The Open Polar Sea: A narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States"Hayes, I. I. (Isaac Israel)
History
The Open Polar Sea: A narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States"
Hayes, I. I. (Isaac Israel)
Arctic regions; United States (Schooner)
Kalutunah's team was turned over to Mr. Knorr, and in doing this I
gratified both parties and served my own interests. The novelty of
serving me, and of traveling with me, had by this time worn off, and I
could plainly see that the chief was quite as well satisfied to remain
with his wife and babies as to trust himself to the uncertain fortunes
of the ice-fields, more especially as his curiosity to see how this man
that he called the big chief behaved himself had been fully gratified.
The recent journey had convinced him that I was fully entitled to his
respect, since I did not freeze, and altogether conducted myself as
well as an Esquimau would have done under like circumstances; and this
was a great deal in his eyes. It was not difficult to perceive that
Kalutunah started with me expecting to take me under his protecting
wing; and if he did not have the pleasing satisfaction of seeing me
groaning with the cold, at least he should have the opportunity to
instruct me how to live and how to travel; but when I began to instruct
him, and turned the tables on him, he was much disappointed; and when
to this violation of propriety I added the still more unpardonable
offense of refusing him a bear-hunt, his enthusiasm oozed out very
rapidly; and if he admired the Nalegaksoak the more he desired to
follow him the less, particularly as the dangers of the service
preponderated over the emoluments. Indeed, the fellow was disposed to
avail himself fully of the advantages of his new situation, and I soon
made up my mind that he was henceforth a pensioner upon my bounty, so
I doubled his riches and made him the happiest Esquimau that ever was
seen. My thoroughly energetic, daring and skillful hunter, who prided
himself upon the excellence of his equipments and the abundance of
his supplies, for once in his life found himself so situated that he
was freed from all necessity of giving thought to the morrow. It was
truly a novel sensation, and it is not surprising that he should wish
to enjoy the short-lived holiday. He was greatly amused,--amused with
himself, amused with the Nalemaksoak who had made him so rich and
allowed him to be so lazy, and amused with the white man's dress with
which he was bedecked, and in which he cut such a sorry figure. His
face was never without a full-blown grin. I gave him a looking-glass,
and he carried it about with him continually, looking at himself and
laughing at his head with a cap on it, and at his reel shirt which
dangled beneath an old coat. It was all very fine and very wonderful.
"Don't I look pretty?" was the poser which he put to everybody.
[Sidenote: KALUTUNAH UNCIVILIZED.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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