St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-24
THE LEGEND
OF
THE ICE KING,
Or How the Ruler of the Arctic Empire
Left His Kingdom Amid the
spendOrs Of the Aurora
Borealis,
And Descended in Pomp Transcendent to
Visit the Rival Ice King Who Dwslt in
HIS Crystal Palace in the Landof
the hinne-so-te-ans.
BY GIDEON GRIP.
written for the SUNDAY GLoBE.l

SnOWShOeS. That all the school children are
talking Of?' asked little Alice, at the supper
table,
''Oh! yes"' chimes in wee Lily. Papa. do
tell Us all about ii; why do they build an
Ice Palace, and who is the Ice King"
well! well!n says papa. wait until after
supper, and when get settled in my easy
chair, will tell you all about the great Ice
King" So in the library all the children as
semble around the chair TO hear the Won
derful story. When all was ready, and the
story about to commence, Alice says:
Wait papa, you know you have often
told us that Indians always smoke when
they tell their best stories" So. after the
pipe was lighted, papa leaned back in his
great easy-chair, surrounded with bevy of
bright-eyed children. and said: This is the
story told 10 me by Nan-sO-hut-ta-ka big
Head), the Indian stOry-teller, about the
GREAT ICE KING.
Once upon time. long, long ago, when
the world was young, it was filed with
mighty wonders, i'm fact it was so very long
ago when these things happened that no
one at this time can tell whether they are
really true or not or how much is truth
and how much is fable.
AT all events all the people knew for, a
certainty that there was, and always had
been. a great Ice King who dwelt far in the
north, and that when he turned his breath
in this direction it chilled the green sum
mer into frost. and that the grass and
leaves witheTed under its touch. and as he
breathed upon the land, winter came on
and continued until he ceased 10 breathe
upon il.
haA he
to visit this mighty king OF the frosts in
his own country. and 10 see the beautiful
palace of crystal in which he lived, and 10
see for themselves the splendOr with which
he was said to be surrounded. For you
must know that many wonderful stories
had always been told of his magnifcence.
The reflections from the crystal ice that
had never been melted into water under the
rays OF the Aurora Bore Ais was said 10 be
the most dazzling sight that was ever even
dreamed of. In his person he was said to
be grave. dignifed and genial. and TO be
very kind, especially 10 little children. His
hair and beard were even whittier than snow.
for every hair shOne like FURNISHED silver.
So for hundreds of years the great kings
of the South organized expeditions by send
ing ships. and tObOggans, and snOWshOes,
and mOccasins for their crews 10 wear when
they could no longer proceed in their ships;
aud the kings told their captains 70 come
not back until they had seen the
Ice King in his royal palace and delivered
TO him the kindly greetings with which
they were charged by their royal masters.
The king of the Sag-a-nash sent Dah-vys
and Mehl-vylle and Phrank-lyn and many
brave and mighty men on expeditions to
his majesty, the Ice King, and no sooner
hud fol oil
organized to take its place, and to die
among the icebergs as their predecessors
had done. And so for centuries, the more
people that died in their endeavOrs to see
the great ice King the more ready Others
were to take their places. But all We're
failures. The breath of the great king
chilled their bodies to ice, and they returned
no more.
Then the people of Un-kel-Psalm took up
the work where the others had left it, and
sent OF their wisest and braveSt men, many
times with ships. and all that was needtul
on their hazardous journey to see the Ice
King in his own domains. and
tell what manner of monarch
he was. But all to no avail; they could not
see his face: they only saw the great North
ern light that Illuminated his palace, but
beyond this they could not go.
Now when the nations of the earth had
abandoned all hope of ever seeing the great
Ice King face To face; there dwelt i'm the
land of Un-kel-PSalm man of mighty
valOr, even the scribe Ben-Net, who rose up
and said, 20 to- | will find the Ice King. |
will 90 by another road, and when have
discovered him, | shall write the story
thereof, and 10! all the people shall buy my
writing; and l will be greater and richer
than all the kings who have sought him be-
fore. So he builded a ship of great
strength, and his captain set out with his
men on the perilOus journey. But alas!
IN ey met the same fate as those who had
gone before them. and but few returned 10
tell how miserably their companions had
died under the whitening breath of the Ice
King.
And when it had come to pass. that all
the mighty nations had failed, and when
the scribe had failed to reach the Ice King
the people said among themselves there is
no longer any use 70 try. for we will never
succeed. We will let him alone in his
solitude.
So, after a time, when the merchants
and princes of the city of Saint-Sahl were as
sem0led together in the market-pace To take
counsel among themselves as TO whether
there could be devised any better way for
the people to spend the long. cold winter
than lowering over coal stove and when
many had spoken TO the people telling them
what they should do, there arose a great
tumult, and none would agree to what the
other said. And when they were ready to
depart. there rose up among them Tom
suhn, the scribe. and said: Let us build an
ice palace that shall be an hundred cubits
high. and an hundred eubits wide. and an
hundred cubits long. And while we know
We cannot have the Ice King of the North
TO reign over US and teach us how to enjoy
ourselves. can we not make king of our
own, who shall take his place and rule over
US? So all the merchants and princes an
swered even as one man: Hoi no! thus
shall it be.
So all day long nothing was talked of but
the Ice Palace and when the night came
they all assembled at the tavern of Den-nys,
the Rhuy-ahn. And when they had cOun-
seled among themselves they all said with
one acclaim that GheOrge. the Phyntch,
should be the king of the carnival, and so
il was. And when they had bounced him
they set him upon throne and crowned
hun king, and every one made solemn
pledge OF loyalty and obedience to him.
Then the people gave to the treasury of the
king their shekels in abundance, and when
a large sum was accumulated the king 5
scribe sent letter to the land of the Sag
a-nash even unto the city of Mount Royal,
where dwelt Huteh-in-suhn. a cunning
worker i'm ice, who straight way came be-
fore the king and when he had made his
Obesiance, he said. 10! will build such a
palace for thy people as never was seen be-
fore. and thy people shall make merry
therein, and have health and happiness
thereat.
Now. after the graver rad made images of
the palace, and when they had been sent