Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-08-06

the very top of his voice for his
boys, but the wind was shrieking
a perfecI gale, an unusual gust
of which had torn him loose.
and it was like trying to hurl a hands
full of feathers back to them to throw
his voice to wherever they might be.
It would have been but of little use
to him in any way, as they could not
have done anything to help him, and
his loss would soon be known at the
village, mile or two away, simply
by his not returning. Ali that he
could do was to float away in his ship.
wait until the wind changed and
brought him near some land when,
if he recognized it, he would wend
his way home; all this if ne was for-
tunate enough to kill some game to
prevent starvation, or his home of ice
did not break up into small pieces,
and by falling over tumble him into
the water, when he must surely
drown.
He knew well enough that such
drifts out at sea were not uncommon,
and that many of his friends had
been absent two and three days. and
occasionally as many weeks. He al
SO remembered bitterly that some of
them never returned to tell the sad
tale of their journey to their death.
have spoken of it as winter, but
it was late in that time, and so abrupt
ly do the Arctic seasons change that
winter jumps to summer without
spring, and the summer makes one
bound into winter again without any
fall or autumn. One of
his great fears, therefore, was the
chance of this warm weather, which
would make his ship of ice less liable
to hold together in the fierce waves
of the Arctic spring. He devoutly
hoped for the coolest times possible to
help him out, Or until he could re-
turn.
The Esquimau people are so used to
hardship and danger that they are
not prone to sit down and beaoan
their fate in great emergency like
this. Shoo>Koke at once looked
about him to comprehend bis sur~
roundings, and was much surprised
to see a dark object on the foe, to
which he walked. thinking it possible
another batch of kelp. and was aston
ished indeed to see that it was ais
light sledge and four dogs that he had
brought with him. The poor dogs,
poorly fed for the last few weeks, had
curled up together, and were so com
Portable that they had not even nos
ticed that they were afoat. Taking
his huge snow knife, which every
Esquimaux man Or boy has with him
he built him snow house, near
large hummock Of ice, into which he
could crawl and protect himself from
the fury of the gale, which sent sprays
of flying scud across the open boat.
another snow house was made for
his dogs, into which they were glad
enough to go.
For four long days he saw moth
ing, and was commencing to get weak
from his prolonged fasting. He was
thinking of killing dog to stay the
pangs OF hunger, wien to his delight
he saw q huge walrus on a cake Of Ice
not far away, and, arning himself
with his walrus spear and line, he
prepared to slay it. Imagine his utter
chag1in to have the two cakes float
by each ether just SO that he could
not reach the one on which was perch
ed the sea horse, and see it-enough
TO last him and his dogs for months
thus just elude his grasp. Again he
went to bed supperless, but with such
an improvement Ia the weather that
he hoped to be able TO Kill some game
very soon and save Staying kis dogs,
on which SO much depended to reach
home again.
Hardly were his eyes we'll closed
when he heard a most tremendous
snarliug and swapping and barking
out of doors, and to which he rushed
with his spear in hand, to find that
his dogs had brought to DAY falr>
sized polar bear on an adjoining cake
Of ice. Mr.. Bruin had scented the
camp. and was investigating when he
woke up the dogs. Undaunted, Shoe
Koke resolutely attacked him, and
though he serely wished for his lance,
away off home, Or, better still, some
gun in the village, he did not despair,
and after being nearly killed by a
ferocious charge from the creature he
got thrust in his neck which killed
him. The subject of food for a losg
time was settled by this lucky stroke
It would be altogether to long to
tell you about Sho-Koke's adventures
with polar bears, walrus and seals,
but in these encounters he kept him
self and his four dogs well supplied
with food. While he was butchering
this first lear On its separate cake of
ice, and CHANGING to look around, he
saw that his snow-house and sledge
had disappeared, and he had to build
another igloo on the new foe.
Anxiously he watched for land,
sitting on the top of his snow-house
and scanning the sea with its drifting
ice packs. Of course he looked only
IN the direction from whence he had
come, the northward, but was surpris-
ed and gladdened by seeing it to the
east one day. That night a gale arose
and his ice foe broke into several
pieces, one crack running right
through the center of his house and
splitting it IN two. When morning
broke be saw that he was not over