Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-01-13
But maybe, for Rabbit, that is cot
ton tail enough.
Arthur Guiterman in st. Nicholas.
The Gjuntess'
Amulet

Amulet
A very long time ago, according
to the Ekimo legends there lived in a
fishing village an orphan boy called
Inoosarsuk He was brave, industri-
GUS, good tempered boy, and you
would suppose that his foster mother
and foster father, having no children
Of their own, would have loved him
very much. But the truth is that poor
little Inoosarsuk had a very hard time.
"InOosarsuk," his foster mother
called to him one day when her hus-
band. as usual, was away fishing, Il
am hungry, but am tired of eating the
coarse fish your father has brought
home. So hurry and go out in the
extra kayak (Which is the Eskimo
name for q fishing boat) and bring me
home some frogfsh.'
But my foster father has forbidden
me to go out in the kayak" said the
boy, much alarmed.
He will never know Of it. I my.
self will clean and dry the boat when
you have brought it back. 90 quickly,
dear Inoosarsuk, and you and l will
share the fish together" And the
selfish woman fairly drove the child
out upon the water In the fishing boat:
Although Inoosarsuk came back as
promptly as he could, his foster
mother did not find time to clean the
boat as she had promised. And when
her husband found that it had been
used he accused the unfortunate child
of disobedience and gave him a very
dreadful beating, for he was harsh,
cruel man.
Some weeks later, when the boys
foster mother had forgotten this hap
pening, she again called 1nnosarsuk
to her and directed him to 80 out IN
the fishing boat and bring her home
some stalks of the quannek. which is
q plant that the Eskimos find eatable.
In vain the boy pleaded with his fos'
ter mother not to send him out, for he
knew quite we'll that he should be
beaten even more cruelty than before
It were discovered that he had again
made use of the kayak. But the greedy
woman insisted that she must have
the quannek and faithfully promised
the child that her husband should not
know the boat had been. touched.
Poor Inoosarsuk felt very forlorn and
sick at heart, for he knew we'll that If
his foster mother really cared for him
she would act quite differently.
he rowed away to spot
where he thought he could pick plenty
Of quannek.
But the plant proved, after all, very
hard to find. And 1t was a long time
before Inoosarsuk had collected an
armful of stalks. Hurrying with this
to the boat. he was Mortified to find
that the tide had risen and that one OF
the oars had foated away. The boy
was SO much at home In a boat that
as far as his own safety was con-
cerned he could manage quite we'll
with one oar. But what would his fos-
ter father say when he learned that an
oar was missing? Never In the world
could this be concealed from him!
HE will surely kill met" thought
poor Inoosarsuk in great distress. And
then this thought came to him: But
why should I go home at ALTO be
scolded and beaten for what is not my
fault? There can be no other place in
the world where I would be as miser-
able"
So the child hastily prepared for
his solitary Journey into the unknown
world. From an inner pocket Of his
coat he drew out two amulets, or
charms, which he always carried with
him. Holding one Of these in each
hand, he wished hard for fair wealth
er, for 1t would not do to be overtaken
by a storm so long as he should be in
an open boat with only one oar at his
disposal. The quannek and some fish
that he had caught would serve him
we'll for provisions. And so, realizing
with great excitement that he was
having his first adventure, lnoosarsuk
padded gayly out into the open sea.
During a voyage of many days
Inoosarsuk met no human beings
whatever. But he saw many strange
creatures in the air and upon the sea
and began to feel as wild and unafraid
as they. Each hour was more interest
ing than the last. and so sweet was
this innocent new freedom that he
soon forgot altogether that he had
ever lived in a hut in a fishing village
WlCu uGSleCl1ul anu lOolCi p<hi
ents.
AS he did not know at all in which
direction he was journeying, Inoosar-
suk was greatly surprised one morning
to find that he was headed straight for
a stretch of shining shore. He made
up his mind that he would land, and
in doing so took great care to avoid
colliding with what seemed to be
gray rock that lowered high
above his head. So the boy shook with
establishment when the rock addressed
him in a deep, believing voice AID
asked him his name. Looking more
closely in the direction of the voice,
Inoosarsuk now saw that the rock was
no rock at all, but giant, and giant
with such a jovial, good natured air
that the boy couldn't longer manage
to feel afraid. So in shrill little
voice, which he tried to make reach
as far as possible, he politely answer
ed the giants questions, explaining
that he had no home and was now
a long journey in order
to see what the world was like.
But the world must be larger than
tbouoht InOoGarsl,k concluded "fOr