, 1885-09-06
on AN ICE-FLOE.


- tAfF'E 49, 49,
lives in the water most of his life spends
his few minutes Of timo in the air. II
very cold. as IN winter, he remainsf on
the edge of the ice foe but n few min
utes before no again plungcs into the
water to warm his rough hide, but in
the pleasant sunny DAYS 81 the spring.
pleasant for the Arctic, though IT, may
be so cold that II one OF my readers sud.
denly found himself there he would
probably be stamping his feet or blow
ing on his fingers TO keep them warm
Mr.. Walrus takes many a long mp Of
an hour or two near the edge OF the icos
so very near that he has TO roll only
about half way over before he splashes
into tho water. Here tho rs imaux, who
live along the coast, hunt this
monster Of the deep-for he is truly n
monster. weighing nearly a ton on an
avcrage-and the state Of the Ice il
very important for them If he Is their
daily food. If the pack is against
the shore ice, or, In other words. the
wind is toward the shore, then be mast
struggle over the moving, rolling ico.
cakes of the pack" to the outer edge
OF it, for the wnlrus is always. near the
water, where he can in an instant rs
cape his enemies. II the "pack" has
foated out TO SCI. or the wind is blow
ing in that direction, then he looks for
tho sea-horso-as the walrus Is some.
times called-along the outer edge OF
that ice but his chances Of seeing him
have now very much diminished for
the noating ice took the most OF them
with it to sea, and, worst of all, If the
wind Is at all strong, he does not know
at what instant the ice on which no is
walking may break oil away behind him,
and he may be sent drifting out to sea
In n boat without rudder, keel or com.
pass.
II is to tell you q most thrilling story
of this kind that | started upon in this
article, n story told me by an. old wal
%rus-hunter among the Is uimaux in
the northern part OF Hndson's bay, and
which | thought was thrilling enough
at the time, and only hope | can convey
1t to you as well as he told it TO me,
There had been pinched times during
the winter at fikkenlik, the little island
where no had built his little snow.
house, or igloo, as they call IL; no real
starvation, but oftentimes on rations so
low that 10 catch any game, as even n
little seal. sent u thrill OF Joy among
the poor natives, while 10 capture a
a No NOhlA AAAO btGA NllODku W
have made them fire cannon or
indulge in a torchlight procession had
they known anything at all about such
methods of iollihcation, but they simply
grinned-grinned n little when they
killed a seal, nearly grinned their heads
OF when they got g walrn.. But there
was not much grinning that winter; the
corners of their II ouths, like their spir.
its, were dropping Day and night,
fair or stormy, wind inshore or off, the
hunters patrolea the ice edge looking
for walrus.
The gale at times was fearful. Those
who slept In their snow houses near the
sea could hear the terrible ripping
sound, like a volley of musketry from a
Ing brigade of soldiers, rs piece after
piece Of ice broke from its fastenings
from the shore, and many supplications
went up from those at home that no I'M
fortunate hunters were on these slip.
perry and unstable ships.
One middle-aged hunter. however,
during Of these nights was pacing the
shore, having his two small boys on
either side OF him, watching for walrus,
which, II seen, they were TO report TO
their father. In front of them was the
appearance of q small, submerged reef,
which they identified by the bullying up
of he Ice over II when the tide was low,
n this they thought ought to be "A
good anchor TO hold the shore ice to its
place, otherwise they would not have
been in such a dangerous place during
such a terrible of-shore gale. Their
ideas were good enough when the tide
was low, but as the ice only formed ton
or tive We feet deep at its thickest, and
the tide rose and fell over twenty feet,
they should have known tho top OF
the reef could not touch even
the bottom of the Toe when Mt
high tide, and their anchor of
rock would be of no use to them.
! DOR savages they seldom do much
thinking hat requires addition and sub
traction, oven TO determine such an i'm.
portant thing as whether their lives are
In danger. They only considered that
the reef was in front of them, and
thought in n genera lway that it ought
TO protect them. Shoe / oke, for such
was the Esquimau hunters name.
thought he saw an object near the reef
that might be n walrus, but, creeping
nearer in the apidly-diminishing twi-
light, he saw il WAS but a heap OF sea-
weed, a kind OF kelp so abundant in the
Arctic, that had been washed on a cake
Of ice, and when II turned over, rearing
its head in tho air. it deceived ever tho
expert Isquimau hunter as TO its true
nature. He wal lust turning away
with a grunt OF Nah me au nah
the lsquimau for ANGRY" and the
strongest epithet they ever use TO
express their anger or disappointment,
when ho heard n most terrible noise be-
hind him. like the believing of a thou
sand bulls, and which the poor fellow
knew at once TO be tho giving way Of
the Ice on which he stood. With the
rapidity of n race horse he ran TO the
end toward his home, but there saw a
channel OF water thirty or forty feet
wide, and TO his utter chagrin and dis
may he saw that If he had gone to the
other end Of the oblong piece a couple
OF hundred yards In length. he might
have saved himself, for the little Hoe
had swung around that corner as n
pivot but by the time he had gotten
there ii, too, had swung clear OF the
shore ice with a parting snap, and he
dar not trust himself to Jump the
twenty or twenty-five feet away, for nom
OF the E%squimaux, so cold Is their waters
in lakes and sea, know how TO swim,
and II would have been certain death TO
have fallen into tho water. He shouted
AT the very top Of his voice for his boys,
but tho wind was shrieking a perfect
gale, an unusual gust OF which had torn
him loose, and 1t was like trying TO hurl
a handful of feathers back to them to
throw his voice to wherever they might
be. IL would have been but of little use
10 him In any way, IA they could not
have done anything TO help him. and his
loss would soon DO known at the vii
lage, a mile or two away, simply ~ his
not returning. AL that he Guild do.
Another Life saved.
Chamberlain Collie, Cholera and