Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-03-13

with him for the purpose, nc Passeu the
chunk to the next person on his right.
A tin can full of the soup followed the
meat in its travels around the circle,
each man drinking a swallow and pass
ING the can along-growler fashion-the
men being served first and the women
and children afterward in succession.
Then the bread was passed around, so
that each one had a biscuit, and in the
meantime coffee had been boiled on a
fire in the hut by one of the Andreas
girls, and this was brought out and
passed as the soup had been.
It was a remarkably fine Eskimo feast,
and no attention was paid to anything
but the eating, save by the two most in
terested persons present, young Peter
and pretty Juliana. As for Juliana, she
was seated on rock on the side of the
circle furtherest from the Manasse door
wav. and was keeping bright lookout
for every motion that Peter made, being
determined to give him such a tussle as
be had never dreamed of whenever he
strove to capture her, as he was sure to
do before the festivities were ended.
Peter was waiting until when, after
the edge had been taken from appetite,
the Oldest woman in the village would
pet into the centre of the group and
would there entertain everybody by con-
torting her face just as children do max
inc faces. He had noticed, willy fellow,
that the old woman's doings always con-
yulsed pretty Juliana, and he guessed
that if he were ever to capture the girl
he must make his rush at the climax Of
the fun, when the old woman, with bulg-
inc ewes, wide, extended mouth and pro-
truding tongue, would call herself
Ouarnat-the moon. 1t was, therefore,
with beating heart and rising emotions
that he watched the well-known pro-
gramme of the feast pass on till at last
old Marie Tirra stepped into the ring and
began the fun by looking square at
pretty Juliana and then drawing one side
of her face into a remarkable grimace.
Under ordinary circumstances Juliana
would have roared with laughter, but
this time her eyes had been wandering
elsewhere, and she had seen, looking
over the shoulder Of her father and past
the head of her unaccepted lover, an
oomiak or great boat full of strangers
coming around the rocks at the entrance
of the little harbor, while two men in
kayaks padded beside the oomiak. In-
stead of laughing she jumped to her feet
and shouted:
Strangers Strangers"
1t was a most startling event in the
history of the little settlement.
At the sound of the girls voice every
body stood up and looked toward the
strange boat. Then all focked down to
the landing and greeted the newcomers
by shouts and inquiries regarding their
health. 1t was cordial meeting in ap-
pearance only, however, for according to
custom, one of the strangers had to
wrcstle with a picked man of the settle
ment, and under a very old custom the
stranger, if defeated, could be killed by
the victor-a custom now obsolete.
Now, the party of strangers included
an old man, his wife, two sons, daugh-
ter-in-law and several children. The
sons were in the kayaks, and it was the
unmarried one who led the way to the
landing. As he stepped from his kayak
the villagers by common instinct turned
toward young Peter Manasse. He had
had hard luck in wooing wife, and
here was his opportunity to show his
proves such as he had never had before.
In some way-probably from the
chatter among the gossips-the young
stranger seemed to apprehend the con-
dition Of affairs in the village, and looked
at one after another of the maidens stand
ing behind their elders and glancing
shyly at him when they thought he
wouldn't observe them, until at last his
eyes fell on Juliana. Her beauty of face
and form would have convinced a less
observant youth that she was the one
sought for, but had anything else been
wanting, her quick flush was enough to
betray her. Thereat the young stranger
picked a great dead SWAMI very rare
bird in those parts-frOm the top of his
kayak and carried it to the feet of pretty
Julisna, who said not a word, though
she smiled very brightly toward her
mother. Then the young man said;
"My name is Habakik. Who is it
that will meet Habikik2" and young
Peter Manasse stepped from the group
and said that it was he. The two eyed
each other and then, as white athletes
would say, began to wrestle catch-as-
catch-can. It was a mighty and mem
Orable struggle. No such match had
ever been seen by any one present. WIN
equal strength and skill they pulled ana
pushed and lifted, hither and thither,
about the level beach, till both were
flaming red in the face and bathed IN
perspiration. Taen the foot OF the
stranger slipped and he stumbled ior-
ward, head down, under Peters rigns
arm. A shout went up from the VII