The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-10-16
Cur 0lio.
A NORTHERN LEGEND.
BY LIEUTENANT scHwATKA.

1t was on wild, wintry night in the
polar regions of the most northern estuary
of Hudson's bay that | was reposing, half
asleep, stretched out on the gray reindeer
robes that separated me from the most
curious of all couches, a bed ofsnow, while
the half Pickering light from native stone
lamp that looked like half Of huge clam
shell, with the struggling bits oflight along
its edge, threw its yellow, jaundiced hues
against number of queer faces-fat,
dumpy ones that looked like obese Mongo-
lians painted up to initiate the facial hues
of our own Indians Back of this group
of Esquimaux-for such they were-were
the weirdly white walls of the snow house,
making the domicile look not unlike lit
tie oval-domed, egg-shaped pen built of
tombstones. The little children wereasleep
in a cozy corner, under the reindeer robes,
great shaggy black musk-ox skin being
being between them and the walls of the
snow house, while the few Esquimau men
in the place were sitting on the edge of
bed of snow, their feet swathed in skins,
dangling down to the floor of the same
white material, where few dogs were
.prying their noses around to catch bit OF
seal or walrus meat, or they were sitting
la Turk upon it, all of them with their
arms Withdrawn from the sleeves of their
coats and crossed upon their bare breasts
underneath, and each and every one en-
joying pipe of tobacco while thus warm-
ing their hands,
As the white smoke lazily ascended and
drifted away through the little holes in the
top of the walls of snow, heard the group,
one by one, tell their curious stories of the
boreal chase, their dangers on the foes of
ice, and the myths and legends of the great
north land, and one of them, the legend of
an old walrus-hunter of the tribe, | must
tell
Far, far in the mythical past, when
the ancestors of the Innuits, or Esquimaux,
first came to this land, the blasts of winter
and its weary leagues of ice and snow were
unknown Summer reigned throughout
the year, and the Yalrus crawled upon the
rocky islets and the stopping shores, in
stead of cakes and vast foes of ice, and
were there secured by the merry hearted
hunters, who never knew of famine from
the tickle storms of winter. Seals sported
in the pretty little fords, and with spears
and light skin canoes they successfully
hunted them the year round. Flowers
grew upon the banks of the lakes, and ice
was unknown upon their waters, while in
myriad droves the elder duck and guile
mot and snowy goose foated upon their
bosoms, and their clamorous voices filled
the air From lake to lake their many
droves wandered at their pleasure, but
southwark they never had to go to avoid
the cold, or because their swimming places
were covered with ice; and their garrulous
clatter could be heard in any month in the
year. Clouds never darkened the sky, and
the sun never set, but swung around the
horizon, undimmed by mists, like some
sleepless sentinel guarding sacred spot.
1t was the grandest time the earth had
ever seen, so all agreed, even the beasts and
the birds and those that lived under the
waters along the land, and so thought the
poor Innuits Gas the Esquimaux call them
selves, who had come from far-of shore,
desolate and devoid of all such brightness
apd plenty.
"Who reigns ip this fair lapd?" asked
our Innuit forefathers of the peaceful in
habitants The deity we now worship is
Me-ah-tuk, the elder duck, although we
have had many before, but then the coun-
try was never so prosperous under them
Once ruled the reindeers god, but to please
them he made all the water into land bear
ing sweet grasses for them to eat, and all
the lakes were made into mere puddles,
where the reindeer could drink, and every
thing was given to grass, so the seal and
walrus and the polar bear suffered more
than the reindeer gained. Then the god
of the whales ruled over all, and the waters
commenced creeping up over the land to
please them, and soon everything thereon
would have been destroyed. had not the
musk oxen succeeded him, and back again
increased the land, until the poor seal and
walrus we're once more in agony for place
to rest, until Tornarsuk, chief (ish-oo- NUT
TIKI of all the gods, heard their cries, and
left the many lands he ruled to place a ru-
Ter over this that would do better The
deities of all the animals and birds and IN
sects pressed their claims to rule, and every
one thought surely the contest would be
narrowed down to choice among the more
aggressive animals and birds, but all were
dumfounded and surprised to see the modest
elder duck selected from the great throng.
Me-ah-tuk, said Tornarsuk, needs many
lakes in which to breed and raise her young,
and this creates great deal of land to in
close the lakes, and on this land would
grow the grass for the grazing animals.
The sea and its inlets and its fords would
be needed, for here the full-grown elders
love to congregate and swim upon the
dancing waves, and the seal and the mar
whal and the walrus need not lament.
So the deity of the elder ducks was
made god of all. Tornarsuk remained
among them to see the effect, and so great
was the contentment and SO pleased were
all that when he left be told them that he
expected it would be a long time before he
again visited them, so sure was he of their