Scarcely had the stout2 Esquimau proceeded a few steps along the shore, when he was met by a young girl who laid her hand on his arm. Taking her gently by the shoulders, he drew her towards him and kissed her on both cheeks—an action which caused her to blush deeply as, with a half smile half frown on her face, she pushed him away.
Love is the same all the world over, whether it glows beneath the broad-cloth and spotless linen3 of a civilised gentleman, or under the deerskin coat of a savage. And its expression, we suspect, is somewhat similar everywhere. The coy repulse4 of pretended displeasure came as naturally from our plump little arctic heroine as it could have done from the most civilised flirt5, and was treated with well-simulated contrition6 by our arctic giant, as they walked slowly towards the huts. But the Esquimau had other matters than love in his head just then, and the girl’s face assumed a grave and somewhat anxious look as he continued to whisper in her ear.
At the little hamlet they separated, and the maiden7 went to her grandfather’s abode8; while her lover, lifting the skin-curtain door of a rudely-constructed hut, entered his own humble9 dwelling10. The room was empty, and its owner did not seem as if he meant to cheer it with his presence long. In one corner lay a pile of miscellaneous articles, which he removed, and, taking the tusk11 of a walrus12 which lay near his hand, began to dig with it in the sand. In a few seconds it struck a hard substance, and the Esquimau, putting his hand into the hole, drew forth13 a glittering axe14, upon which he gazed with supreme15 satisfaction.
Now be it known to you, reader, that among the Esquimaux of the frozen north iron is regarded with about as much delight as gold is by ourselves. And the reason is simple enough. These poor people live entirely16 upon the produce of the chase. Polar bears, seals, walruses17, and whales are their staff of life. To procure18 these animals, spears are necessary; to skin and cut them up, knives are needful. But bone and stone make sorry knives and spears; so that, when a bit of iron, no matter how poor its quality or small its size, can be obtained, it is looked on as the most valuable of possessions; and the ingenuity19 displayed by Esquimaux in fashioning the rudest piece of metal into the most useful of implements20 is truly astonishing, proving, in the most satisfactory way, that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. The precious metal is obtained in two ways: by the discovery of a wreck22, which is extremely rare; and by barter23 with those tribes which sometimes visit the Moravian settlements of Labrador. But neither source is very productive. Even a nail is treasured as a blessing24, while an axe is a fortune! When our giant, therefore, drew forth the shining implement21, and gazed with delight at its keen edge, he experienced as great satisfaction as a miser25 does when gloating over his banker’s book!
Having satisfied himself that the axe was free from all approximation to rust26, he stuck it into a belt of raw hide, which he put on for the express purpose of sustaining it, as Esquimaux do not generally wear belts. He then sallied forth, and walked with the air of a man who wears the grand cross of the Legion of Honour. As he went to the hut in which lived the oldest man of the tribe, the shade of anxiety, which had clouded his brow more than once during the day, again rested on his face. On entering, he observed the old Esquimau listening with anxious countenance27 to the young girl whom we have already introduced to the reader.
Now this girl—Aneetka by name—was by no means an angel in Esquimau habiliments. Among civilised folk probably she would not have been deemed even pretty. Nevertheless, in the eyes of her lover she was most decidedly beautiful, and round, and fat, and rosy28, and young, awkward, and comfortable! And the giant loved her—never so strongly, perhaps, as when he saw her striving to allay29 the fears of her old grandfather. But this same grandfather was obstinate30. He wanted her to become the wife of an Esquimau who lived far to the westward31, and who once had dealings with the fur-traders, and from whom he expected to derive32 considerable advantages and gifts of bits of hoop-iron and nails. But she wanted to become the giant’s wife; so there the matter stood.
“The spirits o’ the wind and sea protect us, and may the god o’ the mist cover us!” said the old man, as the young Esquimau sat down on a dead seal beside him. “Is it true that you saw the men of fire?”
This was, of course, said in the language of the Esquimaux, and we render it as literally33 as possible.
“Yes, it is true,” replied the young man. “I saw them at the rapid water in Caniapuscaw, and I took kayak to bring the news.”
Various exclamations34 of mingled35 surprise and anger escaped from the compressed lips of several stalwart natives, who had crowded into the tent on hearing of the arrival of their comrade.
“Yes,” continued the young man, “we must go away this night. They had fire-tubes, and there were thirty men. We have only ten.”
Again a murmur36 ran through the listeners, but no one spoke37 for a few seconds.
“Did they see you?” asked the old man anxiously.
“No. I came on them suddenly, when I was chasing deer, and almost ran into their camp; but I saw, and fell in the grass. I thought the chief raised his head quickly when I fell; but he looked down again, and I crawled away.”
In this the young Esquimau was mistaken. He knew little of the craft and the quickness of the Red Indian, and easily fell into the snare38 of his savage enemy, who, having been momentarily startled by the sudden sound of the Esquimau approach, had endeavoured to throw him off his guard, by pretending that although he heard the sound he thought nothing of it. But no sooner had the Esquimau retired39 than he was closely followed and watched by the whole party. They could have easily shot him, but refrained from doing so, that he might unwittingly be their guide to the habitations of his people. The rapid flight of his kayak distanced his pursuers at first, but they made up for this during an hour or two in the night, when the tired Esquimau allowed himself a short season of repose40 to recruit his energies for the following day’s journey. During this period the Indians shot far ahead of him, and when he arrived at the coast next day they were not much in the rear.
“And now, old man,” said our young Esquimau, “it is time that I should have my wife. If the Allat (see note 1) come here to-night, as I know they will, I want to have a right to defend her, and carry her away when we flee. Are you willing?”
The young giant said this with a degree of roughness and decision that at any other time would have made the obstinate old grandfather refuse point blank; but as there was every probability of having to flee for his life ere the break of another day, and as his old heart trembled within him at the thought of the dreaded41 guns of the Indians, he merely shook his head and pondered a little.
“What will you give me?” he said, looking up.
The young man answered by drawing the axe from his belt and laying it on the ground before him. The old man’s eyes glistened42 with pleasure as he surveyed the costly43 gift.
“Good; that will do. Take her and go.”
A second bidding was not needed. The young man arose hastily, took his blushing bride by the hand, and led her from the tent of her grandfather towards his own. Here she set to work instantly to assist her husband in hurriedly packing up their goods and chattels44; and, immediately afterwards, the little village became a perfect Babel of confusion, as the alarmed inhabitants, on learning the threatened danger, prepared for instant flight. In less than an hour the most of them were ready. The men launched their kayaks, while the women, having loaded their oomiaks with their goods, tossed their dogs and children on the top of them.
The oomiak, or women’s boat, is quite a different affair from the kayak, in which the men travel singly. It is usually made large and capacious, in order to hold the entire household of the Esquimau. Like the kayak it is made of skin, but has no covering above, and is propelled by means of short single-bladed paddles, which are worked by the women, upon whom devolves the entire care and management of the oomiak. It is a clumsy affair to look at, but, like the boats of savages45 generally, it is uncommonly46 useful and a good sea-boat.
While the Esquimaux were busied in completing their arrangements, one of the dogs rushed towards the bushes that lined the shore just behind the village, and barked vociferously47. Instantly it was joined by the whole pack, and the Esquimaux, who, ever since they had heard of the proximity48 of their Indian foes49, were in a state of the utmost trepidation50, made a general rush towards their canoes. Before they reached them, however, a volley of musketry was fired from the bushes, and three of their number—a man and two women—filled the air with their death-shriek51, as they fell dead upon the beach; while the Indians sprang from their concealment52, and, brandishing53 their knives and tomahawks, rushed with a fearful yell upon the terror-stricken Esquimaux.
Shrill54 and terrible though the Indian war-cry is proverbially known to be, it was excelled in appalling55 wildness by the shriek which arose from the Esquimaux, as they hurried tumultuously into their canoes and put off to sea. These poor creatures were naturally brave—much more so, indeed, than their assailants; but the murderous effects of the terrible gun caused the sternest brow among them to blanch56 and the stoutest57 heart to quail58. The arrow and the spear, however rapid, could be avoided, if observed in time; but this dreaded implement of destruction was so mysterious to them, and its death-dealing bullet so quick, and the smoke, the fire, and the loud report so awful, that they shuddered59 even when they thought of it. No wonder, then, that they uttered a despairing cry when it actually sounded in their ears.
When the dogs first gave tongue, our tall Esquimau was alone in his hut, having just sent his wife down with a bundle to the oomiak. When the volley rang in his ears, he rushed towards the beach, supposing that she was there before him. This was not the case, however. Aneetka had gone towards her grandfather’s hut, and when the Indians fired she rushed in to assist him to fly. But the old man was already gone. Turning instantly, she sprang nimbly towards the shore. At that moment a single shot was fired, and she saw her husband stumble forward and fall headlong to the earth, where he lay motionless. Her first impulse was to run towards the body and throw herself upon it; but this intention was effectually checked by a strong, dark-skinned arm which encircled her waist, and, despite her cries and struggles, bore her away into the bushes. Her captor was the Indian whose gun once before on that day had been levelled at her lover’s head.
When the young Esquimau fell, as already related, he was so close to the water that he stumbled into it, and, fortunately, not a yard distant from an oomiak which the women were frantically60 thrusting into the sea. They had no time to lift so heavy a weight on board, but, as the light craft darted61 from the shore, an old woman, who had often received kind attentions from the good-natured youth, leant over the stern and seized him by the hair. In this manner he was dragged through the water until they were out of gun-shot, when he was lifted inside and laid beside the dogs and children.
Meanwhile the Indians had rushed into the water up to their middle, in the hope of catching62 the last of the little fleet, but without success. Mad with disappointed rage, they waded63 back to the shore, and, standing64 in a line along the edge of the waves, reloaded their guns with the utmost rapidity. The poor Esquimaux knew well what would follow, and strained every nerve to increase their distance. Once more the guns belched65 forth their leaden shower, which went skipping over the water towards the flotilla. Only one kayak was hit by the discharge. It was that of the old grandfather already mentioned. The ball ripped up the side of the canoe, which filled and upset, and the poor old man would certainly have been drowned but for the opportune66 coming up of the oomiak containing his wounded grandson. The old woman who had already saved the life of the young giant of the tribe, again put forth her skinny hand and grasped the patriarch, who was soon hauled on board in safety. A few minutes more placed the whole party out of danger.
In the meantime, the Indians, furious with disappointment, scalped the three dead bodies and tossed them into the sea; after which they went into the huts in order to collect all the valuables that might have been left behind. Very little, however, was to be found, as the entire property of an Esquimau is not worth much to a red man. The most useful thing they laid hands on was the axe which the old grandfather had left behind in his hurried flight. Having taken all they could carry, the savages destroyed the rest; and then, setting fire to the village, they returned to the bush. Here a fire was made, and a council of war held.
When the Indian who had captured the Esquimau girl led her forward towards the fire, there was a general yell of indignation. Tomahawks were grasped, and more than one knife was unsheathed. But the chief commanded silence.
“What does White Heart mean to do with the Eater-of-raw-flesh?” he inquired, turning to the young man.
“He will take her to the hunting-grounds of the Crees.”
“That cannot be,” said the chief. “The girl must die, and White Heart must kill her.”
The young man made no reply.
“If,” continued the chief sarcastically67, “White Heart is afraid to see blood on his knife, another warrior68 will show him how to do it!”
As he spoke, a dark-visaged savage drew his scalping-knife, and, with one stride, stood beside the trembling girl, who, during the consultation69 of the savages, had stood silently beside her captor listening intently to the words which she did not comprehend.
Seizing her by the shoulder, the savage plunged70 his knife at her bosom71; but, ere the keen point reached it, the arm was caught by the young Indian, and the scowling72 savage was hurled73 violently back. With dilated74 eye and expanded nostril75, the young man, not deigning76 to bestow77 a glance upon his fallen comrade, turned to his chief and said—
“Did not I take her? The girl is mine. I will carry her to my tent and make her my wife.”
“Be it so,” replied the chief abruptly78. Then turning to his followers79, he gave orders to start immediately.
In a few minutes all was ready. The chief led the way into the bush. The Esquimau girl and her captor followed; and the whole band, silently and in single file, commenced to retrace80 their steps to the far distant hunting-grounds of the Cree Indians.
Note 1. Esquimau name for Indians.
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1
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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repulse
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| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
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flirt
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| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
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contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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8
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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tusk
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| n.獠牙，长牙，象牙 | |
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walrus
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| n.海象 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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walruses
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| n.海象( walrus的名词复数 ) | |
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18
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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implement
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| n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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32
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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38
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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40
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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41
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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42
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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44
chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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45
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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46
uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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47
vociferously
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| adv.喊叫地，吵闹地 | |
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48
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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49
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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50
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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51
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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52
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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53
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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54
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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55
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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56
blanch
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| v.漂白；使变白；使(植物)不见日光而变白 | |
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57
stoutest
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| 粗壮的( stout的最高级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的 | |
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58
quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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59
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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60
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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61
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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belched
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| v.打嗝( belch的过去式和过去分词 )；喷出，吐出；打（嗝）；嗳（气） | |
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66
opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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68
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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70
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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71
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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72
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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73
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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74
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
nostril
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| n.鼻孔 | |
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76
deigning
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的现在分词 ) | |
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77
bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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78
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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79
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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80
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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