The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-10-23
QUIQUERN.
ny RUnYAGp KILLING.
tco9yrilhi, lS9ll
CnAITER |.

/ 80
we will uAmS hun"
"For Whomg" said Amoraq
Kadlu's eye rolled round the skim
lined snow house till it came to four
tesn.year-old KotuEO sitting on the
sleeping bench making a button Of
walrus ivory. "Name him for line"
said EOtukO, with a grin. "rShall need
him some day."
Kadlu grinned back iii his eyes wore
almost buried in the fat OF his Hat
cheeks, aud nodded TO Amoraq while
his puppy'a fierce mother whlneu to
see her baby wrCgling far out OF reach
in the little sOalakin pouch hung above
the warmth OF tito blubbsr lamp.
KoiukO went on with his carving aud
kadlu threw a rolled bundle OF leather
dog.haTnesses into a tiny liltln room
that Opensd from one aide OF the house /
slipped OF his heavy deerskin hunting
suit, put II into whalebone net that
hung above another lamp and dropped
down on tile sleeping bench to WhiIlle
at a piece OF frozen seal meat, I'LL
Amoraq, his wife, should bring tho
regular dinner Of boiled meat and blood
soup. lie had been out since early
dawn at tho seal holes, eight miles
away, on tue ice al the edge OF the doe,
and had come home with three big
seals. Half way down the long, low
snow passage or tunnel, that lei to the
iHner door OF tile house, you could hear
snappuga and yelpings, rs the dogs Of
his sleigh team, released IRON their
dAY's work, sculliod Tor warm places.
Wheu tile yelpingi grew too loud,
kotuEo lazilY rolled oil the sleeping
bench, aud, picking up dog whip With
an eighteen.inch handle OF uptingY
Whalebflls, aud twenty-five feet OF
heavy plated thong, he divedinto the
passage where Il sounded as though all
the dogs were eating him alive; but that
was no more than their regular gracs
before meals. When lac CraWled out OF
tho lar ond OF the passage hall dozen
furry heads followed him with their
eyes as ITO went to 4 short galldWs OF
whale Jaw bones. from which tho dogs
meat VIA, hung split oil tho frozen Itua
IN biz Jumps with a brnad.heRdel spear.
and stood, his whip In one hand and the
meat in the, other. EACH beast was cali
ell by name-iha weakest lirIt-audW WOO
belidS any dog tuat moved out OF his
turn, for the Iaporing lash would shoot
on, like lhouged lightning aud hicS
away aa incit or so OF hair and hide.
Each beast simply growled once, snap
ped once, chOksd once ovar his portion,
and hurried back to the protection Of
zee snow passage, while the boy stood
on the snow under tho blazing northern
lights aud dealt out Justice, Tho last TO
DO served was the big black leader OF
the team, who Kept order when they
we're hatnessed, andlto him Kotuko
gave adoabls allowance OF meat, Is we'll
as an extra crack OF the whip.
"Ahl" said kotuko, coiling up the
LASH, III have a little one over tho lamp
that will make great many howlings.
SArpok Gst iu!"
lie crawlsd back over the huddled
dogs, busted the dry snow from his iurs
with the WhaleboRo beaier that Amo'
RAG kept by the door tapped the ska.
lined Eooi oil the house to shake oil any
iciC % that might have fallen from the
dome OF snow above. and curled up on
the bench. The dogs ia the passage
snored aud whinsd in their sleep, the
boy baby on Amorap's deep fur hood
kicked and choked and gurgled, and
the mother Of the newly named puppy
lay at Kotuko's side, her ewes fixed on
the bundle OF seaiskin; warm and safe
above Tho broad, yellow iiame OF the
lAup.
And all this happened far away 10
the north; beyond Labrador; beyond
Hudson's strait, where the great tides
throw the ice about, north Of Melville
peninsplA-north oven Of tile narrow
Fury aud Hecla straits on the north
shore oil Ballin land, where ByloIG is.
land stands above the ice OF Lancaster
sound like pudding bowl wrong side
up. North OF Lancaster sornd there is
nothing We know any thing about except
North Devon and Ellssmero Land but
even there live few scattered people
next door, as 1t were, to the very pole
Kallu was an lnuit-what you call
an E'qumau-and his tribe. some fifty
persons all told, belonged to the Tunu.
nirmiul-"the country lying a. the
back Of something" In the maps that
de.oiaia coa.l is called NAVY Board In.
let; but tho luni! namo Is best be-
cause tho country lies at the v0ry back
Of everything In the world. For nino
months OF the year there IL only leo rs
hard rs rock, snow. anl gaze alter gale.
with cold that no ono can realize WHO
has never seen the thermamHlOr 90
down even to zero. For SIX months oil
Of those nine itisdRrk. and that Is what
makes IL so horrible. For the three
mouths OF tho summer it only freezes
every other day and every night. aud
then tho snow BEGINS 10 sweep away to
ihetonthctiy slopes. and a few ground
willows put ont their wOolly buds, a
tiny stone crop or 80 makes bOiicyI to
blossom; beaches Of inl gravel aud
rounded stones run down to tho open
sea, and polished bou.icrs and ltuakol
rocks TIE up above tho gfanuiaiei
snow. But all that goes away ia u low
weeks, and tito wild winter lock, down
again ON ITO land whl,o az s,A the torn
aud powdered leo tears up and down
tho olliuE, lRmmng and tammiug, md
Ipliiung and hitting. and rounding aud
grounding. iill IL all freezes together
ton feet thick from tho laad outward to
deep water
IN tue winter Ktild would follow tho
soals to tho edge Of tho land leo aud
spear them as they came up to breathe
At their blow holus. The seals must
hayo open water 10 live and catch d III
IN, mud in the deep Of winter tie Ice
wond sometimes run oirhty mlcA
without n bruak from tho ncaros. land.
In the spring le and his peoplc retreat.
Ud from tho thawing zoos 10 tho rocky
mainland. where they mt an iA8t4 al