Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-03-13
How Peter Won Juliana,
STORY or An ESKIMO MARRIAeE.

STORY OF AN ESKIMO MARRIAGE.
The little Eskimo settlement of Ka-
jartalik was in great state of excite
ment. For a long time young Peter Ma
nasse had wanted to marry pretty Juli-
ana Marie Andreas, but because of the
opposition of the girls parents and
brothers he had been unable to accom-
plish his desires. To the villagers the
opposition of the relatives had seemed
to be wholly unwarranted, for Peter was
a most likely young Eskimo. He had
a beautiful kayak, with two harpoons
and bird spear, two fish lines and two
hooks, beside net with which to scoop
out the little salmonoids that throng the
water there at certain seasons. More
over, he could use them as well as any
one that had ever padded that way
Further still, he was courageous. Once
in early spring, when the field ice had
filed the ford for several days in such a
way that no one could go seal hunting,
Peter, having seen a seal on an iceberg,
ran across the floating ice cakes till he
could strike it, and so, in spite of the
dangers relieved the pressing need Of the
colony.
However, the relatives of the girl re-
NAMED obdurate, while she looked on
with apparent Indifference, and so poor
Peter sighed in vain until at last his
father determined to interfere by giving
great feast to all his neighbors. 1t
was the anr ouncement of the datc Of TIE
feast that had excited the people, and
not without reason, too, for if during
the course of the festivities young Peter
could manage to pick up and carry away
the pretty Juliana to his fathers house,
the matter would be settled; she would
be constrained by the usages of polite
Eskimo society TO accept the bold lover,
while the relatives would not be allowed
to interfere once the young man got his
sweetheart safely at the door of the hut
1t appeared that the Manasse family
had had the feast in mind for long
time, for, now that it was announced,
the people remembered that both father
and son had been very assiduous in look
ing after their traps during the winter,
and had taken many foxes. The pelts
had been carefully prepared and de-
posted at the store OF the white man.
Among other things obtained in exchange
were three kinds Of hard bread, large
supply of coffee and enough tobacco to
last long time. 1t was when the father
and son carried home these things that
the feast was announced and everybody
knew that very great feast it would
be.
When the afternoon arrived Mrs. .Manasse
placed three fiat stones close together not
very far from the entrance to her house,
and built fire Of driftwood and faggots
from the tiny forests hard by. Over this
was placed big iron pot bought of the
whites. long before. The pot was filed
with sea water, and into it she placed as
many biz chunks Of seal meat and seal
fat as would serve to make the founda.
ton of most nourishing and savory
Eskimo stew. To the seal meat she had
added enough ptarmigans and hares to
give each member Of the community one,
and thereafter she clrefully tended the
fire so that the mess simmered gently
and continuously, and the broth was
kept well replenished. Meantime a host
of Youngsters gathered about the fire,
tnifling the odors and dancing with one
another and singing song that related
the trials Of an Eskimo lover who, hav.
ing failed to win the object OF his de-
sires, went away and married a wild
goose, a song very popular on such oc-
casiops in Eskimo land. But the older
part Of the community kept strictly within
the huts
BY and by, when the stew was done
to the taste of Mrs. Manasse, she called
her husband from their hut. and there.
upon he began shouting at the top Of his
voice:
"O-c-yo; O-e-yowwhichis an Eskimo
word of invitation to eat boiled meat
The people all came out SO quietly that a
stranger would have surmised that they
had been waiting, perhaps not without
some impatience, for the word to come
Gathering about the fire, they all squatted
down in a circle. Then Peters father,
with seal rib sharpened at one end,
dexterously picked q piece of boiled
meat from the kettle and passed it to
Mr.. Andreas, who YVES squatted by his