My Northern Exposure: The Kawa at the PoleChappell, George S. (George Shepard)
General
My Northern Exposure: The Kawa at the Pole
Chappell, George S. (George Shepard)
Arctic regions -- Fiction; Burlesque (Literature)
Chuckling with delight, the old warrior showed me over their living
quarters while I marvelled at his vigor, preserved in this world of
ice. The interior of the cairn was astounding. Instead of entering a
domed chamber, similar to the many igloos I have inhabited, we went
down, down for a surprising distance. The entire habitation was hewn
from the eternal ice to depths far beyond the reach of sun or storm.
It was a three-room-and-bath arrangement, the latter consisting of a
trough, at a slightly lower level than the main floor, filled with
lucent seal oil. The rooms were respectively, living-room (which also
served as kitchen and dining-room), bedroom, simply furnished with
community sleeping-bag, etc., and storeroom, piled high with blubber,
fur-steaks, walrus eyes and other Eskimo dainties. The temperature
was slightly below freezing, a delightful change from the prostrating
heat we had been enduring, though I will confess that I began to think
longingly of mittens and bear-skins and was glad when we once more
ascended into warmer atmosphere.
I reached the surface just in time to meet the returning members of my
party who, needless to say, were faint with astonishment at the change
in conditions.
General introductions were in order and a blithe evening meal was soon
under way. But how different a feast from the man-made orgy that had
disgraced our arrival. How completely the presence of these gentle
savage women had altered the complexion of our enjoyment.
Sprawling about Ikik and Snak, and the other three, Yalok, Klikitok and
Lapatok (whose babe had been placed in its cold storage niche), my
companions engaged in all sorts of innocent foolery. Though they spoke
not a word of each other's language a subtle understanding had sprung
up between them. Was it the common strain of Caucasian blood or simple
sex calling to even simpler sex? I cannot answer.
Frissell had produced a lavish supply of toys from his pack which made
an enormous hit. Ikik had a colored doll which she nursed affectingly.
Lapatok joyfully wound a police rattle, while Snak, Klikitok and Yalok
sucked rubber teething-rings with evident relish.
Makuik reserved for himself a monkey-on-a-stick which he regarded as a
sceptre, the mechanism of which pleased and mystified him.
At nine o'clock Whinney announced triumphantly that his radio was
working. He switched it on and we listened in awe while a far-away
voice, introduced as Miss Anita Scatchett of the New Jersey State
Normal School, told a Bedtime story, "How the Animal Crackers Came
Alive."
I say "we listened in awe." I must amend that statement. For a
few moments I was mildly impressed. It did seem odd to think of a
gentle spinster in Newark, thousands of miles away, speaking to
these children of nature. But as far as our guests were concerned, the
feature was a dud. The subject matter soon began to bore us all and we
shut it off, to Whinney's disgust.
A FAR-OFF FASHION-PLATE
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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