The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-10-20

good to chew on when hungry. Then
he squatted down on the seat of he
sledge, and wrapped bearskin round
him, and shouted whit! whit" 10 the
leader.
For a mile ne headed toward TIE
companys post; then he called out,
sharply: "Rara! rara!" and the team
obcdiently turned to the left and
started out toward the ocean.
At dawn they had travelled 30 miles,
and the edge of the ice was before them.
Here Pomiuk stopped, built snow
house, and taking his dogs in as bedfel-
lows, that they might warm both them.
selves and him, he chewed bit of the
sealskin boot and went sound asleep.
Just one hour he slept and woke re.
freshed, gave each dog piece of the
boot an inch square, reharnessed them
to the komatik and started again on his
| journey. 1t would have puzzled you.
however, to tell where the lad was
going. A league TO the southwest,
then "Rara! rara!" and a league to the
southeast followed; AUX! auk!" and
league to the southwest again, tack.
| ing back and forth like sailboat beat
| ing to windward; and.that was just
what he was doing, for the breeze ,sas
| blowing in his face and he steeled him.
self to its biting. If his young body
was stunted and crippled, Pomiuk' s
heart was big and strong; but it nearly
gave up hoping when midday came
without a sign and the afternoon be
gan to go and nothing had come of his
hunting. Again they stopped to warm
themselves and to chew a bit of the
sealskin. He was making a mile to the
southwark each tack, and he thought:
Il am not disobeying the command;
am travelling toward the post" But he
did no take care to figure out how long
it would take him to reach there.
| Nightfall, and still nothing. The
boot must last them another day
What was left was carefully portioned
| the dogs were embarrassed for the
night and the snowhouse was building
Pomiuk paid no more attention to the
dogs, till there came low growl from
the leader. Then he looked rounc
quickly. Far off in the dusk, he could
not say how far, something white wa;
moving, and the dogs were bounding
toward it. Grasping his harpoon anc
tandaX, he joyfully hobbled after
them. The half-famished dogs would
not let it escape. There was no neet
to hurry. But, though they attacked
it valiantly, they could not succeed
without him; and it was well that he
made haste. When he reached them
one of his very best dogs, the fercest
one, the bully of the team, fell bach
with his head crushed from a blow thai
Namuk, the bear, had given him.
Urging the dogs to do their best, he
approached the huge creature as neal
as he dared, and sought to reach its
throat with the harpoon; but when the
right moment came he thrust too low
| The weapon struck under the collar
Ibone and, though he had given it al
his strength and its head was com
| pletely buried, the bear brushed the
| handle aside as if it had been wisp OF
| > II q w anu Win d 1Odl, nlduc LOW dlN
him.
Pomiuk might have Jared lily then
| had it not been for his faithful dogs
They attacked the monster from al
sides at once. The smell of its blood
made them frantic, and seemed te
double and treble their strength. Il
was we'll; for their crippled master, il
trying to elude the enraged beast, hac
| slipped on a small broken hummock OF
ice and the creature was nearly or
him.
1t was not time to think, but tc
act. Pomiuk's instinct guided him. In
stinct is strong in the savage, and il
spite of his taste of civilized life he
was yet a child of nature. He lay
quite still where he had fallen, lay still
as death till the fighting bear stooc
over his PROSTATE body. Then he drew
his knife and struck quickly, once
twice; and the second time, leaving his
knife in the wound, sprang nimbly tc
one side, hand AK in hand; but the
latter was not needed. Loaded down
by the wolfish dogs the great bear tot
tered and fell to the ice, and the bloody
battle was over.
Pomiuk's first care was to beat of
the dogs and feed them his victim
entrails. Next he set about skinnine
the carcass. 1t was heavy work for a
mere lad, in the dark and cold of an
arctic night, but at last it was accom-.
| plished; the meat was hacked into sec.
tons that he could lift, the komatik
was brought, and all was slowed as il
should be; then the snowhouse was
completed and, with full stomachs
they all turned in and slept soundly till
The morning.
With such refreshment it did not
take long next day to reach the com
pany's post There the skin was trade
for powder, and bullets, and tobacco
and flour, and molasses, and tea, which
summary comprises all of the Eskimo
desires.
With his komatik loaded with such
good things he returned to the igloo>
by nightfall, where the people greeted
him joyously and could scarcely be.
lieve their good fortune.
"And the ring?" said Kangegatsuk.
Pomiuk showed it proudly. ut was
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