The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-10-24


gave tongue on an Imaginary reindeer
track. and when they slipped him from
the pitu he iieW at tho throat Of an ice.
cliff, aud ran away aS his loader had
done, hla harness GU his back, Alter
that no QUE would take tile dogs out
again. They needed them for some,
thing else aud the dogs knew 1t and
though they were tied down aud fed by
hand their eyOa we're full Of despair and
fear. 10 make things worse the old
women began to tell ghosl'talsa aud 10
say that they had met the spirits OF the
dead hunters lOHt that autumn who
prophosisd all Sorts Of horrible things.
KotukO grieyed moro for the loss OF
his dog than anything else, for though
al lnuit eats enormously he also knows
whom 10 sIarye. But the hunger, the
darkness, the cold aud tho exposure
told on his strength, and he began TO
hear voices inside his head aud TO see
people, who were not there, out OF tho
tall Of his eye One night lie had I'M
buCklad himself after ten hours wait
ing above a "blnd" Heal.hole and was
staggering back to tho village faint and
dizzY-he halted to lean his back against
bowider which happened 10 DO sup'
ported like rockiRg,stone on o single
jutIins point OF ice. His weight dis
turbed the balance oil the thing, II
rolled over ponderously and as KoIuko
sprung aside to avoid it slid alter him
sqnaaking and hisHing on tho leo slope.
That was enough for kotuto, lilo had
been brought up 10 believe that every
rock and bowlder had ito owner its
inua) who was generally onO'eyed
kind OF woman thing called atornaq
aud that whom tornaQ meant to holp
man shO rolled after him inside her
stone house aud asked him whether he
would take her Tor q guardian spiTit.
(ln summer thaWs the ice'hell rocks
aud powders roll and slip all over tue
face Of tho land, 90 you can easily see
how the idea Of live stones arosO.) ko'
Iuko heard tho blood beating in his
ears as no had heard 1t all day aud he
thought 1t was the tornaq OF tue stone
speaking to him. Before h0 reached
homo no was quite certain that he had
held long conyerSAliOn with her, and
as all his people believed that this was
quite possible, no ono cOntradicIOd him.
"'She said to me: l jump down. |
Jump down from my plaza on the
snow criod Kotuko, with hollow
eyes, loauing forward In the hall lighted
hut. "She said: q will be q guide.
She says, ! will guide you 10 the good
seal holes Tomorrow | will go and
the tSrnsa will guide me,"
Then Ansekok, the village sorcorer'
came in and kOtuko told him tho iaI0
second timo, 1t Loaf nothing In 'he tell
ing.
'Rollow the tornait (the Gpirit Of tho
stonesl aud they will bring US food
again, said the angokok.
Now the girl from the north had been
lying near tho lamp. eating very little
aud saying less for days past, but when
AmoraQ aud kadlu next morning pack
cd and dashed a little hand sisigh Tor
Koiuko aud loaded 1t with his hunting
gear and as much blubber and frozen
seal meat as they could spare, she took
the pulling rope. and stepped out bold
iy at the boys side.
"Your house is my house" she said,
as the little bonO.shod sleigh Iaueaked
and bumped behind them in the awful,
silent Arctic night.
"Siy house is your house" said ko'
tuko, "but think that We shall both 20
to sedna together"
Now SOdna Is the mistress Of tho I'm.
derWorld, and the mutt believes that
everyone who dies must spend year
in her horrible country before going on
to QuRdliparmiut. the happy place
where ii never freezes aud tho fat rein.
deer trot up when you call.
Through the village people were
shouting: ''The tornait have spokon to
Kotuko. They will show him open leo.
lie will bring Us the seal again." Their
voices were soon swallowed up by the
cold smnty dark, and KoluEo and tho
girl shouldered close together as they
strained on tho pulling roDe or HUNDRED
the sleigh through the broken ice, In
the direction OF tue polar sea. Kotuko
insisted that the toruaq oil the stone had
told him to go north aud north they
went under Tuklugdjung, the reindeer
what va cali the Great Bear.
No European could have made five
miles q day oyes the ice rubbish aud
the sharp.edged drifts; but those two
knew oNACtly TUG turn u hub "Hbb buAt
coaxeI u sleigh round hummock, the
Jerk that neatly lifts It out Of an leo
crack.an the exact strength that goes
to the few quiet strokes OF the spear.
head tina! make path possible when
everything looks hopeless.
Tie girl said nothing, but bowed her
head, and tho long Woivoring fur fringe
to her ermine hood blow across her
hroad, dark face. thu sly above ihom
was on intense yelvety black, changing
to bands Of Indian rcd on the horizon.
whsro the great stare burned like street
lamps. From Limo to time greeniSh
wave OF the northern lights would roll
across tho hollow Of tho high heavens,
flick like flag aud disappear, OF
meteor would crAcklO from darkness to
darkness, trailing q shower oil sparks
behind. Then they could SEQ tho ridEed
and iurrowel surface OF tho Hoe, tipped
aud laced with strange olors, rod, cop.
per aud blush, bur III tho ordinary
starlight everything turned to one
irost.bitlon gray.