
 taught him. The word " Innuit " means 
 " people." 
 
 Etu's mother has told him of an old, old 
 legend of her race, about the creation of the 
 world. At first human beings were made 
 white, but they were not worthy of their 
 Maker. Then others were created who were 
 the true people, or the Innuits. 
 
 The word Eskimo means " eater of raw fish." 
 It was given to these natives of the far north 
 by the travellers who came among them and 
 observed their queer ways of living and eating. 
 
 " Raw meat ! Raw fish ! " they exclaimed 
 among themselves. " These are indeed queer 
 
Play - Days 33 
 
 people who enjoy such food in a freezing 
 climate." 
 
 So it came about that they spoke of them 
 as Eskimos, and the name has clung to Etu's 
 people ever since. 
 
 The boy remembers well his first candy. 
 He had been ill, but was getting strong once 
 more. His good patient mother wished to 
 bring a smile to his pale face, so while he was 
 sleeping she prepared a surprise. 
 
 She took the red feet of a bird called the 
 dovekie, and, drawing out the bones, blew into 
 the skin until it was puffed out as full as possi- 
 ble. Then she poured melted reindeer fat 
 into these bright-colored pouches, and the 
 candy-bags were finished. 
 
 Etu's eyes grew suddenly bright when they 
 opened upon the surprise prepared for him. 
 It did not take many minutes, you may well 
 believe, for every bit of this odd candy to dis- 
 appear. You may like chocolate creams and 
 
34 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 cocoanut cakes, and think them the greatest 
 treat in the world, but in Etu's opinion there 
 is nothing better than a big lump of seal blub- 
 ber or the marrow from the inside of a deer's 
 bones. 
 
 When he had his first bow and arrow, it 
 was a very tiny one. He learned to shoot at 
 a target inside his winter home. His mother 
 would hang up pieces of fat meat across the 
 room where he sat, and he would try very 
 hard to pierce them. If he succeeded, he 
 could have the meat to eat, so of course he 
 tried very hard. 
 
 At other times he would sit watching for a 
 dog to push his head up through the doorway, 
 and let fly the arrow at him. At first this 
 seems like a very cruel sport, but the arrow 
 was blunted and very small ; it could not do 
 much harm, even if it struck the dog, who 
 would bound away out of sight only to appear 
 again in a few moments. 
 
Play - Days 35 
 
 Of course, Etu has played ball all his life, 
 but his ball is of a different kind from yours. 
 It is made of sealskin. Sometimes he will try 
 with other boys to knock it about so continu- 
 ally that it is kept in the air for a long, long 
 time without falling. At other times all en- 
 gage in a grand game of football, but, accord- 
 ing to their ideas, the children must on no 
 account touch the ball with their hands. 
 That would be a " foul play," as you boys 
 would say. By their rules it can only be 
 kicked. 
 
 In the long winter evenings there is still 
 more fun. In Etu's big household old and 
 young gather around the dim, smoky lamp 
 and tell stories. There are such wonderful 
 adventures to relate of daring deeds on sea 
 and land. Etu listens breathless to tales of 
 the white bear surprised in his den, of long 
 tramps after prey, when life depended on 
 fresh supplies, and King Frost was striv- 
 
36 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 ing to seize the weakened bodies of the 
 hunters. 
 
 Then there are quaint legends and fairy 
 tales, besides stories of wondrous beings in 
 the unseen world around. Some of these 
 beings are good, and some bad. Etu does 
 not like to hear about these last, and tries 
 to put them out of his mind when he is 
 travelling alone. 
 
 But the evenings are not wholly given to 
 story-telling, for the people are fond of music. 
 They like dancing, also, for it makes them 
 feel jolly and gay. They pass many an 
 hour singing monotonous songs which they 
 think very sweet, but which we would think 
 tiresome. 
 
 Sometimes when Etu's mother has finished 
 her work for the day, she gathers the children 
 of the house around her, and shows them how 
 to make wonderful figures with strings of 
 deer's sinews. You all know the game of 
 
Play - Days 37 
 
 cat's cradle ; well, it is something like that, 
 only very much harder. 
 
 The woman fastens the string back and 
 forth on her son's hands, then weaves it 
 quickly in and out; before one knows it, 
 she has shaped it into the body of a musk 
 ox. A few more changes are made, when, 
 behold ! it is no longer a musk ox, but has 
 become a reindeer or a seal. It requires a 
 great deal of skill to do this, but Etu can 
 make nearly as many figures as his mother, 
 although she has had so many years of 
 practice. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DOG TEAM AND SLEDGE. 
 
 When he was three years old, our little 
 northern cousin had his first and only pets. 
 They were two little puppies left without any 
 mother. They looked like baby wolves with 
 their sharp, pointed noses, erect ears, and 
 furry backs ; but they were very cunning, and 
 amused their little master all day long. When 
 night came they crept under the heavy covers, 
 and lay close to Etu's feet while he slept, 
 keeping him as warm and comfortable as he 
 could possibly desire to be. 
 
 But, like all other pets, these puppies would 
 grow up, and then their work in life began as 
 well as Etu's. They must be trained to draw 
 a sledge, for they must be able to carry their 
 
 38 
 
Dog Team and Sledge 39 
 
 young master on long journeys over the snowy 
 plains. 
 
 Etu's mother made him some reins to be 
 fastened to the dogs' necks. She placed the 
 ends in the hands of her little boy, who sat on 
 the platform, holding a whip. He must learn 
 to manage the team, he must teach the dogs 
 to obey his voice, to move to the right or the 
 left, as he directed ; in short, to understand 
 that he was truly their master. 
 
 Every new birthday two more dogs were 
 given to Etu, and it became his duty to feed 
 and train them to be in readiness when he 
 was old enough to hunt with his father. 
 
 Do not imagine for a moment that this was 
 an easy matter. No white man has ever yet, 
 I believe, found himself able to manage a 
 pack of Eskimo dogs. Each one is fastened 
 to the sledge by a single cord, and, as they 
 hurry onward at the sound of their master's 
 voice, it seems as though there were the most 
 
40 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 dreadful confusion. One dog, wiser and clev- 
 erer than the rest, is always chosen as the 
 leader ; his rein is a little longer than the 
 others. He is always the one that listens 
 most closely to the directions given, turning 
 his head backward from time to time to look 
 at his master, and make sure that he is right. 
 Then onward he dashes, the other dogs fol- 
 lowing close at his heels. 
 
 Etu spent some time in deciding which dog 
 was the best out of his own pack, but when 
 he was quite sure of Vanya's strength and 
 brightness he gave him the greatest care and 
 attention of all. 
 
 But the whip ! It was far harder to learn 
 its use than to master all his other lessons. 
 The handle was only six inches long, while the 
 lash was at least sixteen feet. To throw it out 
 and then bring it back without letting it be- 
 come entangled among the legs of two or 
 three dogs was a difficult task. But to be 
 
" ETU HAD BECOME QUITE SKILFUL " 
 
Dog Team and Sledge 41 
 
 sure of striking only the one for whom it was 
 intended, was a far harder thing to learn. 
 Even when Etu had become quite skilful, it 
 seemed as though every time he rode away he 
 must come home with at least one broken 
 bone. For as the dogs gradually gained in 
 speed, and one or another received a stroke of 
 the whip to remind him of his duty, he would 
 jump wildly around. Perhaps he would upset 
 two or three others in an instant. Then there 
 would be such a yelping, and such a breaking 
 of reins would follow, it seemed impossible for 
 Etu to straighten them out again, and harder 
 still it must have been for him to keep his 
 seat, and not be thrown off. 
 
 But the boy loves the work, and nothing 
 pleases him more than to be sent twenty miles 
 to a neighbouring village on an errand for his 
 father. 
 
 In the winter season, when the dogs are not 
 working, they are sometimes allowed to stay in 
 
42 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 the passageway leading to the house. And 
 you already know that they try again and 
 again to make their way inside. The burning 
 lamp gives such pleasant warmth, and the 
 smell of the seal or reindeer meat is so tempt- 
 ing that they are willing to run the chance of 
 the blows they are almost sure to get for being 
 so daring. 
 
 They are warmly clothed, however, and can 
 bear the most terrible weather without harm 
 coming to them. Beneath the long hair a 
 heavy soft wool grows in the winter time, and 
 protects their bodies from the icy cold. 
 
 It is Etu's duty to feed all the dogs of the 
 household. It does not take a great amount 
 of his time, for the poor hard-working crea- 
 tures have only one meal in two days ! If 
 there is danger of a famine, and provisions are 
 scarce, they are fed but once in three days. 
 This is during the winter, moreover, for in 
 summer they are expected to provide for them' 
 
Dog Team and Sledge 43 
 
 selves, getting fish from the shallow beds of 
 the rivers, killing birds as they alight on the 
 shore, catching baby seals, and getting reindeer 
 moss or lichens from the rocks. 
 
 It is fun to watch Etu on feeding day. He 
 gathers the dogs around him in a wide circle, 
 and tosses first to one, then to another, his 
 strip of sealskin. If a dog moves from his 
 place or jumps out of turn to receive his food, 
 he is only rewarded by a lash of the whip, 
 instead of the longed-for meat. So by long 
 experience they have learned to wait patiently. 
 
 These Eskimo dogs must have wonderful 
 stomachs to digest the tough food on which 
 they live. It is simply impossible to chew the 
 strips of skin, so they are swallowed whole. 
 Sometimes a young dog chokes over his hard 
 work, and coughs up his precious bit, only to 
 have it snatched away from him by one of his 
 neighbours. 
 
 We feel like pitying these dogs of the cold 
 
44 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 lands. They are deeply devoted to their 
 masters, yet a word of kindness is rarely 
 spoken to them. Their work is hard, and 
 their food is scant. In winter they must draw 
 the sledges, and in summer, as their masters 
 travel from place to place, they are laden with 
 heavy packs which they carry cheerfully. 
 
 This reminds me that when Etu played 
 " horse " in his early days, it wasn't borse, 
 after all ; it was dog, instead, for the Eskimo 
 dog is the only horse of the far north. 
 
 When Etu was old enough to drive a team 
 of a dozen dogs, he had reached his tenth 
 birthday. His father said to him then : 
 
 " Now, Etu, you are old enough to make 
 your own sledge. You have often helped 
 me, but now you are able to do the work 
 alone." 
 
 Our little cousin set manfully to work at 
 once. It was so nice to think of having a 
 sledge for his very own, and one that he had 
 
Dog Team and Sledge 45 
 
 made himself, too. It was not a very hard 
 task, once he had gathered his materials to- 
 gether. The jawbones of a whale were used 
 for the framework and runners. Sealskin was 
 fitted over this framework, and a little seat 
 made from which Etu's legs hung over in 
 front when he was driving. 
 
 " But will the bone runners travel swiftly 
 enough over the snow ? " some one asks. 
 
 " Not unless they are properly iced," Etu 
 would answer. 
 
 Every time the boy starts out on a journey, 
 he must prepare the runners afresh by squirt- 
 ing water upon them from his mouth. A 
 coating of smooth ice is formed almost in- 
 stantly, which will last for a short distance. 
 Then it must be renewed. 
 
 Soon after Etu's sledge was completed, he 
 was sent by his father to look for seal-holes 
 along the coast. It was a bright, clear day, 
 and, although it was fifty degrees below zero, 
 
46 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 the boy enjoyed his ride ; he had no thought 
 of cold, as there was only a slight wind 
 blowing. 
 
 He journeyed on and on, his bright eyes 
 watching for signs of seals beneath the snow- 
 covered ice. He did not realise how far 
 he was from home. He was many miles 
 away, when a strong wind suddenly arose. 
 How it cut his cheeks and bit his nose ! He 
 knew he must turn back at once or he might 
 be overcome. 
 
 Brave boy as he was, there would keep 
 entering his mind the thought of a neighbour 
 who was frozen while travelling in just such 
 weather. When his sledge arrived at his own 
 doorway, there sat the man in his seat, straight 
 and stiff; but the reins were tightly held in 
 dead hands. The dogs had kept on their way 
 unharmed, while the driver gradually lost all 
 knowledge of them, and of this w.orld. 
 
 Etu put his gloved hand to his nose again 
 
Dog Team and Sledge 47 
 
 and again, to make sure it was all right ; it 
 was such an easy thing for it to freeze without 
 his knowledge. And now his hands began to 
 grow numb, and then his feet, although he 
 often sprang from his sledge to run with the 
 dogs and jump in the snow. 
 
 Ah, that icy wind ! Would it never stop ? 
 The boy's eyes became blinded, and at last he 
 thought : 
 
 " It is of no use. I don't care very much, 
 anyway. I begin to feel so queer and stupid. 
 What does it mean ? " 
 
 That was the last he knew till he awoke in 
 his own home to find his mother bending over 
 him ; she was rubbing him with balls of snow, 
 and looking very, very anxious. How the 
 blood tingled through his body, as it began 
 to move freely once more ! But he was safe 
 now, and could no longer feel the terrible 
 wind blowing against him. 
 
 It was a narrow escape for Etu. It was 
 
48 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 well for him that he was within a mile of the 
 village when he lost the power to think. The 
 dogs kept on their way, and brought him 
 quickly to his own home. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 KAYAK AND HARPOON. 
 
 When Etu was only nine years old he 
 began to go out upon the ocean, fishing and 
 shooting with his father. Of course he was 
 allowed to go on calm days only. Years of 
 practice would be needed before he could be 
 trusted to manage his boat in winter storms, 
 or risk his life in seal hunting. When he was 
 eleven years old, however, he had learned to 
 paddle very well, and, besides, he had grown 
 to be such a big boy that his father said : 
 
 " You must have a new kayak, Etu ; your 
 mother will help you make it. You have 
 outgrown the other, and it is not safe." 
 
 It was one of Etu's duties to watch for 
 all the driftwood floating in toward shore. 
 
 49 
 
50 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 Every piece is more precious to these people 
 of the north than we can imagine. They have 
 no money, but if they could express the value 
 of the bits of driftwood in dollars and cents, 
 we would be amazed. Some of us, I fear, 
 would feel like carrying a shipload of lumber 
 to Etu's people and making a fortune very 
 easily. 
 
 When our little Eskimo wished to begin 
 the making of his boat, he went first to the 
 family treasure house. Of course you can 
 guess what was stored there. Not diamonds 
 and pearls, nor gold and silver ; but simply 
 — driftwood. 
 
 Etu chose with much care the pieces from 
 which to make a stout framework for his 
 boat. It was important that he. should take 
 light wood that had not lost its strength by 
 drifting about in the water too long. He 
 cut the strips with a bone knife and bound 
 them into shape with strong cords of seal 
 
Kayak and Harpoon 51 
 
 sinew. The ends of the boat were sharply 
 pointed. 
 
 His mother's work began now. She took 
 the skins of seals which her husband had just 
 killed and scraped away all the scraps of blub- 
 ber and flesh left on the hides. Then, rolling 
 them tightly together, she left them for some 
 days. When they were again unrolled, it was 
 quite easy to scrape off the hairs with a mussel 
 shell. After this, the skins were well washed 
 in sea water. 
 
 A very important step must be taken next. 
 The skins must be stretched. Etu's first boat 
 must be a fine one and there must be no 
 wrinkles in the covering. The safest way was 
 to stretch them over the framework of the 
 boat itself. Then they would be sure to fit 
 well. An Eskimo woman feels very much 
 ashamed if any part of the boat's covering is 
 loose or wrinkled. People will think she is a 
 poor worker, and that would be a sad disgrace. 
 
52 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 How did Etu's mother manage to make the 
 boat water-tight ? It was done through her 
 careful sewing. She worked with her coarse 
 bone needle, and the sinews of seal and deer 
 were the only thread ; yet when the kayak 
 was finished, not a single drop of water could 
 enter. It was a clever piece of work. 
 
 Where was Etu to sit in this wonderful 
 boat ? The deck was entirely covered excepts 
 ing the small hole in the centre. The boy 
 had measured this hole with, great care when he 
 made the framework of the kayak. It was 
 just large enough for him to squeeze through. 
 His feet and legs must be underneath the 
 deck, and his thighs should fill up the hole 
 exactly. Now you understand why the boy's 
 father spoke of his outgrowing the old boat. 
 
 Do you also see why there was no larger 
 hole? Think for a moment of the waters 
 through which he must ride. Our rough seas 
 would seem calm to Etu. If the deck were 
 
Kayak and Harpoon 53 
 
 not covered, the dashing waves would swamp 
 his boat almost instantly. His people had 
 found this out for themselves ; so they cleverly 
 planned a boat different from that of any other 
 in the world. 
 
 Etu made a stout paddle with two blades. 
 It is a pleasure for his mother and her friends 
 to watch him use it. He is very skilful, and 
 now, at twelve years of age, he can make the 
 kayak skim over the water like the wind. How 
 straight he always sits ! He balances the boat 
 exactly and first bends the right blade into the 
 water, then the left, without seeming to work 
 hard, either. And in some wonderful way, 
 one can hardly understand how, he speeds 
 onward. No wonder it is such a pleasure to 
 watch him. 
 
 Etu is very proud of his paddle; not be- 
 cause he made it, but because of the time his 
 mother spent in decorating it. It is inlaid 
 with bits of stone and ivory set in a pretty 
 
54 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 pattern. Surely, his mother is a fine worker. 
 She has just made him a present of a new 
 pair of gloves. They are to be worn while he 
 is out in his boat, and reach above his elbows. 
 They will protect his arms and keep them 
 dry, even if the waves sweep clear over 
 him. But they are not like common gloves, 
 for they are embroidered in a fine pattern. 
 She cut out bits of hide and dyed them 
 different colours. Then she sewed them 
 together in a neat design on the arm pieces 
 of the gloves. Shouldn't you call that em- 
 broidery ? 
 
 While Etu's boat was being made, his 
 mother had a party. Perhaps it would be 
 better to call it a " sewing-bee." Etu was 
 sent around to the different women in the 
 village. He told them his mother was ready 
 to sew the covering on his boat. Would they 
 like to help her? 
 
 Now there is nothing Eskimo women like 
 
Kayak and Harpoon 55 
 
 better than to come together for a friendly 
 chat. So the invitation was accepted, and 
 one morning, bright and early, a party of 
 women could be seen gathered around the 
 sealskins. Their fingers worked swiftly, but 
 I fear their tongues moved still faster. There 
 was a great deal of laughter, for they seemed 
 to have many funny stories to tell. And I 
 don't believe there was a bit of unkind gossip ; 
 at least, their faces didn't show it. 
 
 It was amusing to see how much their teeth 
 were used. They were like another hand to 
 these Eskimo women, for, as they sewed, they 
 held the piece of skin in its place with their 
 teeth. When the covering must be stretched 
 over this hard place or that edge, it was the 
 teeth again that gave the needed help. Etu 
 knows one old woman whose teeth are worn 
 almost down to the gums. She must have 
 worked very hard all the years of her life. 
 She must have sewed on many boat-coverings 
 
56 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 and made many suits of clothes before this 
 could have been done. 
 
 When Etu's kayak was finished, his mother 
 invited the workers up to the house, where 
 they were treated to a dish of seal-blood soup 
 and a pipe of tobacco. It was a grand sur- 
 prise. In the first place, the heated blood of 
 the seal is always a dainty ; and then, they sel- 
 dom had the privilege of smoking tobacco. It 
 was a great rarity, for it could only be obtained 
 through trade with the white people. 
 
 When night came, all were in great good 
 humour as they left for their own homes. 
 But, as they stepped outdoors, what a beauti- 
 ful sight met their eyes ! The northern lights 
 were shooting across the heavens in glorious 
 colours. Have you never noticed on cold 
 winter nights lines of light shooting upward 
 into the sky? It is always in the north that 
 we see them, and we wonder and exclaim as 
 we look. 
 
Kayak and Harpoon 57 
 
 Your mother tells you, "It is the Aurora 
 Borealis." It is not fully known what causes 
 the strange light. It is thought, however, to 
 be electricity. 
 
 In Etu's land the aurora is far more won- 
 derful and beautiful than with us. The vis- 
 itors were used to such sights, yet they called 
 to the boy and his mother to come outdoors 
 and look. 
 
 " The lights are brighter than I ever saw 
 them in my life," exclaimed one of the women. 
 At first it seemed as though there were a great 
 cloud of light just above the horizon, but it 
 suddenly changed till the heavens appeared to 
 be alive. The very air around the people 
 quivered, as long, bright lines shot upward 
 across the sky. They changed so quickly, 
 it seemed as though a mighty power was 
 directing them about, now here, now there. 
 It made one dizzy to watch them. Now 
 there would be streamers of green and red 
 
58 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 and blue darting from the sky-line way to 
 the very zenith. There they would meet in a 
 purplish crown of glory. 
 
 Again the sky would change in its appear- 
 ance, and a red light would spread over all. 
 It was so bright that the snow in every direc- 
 tion was tinted a rosy colour. 
 
 " What makes it, mother ? " whispered Etu. 
 " Is it the work of good spirits, or are evil 
 ones trying to show us their power ? " 
 
 " I do not know, my child," was the 
 answer. " We are not wise, and cannot un- 
 derstand these things. Come, let us go back 
 into the house. The sight makes me fearful." 
 
 Etu had many finishing touches to put on 
 his boat after it was covered. A wooden hoop 
 must be fitted around the hole in which he 
 was to sit. Several thongs of seal hide must 
 be fastened on the deck, under which his spear 
 and harpoon should rest while he paddled. 
 Still other straps were bound to the sides of 
 
Kayak and Harpoon 59 
 
 the deck, for, unless the birds or seals could 
 be fastened to the boat in some way after they 
 had been killed, how could they be towed 
 home ? 
 
 Then Etu began to work on his harpoon. 
 His father had to help him now, for it needed 
 skill and care to fit it exactly to the throwing- 
 stick. The Eskimos long ago found that the 
 bow and arrow were not useful in their narrow, 
 dangerous boats. Only a one-handed weapon 
 can be used in such a place, so they invented 
 the harpoon and the bird dart. 
 
 The harpoon is a long piece of wood 
 pointed with bone or iron. It is fastened 
 into a handle of wood called a throwing-stick. 
 A cord of seal hide is attached to it at the 
 other end. You should see our stout little 
 Etu riding the waves in his kayak, and balanc- 
 ing the throwing-stick on his shoulder to send 
 the harpoon flying straight to the mark. But 
 suppose the harpoon lodges fast in the seal's 
 
60 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 body ; if the hunter still holds the other end 
 of the cord attached to it, the creature in his 
 fury may make such plunges as to drag the 
 boat and all down under the water and des- 
 troy them. Something else must be invented. 
 This was the buoy or float. So it was that 
 Etu had to make a buoy to complete his 
 hunting outfit. 
 
 He took the skin of a young seal, from 
 which his mother had scraped off all the hairs, 
 and tied up the holes made by the head and 
 legs. Through a small tube fastened in the 
 skin he could blow up his queerly shaped 
 buoy to its fullest size. 
 
 Now the float was completed. Do you 
 understand what help it would give? If the 
 float is attached to the other end of the line 
 when the harpoon is thrown, the hunter can 
 let everything go. He does not need to have 
 any part fastened to the boat. For the float 
 cannot sink, and will show him where to follow 
 
Kayak and Harpoon 61 
 
 the game, and where to throw next ; yet he 
 is himself in no danger of being pulled after 
 the animal. 
 
 Even now Etu would not be safe to go 
 hunting in rough waters. He must have a 
 special coat prepared. This, again, was his 
 mother's work. The skin of the seal was 
 used after all the hair was removed. The 
 jacket was made to fit closely over his other 
 garments. It had a hood to be drawn tightly 
 over his head, long sleeves, and drawing- 
 strings around the neck and lower edge. 
 
 When Etu gets into his boat he must fit 
 his jacket around the hoop of the sitting-hole, 
 and draw the cord tightly. And now he 
 seems a part of the boat itself. No water can 
 enter, and although the waves may dash com- 
 pletely over him he will keep dry, and the 
 boat will not sink. 
 
 No boy could be happier than Etu was 
 when his outfit was complete. He ran to 
 
62 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 meet his father to tell him the joyful news. 
 Now he could be looked upon as a man, no 
 longer a child. He would hereafter be al- 
 lowed to take part in the dangers of his 
 father's life. He was very glad. 
 
 This happy, good-natured boy, who disliked 
 to say a cross word to any one, who would not 
 fight with other boys, was certainly no coward. 
 For his heart was set upon war, — not war 
 with his fellows, but war with the winds and 
 waves, and the powerful creatures of sea and 
 land. He was ready for battle. Time would 
 show that courage was not wanting when he 
 came face to face with danger. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE SEAL HUNT. 
 
 It was about this time that Etu's fathei 
 bored holes in his son's lips. These holes 
 were made at each end of the mouth. Ivory 
 buttons were fitted into them, and now Etu 
 felt that he was more of a man than ever 
 before. It was a proud moment when he 
 looked in the bit of mirror his father had 
 bought for ten seal hides, and gazed on his 
 queer ornaments. He thought they were very 
 beautiful, and then they fitted so well ! The 
 pain of having the holes bored, and the un- 
 pleasant feeling before the flesh healed, were 
 of little matter to him. It was not worth 
 thinking about. 
 
 It was a terrible winter, and food was scarce. 
 63 
 
64 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 There was a very small supply of meat on 
 hand in the village. The first pleasant morn- 
 ing after Etu's fishing outfit was finished, he 
 started off for a day's hunt on the ocean. 
 Very early in the morning he and his father 
 went out on the rocks to look for the weather 
 signs. Yes, it would be a clear day ; it would 
 be safe to venture on the waves. The other 
 men of the village were already out, and soon 
 all were busy launching their boats. No break- 
 fast was eaten ; they could work better and 
 shoot straighter if they waited to eat until 
 they came back. 
 
 Each one of the party carefully arranged his 
 harpoon, spear, and float on the deck of his 
 boat; then, shoving it into the icy water, 
 sprang in after it and quickly fitted himself 
 into the small seat. The sea jacket must be 
 drawn carefully around the hoop, for, if water 
 should enter, the boat would soon sink. 
 
 As the hunters paddled merrily along, the 
 
The Seal Hunt 65 
 
 waves kept dashing over the decks. But the 
 men sang and shouted gaily to each other 
 as though it were the finest sport in the world. 
 Yet it was a lonely scene about them ; we 
 should even call it fearful. Cakes of ice jostled 
 against the boats here and there, and far out 
 in the dim light a floating field of ice could be 
 seen by the watchful Eskimos. Sometimes 
 they hunted for the seals on such fields, for 
 these creatures often gather in herds on the 
 ice to bask in the sun and to sport together. 
 But to-day they would search for them in the 
 ocean itself. 
 
 The boats skimmed onward over the waves 
 till the land lay far behind. Three hours 
 passed before the seal ground was reached. 
 Etu paddled steadily and kept up with the 
 men who had so much more experience than 
 himself. 
 
 As his father watched him from time to 
 time, he thought, " My boy will be a leader 
 
66 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 for his people when I grow old and weak. I 
 have never before seen one so young show 
 such strength." 
 
 Etu's father was held to be the best hunts- 
 man of the village, and for this very reason was 
 looked upon as the chief. The Eskimos 
 share everything in common, but one man in 
 a settlement is chosen as the leader. He 
 settles the disputes and gives advice when it 
 is needed. He directs the hunt and judges 
 the wrong-doer. When he fails in strength 
 it is but right that another should be chosen 
 in his place. 
 
 When the seal ground was reached at last, 
 the men moved away from each other in dif- 
 ferent directions ; the singing and shouting 
 stopped as they rested on their paddles and 
 watched for seals' heads to appear above the 
 water. Etu's father kept quite near him ; he 
 might be needed to help his son in case he 
 was successful. 
 
SOUNDS THE HARPOON AS IT SPEEDS FROM 
 ETU's SHOULDER " 
 
The Seal Hunt 67 
 
 Ten minutes passed, then twenty, thirty, 
 but the boy did not grow impatient. His 
 bright eyes watched closely, scanning the 
 water in all directions. At last he was re- 
 warded, for look ! there is a brown head rising 
 into view. The seal is easily frightened, and 
 darts out of sight when he sees the boy in the 
 boat. But Etu does not move a muscle till 
 the seal has disappeared. Then he paddles 
 rapidly toward the spot where the creature 
 sank out of sight and once more quietly waits, 
 but this time with harpoon in hand. 
 
 Seals are able to stay under water for twenty 
 minutes at a time. They can close their nos- 
 trils whenever they choose, and they breathe 
 very slowly at all times. But they must come 
 to the surface after a time for fresh air. Etu 
 knows this and watches. 
 
 Ah ! the water moves again. The prey is 
 to be seen and is but a short distance awav. 
 Whizz ! sounds the harpoon as it speeds from 
 
68 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 Etu's shoulder and goes straight to the mark. 
 Quick as a flash the float is thrown from the 
 boat, and the coil of rope fastened to it runs 
 out as the seal drags it along. He throws 
 himself about in agony, but cannot free him- 
 self from the cruel harpoon lodged in his side. 
 The water is stained with blood. 
 
 Now the float can be seen on the surface of 
 the waves, now it is dragged below as the seal 
 dives out of sight ; but Etu does not worry. 
 He must paddle far enough away from the 
 seal, however, to keep out of danger. For 
 although it is usually a timid and gentle 
 creature, yet, when it is attacked, it grows 
 daring and dangerous. 
 
 Etu knows of several hunters whose boats 
 have been ripped open by seals ; they would 
 have been killed by their angry foes if their 
 comrades had not come to their rescue. The 
 boy has listened to stories of such narrow es- 
 capes ever since he was old enough to under- 
 
The Seal Hunt 69 
 
 stand these things. So he is very quick and 
 watchful. He does not notice that his father 
 has drawn quite close, and sits, spear in hand, 
 ready to end the seal's life if his son should 
 fail. 
 
 And now the wounded animal appears again 
 directly in front of the boat. A good chance 
 must not be lost, and Etu, seizing his spear, 
 drives it straight through one of the flip- 
 pers. It pierces the seal's lungs, and after 
 a few gasps the beautiful soft eyes close in 
 death. 
 
 " Well done, my boy," shouted his father. 
 " You have won the first prize of the day. 
 You shall treat our friends." 
 
 Now it is a custom among these people of 
 the cold lands that when a seal is killed the 
 successful hunter at once cuts away a portion 
 of blubber, and divides it among the rest of 
 the party. Etu, therefore, pulled the dead 
 seal close to his boat, drew out the spear and 
 
7<3 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 harpoon, and coiled the cord attached to it. 
 After putting these in their proper places on 
 the deck of the kayak, he cut away the 
 blubber, and proudly distributed the treat 
 among the men, who by this time had drawn 
 near. It was at least noontime, and was the 
 first food tasted that day. Every one praised 
 the boy's skill, and then all drew off once 
 more to their different stations. 
 
 Before the afternoon was over, Etu's father 
 had secured two seals, and two more were 
 killed by others of the party. It had been a 
 most successful hunt, although several acci- 
 dents had occurred. One of the seals cap- 
 tured by Etu's father had succeeded in tearing 
 the float into shreds before he was finally 
 killed. Another of the hunters was overturned 
 and almost drowned. This was because the 
 cord attached to the harpoon had caught in 
 a strap on the deck as it was running out. 
 The wounded seal dragged him along as it 
 
The Seal Hunt 71 
 
 plunged, before he had a chance to free his 
 boat. 
 
 Over they went, man and boat, and only 
 the keel of the kayak could be seen. The 
 seal, too, was out of sight. Did it see the 
 man ? was it attacking him below the surface 
 of the water? 
 
 Three of the man's companions paddled 
 rapidly toward the overturned boat. One of 
 them reached his arm down under the water 
 and, giving a skilful jerk to the man's arm, 
 brought him up suddenly on even keel. An- 
 other of the party cut the cord with his spear. 
 Still a third found the paddle, of which he had 
 lost hold, and gave it into his hands. Then 
 all started off in pursuit of the seal as though 
 nothing had happened. 
 
 You must ask Etu to tell you more of the 
 wonderful doings of that first ocean hunt. 
 He will never forget even the smallest thing 
 which happened on that day. 
 
72 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 It was near night when the party started 
 homeward, and three good hours of paddling 
 were before them. At length, however, the 
 shore came into view. Nearer and nearer it 
 looked to the tired workers. And yes ! there 
 were the women waiting and watching, ready 
 for the good news. 
 
 Etu was not the first to land, for you re- 
 member he had a seal in tow, and those who 
 are so burdened cannot travel as quickly over 
 the water as others who have no extra weight. 
 He travelled homeward beside his father's still 
 more heavily laden boat ; while both the man 
 and his son pictured the mother's delight at 
 Etu's success. 
 
 As the boats landed, one by one, the men 
 jumped out, and started for home with their 
 weapons. The women would draw up the 
 boats into safe places. They would also dis- 
 pose of the seals. The men's work was done, 
 and nothing was left for them now except to 
 
The Seal Hunt 73 
 
 sit around the oil lamp, eat, and tell stories 
 of the day's adventures. This very night 
 there would be a seal feast at Etu's home, and 
 hours would be given up to eating and making 
 merry. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FEAST AND FUN. 
 
 It did not take long for the hunters to 
 exchange their wet clothing for dry garments. 
 Then with their wives and children they gath- 
 ered in the home of their chief. 
 
 " How could the feast be prepared so 
 quickly ? " we ask in surprise. If we could 
 have been there we should not have wondered 
 very long. 
 
 The people squatted on the floor in a circle. 
 Etu and his father stood in their midst with 
 big knives, ready to cut up the seals lying 
 before them. Hungry as they were, they 
 must not eat yet. Something important must 
 be done first. 
 
 The Eskimos have many strange beliefs. 
 
 74 
 
Feast and Fun 75 
 
 They think there is a spirit in everything, — 
 the rock, the snow, the wind, the very air has 
 its spirit. The seal, therefore, has its spirit, 
 too, and must be treated respectfully. 
 
 Etu's father solemnly sprinkled water on 
 the body, while every one watched him in 
 silence. It was an offering to the animal's 
 spirit. He next carefully cut away the skin 
 and showed the thick layer of blubber beneath. 
 The eyes of the company sparkled with de- 
 light. Many funny faces were made as each 
 in turn received a huge chunk of raw blubber. 
 
 Please don't shudder at the thought of 
 eating it. White travellers among the Eski- 
 mos tell us it is really very good, and tastes 
 much like fresh cream. It is only after it has 
 been kept for a long time that it begins to 
 taste rancid and fishy. 
 
 After the blubber had been divided among 
 the company, the bodies of the two seals were 
 opened, and the blood scooped out. It 
 
76 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 seemed truly delicious to the hungry visitors. 
 The last course of the feast consisted of the 
 seal's ribs, which were picked until nothing 
 was left save the bones. 
 
 How the people did eat ! How they en- 
 joyed the dainties served to them ! There 
 were many stories told by those who could 
 stop long enough to talk. Etu was asked, 
 over and over again, to describe how he killed 
 his first seal. And each time the movements 
 of his face, as well as his arms and hands, 
 seemed to express as much as the words 
 themselves. 
 
 At this strange feast, for which no cooking 
 was needed, the women were not served first, 
 as in our own land. It was the men who were 
 first thought of, and who received the choicest 
 pieces. But Etu did not forget his mother, 
 and looked out to see that she was well 
 served. 
 
 When the feast was over at last, all joined 
 
Feast and Fun 77 
 
 in a song. There were only a few notes, and 
 these were repeated over and over again ; but 
 the party must have enjoyed it, or they would 
 not have sung it so many times. 
 
 At last the moon shone down upon them, 
 and Etu's mother hastened to draw the seal- 
 skin curtain. For her people dread the power 
 of the moon, and do not willingly sit in its 
 light. It is a wonderful being, and Etu has 
 been taught that it brings the cold weather 
 to his people. How is this possible ? Why, 
 as it dwells afar off in the sky, it whittles the 
 tusk of a walrus. In some wonderful way 
 the shavings are changed into the snow which 
 falls in great sheets over the earth. 
 
 By this time the party began to think of 
 going home. They must prepare for another 
 "sleep," they said, and the people of the 
 house were soon left to themselves. 
 
 Etu does not count time as we do. He 
 speaks of a " moon " ago, instead of a month. 
 
78 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 Yesterday is the period before the last " sleep," 
 and the years are counted by the winters. A 
 fresh notch is cut in the wall of his winter 
 home when the family leave it for their sum- 
 mer's travels. That is the only way his 
 people have to keep account of the passing 
 time. They do not write or read, except as 
 they are taught by their white visitors, and 
 Etu has never seen a book in his life. 
 
 The boy's father has shown him how to 
 make good maps of the coast. They are very 
 neat, and are measured so exactly that every 
 island and point of land are correctly marked 
 for many miles. They are drawn with the 
 burnt ends of sticks on smooth pieces of drift- 
 wood, but if you ever visit Etu, you can trust 
 to them in exploring the country. 
 
 On the day after the feast the other seals 
 were divided evenly among all the people in 
 the village. The successful hunters did not 
 once dream of keeping them for their own 
 
Feast and Fun 79 
 
 families. What! have a fine dinner your- 
 self, while others around you go hungry ! 
 It was not to be thought of. All must share 
 alike. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HARD TIMES. 
 
 Time passed by. The weather was terribly- 
 cold, even for these people. The hunters 
 went out on the ocean whenever it was safe to 
 venture, but the seals and walruses were very 
 scarce. They had probably gone in search of 
 warmer waters. 
 
 At this very time their winter stores were 
 all stolen. Whenever there is an extra supply 
 on hand, it is hidden in a deep hole under- 
 ground, so that neither wild animals nor dogs 
 can reach it. Such a place for stores is called 
 a cache by our western hunters and trappers. 
 
 One night Etu was wakened by a great 
 noise outside. In a moment the whole house- 
 hold was aroused. They heard the dogs 
 
 80 
 
Hard Times 81 
 
 howling and rushing around. There was cer- 
 tainly a fight of some kind. Etu and his 
 father were dressed in a moment, as well as 
 two other men who shared the home. 
 
 " Wolves ! It is a pack of wolves," cried the 
 women. " Don't go out and leave us ; it is 
 not safe." 
 
 But the men only seized their spears and 
 moved as quickly as possible down the passage- 
 way. They must go to the aid of the dogs, 
 who had been left outdoors for the night. 
 They also thought of their precious stores. 
 The wolves had probably scented the place and 
 were then attacked by the dogs. 
 
 In a short time the men returned to the 
 frightened household. They were all safe. 
 The wolves had fled, but the harm had already 
 been done. Not a scrap of the precious stores 
 remained. The dogs had finished what the 
 wolves left behind them. It was the quarrel- 
 ing of the dogs themselves over the food that 
 
82 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 had wakened the people. It was plain, how- 
 ever, that the wolves had been there, because 
 the dead body of one of them lay close by the 
 storehouse. The dogs had been more than a 
 match for them. 
 
 There was nothing for Etu and his people 
 to eat that day. There was scarcely any oil 
 in the lamps. The women and children tried 
 to keep warm beneath the piles of furs ; the 
 men went out to search along the shore for 
 seal holes. 
 
 Our brave little Etu looked upon himself 
 as a man now. So, leading his brightest dog 
 by a cord, he started out in search of prey. 
 The dog had a wonderfully keen scent. He 
 would help in finding the hiding-place of a 
 seal, if there were one to be found. 
 
 You may not know what a queer home the 
 mother seal makes for her baby. She chooses 
 a place on the solid ice that is covered with a 
 deep layer of snow. She scrapes away the 
 
Hard Times 83 
 
 snow and carries it down through a hole in 
 the ice into the water below. When her work 
 is done, she has a dome-shaped house. The 
 floor is the icy shelf, from which there is a 
 passageway to the water beneath. There is 
 a tiny breathing-place in the snowy roof to 
 which she turns when needing air. 
 
 The baby seal is born in this strange home. 
 He lies here and sleeps most of the time till 
 he is old enough to take care of himself. His 
 mother often visits him. She hopes his enemies 
 will not find him. But the bear, the fox, and 
 the Eskimo dog, are watching for signs of just 
 such hiding-places as these. Their scent is 
 keen and they discover the tiny breathing- 
 holes when men and boys would pass them by. 
 This is why Etu took his dog along with 
 him. 
 
 Perhaps you wonder why Etu did not let 
 Vanya run free. He only wished him to find 
 a seal hole; the boy would do the hunting 
 
84 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 himself. The dog, if left alone, might succeed 
 in scaring away the old seal ; and Etu wished 
 to get both the baby and its mother. 
 
 The boy tramped for many hours. Re- 
 member, he had no breakfast this morning, 
 yet he went with a bright face and a stout 
 heart. When night came, Etu was still brave 
 and cheerful, although he had met with no 
 success. He went home and found the men 
 just returning. They also had failed. 
 
 They could expect no supper, nor fire to 
 warm them, after the long day's tramp in the 
 bitter cold, but they must not show sadness ; 
 they must keep up stout hearts for the sake 
 of the women and children. 
 
 After all, there was a surprise waiting for 
 Etu. His mother had used the last bit of 
 oil in thawing a little snow to give the 
 household some water to drink. And, besides 
 this, there was a scrap of seal hide for each 
 one to chew. Tough as it was, it was received 
 
Hard Times 85 
 
 as though it were the greatest dainty in the 
 world. 
 
 After this meal, if it could be called one, 
 Etu crept into bed, and was soon sound asleep. 
 Morning came, and our little cousin started 
 out once more in search of food. But he had 
 no better success than the day before. When 
 he got home at night there was good news 
 awaiting him, although it did not bring any 
 supper. 
 
 His father had found a seal-hole, and had 
 said to the other men, " I will not leave my 
 place till I can bring food for my hungry 
 people." They left him, and went back to 
 the village to tell his waiting household. His 
 good wife at once got a heavy fur robe, and 
 sent it back to her patient husband. He 
 could wrap it about his feet, as he sat watching 
 in the cold. 
 
 Perhaps it would be only a short time 
 before he would hear the mother seal blow- 
 
86 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 ing at the hole below. But, again, hours 
 might pass before she would come back to 
 nurse her baby. Yet the man must watch and 
 be ready to pierce the breathing-hole with his 
 long spear at any moment, — it was his only 
 chance of killing the mother. 
 
 The long hours of the night passed ; the 
 morning, too, was gone, when, suddenly, the 
 quick ears of the hunter heard the welcome 
 sound. And now, a second blow ! the seal's 
 head must be close to the hole. Like a flash, 
 down went the waiting spear, and fastened 
 itself through the nose of the seal. If it had 
 turned a half-inch in its course, it would have 
 failed in its work. 
 
 There was a violent pull at the spear, as the 
 seal darted down through the passage from her 
 icy home to the water below. But the hunter 
 had a long rope fastened to the spear, and he 
 let it run out quickly. Then, brushing away 
 the snowy roof, he jumped down on the floor 
 
Hard Times 87 
 
 of the "igloo." With two or three strong 
 pulls he brought up the struggling seal, and 
 quickly ended her life. It was an easy matter 
 to dispose of the frightened baby. 
 
 What a prize he had gained ! He did not 
 think of his frost-bitten nose, nor of his empty 
 stomach. He only pictured the joy of the 
 waiting people when he should reach home. 
 
 When the hard-earned supper was set 
 before them, you cannot guess what was 
 the greatest dainty of all. It was the milk 
 inside the baby seal's stomach ! It was sweet 
 and delicate in its taste, and was much like 
 the milk from a green cocoanut. 
 
 There were many other hard times before 
 that winter was over, but Etu did his part 
 bravely, and no one died of want. 
 
 One day the boy hunted a seal bear-fashion, 
 and was successful, too. He had learned 
 many lessons from this wise creature, and he 
 did not forget them. The polar bear, so 
 
88 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 strong and fierce, is also very cunning. If 
 he discovers a dark spot far away on the ice, 
 he seems to say to himself, " Ah ! there is a 
 seal asleep. I will deceive him, and catch him 
 for my dinner." So he creeps, or, rather, 
 hitches along, with his fore feet curled beneath 
 him. Nearer and nearer he draws to his prey. 
 And now the sleeping seal awakes. Is there 
 danger ? But the bear at once stops mov- 
 ing, and makes a low, strange sound. It 
 is different from his usual voice. The seal 
 listens, and is charmed. He turns his head 
 from side to side, and then is quite still once 
 more. The bear creeps nearer now ; once 
 more the seal starts, but is again charmed 
 by the strange sound. Suddenly he is caught 
 in those powerful claws, and the long, sharp 
 teeth fasten themselves in his body. In a 
 moment it is all over with the poor seal. 
 
 This is one of the lessons Etu learned from 
 Ninoo, the bear. He followed his teacher 
 
" 
 
 " ETU STOPPED MOVING AND LAY QUITE STILL " 
 
Hard Times 89 
 
 well when one day he, too, saw a dark spot 
 on the shore, quite a distance away. Holding 
 his spear beneath him, he crouched down on 
 the snow, and jerked himself along. For 
 some time the seal was not aroused. Then, 
 opening his eyes, he must have thought : " Is 
 that a brother seal over there ? His coat is 
 like mine." Still he watched, for a seal is 
 easily frightened. Etu stopped moving and 
 lay quite still. 
 
 " No, there is no danger," thought the seal ; 
 and he closed his eyes again. 
 
 Once more Etu began to move, and drew 
 quite near before the seal stirred again. But 
 now the creature seemed to question himself 
 once more. 
 
 " Is it a friend, or is it one of my terrible 
 enemies ? " 
 
 He was about to dart away when Etu began 
 to make a low, strange sound. You would 
 have thought it was the bear himself, he was 
 
90 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 imitated so well. The seal seemed pleased, 
 and did not stir again. 
 
 Before another five minutes the young 
 hunter had killed his victim. He hurried 
 homeward with the heavy burden flung over 
 his broad shoulders. You can imagine how 
 proud his mother felt when he appeared in 
 the doorway of the house and showed his 
 prize of the morning. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 AN ESKIMO CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Not long after this Etu's people celebrated 
 a festival. It was about Christmas time, but 
 the boy had never heard of our own great 
 holiday. Yet his own Christmas always means 
 very much to him. 
 
 All the people of the village met together 
 on a certain evening in Etu's home. The 
 medicine-man was there, and made a sort of 
 prayer. He prayed that all might go well 
 with the people during the coming year. 
 This medicine-man is the priest as well as 
 the doctor among the Eskimos. After the 
 prayer there was a feast. The hunters had 
 done their best, and had managed to get a 
 good supply of seal meat on hand. 
 
 9 1 
 
92 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 The next day after the feast, men, women, 
 and children gathered together in a circle in 
 the open air. A vessel of watef had been 
 placed in their midst. Each one brought a 
 piece of meat with him. No one spoke while 
 it was being eaten, but each thought of his 
 good spirit, and wished for good things. 
 Then each in turn took a drink of water 
 from the vessel. As he did so he spoke, 
 telling when and where he was born. 
 
 When this ceremony was over, all threw 
 presents to each other. They believed they 
 would receive good things from the good 
 spirits if they were generous at this time. 
 
 Soon after this festival came New Year's. 
 This, too, was a strange celebration. 
 
 Two men, one of them dressed as a woman, 
 went from hut to hut blowing out the flame 
 in each lamp. It must be lighted from a 
 fresh fire. 
 
 The people believe there is a new sun in 
 
An Eskimo Christmas 93 
 
 the heavens at the beginning of each new 
 year. They think they ought to picture this 
 great change in their own homes. 
 
 The year was a moon old, as Etu would 
 say, when one day he was out hunting for seal- 
 holes with his father. They brought a pack 
 of dogs along with them. These had just 
 been loosened for a run when they darted off 
 as though they had found a fresh scent They 
 rushed toward a great bank of snow on the 
 side of a high rock. 
 
 Surely it was no seal-hole they had dis- 
 covered. The small opening on the surface 
 of the snow showed that it was the breathing- 
 place of a polar bear. The mother bear eats 
 vast quantities of food at the beginning of 
 winter ; then she seeks a sheltered spot at the 
 foot of some rock, and begins her long rest. 
 The snow falls in great drifts over her. This 
 makes a warm, close house. Does it seem as 
 though she must die for want of air ? There 
 
94 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 is no danger of this, for the breath from her 
 great body thaws enough snow around her to 
 form a small room. It also makes a sort of 
 chimney through the snow, to the air above. 
 
 The baby bear is born in this house of 
 snow, and there he stays with his mother till 
 old enough to hunt for himself. 
 
 It was the home of a mother bear, then, 
 that the dogs had discovered. They were 
 wildly excited, for Eskimo dogs are no cow- 
 ards. They love a bear hunt hugely. They 
 rushed upon the opening and quickly pushed 
 away the snow. Etu and his father stood on 
 the watch for the mother bear and her cub to 
 appear. They were as much excited as the 
 dogs, but stood with spears in hand, perfectly 
 still. 
 
 Look out now ! for here they come. What 
 a tiny little thing the baby bear is ! It is like 
 a little puppy. It would be easy to end its 
 life, but Etu knows that would not be safe. 
 
An Eskimo Christmas 95 
 
 It would make the mother a hundred time 
 more dangerous. 
 
 The great creature looks now in one direc- 
 tion, now in another. It would not be hard 
 for her to escape ; but she will not leave her 
 cub. So she rushes madly toward Etu's 
 father. The dogs jump around her, biting at 
 her heels. She does not seem even to notice 
 them. Look at the long sharp teeth as she 
 opens her mouth for a spring upon the man. 
 One blow of her paws would knock him sense- 
 less. But he does not fear. He jumps to 
 one side and dodges the blow. At the same 
 time, he strikes at her throat with his long 
 spear. 
 
 The blood gushes forth and she staggers. 
 However, she shakes herself together with a 
 great effort and rises on her hind legs to strike 
 again. The pack of dogs surround her and 
 keep biting at her legs, but the man would not 
 be able to escape if Etu did not suddenly 
 
96 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 come up behind. He plunges his own spear far 
 into her side. She gives one fearful groan and 
 falls to the ground. No hunter will ever be 
 troubled by her again. 
 
 The poor little cub runs to its mother's 
 side, giving piteous cries. But no one is left 
 now to pity and love it, so its life is mercifully 
 and quickly ended. The men and dogs are 
 soon on their homeward way. They must get 
 sledges and go back quickly for the bodies of the 
 two bears. Suppose that while they were gone 
 another party of Eskimos should come along, 
 need they fear their prey would be stolen ? 
 The thought does not enter their heads, for 
 such a thing has never been known to happen 
 among their people. They are honest in all 
 ways, and would not touch that which they 
 believe to be another's. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 SUMMER TRAVELS. 
 
 The long winter was over at last, and Etu's 
 people got ready to leave their underground 
 homes. They would spend the first spring 
 days farther up the coast, and closer still to 
 the water's side ; for there they could watch 
 the seal-holes more easily. 
 
 The household goods were packed on the 
 sledges, and Etu said good-bye to his winter 
 home for four months. The men walked 
 along, guiding the dogs, while the women and 
 children rode in the sledges. They travelled 
 nearly all day before they came to a place 
 where they wished to settle. But the weather 
 was even now bitterly cold. The snow stiH 
 covered the earth, and the water along the 
 shore was a mass of broken ice. 
 
 97 
 
98 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 Where were these people to be sheltered 
 when night came on ? The question could be 
 easily answered. They would build homes for 
 themselves in an hour or two. The sheets of 
 snow around them were quite solid, and the 
 boys and men began to saw the snow into 
 thick blocks. The walls and roofs of the 
 houses should be built of these. 
 
 Two men stood in the centre of each cleared 
 space : the blocks of snow were handed to 
 them. These were laid on the ground, side 
 by side, in a circle as large as they wished the 
 house to be. The foundation was quickly 
 made. Then another row of snow blocks was 
 laid above the first, but drawn in toward the 
 centre a very little. Then came a third row, 
 and so on, till at last there was just space 
 enough at the top for one block of snow to 
 fill it in completely. The new house looked 
 like a great snow beehive. 
 
 But the two builders were shut up inside ! 
 
THE BLOCKS OF SNOW WERE HANDED TO THEM " 
 
Summer Travels 99 
 
 One of the men on the outside cut a block of 
 snow out of the wall of the house. This made 
 a doorway through which people could go and 
 come. It could be closed afterward, when the 
 inmates desired, by filling it again with a snow 
 door. 
 
 The builders now took loose snow and 
 sifted it into the cracks and crevices to make 
 the house quite close and tight. 
 
 After this, the floor must be trodden down 
 smooth, and then the women could enter to 
 set up housekeeping. A bed of snow was 
 quickly made, over which the fur rugs were 
 thrown. Next, a stand of snow was shaped, 
 and the lamp set up in its place. The oil was 
 soon burning brightly, and snow was melted to 
 furnish drinking-water. In half an hour more 
 our cousin Etu was eating supper as comfort- 
 ably as he could wish. Not long after, he 
 was sound asleep on his snow bedstead, 
 without a single dream of cold or trouble. 
 
ioo Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 After a few weeks of seal hunting, Etu 
 noticed that the birds were returning. There 
 were great numbers of them, — wild ducks, 
 geese, and sea-birds of many kinds. 
 
 The ice began to disappear, and it was great 
 sport to paddle his boat over to the islands 
 near the shore, and shoot a bagful of birds 
 for dinner. But sometimes he stayed in his 
 boat, and, moving slowly along the shore, 
 would throw his bird-dart at ducks as they 
 flew by. His aim was straight and true, and 
 he was almost sure to be successful. 
 
 Spring changed suddenly into summer, and 
 now the snow house must be left, for Etu 
 and his people were ready to move again. 
 Besides, the walls of the house grew soft, and 
 would soon melt away. 
 
 Where would Etu travel next? you ask. 
 He would answer : 
 
 " Not far from here there is a broad river 
 where great numbers of salmon live during the 
 
Summer Travels 101 
 
 warm weather. It is great sport catching the 
 fish. Now we can have so much rich food 
 that we can all grow fat." 
 
 Once more the dogs were harnessed, and 
 the spring camping-ground was left behind, 
 as the Eskimo party journeyed southward. 
 When the river was reached, new homes must 
 be made ready. But what material would be 
 used now? There were no trees to furnish 
 wood, for the forests were still hundreds of 
 miles south of them, and snow at this time 
 of the year was out of the question. 
 
 But Etu's people were well prepared, for 
 they took their supply of skins, and quickly 
 made tents out of them. It was still so cold 
 that a double row of skins must be used to 
 keep out the sharp winds. 
 
 And now they were ready for the happiest 
 part of the whole year. They need not fear 
 hunger for a long time to come. Plenty of 
 fish in the river, plenty of birds in the air, 
 
102 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 birds' eggs, which the bright eyes of the boys 
 and girls would discover ; and, besides all 
 these dainties, they would get stores of rein- 
 deer meat. 
 
 " How could any one be any happier than 
 I ? " thought Etu, and he smiled a broad 
 smile, making a funny face to express his 
 
 joy- 
 In another country of the world as far north 
 
 as Etu lives, the Laplander has herds of tame 
 
 reindeer. They are driven as Etu drives his 
 
 dogs. They give sweet milk, too. 
 
 Etu has never heard of these people, but he 
 
 has been told that there is a place in his own 
 
 country where his kind American friends have 
 
 brought some of these tame reindeer from 
 
 Lapland. Great care is taken of them, so 
 
 they will grow and get used to their new 
 
 home. It will be a fine thing for Etu's 
 
 people to have these tame reindeer and be 
 
 able to get fresh milk during the long winter, 
 
Summer Travels 103 
 
 as well as tame animals that will supply them 
 with food when they are in danger of starving. 
 
 But Etu busies himself now with setting 
 traps for the wild reindeer which begin to 
 appear in the country as summer opens. 
 They have spent the winter in the forests 
 far away, but as the heat of the sun begins 
 to melt the snow, they travel toward the 
 shores of the ocean. 
 
 Here the baby reindeer are born. They 
 are tiny, weak little creatures at first ; but they 
 grow fast, and in a few days are able to take 
 care of themselves, and get their own food. 
 
 The reindeer have a wonderfully keen sense 
 of smell. Even when the ground is covered 
 with a deep layer of snow, they seem able to 
 tell where the lichens and mosses are living 
 beneath it. No one has ever seen a reindeer 
 make a mistake in this matter. When he 
 begins to paw away the snow with his broad, 
 stout hoofs, you may be sure he has discov- 
 
104 ur Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 ered a good dinner for himself. The lichens 
 are tender and white, and taste somewhat like 
 wheat bran. It is no wonder the reindeer 
 grows fat on this plentiful food. 
 
 Etu hunts the reindeer in several different 
 ways. Sometimes when he is out on the 
 watch for them he hears a great clattering. 
 It may be a long way off, and he cannot see 
 a living thing, yet he knows what that sound 
 means. It is the hoofs of the reindeer as they 
 come pounding along. 
 
 He lies down and keeps very still. He 
 watches closely, however, to see if the reindeer 
 are coming in his direction. If he finds this 
 to be so, he keeps in the same position and 
 waits till they have passed by him and are 
 headed for the shore. 
 
 Then he jumps up suddenly, and chases 
 them with fury. They get confused, and rush 
 onward in disorder. On he follows till they 
 reach the water's side, where they plunge madly 
 
Summer Travels 105 
 
 in. They are good swimmers, but are so 
 frightened that Etu is easily able to secure at 
 least one of them. 
 
 Sometimes our Eskimo cousin goes a long 
 way over the plains, and with his father's help 
 digs a deep pit in the earth. They cover it 
 over with brushwood. If a herd of reindeer 
 should travel in this direction, some of them 
 would fall into the pit and break their slender 
 legs. It would be an easy matter then to 
 come and get them. 
 
 But there is another way that Etu likes best 
 of all. Soon after he came to his summer 
 home he hunted about over the country till 
 he had chosen a spot where the reindeer were 
 likely to come. Here he built a sort of fort, 
 or wall, out of stones. He could hide behind 
 this wall, and watch for his game without their 
 being able to see him. He spent many days 
 of the summer in this place with one of his 
 boy friends. They would sit there talking, or 
 
106 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 playing some quiet game, but their bows and 
 arrows were always ready ; and their eyes ever 
 on the lookout for the reindeer who might 
 come that way at any moment. 
 
 Many times, of course, they met with no 
 success ; but many times, too, they took a 
 herd by surprise, and were able to carry home 
 a goodly feast to their friends and relatives. 
 
 Reindeer meat is tender and sweet, the 
 marrow and tongue being the parts best liked 
 by Etu's people. But the most delicious food 
 Etu ever puts into his mouth is the contents 
 of a reindeer's stomach ! We must not be 
 shocked at this, though it does seem a queer 
 thing to eat, doesn't it ? The reason Etu 
 likes it so well is probably this : the food of 
 the reindeer is moss ; when it has entered his 
 stomach it has a slightly acid taste, so it gives 
 a relish the people cannot often get. Besides, 
 it belongs to the vegetable kingdom, and Etu's 
 people, we know, do not have the pleasure of 
 
Summer Travels 107 
 
 eating corn, potatoes, and other delicious fruits 
 of the earth, so commonly used by us that we 
 hardly appreciate them. 
 
 It was after one of these long days on the 
 plains that Etu came home feeling quite ill. 
 His head ached ; his eyes were bloodshot ; 
 his hands and face burned like fire. 
 
 His loving mother was quite worried. She 
 put her son to bed at once, and sent for the 
 medicine-man. She got a present of deer skins 
 ready to give him as soon as the great person 
 should appear. 
 
 After he had accepted the deer skins the 
 doctor put on a horrible black mask ; then 
 he began to move about the tent, waving his 
 arms from side to side, and repeating a charm. 
 Do you understand what he was trying to do ? 
 He thought a bad spirit had got hold of Etu ; 
 he believed the hideous mask and the charm 
 of certain words would drive it out. 
 
 After awhile he went away, and Etu was 
 
108 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 alone again with his own people. His fever 
 lasted for several days, but at length it left 
 him, and he grew well and strong once more. 
 He believed the great medicine - man had 
 healed him ; but we think Mother Nature 
 worked her own cure through rest in his 
 own warm bed. The poor boy was tired out, 
 and had caught a hard cold watching on the 
 plains. 
 
 As soon as he was strong his father said : 
 " The trading season has come, for it is al- 
 ready two moons since we made our camp. 
 We must journey southward to the great river. 
 We shall see our friends from the western 
 coast ; they must have already started to meet 
 us. Let us get our furs, seal oil, and walrus 
 tusks together to sell to them, for, no doubt, 
 they will have many things to give us in ex- 
 change. We greatly need some copper kettles 
 and tobacco. Oh, yes, let us get ready as 
 soon as possible." 
 
Summer Travels 109 
 
 Etu was delighted to hear these words. 
 Now would come the merriest time. He 
 would have a long journey, and he dearly 
 liked a change. But that was not all. He 
 would see new people, and hear of new things ; 
 he would have a chance to trade, and that 
 would be great sport in itself. 
 
 Besides all these things, he knew his people 
 would spend at least ten days with their friends 
 from the west ; and there would be much 
 dancing and singing and story-telling, both 
 day and night. Hurrah, then, for this summer 
 journey ! 
 
 You may be sure Etu did his best in pack- 
 ing and making ready. In another twenty- 
 four hours there was no sign left of this 
 Eskimo village. The dogs, the sledges, and 
 the people were all gone. Nothing was left 
 except a few articles used in housekeeping, 
 and these were buried in an underground 
 storehouse. 
 
no Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 
 If you wish to hear more about Etu, and of 
 his yearly visit south ; if you care to hear 
 about the big whale he helped to kill last 
 winter, and of his adventure with a walrus, 
 you must write and ask him about these 
 things. 
 
 And yet, after all, I fear he could not read 
 the letter. You would better go and visit 
 him. It is well worth the journey, for then 
 you can see for yourself how a boy can be 
 cheerful and happy and loving, even though 
 he lives in the dreariest part of the whole 
 world. 
 
 THE END. 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL BOOKS 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON 
 Each 1 vol., large 12mo, cloth, illustrated, per vol. . $1.50 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL STORIES 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 Being three " Little Colonel " stories in the Cosy Corner 
 Series, "The Little Colonel," "Two Little Knights of 
 Kentucky," and " The Giant Scissors," put into a single 
 volume. 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HOUSE PARTY 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HOLIDAYS 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S HERO 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL AT BOARDING 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 SCHOOL 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL IN ARIZONA 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S CHRISTMAS 
 
 •(Trade Mark) 
 
 VACATION 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL, MAID OF HONOUR 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL'S KNIGHT COMES 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 RIDING 
 MARY WARE: THE LITTLE COLONEL'S 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 CHUM 
 
 These ten volumes, boxed as a ten-volume set. . $15.00 
 A— 1 
 
L. C: PAGE &> COMPANY'S 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL 
 
 (Trade Mark) 
 
 TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY 
 THE GIANT SCISSORS 
 BIG BROTHER 
 
 Special Holiday Editions 
 Each one volume, cloth decorative, small quarto, $1.25 
 New plates, handsomely illustrated with eight full-page 
 drawings in color, and many marginal sketches. 
 
 IN THE DESERT OF WAITING: The Legend of 
 
 Camelback Mountain. 
 
 THE THREE WEAVERS: A Fairy Tale fob 
 Fathers and Mothers as Well as for Theib 
 Daughters. 
 
 KEEPING TRYST 
 
 THE LEGEND OF THE BLEEDING HEART 
 
 THE RESCUE OF PRINCESS WINSOME: A 
 
 Fairy Play for Old and Young. 
 
 THE JESTER'S SWORD 
 
 Each one volume, tall 16mo, cloth decorative . $0.50 
 
 Paper boards .35 
 
 There has been a constant demand for publication in 
 separate form of these six stories, which were originally 
 included in six of the " Little Colonel " books. 
 
 JOEL : A BOY OF GALILEE : By Annie Fellows 
 Johnston. Illustrated by L. J. Bridgman. 
 New illustrated edition, uniform with the Little Colonel 
 Books, 1 vol., large 12mo, cloth decorative $1.50 
 
 A story of the time of Christ, which is one of the author's 
 
 best-known books. 
 
 A— 2 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL GOOD TIMES BOOK 
 
 uniform in size with the Little Colonel Series. $1.50 
 Bound in white kid (morocco) and gold . . 3.00 
 Cover design and decorations by Amy Carol Rand. 
 The publishers have had many inquiries from readers 
 of the Little Colonel books as to where they could obtain. 
 a " Good Times Book " such as Betty kept. Mrs. Johns- 
 ton, who has for years kept such a book herself, has gone 
 enthusiastically into the matter of the material and format 
 for a similar book for her young readers. Every girl will 
 want to possess a " Good Times Book." 
 ASA HOLMES : Or, At the Cross-Roads. A sketch 
 of Country Life and Country Humor. By Annib 
 Fellows Johnston. 
 With a frontispiece by Ernest Fosbery. 
 
 Large 16mo, cloth, gilt top $1.00 
 
 " ' Asa Holmes; or, At the Cross-Roads ' is the most 
 delightful, most sympathetic and wholesome book that 
 has been published in a long while." — Boston Times. 
 THE RIVAL CAMPERS: Or, The Adventures op 
 Henry Burns. By Ruel Perley Smith. 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 A story of a party of typical American lads, courageous, 
 alert, and athletic, who spend a summer camping on an 
 island off the Maine coast. 
 
 THE RIVAL CAMPERS AFLOAT: Or, Thb 
 Prize Yacht Viking. By Ruel Perley Smith. 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 This book is a continuation of the adventures of " The 
 Rival Campers " on their prize yacht Viking-. 
 THE RIVAL CAMPERS ASHORE 
 By Ruel Perley Smith. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 " As interesting ashore as when afloaj." — The Interior.. 
 JACK HARVEY'S ADVENTURES: Or, The 
 Rival Campers Among the Oyster Pirates. By 
 Ruel Perley Smith. Illustrated . . $1.50 
 
 " Just the type of book which is most popular with lads 
 who are in their early teens." — The Philadelphia Item. 
 
 A— 3 
 
Z. C. PAGE & COMPANY'S 
 
 PRISONERS OF FORTUNE : A Tale of the Mas- 
 
 sachusetts Bay Colony. By Ruel Perley Smith. 
 
 Cloth decorative, with a colored frontispiece . $1.50 
 
 " There is an atmosphere of old New England in the 
 
 book, the v umor of the born raconteur about the hero, 
 
 who tells his story with the gravity of a preacher, but with 
 
 a solemn humor that is irresistible." — Courier-Journal. 
 
 FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS. By Charles H. 
 
 L. Johnston. 
 
 Large 12mo. With 24 illustrations . . . $1.50 
 
 Biographical sketches, with interesting anecdotes and 
 reminiscences of the heroes of history who were leaders 
 of cavalry. 
 
 " More of such books should be written, books that 
 acquaint young readers with historical personages in a 
 pleasant informal way." — N. Y. Sun. 
 
 FAMOUS INDIAN CHffiFS. By Charles H. L. 
 Johnston. 
 
 Large 12mo, illustrated $1.50 
 
 In this book Mr. Johnston gives interesting sketches of 
 the Indian braves who have figured with prominence in 
 the history of our own land, including Powhatan, the 
 Indian Cassar; Massasoit, the friend of the Puritans; 
 Pontiac, the red Napoleon; Tecumseh, the famous war 
 chief of the Shawnees; Sitting Bull, the famous war chief 
 of the Sioux; Geronimo, the renowned Apache Chief, etc., 
 etc. 
 
 BILLY'S PRINCESS. By Helen Eggleston Has- 
 kell. 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated by Helen McCormick 
 
 Kennedy . $1.25 
 
 Billy Lewis was a small boy oi energy and ambition, so 
 
 when he was left alone and unprotected, he simply started 
 
 out to take care of himself. 
 
 TENANTS OF THE TREES. By Clarence 
 
 Hawkes. 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated in colors . . $1.50 
 
 " A book which will appeal to all who care for the 
 hearty, healthy, outdoor life of the country. The illus- 
 trations are particularly attractive." — Boston h<raUL 
 
 A— 4 
 
'BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 BEAUTIFUL JOE'S PARADISE: Or, The Island 
 of Brotherly Love. A sequel to " Beautiful Joe." 
 By Marshall Saunders, author of " Beautiful Joe." 
 One vol., library 12mo, cloth, illustrated . . $1.50 
 " This book revives the spirit of ' Beautiful Joe ' capi- 
 tally. It is fairly riotous with fun, and is about as unusual 
 as anything in the animal book line that has seen the light." 
 — Philadelphia Item. 
 
 'TILDA JANE. Ey Marshall Saunders. 
 One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
 " I cannot think of any better book for children than 
 
 this. I commend it unreservedly." — Cyrus Townsend 
 
 Brady. 
 
 'TILDA JANE'S ORPHANS. A sequel to 'Tilda 
 Jane. By Marshall Saunders. 
 
 One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
 'Tilda Jane is the same original, delightful girl, and as 
 
 fond of her animal pets as ever. 
 
 THE STORY OF THE GRAVELEYS. By Mar- 
 shall Saunders, author of " Beautiful Joe's Para- 
 dise," " 'Tilda Jane," etc. 
 Library 12mo, cloth decorative. Illustrated by E. B. 
 
 Barry $1.50 
 
 Here we have the haps and mishaps, the trials and 
 triumphs, of a delightful New England family, of whose 
 devotion and sturdiness it will do the reader good to hear. 
 
 BORN TO THE BLUE. By Florence Kimball 
 
 RUSSEL. 
 
 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.25 
 The atmosphere of army life on the plains breathes on 
 everypage of this delightful tale. The boy is the son of a 
 captain of U. S. cavalry stationed at a frontier post in the 
 days when our regulars earned the gratitude of a nation. 
 A— 5 
 
Z. C. PAGE &» COMPANY*S 
 
 IN WEST POINT GRAY 
 
 By Florence Kimball Russbl. 
 
 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.50 
 " Singularly enough one of the best books of the year 
 for boys is written by a woman and deals with life at West 
 Point. The presentment of life in the famous military 
 academy whence so many heroes have graduated is realistic 
 and enjoyable." — New York Sun. 
 
 FROM CHEVRONS TO SHOULDER STRAPS 
 
 By Florence Kimball Russel. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, decorative . . . $1.50 
 
 West Point again forms the background of a new volume 
 
 in this popular series, and relates the experience of Jack 
 
 Stirling during his junior and senior years. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: HIS FARM STORKS 
 
 By William J. Hopkins. With fifty illustrations by 
 
 Ada Clendenin Williamson. L 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover . . . $1.50 
 
 " An amusing, original book, written for the benefit of 
 
 very small children. It should be one of the most popular 
 
 of the year's books for reading to small children." — 
 
 Buffalo Express. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: MORE FARM STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
 
 Mr. Hopkins's first essay at bedtime stories met with 
 
 such»approval that this second book of " Sandman " tales 
 
 was issued for scores of eager children. Life on the farm, 
 
 and out-of-doors, is portrayed in his inimitable manner. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: HIS SHIP STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins, author of " The Sandman: 
 His Farm Stories," etc. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
 " Children call for these stories over and over again." — 
 Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 A— 
 
Z. C. PAGE & COMPANY'S 
 
 PUSSY-CAT TOWN 
 
 By Marion Ames Taggart. 
 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 
 rated in colors $1.00 
 
 " Anything more interesting than the doings of the cats 
 in this story, their humor, their wisdom, their patriotism, 
 would be hard to imagine." — Chicago Post. 
 
 THE ROSES OF SAINT ELIZABETH 
 
 By Jane Scott Woodruff. 
 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
 in colors by Adelaide Everhart . . . $J .00 
 
 This is a charming little story of a child whose father was 
 
 caretaker of the great castle of the Wartburg, where Saint 
 
 Elizabeth once had her home. 
 
 GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK 
 
 By Evaleen Stein. 
 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 rated in colors by Adelaide Everhart . . . $1.00 
 Gabriel was a loving, patient, little French lad, who 
 assisted the monks in the long ago days, when all the books 
 were written and illuminated by hand, in the monasteries. 
 
 THE ENCHANTED AUTOMOBILE 
 
 Translated from the French by Mart J. Safford 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 rated in colors by Edna M. Sawyer $1.00 
 " An up-to-date French fairy-tale which fairly radiates 
 
 the spirit of the hour, — unceasing diligence." — Chicago 
 
 Record-Herald. 
 
 O-HE ART-SAN 
 
 The Story of a Japanese Girl. By Helen Egqlhs- 
 ton Haskell. 
 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 rated in colors by Frank P. Fairbanks . . $1.00 
 " The story comes straight from the heart of Japan. 
 The shadow of Fujiyama lies across it and from every 
 page breathes the fragrance of tea leaves, cherry blossoms 
 and chrysanthemums." — The Chicago Inter-Ocean. 
 
 A-8 
 
BOOK'S FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 THE YOUNG SECTION-HAND: Or, The Adven- 
 tures of Allan West. |By Burton E. Stevenson. 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 Mr. Stevenson's hero is a manly lad of sixteen, who ia 
 given a chance as a section-hand on a big Western rail- 
 road, and whose experiences are as real as they are thrilling. 
 
 THE YOUNG TRAIN DISPATCHER. By Bur- 
 ton E. Stevenson. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 " A better book for boys has never left an American 
 
 press." — Springfield Union. 
 
 THE YOUNG TRAIN MASTER. By Burton E. 
 Stevenson. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 " Nothing better in the way of a book of adventure for 
 boys in which the actualities of life are set forth in a practi- 
 cal way could be devised or written." — Boston Herald. 
 
 CAPTAIN JACK LORIMER. By Winn Standish. 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 Jack is a fine example of the all-around American high- 
 school boy. 
 
 JACK LORIMER'S CHAMPIONS: Or, Sports on 
 
 Land and Lake. By Winn Standish. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 
 " It is exactly the sort of book to give a boy interested 
 
 in athletics, for it shows him what it means to always 
 
 ' play fair.' " — Chicago Tribune. 
 
 JACK LORIMER'S HOLIDAYS: Or, Millvale 
 High in Camp. By Winn Standish. 
 
 Illustrated $1.50 
 
 Full of just the kind of fun, sports and adventure to 
 
 excite the healthy minded youngster to emulation. 
 
 JACK LORIMER'S SUBSTITUTE : Or, The Act- 
 ing Captain of the Team. By Winn Standish. 
 
 Illustrated $1-50 
 
 On the sporting side, this book takes up football, wres- 
 tling, tobogganing, but it is more of a school story perhaps 
 than any of its predecessors. 
 
£. C. PAGE &> COMPANY'S 
 
 CAPTAIN JINKS: The Autobiography of a Shet- 
 land Pont. By Frances Hodges White. 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated .... $1.50 
 
 The story of Captain Jinks and his faithful dog friend 
 Billy, their quaint conversations and their exciting 
 adventures, will be eagerly read by thousands of boys and 
 girls. The story is beautifully written and will take its 
 place alongside of " Black Beauty " and " Beautiful Joe." 
 
 THE RED FEATHERS. By Theodore Roberts. 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . . $1.50 
 
 " The Red Feathers " tells of the remarkable adventures 
 
 of an Indian boy who lived in the Stone Age, many years 
 
 ago, when the world was young. 
 
 FLYING PLOVER. By Theodore Roberts. 
 
 Cloth decorative. Illustrated by Charles Livingston 
 
 Bull $1.00 
 
 Squat-By-The-Fire is a very old and wise Indian who 
 
 lives alone with her grandson, " Flying Plover," to whom 
 
 she tells the stories each evening. 
 
 THE WRECK OF THE OCEAN QUEEN. By 
 
 James Otis, author of " Larry Hudson's Ambition," etc. 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated .... $1.50 
 
 " A stirring story of wreck and mutiny, which boys will 
 find especially absorbing. The many young admirers of 
 James Otis will not let this book escape them, for it fully 
 equals its many predecessors in excitement and sustained 
 interest." — Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 LITTLE WHITE INDIANS. By Fannie E. Os- 
 
 TRANDER. 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated . • . $1.25 
 
 " A bright, interesting story which will appeal strongly 
 
 to the ' make-believe ' instinct in children, and will 
 
 give them a healthy, active interest in 'the simple life.'" 
 
 MARCHING WITH MORGAN. How Donald 
 
 LovELii Became a Soldier op the Revolution. 
 
 By John L. Veasy. 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.50 
 
 This is a splendid boy's story of the expedition of, 
 Montgomery and Arnold against Quebec 
 A— 10 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 COSY CORNER SERIES 
 
 It is the intention of the publishers that this series shall 
 contain only the very highest and purest literature, — 
 stories that shall not only appeal to the children them- 
 selves, but be appreciated by all those who feel with 
 them in their joys and sorrows. 
 
 The numerous illustrations in each book are by well- 
 known artists, and each volume has a separate attract- 
 ive cover design. 
 
 Each 1 vol., 16mo, cloth $0.50 
 
 By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON 
 
 THE LITTLE COLONEL (Trade Mark.) 
 
 The scene of this story is laid in Kentucky. Ita hero- 
 ine is a small girl, who is known as the Little Colonel, 
 on account of her fancied resemblance to an old-school 
 Southern gentleman, whose fine estate and old family 
 are famous in the region. 
 
 THE GIANT SCISSORS 
 
 This is the story of Joyce and of her adventuR.fi in 
 France. Joyce is a great friend of the Little Colonel, 
 and in later volumes shares with her the delightful ex- 
 periences of the " House Party " and the " Holidays." 
 
 TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY 
 
 Who Were the Little Colonel's Neighbors. 
 
 In this volume the Little Colonel returns to us like an 
 old friend, but with added grace and charm. She is not, 
 however, the central figure of the story, that place being 
 taken by the " two little knights." 
 
 MILDRED'S INHERITANCE 
 
 A delightful little story of a lonely English girl who 
 comes to America and is befriended by a sympathetic 
 American family who are attracted by her beautiful 
 speaking voice. By means of this one gift she is en- 
 abled to help a school-girl who has temporarily lost the 
 use of her eyes, and thus finally her life becomes a busy, 
 happy one. 
 A— 11 
 
Z. C. PAGE &> COMPANY'S 
 
 By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON (Continued) 
 
 CICELY AND OTHER STORIES FOR GIRLS 
 
 The readers of Mrs. Johnston's charming juveniles 
 will be glad to learn of the issue of this volume for young 
 people. 
 
 AUNT 'LIZA V S HERO AND OTHER STORIES 
 
 A collection of six bright little stories, which will appeal 
 to all boys and most girls. 
 
 BIG BROTHER 
 
 A story of two boyj. The devotion and care of Stephen, 
 himself a small boy, for his baby brother, is the theme of 
 the simple tale. 
 
 OLE MAMMY'S TORMENT 
 
 " Ole Mammy's Torment " has been fitly called " a 
 classic of Southern life." It relates the haps and mis- 
 haps of a small negro lad, and tells how he was led by 
 love and kindness to a knowledge of the right. 
 
 THE STORY OF DAGO 
 
 In this story Mrs. Johnston relates the story of Dago, 
 a pet monkey, owned jointly by two brothers. Dago 
 tells his own story, and the account of his haps and mis- 
 haps is both interesting and amusing. 
 
 THE QUILT THAT JACK BUJLT 
 
 A pleasant littler story of a boy's labor of love, and how 
 it changed the course of his life many years after it was 
 accomplished 
 
 FLIP'S ISLANDS OF PROVIDENCE 
 
 A story of a boy's life battle, his early defeat, and his 
 final triumph, well worth the reading. 
 A — 12 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 By EDITH ROBINSON 
 A LITTLE PURITAN'S FIRST CHRISTMAS 
 
 A story of Colonial times in Boston, telling how Christ- 
 mas was invented by Betty Sewall, a typical child of the 
 Puritans, aided by her brother Sam. 
 
 A LITTLE DAUGHTER OF LIBERTY 
 
 The author introduces this story as follows: 
 " One ride is memorable in the early history of the 
 American Revolution, the well-known ride of Paul 
 Revere. Equally deserving of commendation is another 
 ride, — the ride of Anthony Severn, — which was no less 
 historic in its action or memorable in its consequences." 
 
 A LOYAL LITTLE MAID 
 
 A delightful and interesting story of Revolutionary 
 days, in which the child heroine, Betsey Schuyler, renders 
 important services to George Washington. 
 
 A LITTLE PURITAN REBEL 
 
 This is an historical tale of a real girl, during the time 
 when the gallant Sir Harry Vane was governor of I'taesa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 A LITTLE PURITAN PIONEER 
 
 The scene of this story is laid in the Puritan settlement 
 at Charlestown. 
 
 A LITTLE PURITAN BOUND GIRL 
 
 A story of Boston in Puritan days, which is of great 
 interest to youthful readers. 
 
 A LITTLE PURITAN CAVALIER 
 
 The story of a " Little Puritan Cavalier " who tried 
 with all his boyish enthusiasm to emulate the spirit and 
 ideals of the dead Crusaders. 
 
 A PURITAN KNIGHT ERRANT 
 
 The story tells of a young lad in Colonial times who 
 endeavored to carry out the high ideals of the knight* 
 of olden days. 
 
 a— 13 n 
 
Z. C. PAGE &> COMPANY'S 
 
 By OUIDA (Louise de la Ramee) 
 
 A DOG OF FLANDERS 
 
 A Christmas Story 
 
 Too well and favorably known to require description. 
 
 THE NURNBERG STOVE 
 
 This beautiful story has never before been published 
 at a popular price. 
 
 By FRANCES MARGARET FOX 
 
 THE LITTLE GIANT'S NEIGHBOURS 
 
 A charming nature story of a " little giant " whose 
 neighbors were the creatures of the field and garden. 
 
 FARMER BROWN AND THE BIRDS 
 
 A little story which teaches children that the birds are 
 man's best friends. 
 
 BETTY OF OLD MACKINAW 
 
 A charming story of child life. 
 
 BROTHER BILLY 
 
 The story of Betty's brother, and some further adven- 
 tures of Betty herself. 
 
 MOTHER NATURE'S LITTLE ONES 
 
 Curious little sketches d scribing the early lifetime, or 
 " childhood," of the little creatures out-of-doors. 
 
 HOW CHRISTMAS CAME TO THE MUL- 
 VANEYS 
 
 A bright, lifelike little story of a family of poor children, 
 with an unlimited capacity for fun and mischief. 
 
 THE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS 
 
 Miss Fox has vividly described the happy surprises that 
 made the occasion so memorable to the Mulvaneys, and 
 the funny things the children did in their new environ- 
 ment. 
 A— 14 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 By MISS MULOCK 
 
 THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE 
 
 A delightful story of a little boy who has many ad- 
 ventures by means of the magic gifts of his fairy god- 
 mother. 
 
 ADVENTURES OF A BROWNIE 
 
 The story of a household elf who torments the cook 
 and gardener, but is a constant joy and delight to the 
 children who love and trust him. 
 
 HIS LITTLE MOTHER 
 
 Miss Mulock's short stories for children are a constant 
 source of delight to them, and " His Little Mother," in 
 this new and attractive dress, will be welcomed by hosts 
 of youthful readers. 
 
 LITTLE SUNSHINE'S HOLIDAY 
 
 An attractive story of a summer outing. " Little Sun- 
 shine "" is another of those beautiful child-characters for 
 which Miss Mulock is so justly famous. 
 
 By MARSHALL SAUNDERS 
 
 FOR HIS COUNTRY 
 
 A sweet and graceful story of a little boy who loved 
 his country; written with that charm which has endeared 
 Miss Saunders to hosts of readers. 
 
 NITA, THE STORY OF AN IRISH SETTER 
 
 In this touching little book, Miss Saunders shows how 
 dear to her heart are all of God's dumb creatures. 
 
 ALPATOK, THE STORY OF AN ESKIMO DOG 
 
 Alpatok, an Eskimo dog from the far north, was stolen 
 from his master and left to starve in a strange city, but 
 was befriended and cared for, until he was able to return 
 to his owner. 
 A — 15 
 
L. C. PAGE &> COMPANY'S 
 
 By WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE 
 
 THE FARRIER'S DOG AND HIS FELLOW 
 
 This story, written by the gifted young Southern 
 woman, will appeal to all that is best in the natures of 
 the many admirers of her graceful and piquant style. 
 
 THE FORTUNES OF THE FELLOW 
 
 Those who read and enjoyed the pathos and charm 
 of " The Farrier's Dog and His Fellow " will welcome 
 the further account of the adventures of Baydaw and 
 the Fellow at the home of the kindly smith. 
 
 THE BEST OF FRIENDS 
 
 This continues the experiences of the Farrier's dog 
 and his Fellow, written in Mr. Dromgoole's well-known 
 charming style. 
 
 DOWN IN DIXIE 
 
 A fascinating story for boys and girls, of a family of 
 Alabama children who move to Florida and grow up in 
 the South. 
 
 By MARIAN W. WILDMAN 
 
 LOYALTY ISLAND 
 
 An account of the adventures of four children and 
 their pet dog on an island, and how they cleared their 
 brother from the suspicion of dishonesty. 
 
 THEODORE AND THEODORA 
 
 This is a story of the exploits and mishaps of two mis- 
 chievous twins, and continues the adventures of the 
 interesting group of children in " Loyalty Island." 
 A— 16 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 By CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE YACHT DIDO 
 
 The story of two boys who turned their yacht into a 
 fishing boat to earn money. 
 
 THE YOUNG ACADLAN 
 
 The story of a young lad of Acadia who rescued a little 
 English girl from the hands of savages. 
 
 THE LORD OF THE AIR 
 
 The Story of the Eagle. 
 
 THE KING OF THE MAMOZEKEL 
 
 The Story of the Moose. 
 
 THE WATCHERS OF THE CAMP-FIRE 
 
 The Story of the Panther. 
 
 THE HAUNTER OF THE PINE GLOOM 
 
 The Story of the Lynx. 
 
 THE RETURN TO THE TRAILS 
 
 The Story of the Bear. 
 
 THE LITTLE PEOPLE OF THE SYCAMORE 
 
 The Story of the Raccoon. 
 
 By JULIANA HORATIO EWING 
 
 STORY OF A SHORT LD7E 
 
 This beautiful and pathetic story will never grow old. 
 It is a part of the world's literature, and will never die. 
 
 JACKANAPES 
 
 A new edition, with new illustrations, of this exquisite 
 and touching story, dear alike to young and old. 
 
 A GREAT EMERGENCY 
 
 A bright little story of a happy, mischievous family 
 of children. 
 A- 17 
 
THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Elizabeth Preston Ward 
 
 in memory of 
 Jean Versfelt Preston 
 
 ybrary Science Libras 
 
 H AY 11 200 6