Kalitan, Our Little Alaskan CousinNixon-Roulet, Mary F.
General
Kalitan, Our Little Alaskan Cousin
Nixon-Roulet, Mary F.
Children -- Alaska -- Juvenile literature
Then the spray dashed high into the air again, and the instant the huge
body appeared, Klake drew near, and away went another stinging lance
again, swift and, oh! so sure of aim. This time the whale struck out
wildly, and Kalitan held his breath, while Ted gasped at the Tyee's
danger, for his _kiak_ rocked like a shell and then was quite hidden
from their sight by the spray which was dashed heavenward like clouds of
white smoke.
Once more the creature dived, and this time he stayed down only a few
minutes, and, when he came up, blood spouted into the air and dyed the
sea crimson, and Kalitan exclaimed:
"Pierced his lungs! Now he must die."
There was one more bright, glancing weapon flying through the air, and
Ted noticed attached to it by a thong a curious-looking bulb, and asked
Kalitan:
"What is on that lance?"
"Sealskin buoy," said Kalitan. "We make the bag and blow it up, tie it
to the harpoon, and when the lance sticks into the whale, the buoy makes
it very hard for him to dive. After awhile he dies and drifts ashore."
The waters about the whale were growing red, and the carcass seemed
drifting out to sea, and at last the Tyee seemed satisfied. He sent a
last look toward the huge body, then turned his _kiak_ toward the
watchers on the banks.
"If it only comes to shore," said Kalitan.
"What will you do with it?" asked Ted.
"Oh, there are lots of things we can do with a whale," said Kalitan.
"The blubber is the best thing to eat in all the world. Then we use the
oil in a bowl with a bit of pith in it to light our huts. The bones are
all useful in building our houses. Whales were once bears, but they
played too much on the shore and ran away to sea, so they wore off all
their fur on the rocks, and had their feet nibbled off by the fishes."
"Well, this one didn't have his tail nibbled off at any rate," laughed
Ted. "I saw it flap at the Tyee, and thought that was the last of him,
sure."
"Tyee much big chief," said Kalitan, and just then the old man's _kiak_
drew near them, and he stepped ashore as calmly as though he had not
just been through so exciting a scene with a mighty monster of the
deep.
FOOTNOTE:
[6] Dr. Sheldon Jackson, General Agent of Education in the Territory.
CHAPTER VI
THE ISLAND HOME OF KALITAN
SWIFT and even were the strokes of the paddles as the canoes sped over
the water toward Kalitan's island home. Ted was so excited that he could
hardly sit still, and Tyee Klake gave him a warning glance and a
muttered "Kooletchika."[7]
The day before a big canoe had come to the camp, the paddlers bearing
messages for the Tyee, and he had had a long conversation with Mr.
Strong. The result was astonishing to Teddy, for his father told him
that he was to go for a month to the island with Kalitan. This delighted
him greatly, but he was a little frightened when he found that his
father was to stay behind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account